Xavier

I feel absolutely, fucking defeated. Scrubbing my hands down my tired face, I feel like I’ve aged fifty years in the last hour. All I want to do is crawl into bed and wrap my arms around my girl, keep her safe. Glancing around the room, I take in everybody’s grave faces. They look as bad as I feel.

“Where’s Justin?” I ask, trying to take my mind off all this shit running through my head.

“He’s finishing up at the shop,” Beau answers.

“Fuck.” I remember I was booked solid today.

“It’s all good, mate. We contacted everyone and told them you had a family emergency. Everyone rescheduled except one person we couldn’t get hold of. Justin stayed for the appointment then, he’ll close up shop and head here.”

Nodding, I look at my friends. “You guys don’t need to be here.”

“Like you could stop us and as if we would be anywhere else right now.” Erica crosses the room to close the window, there’s a cool breeze blowing in.

“Leave it open, please.” My voice takes on an edge even though I try to stop it.

“There’s a chill in the air, X,” Cynthia argues.

“Well get a fucking jumper!” I regret the words immediately. “Shit, sorry.” I drag a hand over my head and try to explain my reaction. “Ally loves being outside.”

Cynthia places a hand on my arm. “I understand, but she may get too cold and she’s sick enough.” Swinging my head towards the window, I watch as dark gray clouds begin to splash across the sky, overtaking the crisp blue of the morning. Without saying another word, I nod my head, indicating it’s okay to shut out the cold. I fix my gaze back on my girl.

“Xavier.” My father speaks from behind me and I turn in time to see a doctor move past him.

It’s not the same doctor who was in the emergency department yesterday.

“Doctor.” Relief sounds in my words.

“I’ve heard there’s been some drama going on with this young lady this morning.” He gives us a disapproving look.

I explain what I’d walked in on and without a word, he makes his way to Ally’s side. He begins checking her and I move out of his way to give him all the room he needs. After a few minutes, the doc examines the fresh bruising around her neck which seems to be getting darker by the second. He checks readings on the machines and writes stuff down in her patient folder. The continuing silence begins to sit like lead in the pit of my stomach and I’m about ready to rip my hair out when he finally speaks.

“We won’t know the extent of the damage caused until your wife wakes up. Sir, you need to prepare yourself for any complications.”

“When will that be?” I manage to get past the lump in my throat which rose the minute he said the word ‘complications’.

“At the moment everything is looking the way it should, but I won't know for sure until we wake her up. The damage to her throat is considerable and I won’t know what it’s done to the vocal center until she wakes. I’ll come back this afternoon and start to bring her out of the coma.”

I nod and turn to the window. The clear blue sky has vanished completely, overtaken by dark clouds and adding to my already shitty mood. I clench and unclench my fists to try and stop the rage swirling heavy inside me.

“I’ll pop downstairs and grab some coffee." I barely hear Cynthia's voice over the pounding in my head.

I take the few steps to the window and lean against the ledge, watching as the sky above opens up and the rain begins to fall hard.

“X-man, would you like a coffee?" Beau asks.

I shake my head and watch as a crack of lightning flashes across the sky.

“Son." My father's voice penetrates the sound of the rain and anger at him takes hold.

He was supposed to be here. He promised he wouldn't leave Ally alone while I was gone. I feel my back muscles tense when he places a hand on my shoulder and grind my teeth together in an attempt to control my anger. I know there has to be an explanation. Not trusting myself to speak, I wait for him to talk.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t here, son. There was a call from your mother's nurse, your mother had a fall and hit her head."

The guilt riding his voice tears at my heart while anger simmers in my veins. Then, it hits me - fuck I'm a selfish prick. My dad is here with me, holding me together when he should be with my mother. I grip the window ledge a bit harder and bow my head. I feel ashamed of my attitude.

“I’m sorry, dad. Fuck...." Pushing myself to stand straight, I pace the floor, running my hands through my hair in dismay.

“You have nothing to be sorry about, no-one could have predicted what the fuck happened today with your mother or with your girl." He blows out a frustrated, tired breath and I study him while he peers at the ground. His shoulders are hunched and he looks completely fucking defeated. I know there’s something he isn't telling me and I steel myself for what he has to say.

“What is it?”

Locking his eyes with mine, I notice the worry lying there and the hesitation before he opens his mouth to speak.

“Ally’s mum got loose, she took off and no-one can find her."

“What the fuck?” I head for the door, ready to go and find the bitch.

“Shit! Xavier, stop!" Dad races up behind me and grips me firmly on the shoulder to stop me leaving.

“You need to stay and look after your girl, let the police do their job," he grunts out.

I swing around to face him.

“How the fuck am I supposed to let them do their job when they lost her to begin with?"

“It wasn't their fault, son. The security guard allowed her to use the bathroom and she climbed out a window.

“Fuck, dad." I’m at a loss as to what to say, climbing through a window to escape is the oldest trick in the book.

“Listen to me. You stay the fuck here. I’m going to go and check on your mother and when I get back we'll take it from there.

“Fine.” I’m torn between finding the bitch and making sure my woman is fine.

Dad reaches over and squeezes my shoulder before leaving. I sit my ass down and gather Ally’s hand in mine. When I glance around the room I find everyone is gone, probably to get coffee.

“I'm right here, Baby." I kiss each of her delicate fingers.

