MERCS
After Effa finally made her way back to bed last night, I had trouble going back to sleep. She nodded off easily, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something’s off with her recovery. And as I lay here still awake, with her in my arms under the blankets, my heart still hasn’t settled into a normal rhythm. I want to take her back to Pittsburgh today to get her checked over by her specialist, just to ensure she’s okay. It might just be a case of she’s overdone it, but the headache and then the overheating well, I don’t want to take any risks.
Effa mumbles under her breath as she begins to stir against me and I bring my hand up, gently stroking her arm. She lifts her head, her foggy eyes looking up at me with that just woken up daze as she yawns and blinks a few times. “Good morning, handsome.”
I chuckle. “Good morning. How did you sleep?”
She stretches and moans in delight. “Like a log once I cooled off… you?”
I don’t want to lie to her, but I don’t want to tell her I’ve been up half the night worrying about her either. So, I detach from her and sit up on the bed. “I think I can smell bacon, can you?”
She sniffs the air and grins wildly. “Oh yes. Gran, I love you,” she beams jumping up from the bed and practically running to the luggage to find something to wear.
I smile half at her action and know that I’ve dodged her question. “We should call your specialist today, maybe take a trip back to see him?”
She spins around, her smile falling. “I’ll give him a call after breakfast, tell him what happened and see what he says. No need to drive for an hour if he can assess me over the phone. Right?”
I want to demand she goes and sees him. I want to tell her that it’s not up to her, that this is not up for discussion and it’s not something you mess around with. I want to grab her and shake some sense into her, but doing that will only send fear into her, and that won’t be good for anyone. So I send my rage to the back burner and calm myself down. For her sake. “We’ll see what he says, but if he wants to see you, then we’re going. No questions. I don’t care if we have to stay in Pittsburgh for a week of testing, Effa. If he wants you there, we go. If he doesn’t and says everything’s fine, then…” I shrug and walk over to her to get some clothes for myself.
She reaches out placing her hand on mine. “Kaden, I’m fine. I feel fine. Just a tiny, weeny, incy headache and that’s it. I promise. There’s nothing wrong with me. You don’t need to protect me. But I love that you want to.”
Sighing, I nod letting out a puff of air and grab the back of her head pulling her to me kissing her forehead. As I pull back, I look into her eyes. “I just… I can’t let anything happen to you. Not again.”
She moves in wrapping her arms around my waist, embracing me tightly. “Nothing’s going to happen. Like I said, I’m fine. Stop panicking.”
Leaning down, I press my lips to hers gently. She kisses me back, and I relish in her touch. She means so much to me. I couldn’t stand it if there was more to her recovery than meets the eye.
She pulls back and leans down grabbing a long tie-dyed maxi dress. It’s mainly white with a smattering of blue on it. She decides to go braless, and I shake my head, but I understand why as the front of it comes down low, very low. The skirt has a cut going up the leg, and it sways open as she walks showing me her gorgeous legs. It’s very Effa. She ties a daisy belt around her middle and adorns her usual daisy chain headband, giving her that boho rock vibe she’s renowned for. I love her like this. The casual woman with her own sense of style. Sure, I appreciate it when she’s all done up in leather and rocking it out, but like this, this is more Vespa than rock chick. This is the in tune with nature and earth woman that I’ve fallen for.
She looks back at me and chuckles. “Are you going to continue staring at me, or are you going to get dressed too, you weirdo?” She chuckles throwing a pillow at me as she sits down on the edge of the bed.
I dodge it and let out a small laugh as I turn toward the luggage to get my clothes. “Just admiring. I love it when you dress like you.”
She snorts. “Well, I love it when you’re completely naked, but we can’t all get what we want now can we?” She giggles as I grab my jeans and a polo shirt. At least she’s in a good mood.
Getting dressed quickly, I spin and look to her as she finishes doing up her white strappy sandals. “Shall we get us some bacon?” I ask, and she opens her eyes wide.
“Praise Gaia, I thought you’d never ask.”
