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  “I’m so sorry.” I whisper. If I talk any louder, I’m sure my head will actually explode. He leans down and presses kisses to my lips.

  “Baby you have absolutely nothing to be sorry for. I’m sorry for the way I treated you when we were in high school, that I was responsible for even a second of your pain makes me sick. I’m sorry it took me so long to come back to you. I needed to try to forgive myself, so you could forgive me.” I give him the best smile I can manage.

  “I already forgave you.” I can see the relief on his face. He smiles at me and a few more tears fall.

  “I love you so much baby. I will never cause you an ounce of pain again. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there tonight to protect you.” I close my eyes again, not just because my head hurts, but to try to block out the images of what happened to me. I have never been so scared in all my life.

  The door opens and a nurse walk in.

  “She’s awake.” Campbell says to her with relief clear in his voice. I crack my eyes open to look at her.

  “Hello, Kennedy. I’m your nurse, Tammy. I’m just going to do a couple of tests before the doctor gets here to check you more thoroughly.” She asks Campbell to please stand to the side. She asks me my name, the year, if I remember what happened. She asks me who Campbell is, how old I am, and if I am feeling any pain. I answer all her questions and explain that my head is about to explode. She checks my pulse, blood pressure and listens to my heart. She brings a light up and shines it in both of my eyes.

  “Oh my God! OUCH!” I squeeze my eyes shut and cry from the horrible pain.

  “I’m so sorry, sweetie. As soon as the doctor checks you out I will give you pain medicine to help with that.”

  The doctor comes in and introduces himself as Dr. Keet. He unwraps my head to check the lacerations. He explained that my test results were all normal, but he would like to repeat them tomorrow. He presses on my stomach, legs, and arms. He explains the extent of my injuries to me, but all I can think about is the pain in my head.

  “Do you have any questions for me?” I close my eyes against the pain.

  “How long do I have to stay here and can I please have something to help this pain?” I hear him flipping through papers before he answers me.

  “I’d like to keep you a few days. I want to repeat all the tests, just to make sure everything is alright. I will have Nurse Tammy give you a shot of morphine so the relief is quick. You’re going to get an IV put in for fluids, that way when you need more they can inject it into the IV line.” I don’t even care that I will receive a shot. I need this pain to subside.

  I don’t open my eyes but I can hear Campbell quietly talking to the doctor. Nurse Tammy comes over to my side. “Kennedy, I’m going to give you an injection of morphine for you pain alright? I need you to try to relax for me.” I relax the best I can and she sticks me with the needle. The pain in my head is so serve I don’t even really notice the injection. “There you go sweetie. You should start to feel better in a few minutes. You will probably fall back to sleep. That’s good your body needs to rest.”

  I don’t want to sleep, I want to be with Campbell. I open my eyes, and notice the pain is already less. I look around for Campbell, but I can’t find him. My eyes begin to water.

  “What’s wrong sweetie? Do you need something?” I turn my head to look at her.

  “Where is Campbell?” She smiles at me.

  “You have yourself a good guy there. He hasn’t left your side even for a second. The doctor wanted to speak with your father, so Campbell went to get him. He asked me to stay with you until he got back because he wanted to wash up.” I am stunned by everything she just said.

  “My dad is here?”

  “Yes. He and Campbell sat with you for a while, your friends too. He and all your friends went to get a bite to eat.” I smile at the thought of everyone I love being together.

  Campbell walks back into the room with that sexy ass grin on his face. The morphine is doing its job so I have my eyes wide open. I am getting sleepy though, but I’m trying to fight it.

  “Well that is a beautiful sight baby. I love seeing your baby blues. How are you feeling?” He kisses me gently on the lips and smiles down at me.

  “Morphine is awesome.” He chuckles and my heart skips a beat. I’ve missed him so much. Once again, I begin to cry.

  “Oh, baby, what’s wrong?” I close my eyes against the heartache.

  “I missed you so much. I was going to come over tomorrow.” He wipes my tears.

