The Hidden (The Hidden Trilogy) (27 page)

I grabbed onto a speaker, leaning against it for support until I could make it outside by myself. The vibrations from the bass felt nice, and distracted me until I heard the shouting too late. The booze made me slow to react, so when I looked up and saw the crowd parting in front of me for a fight that had broken out, I belatedly realized it was barreling straight towards me.

On my way to the kitchen to get Em some water, I kept an eye out for Matt and Mel. We’d managed to lose them at some point during the night, and they were our ride home.

A few drunk girls ogled and grabbed at me as I navigated through the darkened house. I had a sick feeling Em wouldn’t fare much better with the guys out there, considering her lack of clothing… 

I quickened my pace and started not-so-politely pushing people out of the way.

Shouting from the living room and the abrupt stop in music made me halt. That couldn’t be good. I turned back and pushed past a few people, emerging at the front of the living room. A fight had broken out between two men and the crowd had parted, giving them a wide berth. The two morons were all over the place, and it almost looked as if they were wrestling. One of them finally got the upper hand and yanked the other guy’s shirt over his head, blinding him as he wailed on him.

In his blind hurry to get away, the guy backed up, the crowd parting accordingly. The other guy wasn’t so quick to let this go, and yanked his shirt again, ripping it clean off him this time. With their playing field level, they went back at it, throwing indiscriminate punches and kicks. Those who couldn’t get away fast enough were caught in the fray, and most ended up getting a stray elbow to the head or torso. I craned my neck, trying to determine their trajectory.

That’s when I saw Emily standing in the same spot I’d left her, watching the oncoming brawl with a dumbstruck look.

“
Fuck
.” I launched myself into the crowd, tossing people aside like they weighed nothing more than tissue. I could reach her in half a second if I really needed to, but it wasn’t life or death. I needed to do
something
, though; otherwise the oblivious fighters would reach her before I did.

C’mon, Em, move! Get out of the goddamn way!

No matter how much I willed her out of harm’s way, she remained stuck in her precarious spot. I shoved the last few people aside, ignoring their cries and protests as I grabbed Emily’s arm, pulling her away seconds before Tweedledee and Tweedledumbass smashed into the speaker she’d been leaning on. I let go of her just as quickly and yanked the two imbeciles apart by the backs of their necks, stepping in-between them.

“
Enough!
” My voice boomed over the chatter of the crowd, instantly shushing them. The two men breathed rapidly. Both were bloody. The one on my right attempted to lunge at the one on my left again, and I shoved him back with one hand. He flew back, landing on his ass, and looked up at me with awe.

Crap. I guess for human standards, I pushed him a little hard. I needed to get out of here before anyone had a chance to question me.

I turned around, looking for Em. My heart stopped when I saw Mel crouched down over her crumpled body.

Chapter Forty-Two

Saturday, October 17
th

EMILY

If someone had asked me where I’d be at 1:45 in the morning following Kappa Psi Beta’s eighties party, Potomac Ridge Hospital would never in a thousand years have crossed my mind as an answer.

I still wasn’t quite sure what happened. One second I was propped up against the speakers, the next I was on the ground, in excruciating pain. I didn’t even remember falling. It was as if the ground came up to meet me, slamming into my side. It was unlike any pain I’d ever felt. I gasped, but the sudden influx of air only made my chest swell, making the pain that much more unbearable.

Mel was by my side in an instant, trying to get me up. My whole body tensed as I shook my head, afraid that if I moved, the pain would just get worse. I took shallow breaths between my clenched teeth. My heart raced and I squeezed my eyes shut, vaguely hearing Mel and someone else talking in hushed tones.

At the hospital, nurses made Thomas wait in the lobby while they took me back for x-rays, much to his frustration. He yelled and made a scene, until security told him to calm down or they’d escort him off the premises, to which Thomas responded, “I’d like to see you try.” Thankfully, Matt and Mel were able to subdue him, and I was able to follow the nurses back with relative peace of mind that he wouldn’t do something stupid.

By this point, my ribcage had ugly shades of black, blue, and purple. My arms and neck were also showing signs of discoloration. The ER doctor–and nurses–had mistakenly thought Thomas beat the living hell out of me. Plus, the little tantrum he threw in the lobby didn’t help portray him in a non-threatening, non-violent light. They even went so far as to ask me if I wanted to press charges.

When they finally let me go, I found Thomas sitting in one of the orange plastic chairs of the waiting room. Matt and Mel were nowhere to be seen. Thomas’s head hung down as I walked over to him.

“How many did I break?” he mumbled.

Very slowly, I sat next to him. “They’re not broken, they’re just…cracked.”
In several places.

His jaw clenched. “
How many?
”

“Just two.”

He lifted his head. His eyes were cold and a shade of navy so dark, it almost looked black. They matched his angry and impatient expression perfectly.

My eyes wandered down to the ground. “Or four.”

He hung his head back down, speaking slowly and quietly. “I am so, so sorry. I
never
meant to hurt you, Em. I was only trying to protect you.”

