Page 92 of All for Love

KODY

After hours in the hospital, I was finally discharged at around eleven at night. Leaving the hospital at this hour on a Friday wasn’t exactly my idea of a great start to a weekend, but at least they’d let me go.

Cold burrowed into my bones as I walked out onto the sidewalk, snow dusting my head and shoulders as I left the protective covering of the roof outside the main doors. I shivered, rubbing my palms together in a futile attempt to keep my fingers from going numb before I hopped into a waiting cab.

Thankfully, the driver had the heat on and I gave him my address, glad that this day was finally coming to an end—and that there were a few cab drivers that liked to hang out at hospitals on Friday nights. At least it meant I hadn’t had to wait in the cold.

The man seemed to sense that I didn’t want to talk, and he merely nodded when I gave him the address, and took off into the snow. It was falling heavier now than it had been earlier, and the entire world seemed to be coated in white.

I sighed. I’d always known driving in these conditions was dangerous, but now I was a little more apprehensive about it. It was unavoidable, but from now on, I was definitely going to be more careful—and offer to drive Mercedes around until the snow had eased up a little.

As the thought hit, I remembered I still hadn’t returned any of her calls or texts. The doctor had found my phone in the lining of my jacket when they’d ordered me to put on the hospital smock for the tests they had to run.

It must’ve slipped in there from my pocket at some point, and in my confusion, I hadn’t noticed the weight of it there. Thankfully, that meant I didn’t have to replace it before heading home.

I took it out of my pants pocket now, about to let her know I’d call her in the morning, when the driver pulled up in front of my place. In the near darkness, I thanked the driver and climbed out. I noticed the Bentley at the curb and groaned.

The cab’s lights fell on my father’s car as it backed out into the street, and I saw the man himself standing there, bundled up and waiting. He didn’t say anything at first as I approached him. He pushed off the side of his car and grabbed an overnight bag out of the back before locking it.

Once we got inside, he looked me over and noticed the blood on my shirt from the nosebleed and the various other cuts I’d suffered. His brows jumped up. Concern darkened his eye, and he examined me like he was trying to figure it out if that really was what he thought it was.

I shrugged out of my jacket now that we were waiting for the elevator, and when Dad saw the cast on my hand, he scowled. “What the hell happened to you?”

“I hit a patch of black ice after I left your place,” I said, not wanting to bore him with the details. “I’m fine. My car certainly isn’t, but I’m okay. What are you doing here?”

He shook his head, bending slightly to take a closer look at me like he was checking me for any other obvious injuries. “Jesus, Kody. After you left the house? That was this morning. Why didn’t you call me?”

“I thought I’d lost my phone in the crash, but the docs found it. I might’ve been a little out of it.”

We climbed into the elevator when it arrived, but Dad never stopped staring at me.

“The hospital could’ve called me. The paramedics. What did they say? I’m assuming you only left the hospital tonight?”

“Came straight home,” I said, frowning when I realized he was genuinely worried. I didn’t really know why.

He’d never been overly concerned about me when I’d been injured before. Although maybe it was because he thought I was so immature now that I couldn’t possibly take care of myself. I glanced at him again as the doors slid open.

“I really am fine, Dad. I’ve got this. The hospital didn’t call you because I didn’t ask them to. There was no reason for you to know. It’s nothing serious.”

Dad gave my bloodied shirt and the cast a pointed look. “Nothing serious? It looks serious to me, and even if it’s not, you still should’ve asked them to call me. You could’ve used the hospital phone to call me yourself. I’m your father, Kody. You were in an accident, and a bad one at that. I should’ve been told.”

“It wasn’t that bad. I’ve got some bruises and a couple of broken bones in my hand, but that will heal.”

“You’ve also got black eyes,” he said sullenly. “I thought you’d gotten into a fight at first. Kaden seemed pretty worked up earlier when I spoke to him.”

I snorted. “If he and I had gotten into a fight, he would’ve been the one sporting the black eyes.”

The paramedics had given me a little baggie with my keys and some other crap that had been in the car, and I pulled it out of my pocket to unlock my front door. Dad followed me in, concern still billowing off him like a cloud of smoke.

“You didn’t have yourself discharged, right? They said you were okay and that you could go? This isn’t the time to be pigheaded.”

“What do you want, Dad?” I tossed the keys and the baggie down in the entrance hall, then laid my jacket down next to them and rolled up my shirtsleeves now that I was home. “What are you doing here? I know you didn’t come to check on me, so why are you here?”

“Thank the stars I am here. I didn’t know I had to check on you, but I might’ve if you’d told me you’d been in an accident. Did they discharge you or not?”

“They discharged me. I’m fine. I stayed for observation without giving anyone any hassles about it, and then they let me go. Are you going to tell me what you’re doing here now? I’ve said everything I needed to say, Dad. I’m not really open to any negotiation about this.”

He sighed, followed me to my bar, and nodded at the glasses. “You may as well get me one of those too. I need somewhere to spend the night, so I figured I’d come here.”