  “Baby, open your eyes.” I do as he asks. “I was waiting at the bar for you. I missed you more then you could imagine. We are going to make it baby. Nothing will come between us again. I love you.”

  I smile up at him with teary eyes. He is my whole world. “I love you too.”

  Just then, the door opens and my dad comes in.

  “Daddy.” He comes over and kisses my cheek.

  “Hi, baby girl. You nearly gave me a damn heart attack. How are you feeling?” I love my dad so much. He has always been there for me, whether I wanted it or not.

  “The morphine made me feel better. How long have you been here?” He pulls up a chair to sit beside me.

  “I’ve been here for a while. I finally got to meet Campbell.” He raises his eyebrows at me. Crap, I didn’t even think about that. Obviously, he knew all about Campbell, I just didn’t tell him where he was from. I am guessing from the look on his face that he already knows.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t bring him home to meet you sooner.” He grabs my hand and gives it a quick squeeze.

  “Don’t worry about it. I’m glad I finally got to meet him. The circumstances suck though. Seriously, Kennedy how are you feeling?” It is taking a lot for me to stay awake at this point.

  “Tired, Dad. I am trying to stay awake though.”

  He leans over to kiss my cheek and my eyes start to close. “You need rest baby girl. Your brothers are on their way and we are going to stay the night at the hotel down the street. I’ll be back first thing in the morning. Love you.” I peel my eyes open. “Love you, Daddy.”

  I can feel that I am scared, but I don’t know why. I’m walking down the street on my way home from work. I keep looking around like I’m looking for something. My heart starts to race and I begin to walk faster. It is taking far longer than normal to make it home. I feel like I’m not moving. I begin to run. I can see my apartment complex and I run faster. All of a sudden, I am grabbed by my hair and slammed into a wall. “NOOOO!”

  I open my eyes gasping for air. I am franticly looking around.

  “Right here, baby. Look at me. I’m right here. Your safe, I won’t let anything happen to you. It was just a dream.”

  My eyes finally focus on Campbell standing over me. My head is pounding, heart is racing and I can feel the sweat on my forehead.

  “It was so real. I was so scared.” I confess looking up at him.

  “I know, baby, but I’m right here. I promise I won’t let anyone hurt you ever again.” He kisses my forehead. “How do you feel?”

  Not only is my head killing me, but now because of that dream I’m feeling nervous. “Not so good.”

  He kisses my forehead again and leaves the room, returning before I have time to question where he went. “They are going to bring you some medicine baby.” He sits back down in the chair next to my bed and grabs my hand with the cast.

  I turn my head, which wasn’t the best idea. “How long was I asleep for?” He looks at his watch.

  “Almost five hours.” It felt like I had only been asleep for minutes.

  “Did I wake you with my dream?”

  He gives me a grin. “No, beautiful.” My eyes widen.

  “You haven’t been to sleep yet?”

  “No, baby I haven’t. Making sure you’re okay is more important than sleep. Besides, I haven’t seen you so I’m making up for lost time.” Only he could get me to smile while being in so much pain.

  After the nurse quizzes me wi
th questions again, she gives me a shot in my IV. I don’t bothering trying to fight the sleep this time. I close my eyes and drift back to sleep. I have no idea how long I have been asleep, but I can hear Campbell talking to someone.

  “She slept most of the night. The doctor scheduled another MRI for some time today.” He is quite so I assume he is talking to someone on the phone. “No. When I spoke with the nurse before, she was pretty confident that the results would be fine. She said that because Kenz can answer all the questions that she believes the pain is from the external injuries.” He is silent again then he chuckles. “Me too, man. What time are you guys coming up?” It must be Young or Dick. “Okay that sounds good. Don’t forget to give that list to Maddie so she can get it all together before you head up here. Speaking of Maddie. Hello?” He laughs and I hear him walk closer to me. When I feel his lips on my forehead, I open my eyes. He smiles at me. “Good morning beautiful. How are you feeling?”