The dark clouds from outside linger over my head, I know in my heart, the clear crisp blue sky won’t return to my life until my girl is awake again.

I’m not sure what time it is, everything seems to be passing in a blur. I was aware of the doctor coming in with a nurse and as the she checked Ally’s vitals, the doctor injected some medicine into the cannula on the back of her hand. It’s supposed to bring her out of the coma they put her in, but the doc said it could take a few hours and when her body is ready for her to wake, she will.

I place Ally’s hand on the bed, lean back in my chair and stretch my back. The guys are back and Cynthia is on the other side of the bed reading a book out loud. I must have really zoned out not to notice, or even hear, her reading. I raise my eyebrows at the next sentence out of her mouth.

“What the fuck are you reading to my woman?” Confusion laces my voice, but I can’t help the chuckle which leaves my lips. It feels good to laugh.

Stifling a laugh herself, Cynthia manages to answer me. “It’s called Broken Bastard by A.L Simpson, I found it on Ally’s bookshelf. It’s book one in the Broken Series I brought book two with me also. The blurbs on the backs of the books sounded really good so, I thought I’d give them a try.”

She shrugs, reaches down for the bag she’s packed for Ally and pulls out another book. She holds it up so I can see the cover. When I look at the guys who are leaning against the window, they shrug their shoulders and continue to stuff their faces with food. Catching Erica’s eye, I see she is smiling around a mouthful of food before she covers her mouth to speak.

“It’s a great story so far. Don’t stop, Cynthia, keep going.” She laughs and the guys groan.

I think I’m a little intrigued about this story if it makes the guys groan like that.

“I got you a sandwich from the cafe downstairs." Erica reaches down and grabs a sandwich in a sealed packet from her bag.

“I'm good." I shake my head, not interested and not sure if I could stomach anything right now.

“X, you need to eat something," she insists, but I shake my head again and wave her off.

“You’re going to need your strength for when Ally wakes up." Stubbornness coats Erica’s words, it becomes obvious she won’t be taking no for an answer. She stands, rounds the bed and thrusts the sandwich towards me. I still don’t take it.

“Just eat the fucking sandwich, brother," Beau growls.

I'm about to snap, but then I see the worried look on all their faces. I try to think of the last time I ate but nothing is coming to me. Reluctantly I take the package and open it to find a simple ham, cheese and tomato sandwich. Lifting it to my mouth, I take a bite. Seemingly satisfied, Erica sits back down and the boys go back to stuffing their faces. The sandwich is bland, tasteless and every bite seems to lodge in my throat before sitting like lead in my stomach. I eat a couple more mouthfuls, wrap the other half up and place it on the small bedside table for later.

Erica mumbles something to the boys, but I don't give a shit. I know my appetite won't be back until my girl is awake and eating herself.

Picking Ally’s hand back up, I entwine her fingers with mine and try to relax. Resting my head against the side of the bed, I watch my girl. I’m hoping any moment now to see the slightest movement telling me she is coming back to me. The moment Cynthia starts to read again, a phone ringing cuts through the otherwise silent room. Bending over and rummaging through her bag, Cynthia finds her phone, places it against her ear and answers the call.

“Hey, Jace, is everything okay?”

She listens to the guy on the other end of the phone and from the corner of my eye, I notice Justin has stopped eating and is standing straighter with a possessive look on his face.

“Thank you so much for this I owe you big time." She rubs her forehead as a small smile graces her lips. “Hey little man, are you behaving yourself for Jace?"

She listens intently and I'm guessing she’s talking to her son.

“Oh wow, you’re one very lucky boy.” She pauses. “Okay, well put him back on the phone and I’ll either see you tonight or in the morning ... I love you too, buddy."

She’s quiet for a moment and it seems everyone in the room has stopped what they are doing to listen in.

“Jace, I can never thank you enough for doing this. If you take him on the back of your bike again, please drive carefully,” she stresses before laughing at something he says in answer. “Okay, bye." She ends the call before placing her phone back in her bag. The tension, which has been building in the room since she first answered the call, is finally broken with a pissed off sounding Justin.

“Who the fuck was that?"

“It was...” Cynthia starts to speak but Justin is on a roll and cuts her off.

“Whoever the fuck it was better back the fuck off!”

I watch as Cynthia's shoulders stiffen. “No matter what you think, Justin, it is none of your friggin business.” Her voice is colder than ice.

“Like fuck it isn't,” he spits out.

“My life does not fucking concern you anymore, you made that quite clear years ago so, don't start to pretend to give a fuck now." She speaks angrily before picking the book up from her lap and turning to where she left off.

Looking over at Justin, I see the pain etched into his face at her words. He opens his mouth to speak but I shake my head.

“Now isn't the time for this shit, save it for later."

Justin throws his hands in the air and blows out a hard breath before apologizing. Cynthia nods and mutters a quiet ‘sorry’ before she clears her throat and begins reading again. After a few moments, the air around us settles and I concentrate on listening to her soft voice. The words about the guy in the book waiting for the love of his life to come back to him, ricochet around my head. I swallow as the pain in my chest seems to intensify with each word is spoken. I draw my chair up closer to Ally’s face, bend down and whisper in her ear to keep fighting. I beg her not to give up on me now and promise that I will prove to her every day that this is where she belongs -next to me. I vow, no matter what, I will always be here. Right next to her fighting when she can't.