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“She’s finally gettin’ checked out by a doctor. It took us forever to get her to clean up and put the scrubs on I got for her. She didn’t want to miss the doctor coming in to talk to us about what was goin’ on with you. Then, she came in here with me and refused to leave. You woke up the first time and didn’t say a word as you looked around the room in a daze. Annabell fuckin’ lost it and Slim took her out of here,” Valor informs me, his voice full of pain as he tells me that.
It's not surprising if I’m being honest. Annabell loves hard and gives every bit of herself to those she loves and cares about. Hearing she was afraid of missing the doctor is something I expect her to do because it’s what she’d do for every single person in the Phantom Bastards, Wild Kings, or Satan’s Anarchy if we were at the hospital for one of them. My girl definitely doesn’t hold back when she loves you and I’m one of the fucking lucky ones who gets to experience that on a daily basis now. I’ve missed that the most about her over the last five years that I haven’t seen her. Now I just have to make sure she doesn’t leave when the job is done even though I told her she’s mine and I’m hers.
“What’s wrong with her?” I ask, needing to know what damage was done to her while we were being held by those stupid fucks.
“I don’t know. I’ve been here with you. Chrome, Slim, Playboy, and Tank are with her. Hunter wanted to come with them, but he had to stay back in Benton Falls. Apparently his new girl didn’t like that he was prepared to drop everythin’ and ride out for Annabell. I don’t see that relationship workin’ out. Hunter is her best friend and they’re closer than a brother and sister,” Valor informs me as I try to get comfortable on the bed that’s hard as fuck and with pillows that are thin. Everything here fucking sucks! “You know she’s blamin’ herself for you gettin’ shot. She feels as if she stayed in Benton Falls, you’d be at the clubhouse right now and not in the hospital after bein’ shot. This is hittin’ her harder than anythin’ else ever has. Even when we first brought her to the clubhouse with us.”
“It’s not her fuckin’ fault. The guys who took her did this shit. Dominic is the one who shot me. Tell me you fuckin’ got him,” I state, looking for confirmation as I try to remember everything that happened after I was shot.
I know I saw shit after the bullet hit me, but none of it’s registering right now. Everything is a fucking blur and it hurts my head to try and shift through the memories. Looking at Valor, I give up searching for the truth and let him tell me what he knows.
“No, we didn’t get Dominic. Annabell shot him and the two others in the head right after you were shot. As you were fallin’ in front of her, she pulled your gun and got them before they could fire anymore shots. When we got there, Annabell was holdin’ you in her lap and wouldn’t let any of us get close to you. She held you and kept us all back until we got her to realize how much help you needed,” my brother says as pride fills me and I don’t doubt that my girl would take out the stupid fuckers who hurt me.
“It hasn’t hit her yet, has it?” I ask him, needing to know because when it does, she’s gonna fall the fuck apart and I will be there for her. At the same time pride fills me because Annabell did what she had to do to protect herself and me.
“No. She’s been completely focused on you and only you. Like I said, she didn’t even wanna let the doctors check her out. I didn’t touch her head when I cleaned her up. Pretty Girl was covered in your blood when I cleaned her up and that’s what I was concentratin’ on. You got fuckin’ lucky, Alex. I don’t know how the fuck you’re still alive, but I’m glad you are,” Valor says, his eyes wet from the tears he’s holding back as I reach out and he takes my hand for a second.
“You’re not gettin’ rid of me anytime soon, Zach. I still have so much to make up for with all of you and I’m just gettin’ started,” I tell him honestly as my throat starts to hurt again and I nod to the water.
Valor gives me more water before pressing the call button to let someone know I’m awake.
“You don’t got shit to make up for, Alex. That shit’s in the past. This has taught me that life is too fuckin’ short and there’s no point in holdin’ grudges or anythin’ else because if I had lost you today, you wouldn’t know how fuckin’ proud of you I am. You’ve pulled yourself out of the fuckin’ gutter and built yourself back up again. You didn’t ask for help or anythin’ else. Dad would be so proud of the man you are today. He’d be proud of the way you’re leadin’ the club and that you’ve managed to get past his death and become even stronger than you were the day we lost him,” Valor says, his voice breaking as he takes a closer look at me and lets me see the truth of his words.
“I’m not a good man, Zach. I failed so many of you and no one more than Annabell. She didn’t deserve anythin’ I did to her before I left. I didn’t ever tell her goodbye when we took off to move here. I’m never gonna let myself get like that again, Zach. I promise you that right now,” I state, looking over as the door of my room opens and I see Crab and Red standing on either side of my door. “We’ll talk later and figure out what we have to do movin’ forward.”
“Mr. Stone, I’m glad to see you awake. I’m Dr. Jessup and I’ve been taking care of you since you were brought in. First, how are you feeling?” an older man wearing one of those white lab coats asks me with a small smile on his face as he looks at the monitor keeping track of me.
“I feel like I’ve been run over by a tractor trailer multiple times before they parked directly on my body,” I state, grimacing while trying to move so I can get comfortable.
