Tied - Part Three (The Tied Series) (2 page)

I hadn’t been able to see much of him in the hospital. It seemed like his family was always hovering around and I didn’t want to get in their way. They were welcoming enough but they were obviously stressed and not up to meeting a new girlfriend - if I was even a girlfriend. I thought I was, but Lockett wasn’t always clear.

And he doesn’t like titles
.

We were hanging the banner on the wall next to the kitchen table when the front door unlocked. Amber and Finn rushed to open it but I held them back. “Stay out of the way,” I said, “Let them get him inside, first.”

Lisa held the door open, and Josh followed with Lockett leaning heavily on him, the thick cast dragging behind him.

“Where the heck are his crutches?” I asked. He should have been in a wheelchair but everyone had lost that argument days ago. Inside the hospital he had no choice but the minute he stepped a foot outside, he swore he’d break one to pieces before being seen in it.

“He refused them,” Lisa said, her voice tight. She and Lockett exchanged an angry look as he passed inside, tripping and stumbling as Josh helped him forward.

“I’m not using any fucking crutches,” he grumbled.

“The kids?” Lisa reminded him. They were watching him wide-eyed.

“Maybe Uncle Rob will let you sign his cast later?” I suggested, hoping to keep them calm. Amber’s eyes glistened with unshed tears. “You can draw some funny pictures if you want, I’m sure he won’t mind.”

“Later,” he grumbled. They slowly made their way around the corner and down to Finn’s room, where he’d be staying at least until his next surgery.

My heart broke for him as I watched him drag his leg behind him like a dead limb. There were dark circles beneath his eyes. He probably hadn’t been sleeping at all. “He’ll regain use of it,” Lisa had explained to me earlier, but clamped her mouth shut when I pushed for more details.

While Josh got him settled, Lisa herded the kids to the kitchen table. “Homework,” she said firmly.

They kept glancing back toward the bedroom while I tried to encourage Finn through his math problems. Lockett and Josh were talking about something - we could tell they were upset, but we couldn’t make out the words.

“I don’t want the meds and I don’t want the crutches! Just bring me a fucking drink and leave me alone!” Lockett’s voice cut through the room.

Lisa stormed down the hall to his room. The kids looked to me, and I shook my head. “He’s just upset,” I said. “Let’s finish up, and maybe your mom will let you play that video game you guys like. How’s that sound?”

“Good,” they both said, but they weren’t convinced.

We were closing up the textbooks when Lisa returned looking frazzled. Josh trailed behind her, shaking his head.

“Just take it easy,” he said to her, “Give him a little time to adjust. He’s in a lot of pain, too.”

“That doesn’t give him a free pass to frighten the kids,” she said, looking between the two of them. “Are they done with their homework?”

“Yes,” they both said.

“Go to the living room. We’ll order pizza tonight.”

That put smiles on their faces. “Can we play our games?” Finn asked. When Lisa nodded, they took off running.

I was torn - should I leave? Sit with the kids? Go sit with Lockett for a while?

“Maybe Katherine can talk him down,” Josh said, nodding at me. But Lisa shook her head.

“I don’t think so. That might make it worse. No offense, Katherine, but I know him. He’s just going to be mad at everybody, you included. Probably for a while.”

“I understand,” I said, “I should still see him, though. Is that okay?”

“Of course! Stay as long as you like. Have some pizza with us.”

“If you don’t mind…”

“Not at all.” She smiled grimly. “You’re practically family. The kids love you, they’ll feel better if you’re around.”

That was a relief. I didn’t want to overstay my welcome.

“Go,” Lisa said, “I’ll let you know when the food’s here.”

“Thank you.” I didn’t know why I was hesitating - why should I be afraid to see him? I hadn’t spent any time alone with him in the hospital, now was my chance to really see him, to ask him how he was really feeling.

I was just a little afraid of what the answers might be.

○●○●○●○●○

“Hey.” I cautiously entered the room, as if he were sick or sleeping. Finn’s room was painted blue and decorated with all manner of boy things - posters of famous wrestlers, Star Wars decals, racecars.

If it wasn’t for the huge cast on his leg, Lockett would almost look comical sprawled out on the too-small twin bed with the Darth Vader sheet set. The cast went halfway up his thigh - they’d even had to immobilize his knee. A loose pair of gym shorts was all he was able to pull on over it.
At least it isn’t cold out anymore. Not that he ever seemed to feel it.

“How’re you feeling?” I asked, quietly closing the door behind me.

“Fine,” he said. His expression was completely blank. Unreadable. He was anything but fine.

“Do you want me to get you anything from home?” He shook his head. “I’ve been feeding your fish.”

“Thanks.”

Why was I so hesitant to approach? I had no reason to be afraid of him. Taking a deep breath, I walked further into the room and sat next to him on the bed. There was little space but I squeezed against his side, careful not to jostle his leg.

“Do you know how long you’ll be stuck in this cast?” I asked. I still wasn’t sure why exactly they’d needed to immobilize him so thoroughly. Everyone was being very tight-lipped about it.

“Few weeks,” he shrugged.

“I missed you.”

His expression finally softened somewhat. “I missed you, too.” He rested a hand on my knee. “It was nice that my family all came together like that but they can be overwhelming.”

“Yeah. It’s a lot of people. I kept getting jostled and elbowed right out of the room.”