  I take a minute to figure that out. First thing I notice is that it is light outside, and while the brightness hurts my head I can say it’s not as bad as last night. “Morning. I think I may be in a bit less pain. Who were you talking to?” He pulls the chair close to my bed and sits down.

  “I was talking to Young. I told him to give the girls a list of stuff to bring up for you. I also talked to the nurse earlier and the doctor scheduled another MRI for later today, but you heard all that didn’t you?”

  “Yes. How is it possible that I am still tired? How long was I asleep this time?”

  He sips his water then looks at the clock. “You need your rest baby. Your body is healing, the best thing for you is sleep. You slept six hours this time. I’m not going anywhere baby, you can go back to sleep.” My heavy eyes make the decision easy and I drift back to sleep.

  When I wake up my dad and brothers are there. This time I am feeling more rested and manage to stay awake to talk with them for almost an hour.

  “Baby girl, I can see you’re getting tired. We are going to head out anyway. I’ll be back later after you have your tests done.” As much as I want to argue because I love having them here, I can’t. The nurse gave me a shot earlier and even though it was a lower dose, it is still making me sleepy. I try to stay awake until they all leave but I lose the battle.

  I wake up again to laughing. I open my eyes and see Maddie, Becca, Dick, and Young are here. They are laughing with Campbell and it makes my heart swell. I’ve missed this so much.

  “What is this a party?” Everyone snaps their heads toward me. I smile when the girls come rushing over. They are hugging me, crying, and telling me how much they love me.

  “Alright, give my girl some room to breathe.” They slowly pull away wiping their eyes.

  “You scared us Kenz.” Becca says.

  “Damn it, I was never that terrified in all my life.” Maddie adds.

  Young gives me a kiss on the cheek. “I’m so glad you’re alright Red.”

  Before I can respond, Dick gives me a quick kiss and whispers in my ear. “I’m so relieved Kenz. I just want you to know that he’s been going through hell without you. He loves you, but you know that right?” He pulls away and I shake my head in response.

  “Since Red will be here for a while, let’s play truth or dare hospital style.” Everyone bursts out laughing including me. This is where I belong, with this group of crazy ass people who love me as much as I do them.

  I got back from the MRI about an hour ago. I’m so glad that is over, it was difficult for me to stay still in the confined area. The nurse said that the doctor would be in to talk to us shortly, so I’m hoping it is soon. Everyone has left to eat dinner. Everyone except Campbell. He had Young grab him a burger before they left. I tried to convince him that he should go grab some food and a shower, but he refuses to leave me. I can see the exhaustion clear on his face.

  “Campbell, why don’t you go home and get some rest. I’m not going anywhere.” He gets up to throw his trash away and sits on the edge of my bed.

  “Baby, when I leave this hospital it will be with you.” He squeezes my feet, smiling at me. With everything he says or does, my heart begins to piece its self back together.

  “You say the sweetest things.” He shakes his head at me. He gets off the bed to come up by my head. I smile up at him and he leans down to press a kiss to my lips.

  He rests his forehead on mine and whispers, “Baby, I promise you I will do anything in my power to make sure you are always happy. The only time I am truly happy is when you are.” He kisses my lips again and pulls away when the door opens.

  Dr. Keet walks in with a new nurse. “Hi, Kennedy. How are you feeling?” I realize that I am feeling a little better.

  “My head hurts, but not as badly.” I tell him.

  “Good. Alright, I have the test results and everything came back perfect. There is no internal injury. The headaches you are experiencing are caused from the external injuries. I just want to have a look at your head.” He helps me sit forward and takes the gauze off. “You won’t need any stitches although you have some deep lacerations here. I’m going to have your nurse put some ointment on them. Let’s also keep the gauze off.” I have to admit that keeping the gauze off makes me feel better. I feel like I don’t look so injured. “Also, I don’t see any reason to keep you, so I will release you tomorrow. I want to stop with the morphine shots and start you on an oral pain medicine. When you are released tomorrow, it doesn’t mean you can jump back into running around. You’re still going to have to rest for a while. We will go over all of that before you leave tomorrow. Do you have any questions for me?”

