Chapter Seven
(Chloe)
The following morning, I awoke abruptly to a ray of sunlight slanting in my face and the sound of bashing on the front door.
What the fuck is that?
My heart rate immediately quickened. I looked at the alarm clock. It was quarter past ten! I rose in the bed but I didn’t dare move. Jax would get it, whoever it was.
Two more loud bashing sounds came from the door.
This scared me, so I got up and peeked out of the bedroom door.
Jax weakly pushed the front door open and lugged his body through as he struggled to get in. He lumbered breathlessly into the apartment looking injured and unsteady on his feet.
This was unbelievable. I knew then what he’d done. He’d gone after Roy.
I stood in shock at the blood on the side his face that also stained the white cotton of his t-shirt. “What hell Jax? What happened to you?” My eyes bored into Jaxson, waiting for a response. “Well?” I asked.
“I had to make sure Roy wouldn’t come near you again. He had it coming.”
“What did I tell you Jax?”
“I fixed it Chloe. That’s all that matters.”
“You’re lucky you didn’t get yourself killed. You need to get to the hospital.” I took his Jacket, pulled out his cell and tapped the keypad furiously.
“Chloe. No. That’s not how we do things,” Jax protested.
“Let me handle this.” I put the phone to my ear. “Hello. I need an ambulance, please.”
Jax grabbed the phone and closed it.
“For Christ’s sake, he could have killed you!” I yelled at him.
He tossed the phone down on the counter. “I don’t expect you to understand.” He stumbled away, going toward the sofa and flopping down on it. Groaning loudly, he reached for the bottle of water on the coffee table. “Can you get me some aspirin, please?”
I went into the bathroom and came out with four tablets. Handing him the pills, I had to say something, “Those injuries weren’t caused by an aspirin deficiency, Jax. Pills aren’t going to cut it. You need professional help; someone to fix you up. Someone like a doctor. You could have broken ribs.”
“I’ve got this,” he insisted.
“We need to get you cleaned up or at least wash off the blood.” Getting a washcloth and a bowl of water, I began bathing the blood from his face and neck. I could finally see the bruises he had and they looked bad. Had Roy beaten the shit out of him or had he run into someone else? I didn’t know if I wanted to find out or not, so I kept my mouth shut.
“You need any more pillows?” I asked when I was finally done.
“Nah, I’m good.”
“How about some water?”
“I’m fine... Thank you, Chloe.”
“Sure,” I replied, forcing a smile. I looked over in sympathy from as Jax struggled in pain. I passed the time by watching over him while he slept. I didn’t know what happened but it couldn’t have been good.
Jax blinked to consciousness to the sound of me lifting the lid to an aluminium container, revealing an Italian meal.
“Ordered take-out. Hope you don’t mind but I took a twenty out of your wallet to pay for the food.”
“Ah….nice,” he said and winced. With some effort, he leaned out of bed to reach for it. “I’ll get it.”
“You like spaghetti?”
“You know I love spaghetti.”
“I know you always used to order it before you stopped coming around the diner,” I reminded him.
Jax sat up and started to spoon the contents into his mouth. “I only stopped coming around when you left for college.”
I squeezed his hand then turned to go, disappearing through the door.
“I’d risk everything to be sure that I can save you. As long as I live I’ll never forgive myself.”
“Well, how can you expect me to trust you to look after me when you can’t even look after yourself?” I stared brazenly back at Jax.
“All I’ve ever wanted was to make it right somehow.” His emotional dam seemed to break.
“Jax...” I frowned not exactly sure what he was talking about.
“I want to give you a great life. The life your dad should have been able to give you. I want to do something good with my life. For myself. For your dad. And for you.” Jax’s eyes shone with purpose. “Anyway. The point is…” He took a breath.
“The point is what?” I asked.
“The point is, I won’t let you have another disappointment. Or another let down.”
“Why is that so important to you?” I asked.
Jax sighed heavily. “I can’t tell you that. Not without telling you everything and I’m not ready to do that yet.”
I wish I knew what he was trying to protect me from.
“I need for you to believe me when I say that I will keep you safe. I couldn’t do what Roy did to you. I couldn’t do something like that.” Jax finally threw the near empty container on the table and laid back down to rest. Closing his eyes, he was asleep again within minutes.
I watched over him for a while longer then I went into the bedroom and walked over to the window. I used to think Coronado as a first rate town. Now all I saw was a dirty, ugly, crime-ridden city I would rather see the back of.
The past 24 hours had been tough on us both; but I refused to get depressed. Jax rested much of the rest of the day and the night went by without any more drama. Things could only get better. Right?