After an entertaining breakfast, where Kiera described all the ways she and Raoul would be ideally suited, and I died a thousand deaths, Gran is settled out the back gardening while Effa and I take a walk to the town square to have a seat in the bandstand.
It’s a nice day, the sky’s mildly overcast, with the sun trying to shine through the spattering of gray clouds. The town is quiet. The hum of the occasional car as it passes us on the main road as we walk the path reminds me how sleepy this place is compared to life on the road with the band. I glance across the street to Kammie’s Diner to see it alive and bustling for their Friday morning customers, and I smile as we continue walking toward the bandstand. The trees are swaying in the breeze, the light rustling of the leaves moving against each other with the wind. I love Fall here. Everything has a slight tinge of amber, and the leaves crunch under your feet as you walk. The smell of pumpkins and cinnamon seems to be everywhere. This is the smell of my home.
“You’re smiling,” Effa chirps out of nowhere as we approach the bandstand. The colorful tulips of summer all but gone, now replaced with amber toned bushes and hedges. All turning for the Fall. It’s still beautiful, and as winter is on its way, the flowers hide and a crisper more barren look takes place around the white and pale green bandstand.
“I’m home. It’s Fall. I’m with my girl. What’s not to smile about?” I reply as we step up the brick pathway to the five stairs that lead up into the bandstand.
We take the steps, then turn around and sit down on the top one looking out to the town. It makes me smile even more.
Effa reaches out grabbing my hand and squeezes. “I love seeing you here. With Kiera. With Gran. I mean I love who you are on tour, too, but here, you’re… I don’t know… centered.”
“It’s even better when you’re here,” I admit.
She smiles looking out at the town and nods. “Well, I must admit, it does have a good feel about it.”
My arm moves out, wrapping around her as I use my other to wave to Mr. Jennings as he passes. He smiles and waves back with a lift of his head making Effa giggle. “It’s cute that you know everyone.”
I squeeze her shoulder. “Isn’t there a phone call you should be making?”
She rolls her eyes at me. “Yes, yes. Give me your damn phone. I left mine at the house.”
Grabbing my cell from my jeans, I hand it to her, and she takes a breath dialing her specialist’s number. I sit back trying not to crowd her, so I simply place my hand on her knee letting her know I am here.
“Oh… hello. This is Vespa Carrington. I’m wondering if I could talk to Doctor Wakefield about some symptoms I’ve been having after my release.”
She nods and looks at me with a smile. “Sure, I’ll hold…” She pauses for a moment and then sighs. “She’s going to patch me through.”
I nod. What if something is wrong? What if I do need to take her back to Pittsburgh? I’ll do anything to make sure she’s healthy. Anything. Even if it means dragging her to the other side of the fucking country to get her checked out. Fuck, I’d go to the other side of the world if I have to. And if she kicks up a fuss, I’ll spank her into submission until she complies. Her health is my main priority here, and right now thinking that somehow she hasn’t come out of this condition as unscathed as first thought is starting to freak me out.
“Oh… hi Doctor Wakefield. Yes, I’ve had a couple of symptoms over the last few days, and I was wondering if it’s anything I should be concerned about?” Effa asks breaking my rambling thoughts.
I watch her, but she looks away concentrating on her call.
“Okay, so I have a pretty constant headache. The severity comes and goes, but then last night I had what I guess you could call a hot flash in the middle of the night. I was boiling hot, but the temperature was quite cold. It took a little while for me to cool down. I was covered in sweat...” She pauses and nods a few times.
Why the fuck doesn’t she have it on speaker phone so I can hear what he’s saying?
“Okay, great. Thank you so much for taking my call…” She lets out a small laugh. “Yes, I’ll try. Thanks again. Bye.” She hangs up the cell, and I raise my brow wondering why the phone call is so short.
She turns to me with a small smile.
“Well?”
She sighs. “He said a headache can be a common occurrence but doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not a symptom of something more. The hot flash could also be a symptom of something, but seeing as I’ve only had one, he wants us to wait and see if I have another one before doing anything. He seems to think it might probably be a one-off and that I’ll be fine. It’s just my body working at getting back to normal. But if I do have another one, that I’m to call him and arrange an appointment.”
