CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Saturday, April 28th
Sunlight pierced his eyes and Bryce opened them slowly and looked out the hospital room window. Looking over, he saw that Daphne was asleep and felt his gut clench when he saw the dark bruise that covered her cheek.
Anger roiled in his gut as he thought about what she had suffered at the hands of that animal. Not only did she have a trail of stitches all along her stomach and thigh, but her face was bruised, and she had a black eye.
Nothing in the world prepared him for seeing her bruised and bloodied, and he wished he’d have taken the opportunity to end the scumbag’s life when he had the chance. Jail was going to be too damn good for the fucker, but there was little he could do.
He stood and kissed her cheek gently and then ran his finger over her beautiful face and vowed he would do everything in his power to make sure she recovered. It was going to be a hell of a road, as far as he could see, and he had no idea what this second attack was going to cost her.
Most people had a hell of a time working past one; how she was going to climb the mountain again was anyone’s guess. But climb it they would, one way or another.
Just as he was about to let go of her hand, her eyes fluttered open. “Good-mornin’, darlin’.”
“Bryce…”
Leaning down, he kissed her and then cupped her cheek. “What, honey?”
“It wasn’t a nightmare, was it?”
“No, Daph, it wasn’t. I’d do just about anything to have the power to turn back time for you, but I haven’t figured out how to do it.”
She squeezed his hand and nodded. “Let me know when you do.”
“How do you feel?”
“It hurts, Bryce.”
He saw tears gather in her eyes and he rested his head against hers. “If I could take your pain, I would, and I’m so damn sorry this happened.” He dragged in a deep breath so his own emotions wouldn’t spill over. “I will never let this happen again.”
Her small hand went to his face and he lifted his eyes and saw the corner of her mouth lift. “I’ll do everything I can to get you through this.”
“Thank you.”
The door swung open and a nurse strode in. “Time to check her vitals.”
He kissed her forehead and stepped away. “I’m going to hit the head and then grab a cup of coffee. You want anything?”
“Nothing right now.”
“Okay, be back in a few.” As he walked out of the room, he heard his phone buzz and quickly read the text from Jax telling him he was on his way over with his truck and would be arriving within thirty minutes. Which was great news because he thought they might be letting Daph out of the hospital later.
The only thing he had to do between now and then was convince her to stay with him. There was no way he was going to let her out of his sight, and the only way to make that possible was if she agreed to stay at his place.
With Selah sharing her apartment, he couldn’t bunk with her, and he wasn’t going to take the chance that the speech he’d made yesterday was going to have any effect on her. For all he knew, she was going to go on living her life just as she had, and that wasn’t anything Daphne needed to be around.
Especially since it was apparently difficult for people to tell them apart.
As he thought about his own blunder when he first encountered Selah, he cringed. Up until that moment, he thought he was really observant, but clearly, he wasn’t if he’d made such a stupid mistake. Yes, they had similar faces, but they were worlds apart and, now that he knew her face intimately, he saw a hundred differences.
Which proved that his mama was once again right when she told him falling in love had nothing to do with looks and everything to do with a person’s heart. He’d fallen for Daphne because of what she had inside her heart, and he knew that irrevocably because he had never once been attracted to Selah.
Daphne was his bright and beautiful star and she outshone everything else in the universe, and he hoped his love was going to be enough to keep her light shining and illuminate the path forward.
One way or another.
***
Daphne looked out the window and sipped her tea as the door to her hospital room opened. Feeling a moment’s panic, her head swung around, and she saw her sister walk in with a small bouquet of flowers. “Hey, sister.”
“Hey.”
Seeing her sister’s hesitancy made her realize that Selah had been fully informed about what had gone down last night. She watched her sister’s shaking hand set down the flowers and tried to remember if she’d ever seen her show any nerves before. “Thank you.”
Selah looked around the room and then sat. “Where’s Bryce?”
“He went to the head and then he’s getting a cup of coffee. He’ll be back in a bit.”
Nodding, she picked at her fingernail. “When are they going to let you out?”
“Not sure, but I’m hoping for today.” She ran her finger over the petal of the daisy and then waited for her sister to speak.
“Bryce read me the riot act when I stopped by last night and basically told me to stay away from you.”
“Is that why you’re acting so weird?”
Sitting forward, she let out a harsh breath, and then looked up and winced. “I’m so sorry that you were attacked last night. I feel like shit.”
“Don was drunk and probably high, and he thought I was you.” Her head started to throb, and she rested it against the pillow. “I haven’t begun to process what happened yet, but when I do there will be a lot of feelings to work through. What that’s going to mean for our relationship is unknown.”
“You going to cut me out of your life?” Sitting up straight, she crossed her arms. “You ready to get rid of the bad twin and go live your fucking perfect life with Captain America?”
Sitting up, she winced as her aching bones protested and the stitches along her body pulled. “Stop.” She watched her sister’s eyes and saw anger, remorse, and defiance.
Not much had changed since they were teenagers, and she was tired of the same show. She ran her hand over her face and immediately stopped when she felt her swollen cheek. “I’m not cutting you out of my life because you’re the only family I have, but I’m definitely going to change the way we interact. I’ve got to put some boundaries in place and your bitch act is no longer going to be acceptable.” When her sister sucked in a loud breath, she decided what she had to say was long past due.
“What happened when were in Columbia was tragic and horrific, but I never blamed you. It was our parents’ responsibility to make sure we were safe and, considering they never did, it wasn’t a surprise that we ended up in the situation we did.”