I wanted to touch him and comfort him somehow, but I quickly learned that it hurt like a bitch to lift my arms. So instead, I said, “I know. But it’s really not a big deal. The doctor said I should be fine in a month or two, and hey, look on the bright side” –I held up an orange pill bottle and shook it, rattling the pills inside– “I got drugs.”

His jaw twitched. “That’s not funny.”

I laughed, causing a sharp pain to slice through my side, and winced. “Ow, ow, ow. You’re right, that’s not funny.”

Emily grimaced as she slid off my jacket, revealing puffy, dark splotches blooming along her right side. My chest tightened as I looked away, setting her painkillers and a glass of water on the nightstand.

I
loathed
myself right now. I couldn’t believe
I
was the one to hurt her. I’d only been trying to protect her, but I didn’t realize how much force I’d put into pushing her out of the way.

She reached down to pull off her skirt and tights, wincing with every movement.

“Here, let me.” I knelt in front of her, my eyes wandering over her bruised and battered torso. Ace bandages wrapped her chest, her purpling skin peeking out all around it. Her left side was unmarred, except for a handprint-sized bruise around her upper arm. It was
my
handprint, from where I’d yanked her out of the way.

She placed her hands on my shoulders to steady herself as she lifted her foot. I slipped off her shoe and sock, then put her foot on the ground and repeated the process on her other foot. Reaching up, I pulled down her skirt and leggings, taking them off one leg at a time. The side of her right thigh and hip were blue as well. It was a miracle she hadn’t broken it.

I rested my hand on her good side and dipped my head, kissing her belly. My chest constricted, my words coming out choked. “I’m so sorry, Em.” The lump in my throat made it hard to breathe and my chest burned.

I’d hurt the only thing I loved in this world. How fucking sorry was that?

Emily threaded her fingers through my hair, holding me to her as my eyes watered. “I know, baby,” she murmured. “I know.”

Chapter Forty-Three

Thursday, October 22
nd

Gabriel frowned as he sat between Beth and I. “Why do I have to sit bitch?”

Beth pressed play, the TV screen coming to life as the opening credits started. “You just do, okay?” She leaned back against the armrest and draped her legs across Gabriel’s lap.

He sighed, though I could tell he wasn’t seriously irritated. “So I’m your leg rest now?”

“Yep.” She foisted the giant bowl of popcorn into his hands. “
And
you’re the popcorn holder,” she said, giving him a shit-eating grin.

“Lovely,” he muttered, holding the bowl above Beth’s shins.

I mouthed, “Sorry,” and gave him an apologetic smile. Reaching over, I tried not to grimace at the pain in my side as I took a handful of popcorn.

Beth’s phone went off in her room and she jumped up, nearly knocking the popcorn everywhere as she yelled, “Pause the movie!”

Gabriel traded the bowl for the remote as Beth’s bedroom door closed behind her. He turned to face me, and he didn’t even have to say anything. His expression said plenty.

I pulled my knees up and exclaimed, “I know!” as quietly as I could. “I’m sorry.” My face felt like it was ten different shades of red, and I had the overwhelming urge to hide it.

He glanced back at Beth’s door. “I don’t see why we need a chaperone. We’re not twelve. It’s not like I’m gonna feel you up on the couch if there’s no one looking.” He crossed his arms as he sulked. The rolled-up sleeves of his oxford highlighted pale, muscled forearms–

Damn it, stop noticing shit like that!

I dropped my eyes. “This is how it has to be.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah… I know.” He sighed and pulled my feet out, laying them across his khaki-covered lap. I should
not
be acutely aware of how close to his crotch I was.

My brow arched at his gesture, but he just smiled.

“Didn’t you get the memo? I’m the official leg rest during the movie. Might as well make good use of me.”

I was about to protest when Beth bounded out and plopped down on the other side of Gabriel. She grabbed the remote and started the movie. “I didn’t miss anything, did I?”

Chapter Forty-Four

Saturday, October 24
th

EMILY

“Thomas Jefferson or Benjamin Franklin?”

My nose wrinkled in disgust. “Ugh, neither,” I said, leaning forward to grab another Twizzler off Thomas’s coffee table.

“The rules of ‘Who Would You Rather?’ are unflinching–you gotta pick one.” Thomas grinned and sank back against the armrest of his couch.

Damn it, he was right.

I bit off a chunk of Twizzler, chewing as I thought about it. Both were unattractive and both were philanderers, but only
one
reportedly had a venereal disease. “Okay, I pick Thomas Jefferson. But only because Benjamin Franklin had syphilis.”

Thomas laughed, right as his cell phone buzzed on the coffee table. He reached forward to pick it up, his smile fading as soon as he saw the number.

“Hold on, I’ve gotta take this,” he said, getting up.

I watched him disappear from the living room, his shoulders tense as he frowned, almost like he was concentrating really hard on something. His footsteps were heavy on the wood floor of the hallway and foyer.

The whole thing struck me as odd. For one, Thomas never took phone calls in another room. And two, I’d actually
heard
him as walked through the house. He was usually so quiet that it was kind of unsettling.

I pulled my knees up to my chest and waited for him to come back.