Exhaling, I nod. “Did he say what it could be a symptom of?”
She chuckles. “No, and I honestly don’t think we need to worry, Mercs. I’m fine. You worry too much,” she berates bumping into my side, which does nothing to ease my nerves.
I might worry too much, but isn’t that my job as her boyfriend?
“So, what are we going to do today?” she rattles off blasé.
I can’t help but feel a little relieved.
Maybe she is going to be okay.
Maybe it was just a once off.
I should relax and enjoy my time with her. If something happens we’ll deal with it then, but for now, I want to spend some time with my girl in my hometown. I need to loosen up.
Suddenly, a strange noise appears from my left, and we both glance up to see Andi and Casey moving toward us at a fast pace. I furrow my brows trying to figure out what I’m seeing.
Effa bursts into a fit of giggles. “It’s nice to see the cousins out and about.”
The grating noise finally registers as I look down to see the girls wearing roller skates and I shake my head as they approach us.
“Holy shit! How did I let you talk me into this?” Casey calls out as she speeds up racing toward us at a rapid rate. Her arms held out from her sides like she’s in absolutely no control of what she’s doing as Andi skates beside her laughing her guts out. Her now aqua hair sitting atop her head nicely, looking much better than the black she was sporting not so long ago.
“Effa… help,” Casey calls out.
Effa jumps up racing down the stairs just in time to catch Casey before she crashes into the bottom stair of the bandstand. Casey wraps her arms around Effa tightly as they collide together in a fit of giggles. Effa keeps her arms around her friend as I stand up and make my way down the stairs in time for Andi to skate up to us, sliding to a stop as she turns sideways very professionally and smiles brightly at us.
“See, I told you this would be fun, Case. Get you out in the fresh air, running into weird town folk,” Andi jests.
I chuckle.
“It is nice to be out, even if I can’t get the hang of these fucking things,” Casey beams finally detaching from Effa, who’s grinning from ear to ear like she’s the happiest she’s been since she woke up from her coma. I guess seeing her friends embracing town life and acting a little crazy is making Effa realize it’s okay to let go and live again. Maybe I should take some of these hometown feelings on myself.
“Where did you find the roller skates?” Effa asks.
Andi shrugs. “Some kid had them, so I asked if we could borrow them. I wanted to get Case out of the Inn and into the sun. Well, what little sun there is today seeing as it’s overcast. But you know what I mean. Plus, I wanted to see a bit of the town square myself. This place is pretty fucking cute.”
Effa nods. “I totally get it. There’s an aura about this place, right. The energy here is so…”
“Peaceful,” Casey answers, and the three girls all smile as I grin knowing precisely what they mean.
“I don’t know why you ever wanted to leave here, Mercs,” Andi questions.
“That’s because when you grow up here, you know everyone. And when you know everyone, you can’t escape the people.”
They all tilt their heads like they understand. “True. Well, I for one, am glad you left. Because our little bubble girl here wouldn’t be happy without you.” Andi bumps my shoulder.
I chuckle and nod. “I’m glad I left, too. It’s nice coming home, but I love being on tour with you girls more.”
Effa loops her arm with mine, as Casey smiles at us both while her nose begins to twitch. “Do you smell that?” she asks.
Furrowing my brows, I shake my head. “Smell what?”
“Cheesesteaks. Fuck! Yes,” she calls out taking off on her skates, almost falling over in her hurry to follow her sensitive nose to the food.
Andi chuckles rolling her eyes. “Guess we’re going for cheesesteaks. Catch ya later, guys.”
“Bye,” we both say in unison as we watch Andi skate off after Casey. I turn toward Effa who’s positively glowing, and I smile as she takes a seat on the stair of the bandstand. I reach out grabbing her hand, and she looks at me and grins.
“So, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”
She raises her brow and nods. “Oh, yeah?”