  I can’t think of anything I would need to ask him. So he leaves and the nurse puts the ointment on my head. She then gives me my oral pain medicine. She tells me that I need to eat something. I still have no appetite, but I tell her I will try to eat something.

  It’s been hours since I spoke to the doctor. I managed to eat a little. My dad was here, as well as the whole gang. My dad had to get back home, now that he knew I was going home tomorrow. He made me promise to call him and check in. Maddie, Becca, Young, and Dick were so excited when they found out I was going home. They all left early because Young said they had shit to get ready. It’s just Campbell and me now. He is in his seat right by my bed holding my hand and texting someone. I look at his unbelievably handsome face, his tight shirt showing off his incredible body. Even though my head hurts and my wrist is broken, I suddenly need to feel his body next to mine.

  “Campbell?”

  He immediately looks up at me. “What’s wrong beautiful?”

  I smile because he has been nothing but attentive this whole time. “Nothing is wrong except I miss laying with you. Why don’t you come lay with me and we can both sleep tonight?”

  He gives me a grin, “Baby, that bed is not big enough for both of us. Plus, I don’t want to hurt you.”

  I move over closer to the edge to make room for him. “There is plenty of room. Please Campbell, I miss sleeping with you. I don’t want to wait until tomorrow when I go home.” I can see the struggle in his eyes. He doesn’t want to hurt me physically, but he doesn’t want to tell me no either. He slowly stands up and I can’t help but smile at him.

  He shakes his head but gives me that sexy ass grin. “You know I can’t deny you, baby.” He kicks off his shoes and climbs in bed with me. He was right, this bed is much too small for both of us. I move as far to the edge as I can to give him more room. Once he is situated, I move closer and lay my head on his chest. We both blow out a breath.

  “Damn I missed having you in my arms.” He says and kisses my forehead. I’m just about to tell him I’ve missed being there, when he runs his hand down my hair.

  “Ouch.”

  “Oh shit Kenz, I am so sorry baby. I wasn’t even thinking, it’s just a habit.” I work through the pain before I answer him. If he knows how badly it hurt, he’ll get out of this bed.

  “It’s okay. Just shocked me more than anything
. I have missed this so much, Campbell.” I press a kiss to his chest. We lay together in silence and before I know it, I’m asleep.

  I wake up to the sound of someone opening my door. I open my eyes to see who it is. It’s Nurse Tammy again. I don’t pick my head up but smile over at her. “You know he shouldn’t be in your bed, sweetie.” Of course I know that, but she is crazy as hell if she thinks I’m going to wake him up.

  “He hasn’t slept in days, please don’t wake him.”

  She winks at me and says, “I won’t say a word. Do you need any pain medicine?” I take the pill she gives me and quickly shallow it down. She leaves and I lay my head back down on his chest. Even with the pain I’m in, being stuck in this tiny bed in the hospital, it is the happiest I’ve been in weeks.

  I feel Campbell start to move under me. I open my eyes and look up at him. “Morning, baby. I haven’t been this happy to wake up in a while.”

  “Me either.” He carefully rolls me so I’m on my back and leans over me.

  “Does this hurt?”

  I shake my head at him. Even if it did hurt, I would suck it up because having him leaning over me like this is stirring feelings in my body I haven’t felt in far too long. We are staring in each other’s eyes and it has my heart beating franticly in my chest.

  “Fuck I’ve missed you baby. I’m sorry for everything. I need you, I cannot be without you.” He lowers his head and we begin to kiss. When his tongue touches mine, he swallows the moan I let out. I run my good hand up and into his hair. I can feel the evidence of his arousal on my leg. It spurs me on and I deepen the kiss. After a few minutes he pulls back staring at my face.

  “Baby, I need to stop or I will not be able too. It’s been much to long since I’ve been inside you, but I don’t want it to be in a hospital bed.”

  I smile up at him remembering all the times we made love. “These injuries better not prevent it when we get home today.”