“You’re very lucky. The bullet that hit you didn’t touch anything but your spleen. We had to go in and remove it before stopping the internal bleeding. You’re currently on pain medicine and antibiotics to help with the pain and prevent any possible infection. The bruising you came in with will heal along with the cuts on your upper chest and face. None of them needed any stitches. Your shoulder was dislocated and we put it back in place and it’s in a sling now. You’ll need to wear that for a few weeks. When we cleaned up the head wound you have and that’s been too long to put stitches in. Instead, it’s bandaged up and we’ve been keeping a close eye on it for infection. So far, there is no indication that you’ll get one. For now, we’re going to keep you in the hospital for the next few days to keep a close eye on you,” Dr. Jessup says as he looks down at the chart in his hand before turning his attention back to me again.
“What is my brother lookin’ at for recovery time?” Valor asks while I take in the information I’ve just been given.
“It’s gonna be four to six weeks for him to heal from us removing his spleen. The dislocated shoulder will take about twelve to sixteen weeks to heal. After a week or so you can stop using the sling depending on your pain and comfort level. As the weeks go on, you’ll be able to start resuming normal activities. Don’t push yourself at all. And no riding until you’re cleared to do so. For the foreseeable future, you aren’t to drive at all,” Dr. Jessup’s voice is hard so I know he’s not kidding with me. “Your body has been through a traumatic experience and you need to let yourself heal. Get as much rest as you can because that will help your recovery.”
“We’ll all make sure he rests and doesn’t do anythin’ he’s not supposed to. Have you heard anythin’ about his fiancé since she went down to get checked out?” Valor questions the doctor as I become more alert and focus on what he’s going to tell us.
“No. I just arrived here to do my rounds when I was told Mr. Stone was awake. I’m sure you’ll know something soon,” he says and I know that’s all he’ll mention because of the laws regarding patient privacy and everything. I can’t blame him as he lets me know someone will be in to give me more medicine.
“Valor, I don’t want to get addicted to the pain medicine,” I tell my brother, worry filling me as I remember the drinking I did.
“You won’t, Alex. You stopped drinkin’ when you were ready and you won’t abuse the pain medicine they’re givin’ you. We’ll all keep an eye on you and I’ll hold them if that’s what you want. For now, you need to take them so you can heal. As the pain becomes more bearable, you can start weaning off them,” he states, determination filling him and I know Valor won’t let me do anything reckless or become out of control again.
We sit in silence and it’s not long before the nurse comes in to give me the pain medicine. She checks my vitals and grabs some blood from me. Valor asks her why she’s taking the blood and she lets him know that they’ll be taking it at least twice a day as a way to help them check that I’m not getting some kind of infection in my blood. Plus they need to make sure that I don’t need to have a blood transfusion from the blood I lost after I was shot. It doesn’t take long for the pain medicine to kick in and pull me under. Sleep claims me and the last thing I hear is Valor telling me he’s not going anywhere.
Waking up again, I have no clue how much time has passed since I fell asleep thanks to the pain medicine. Valor is still sitting in the chair next to my bed and Chrome is next to him as they talk quietly to one another. Chrome is the first one to realize I’m awake as I look around for Annabell. She’s still not in my room with me and worry fills me. Turning my head back to my best friend and brother quicker than I should, I become dizzy for a minute.
“She’s okay, Vault. Annabell’s still down in the emergency department. They’re givin’ her fluids and she had to go down for x-rays on her ankle. I don’t know much else other than that. Her dad, brother, and Tank are the only ones she’s lettin’ in the room with her. I know they’ve been talkin’, but I don’t know what’s bein’ said. Red is down there with them now so I could come up and see you,” he informs me, exhaustion showing on his face and in his eyes as they droop.
“You should go to the clubhouse and rest,” I tell him, knowing all the guys should head out and rest since they know I’m okay and out of surgery.
“Not happenin’, Alex. We’re here for as long as you are. Martin was just released. George took him back to the clubhouse. The girls will take care of him. He got hit in the shoulder and when he went down some of the rocks around the gatehouse embedded in the wound. Martin got a nasty infection, but it’s under control now and the girls know what to look for. Doc is gonna check on him too. In fact, Doc’s stayin’ at the clubhouse for now so he’s not too far away. Martin feels like shit that the two of you were taken on his watch, but he knew they’d shoot at Annabell if he didn’t open the gate,” Valor says, his voice low as my eyes flutter closed again.
“Not his fault,” I murmur, trying to stay awake.
One of the many reasons I hate pain medicine is how groggy it makes me feel even if I haven’t just had any. After a minute of letting my eyes close, I open them up again. Something's very wrong with Annabell. I know her good enough to realize that she’s gonna run. Looking at Valor, he tries to figure out what I just did.
“She’s gonna run, Zach. The guilt is too much for her to handle and if she’s not lettin’ anyone else in the room with her, she’s gonna run back to Benton Falls. My Angel is gonna leave me,” I say, Valor looking at me and coming to the same conclusion as I did.