“I want you to know unequivocally that your actions, the way you treated Jett, your friendship with him, did not, in any way lead to him drugging you. What happened was not your fault.”
She looks down at the ground and swallows hard. “You heard that, huh?”
I grip her hand tighter and run my thumb over her soft skin to soothe her. “I heard, but I also thought you might have been thinking that way, and that’s why I brought you here. So you could face your demons, Effa. But we both need to let go of Jett and what he did to you. Because he is the one who did it, Eff. You didn’t cause it. I didn’t cause it.”
She looks up at me, her eyes glistening and she frowns. “You think you’re to blame? Why?”
“I kept aggravating him. Kept pushing him. Kept telling him you’re mine. All he wanted was to make me pay. But baby, if we keep trying to figure out why and keep blaming ourselves it will fucking kill us both. We need to forget about Jett. He’s out of our lives. For good. It’s just you and me now… I won’t let anyone hurt you, ever again, Vespa. I promise you that.”
She grins and nods. “I know you won’t. I believe you, Kaden. I can’t stand the thought of living my life worrying about that asshole. Let’s make a pact. Let’s agree to wipe Jett from our minds from today onward.”
Chuckling, I nod. “Agreed. He’s gone. Let’s move on. Together. I see only good things for us, Effa.”
She leans in resting her head on my shoulder and giggles. “You think so?”
“Yeah, baby, I know so.”
“So, back to my original question. What do you want to do today?”
Grinning, I straighten my shoulders. “I wanna show you all the hot spots this town has to offer.”
“Sounds epic.”
“Oh, it will be.” I raise my brows suggestively as my phone beeps telling me I have a message.
She smiles as I grab my cell and look at the screen to see who the message is from. When I look at the name my stomach sinks and a cold shudder ripples over my skin. I swallow hard as I try to angle the phone away from Effa so she can’t see. I swipe the screen to read the message.
Hex: Mercs, your debt is owed. You need to think about your options, son. Soon there won’t be any options left. Choose wisely…
Letting out a long breath, as a bead of sweat forms on my brow. Getting involved with Hex and the Sportshark app was not my brightest moment, but I did it for the right reasons. But all of that is beside the fucking point as it doesn’t seem to be panning out the way I’d hoped.
“You okay? You look weird.” Effa asks breaking me from my thoughts.
I glance up at her exiting the message and put on a fake smile as I place my cell in my pocket. “I’m fine. I’m not weird. I’m fucking awesome,” I retort, and she raises her brow suspiciously.
“Who was the text from?” she asks.
“Just Tank, he’s asking where the best place is to get pie. Why’s everyone so damn hungry around here?” I ask standing up and rubbing my sweaty palms on my jeans.
She stands up beside me and rubs the back of her neck. “I’m guessing… Kammie’s?”
I chuckle. “You betcha! C’mon, I wanna show you the place I scribed my name into the wall when I was a kid.”
Her eyes light up, and she smiles wide. “Ooh… secrets. I like this. Where?”
“In a barricade at Fort Ligonier. I’m a total badass.”
She gasps and furrows her brows. “Isn’t that like some war history artifact place?”
I nod. “Yep, it was part of the gateway for the French, Indian and Pontiac’s war that started in 1766, and I etched my name in the woodwork. But it’s okay, no one knows except for me… and Johnny. But you’d really have to look to find it. So c’mon, let’s go.”
She laughs as she takes my hand and we walk back toward the house to get in the car to drive out to Fort Ligonier. She bops alongside me happy and excited, all thoughts of the ominous text message completely wiped from her mind.
But not from mine.
Hex wants his debt paid, and I have no idea how I’m going to find that kind of cash flow. Especially now the tour is on hold, and I have no money coming in. I’m going to have to think hard and fast, because if there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s I don’t want a bookie coming after me, or the people I care about for his compensation. And if there’s one thing I know for sure, Hex is not the kind of man you want coming after you and yours.
One stupid, weak moment and now I have to deal with this shit on top of all the other shit in my life.
Fuck!