“Yeah,” he says, his gaze dropping once again. “You don’t need to worry about me. All I want is to see you better.”
My gaze sails down my body and I lift my gown, peering through the neck hole to assess the damage. “How bad is it?”
“Not as bad as it looks,” he tells me. “You’ll be back on your feet soon. The knife didn’t hit any vital organs, but it was close. Just a little bit lower and you would have been taking laxatives for at least six to eight weeks.”
My brows shoot up, horror rocking through my body at the thought of having to take laxatives for weeks on end. “Fuck. Really?” I gasp. Nobody wants to see me on laxatives. I had an unfortunate incident with a gummy once, and I turned into a human squirt machine. And not in a good way.
“Yeah,” he says as a stupid grin cuts across his face. “That would have been a fun conversation.”
“Oh, I’m so glad my misery amuses you,” I say, though we both know the smile on his face would have made it all worth it … kind of. Okay, not really, but at least it helps.
“I’m sorry,” he says, his eyes sparkling with laughter as he tries to control his face. Though if I’m honest, I’d take that smile a million times over the hopelessness from a moment ago. “I really don’t mean to laugh, it’s just the look on your face. Laxatives don’t agree with you?”
“We are so not talking about this.”
“Call it market research. After all, I plan on spending the rest of my life with you, and at some point, something will happen, and you’ll have to take them. Don’t you think it’s best to get it all out in the open now?”
“Trust me, if I was on laxatives, everything would already be out in the open, and it wouldn’t be pretty.”
Tanner laughs and leans forward to press his lips to mine. “I fucking love you,” he tells me, “but please don’t ever put that mental image in my head again.”
I grin right back at him, loving the warmth I feel from him. “And risk never grossing you out ever again?” I gasp, feigning outrage. “What kind of life would that be?”
Tanner rolls his eyes and settles back into his chair, his brow arching with curiosity. “So I suppose this isn’t the time to remind you about all the butt stuff you so desperately want?”
My cheeks flush with embarrassment, despite Tanner being the one person I don’t need to be embarrassed in front of. Though, I’m more humiliated that I let a comment like that slip out in front of Riley. I can only imagine what that idiot is going to do with it. “You’re an asshole,” I tell Tanner, just in case he forgot. After all, it’s been a while since I reminded him.
Tanner laughs and shakes his head. “Seriously, Killer? You make it too easy.”
I love the way his eyes sparkle as he laughs, and it pains me to burden him with the questions I’ve been holding back. Unfortunately, my desperation can’t wait any longer. “How are Jax and Addie?” I ask, watching as all the happiness seems to drain from his face the moment I mention his sister.
“They were lucky,” he tells me. “Well … not as lucky as you, but considering the alternative, they’re lucky,” he says. “The knife tore straight through Jax’s liver. He only got out of surgery an hour ago, so I don’t have more details than that, but from what I can find on google, he’ll be out for a while. A few months maybe. Enough to end the football season for him.”
“Shit,” I mutter, my lips pressing into a hard line. “That’s gonna destroy him.”
“Understatement of the fucking year,” he tells me. “That’s not a conversation any of us wanna be around for.”
“At least he’s still breathing,” I say. “That’s all that matters.”
“Try telling that to Addie,” Tanner says, darkness swarming his deep tone.
My brows furrow, watching the array of emotions crossing his face. “What’s that supposed to mean?” I question, a hint of desperation seeping through my tone.
“Colby punctured her right lung,” he explains. “The knife slipped off her rib and went straight through the lung. She’s lucky to be alive.”
“Holy shit,” I breathe, the thought of losing her wreaking havoc on my mind. “Is she alright though?”
“Physically she’ll be alright, but mentally? I don’t know. She was messed up after the first attack, and now this? I don’t know if I’ll ever see the carefree version of Addison she was before Colby got his hands on her. I’m just …” He pauses as his hands ball into tight fists, his tone lowering to a soft whisper. “I’m just glad it’s over. He’s gone and we can just focus on getting her the help she needs.”
“How long until she’s out of here?”
He shrugs his shoulders. “Mom’s been in with the doctors, so I’ll know more after that, but I suppose it really depends on the severity of it and what kind of damage Colby did. Google can’t help me with that shit. All I know is that Addie won’t be dancing for a while, and that’s gonna kill her. She’s already been off since the first attack.”
“Shit, well you know I’m here if she wants—”
A soft knock sounds at the door and not a moment later, it’s pushed open and Arizona’s head pokes through the small gap. “Can I come—oh, shit! You’re awake,” she squeaks, her puffy, red-rimmed eyes lighting up with relief.
Arizona barges through the door, flinging it open and storming into my room. She cuts across the end of my bed and all but climbs over Tanner’s lap to get to me. Her arms fly out wide before she crashes into me, and within seconds, she’s sobbing into the crook of my neck.
Tanner gapes at me over Arizona’s shoulder before awkwardly climbing out from beneath her and moving to the far corner of the room. Arizona wails against my neck, releasing all her pent-up frustrations and fears, and all I can do is hold her. “Are you okay?” I murmur, trying to crane my neck to get her hair out of my face.
“I tho—I thought I was,” sob, “going to,” sniff, “lose you.”
My heart breaks for her. I can’t even imagine how everyone must be feeling right now, watching their best friends being taken away by paramedics, their hands and clothes soaked in blood, not knowing if we were going to survive. It would have been the scariest thing they’ve ever been through. “You think you can get rid of me that easily?” I tease. “I’m like a bad rash that won’t go away, no matter how hard you try.”
“You’re gross.”
“Yeah, well, you had Riley’s junk in and around your mouth at the lake, so technically, that makes you grosser.”
Arizona laughs and pulls back, dropping her ass into Tanner’s vacated chair before blowing her cheek out with a heavy breath and wiping her tears on the back of her sleeves. “Holy shit,” she mutters under her breath before finally raising her chin and meeting my stare again. “Okay. I think I’m alright.”
“You sure?” I ask. “If you need to cry some more, I can kick Tanner out. It’s no problem.”
“Over my dead body,” Tanner mutters from the back of the room, leaning against the wall and crossing his strong arms over his chest, his biceps on full display with those damn tattoos that make my mouth water.