“Because of me,” Selah spat out.
“Yes, you had some responsibility for what happened.” Feeling a weight slip off her shoulders, she realized that pretending like her sister was blameless had cost her. “And so did I. It would’ve been easy for me to refuse to go with you that day and to leave the party at any time. I knew you were heading toward disaster and I did nothing to stop it.”
“Why didn’t you then?”
“You’re my twin, and there was no way I could’ve abandoned you.” She motioned between them and felt the anger rise. “No matter how idiotic you are.”
“Sometimes, I can feel myself being pulled toward the flame and have no way of stopping myself before I get burned. I knew that going to that party was stupid and flirting with grown men was probably dangerous, and I did it anyway and dragged you along.”
“The more mom and dad said you were a sinner, the more you acted like one. It was a self-fulfilling prophecy and, unfortunately, the consequences were tragic.”
“Why didn’t you ever express your anger about what happened?”
“I’m not sure.” She lifted the cup of tea and drank some down. “Maybe I saw how badly you were suffering and figured my anger wasn’t going to do anything. Grams also told me that the only way to recover from being sexually assaulted was to move forward and not hold on to the anger. The therapist that we saw when we got home also helped me deal with what happened, and I think that helped me focus on healing and not blame.”
“Well, aren’t you perfect?”
“At some point, using your anger as a shield isn’t going to work anymore. Yes, I went to the therapy that Grams arranged for us and you chose to only go to one session. The only difference between us is our choices and your angry act is tired. Deal with it, Selah; quit blaming everybody and anybody and deal with it and move on.”
“Go to hell, Daphne.”
“I’ve been there and decided not to stay, but it seems like you’ve made it your home. It’s a choice and you can make a new one at any time. Every moment is a chance to change your path go in a different direction. As much as I love you and want you in my life, I’m not paying for your choices anymore. I don’t blame you for what happened in Columbia or what happened last night. But I’m not going to stick around for the next tragedy. I’ve kept my mouth shut since college because I didn’t want to lose you completely. But that was my mistake and one I won’t make anymore.”
“What are you saying?”
“You make some dangerous choices and, until you stop, I don’t want to be around you.”
“So, if I don’t live my life according to your standards, then we don’t speak?”
“You started something with a man who has two assault convictions and is involved with a group of people who run drugs and guns, and then you brought him to my apartment, and I want no part of it. You want to go down in a ball of flames so you can throw the middle finger to our parents, go right ahead. But I’m not watching it anymore and I’m not paying the price for your choices. Our parents don’t care enough about us to watch, so you’re burning up your life with no audience.”
Selah stood up abruptly and grabbed her purse. “I hate when you get righteous.”
Letting out a long-frustrated breath, she leaned her head against the pillow. “This isn’t righteous; this is me setting my boundaries.”
“Whatever.”
Watching her sister stomp out of the room made her stomach roll over in regret and anger, but there wasn’t much she could do. If Selah continued on the path she was on, then she was going to end up dead and, despite their bond, she didn’t want to join her.
***
Bryce stepped away from the door in time not to get mowed down by Selah as she stormed out of the room. He’d heard most of the conversation and knew this was an impossible situation for both sisters.
He didn’t want to see Selah burn herself up but knew there was little he could do to change the outcome and that was true for Daphne as well. He was proud as hell of his girl and knew what she’d just told her sister had been difficult.
There was no good answer and he hoped that Selah would eventually do something about where she was headed.
At some point, you had to take responsibility for your life and quit blaming whatever and whoever you thought was responsible and make your own way. He didn’t know if that was going to happen for Selah, but he sure was going to make sure that Daphne didn’t suffer any more than she already had.
Pasting a smile on his face, he walked into the room and prayed he was going to be successful in convincing Daphne to move in with him. “Hey, darlin’.” He set her cup down and then kissed her head. “I brought you a cup of hot chocolate.”
“Thank you.”
He collapsed into the chair next to the bed and drank some of his coffee. “Jax brought my truck over.”
“That was kind of him.”
“It’s what we do for each other and he was happy to do it.” He watched her drink quietly and then frown. “What are you thinking about?”
“I don’t want the news of my attack to hit the grapevine at the base.”
“Jax won’t say anything, neither will Caid or Ace.”
Groaning, she set down her cup. “How do they know?”
“I called Jax last night and they paid a little visit to the clubhouse of Don’s group and gave them a little message.”
“What?”
“I wanted to make sure they understood what would happen if they ever did anything to you or Selah and the guys were happy to make sure they understood.” He gulped down more coffee and then gave her a shrug. “Standard operating procedure.”
“That isn’t standard, and you know it. Why in the world would they get involved in this mess?”
“A SEAL loves nothing more than cleaning up a mess and that’s what they did. I would’ve gone myself, but I was here with you.”
Sliding down, she pulled the blanket up and closed her eyes. “I don’t know what to say.”
“When I told you I was never going to let anything happen to you, I meant it. Those are not empty words, but a promise you can count on.”
He stood and leaned over her bed, so their faces were close. “I want you to come stay with me. Let me take care of you and make sure you’re safe.”
“Okay.”
He pressed his mouth to hers and kissed her gently. “Okay,” he repeated. Thanking God silently, he closed his eyes and hoped she planned on staying forever because he never planned on letting her go.
“Love you, Daph.”
“Love you, too.”
His heart flipped as her words settled into his heart and knew they were going to make it out of this horror whole and happy.