He squeezed my leg, then reached for me. “Come here.” I let him pull me into a tight hug. He nuzzled my neck and took a deep breath. God, it felt so good to be close to him again. I ran my nails up and down his back and he sighed with contentment.

“I should try to sleep,” he said when he finally let me go. “You, too. I’m guessing you’ve got a gig tomorrow?”

“Yeah. A few more days at the elementary school. Fifth grade this time.”

He chuckled. “I was an unholy terror in fifth grade. So were all of my brothers. So good luck.”

“It’ll be fun,” I said, playfully pushing on his shoulder. He snatched my hand and kissed my palm, locking his eyes on mine.

“All right,” he said, “Get out of here before Lisa puts you to work.”

A dismissal. It was light-hearted, but he wanted me to go.
He’s just tired, and his ankle probably still hurts
.

“You want us to bring you some pizza?”

“No. Whatever they were drugging me with fucked up my stomach. I just want to sleep.”

I stood, then leaned over and kissed the top of his head. “Sleep well,” I said.

Wrong move. He shrugged me off and looked away. “Yeah. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.” I slipped out the room, glancing back over my shoulder as I went. He didn’t look like he was going to sleep - he looked like he wanted to just stare straight ahead at nothing.

I’d have to find a way to cheer him up somehow. Me, and the kids, and Mallet and Riley - we’d think of something.

We had to. I didn’t like the look in his eyes. He looked… deflated. Defeated.

For someone who won so many fights, it was not a look I was used to seeing. And I knew I had to wipe it away.

CHAPTER 2

Alexa had been a lot less sisterly towards me after that first night following the attack. The incident was coming between her and Mallet, too. I could see it on their faces and was starting to get worried.

I hated that this was affecting their relationship. It was at least partially my fault. Mal might not have attended at all if I hadn’t insisted on going to the fight in the first place.

“She’s still mad?” I asked him the next morning. He looked like he hadn’t slept well. “Grumpy” wasn’t a word I ever would have applied to him, but lately he’d been pretty morose.

“Yeah.” He ran a hand through his hair, pausing to talk to me on his way to the kitchen. “She still thinks I could have somehow talked Lockett out of fighting at all that night.”

“Could you have?”

“Not a chance in hell.” He shook his head. “How is he? He’s still at his brother’s place, right?”

“Yeah. He’s… not great.”

“Not easy for a big guy like that to be knocked off his feet for who knows how long.”

“You should visit. We have to cheer him up.”

“Sure. I’ll try to stop in this week.” He wandered into the kitchen, still groggy.
Poor guy
.

“How are you holding up?” he called back to me.

“Fine, I guess.” But I didn’t really know the answer to that. How was I? I was afraid to walk alone at night. I was on high alert when I saw any pair of pedestrians coming my way. And I wasn’t sleeping well - not alone. Not with Lockett absent from the apartment.

They didn’t know that some nights I went sneaking into his room to sleep in his bed. They didn’t need to know - it would probably make me sound like I was crazy.

But I missed him. And with Alexa pulling away, I was feeling more and more lonely.

○●○●○●○●○

My fifth grade class wasn’t as bad as Lockett had made me fear. They were excited to have a substitute for the day and eager to find out if they’d get to watch a movie. I stood before them with a stern expression, wearing a clean white button-down and a conservative wool skirt that went below my knees. I may have been allowing Alexa to squeeze me into tight pairs of skinny jeans on the weekends, but I’d stick to a more professional style for work no matter what she said. No matter how the other teacher’s dressed. The kids wouldn’t respect me if I looked like I’d just gone grocery shopping or come home from some party.

“Maybe we’ll discuss a movie if you guys behave. Get through the first half of the day with no pranks and we’ll see. First things first, please hand in last night’s homework.” Luckily the class’ regular teacher had planned to be away for the following few days and had left notes for me - what needed to be collected, what needed to be covered, and what we could skip if the kids were too rowdy.

I was considering skipping the low priority lessons whether or not they misbehaved. Lockett’s face kept haunting me. Was there something he wasn’t sharing about his injury? I was beginning to suspect it was a lot worse than he was letting on, but I was afraid to ask. Afraid to upset him or to set him off.

I texted Patrick while the kids were off at lunch. When I’d first told him about the attack, he’d come running to see me. I was so distraught that I hardly even thought to thank him.

And here I was, calling him for support again.
He must be wishing he’d gotten someone much easier to sponsor by now
.

“Lockett’s home,” I typed, “Doesn’t seem like himself.”

“Aren’t you teaching?” he texted right back.

“Yeah. Kids are at lunch. I’m worried.”

“Don’t get distracted! Be the best sub those kids have ever had! Let’s meet later.”

He was right. I couldn’t afford to get distracted - I had to be the best I could be if I ever wanted to do this full-time. I couldn’t let anything knock me off course - not when I was getting so close.

I set a time and place with Patrick and toughed out the rest of the day.

And when the kids misbehaved, I didn’t cave and show them the movie anyway. Three of the boys folded a whole barrage of paper footballs and flicked two and three at a time across the room when my back was turned.

When I finally retrieved one, it had “Miss Riley” written on one side. Drawn on the other was a cross-eyed smiley face with its tongue hanging out.
I wonder if Lockett and his brothers ever pulled something like this
. I fought the urge to laugh and held up the little triangle. “This just lost you guys your movie. Sorry, everyone.”