Chapter 3

Chapter Three

T he door slams open and I jerk awake. Oh shit, he's here. He actually came. I can't let him see me looking like this. He won't like it. I open my eyes and glance around the room, my blurry vision settling on a male form.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I… I'll get dr essed. I'll clean myself up," I whisper, while trying to coax my body upright.

Everything hurts. I didn't bother to ask what my injuries were when the nurses and doctors came to check on me. I don't need to know. I just need to push through the pain and get up. Andrew doesn't like it when I'm not presentable.

A woman should always look her best, Montana. Are you a woman or a common whore? Because if you're going to dress like a whore, I'll have no choice but to treat you like one.

The memory of his warning rings through my head as I attempt to stand.

"Tanna, Stop moving."

I freeze. He must have done a real number on my head this time around. Because that voice… that nickname… Only two people have ever called me that. My brother and?—

Nope, not going there. Luke is not here. He can't be here. He wouldn't be here.

"Tanna, you're okay. It's going to be okay." He touches my hand and I freeze. There's that voice again, that spark of electricity that zaps through my hand as his skin makes contact with mine. It's him.

"Luke?" I question quietly before peering up at him. "Am I dreaming? "

"Do you dream about me often, Tanna?" He chuckles, and I try to move again. "Fuck, you really need to stop trying to get out of that bed or you're going to hurt yourself," he says, his tone a little harsher now.

I stop while doing my best to sink into the mattress. "Sorry… I… Why are you here, Luke?"

"The better question is why didn't you call me the first time this happened to you, Tanna?" He sounds pissed off, and I try to take my hand out of his, which only seems to have him holding on tighter.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I was in a car accident." I refuse to meet his glare, choosing to stare out the window instead. "You didn't have to come. If I wanted you here, I would have called you." I know I'm being a bitch, but I need him to leave. I can't have him here. I don't want him to see me like this.

"I don't care if you want me here or not. I'm not leaving without you."

I still don't look at him. Maybe if I ignore him, he'll go away. What if Andrew does come by? What if he sees Luke? If that happens, things will only get worse for me. Luke doesn't get it. No one does. My heart starts beating faster, the beeping of the machine next to me just as frantic sounding .

"Tanna, what's wrong?" Luke asks.

"You can't be here." This time, I turn my head to look at him. "I can't… You have to leave."

"Who did this to you, Montana? You want me to leave? Fine, I'll leave. But I'm gonna need a name first."

The door opens and Mrs. Jameson walks in. "Montana, how are you feeling?"

"I don't want visitors." I plead with my eyes. Someone needs to listen to me. Needs to hear what I'm trying to tell them.

"Oh, well, um…" She glances between me and her son.

"It's okay, Mom. I've got this," Luke tells her as he pushes up from the little hospital chair. "I'm gonna go talk to one of the docs about releasing you. Then I'm taking you back to Vancouver with me."

"Why?" I ask, instead of insisting that I'm not going with him.

I can't go to Vancouver. I really can't.

"Because Sean would kick my ass if he knew I let this happen to you," Luke says, knocking the wind out of me. He's here because of his loyalty to my brother. It has nothing to do with me.

"Sean's dead, Luke. He's not coming back, and if he cared what happened to me, he wouldn't have died," I grind out. I'm angry. At everyone. Including my brother.

"Sean fucking loved you more than anything else, Montana. Don't you ever think or say otherwise. Especially today." Luke turns and storms out of the room.

"I'm sorry," Mrs. Jameson whispers as she watches the door slam closed. "He means well. He just… Today's hard for him."

Yeah, it's not a picnic for me either.

"I know," I say while keeping my thoughts to myself.

Today is the anniversary of my brother's death. The day he left me behind. Sometimes I think that maybe selfishness is just in our blood.

"Let him help you, Montana."

"I… I was in a car accident. I don't need help," I insist. Because if I say it enough times, it becomes the truth.

"Okay. But just… go home with him, at least until you're healed up." She smiles and pats my leg in that motherly way she has.

I could go home with him. No one would know. Then I can come back. Things can return to normal. Andrew won't look for me for a few weeks. He never does. After we have an… incident, he di sappears before he pops up again as if nothing happened.

I can spend a few weeks in Vancouver. Let Luke get his need to help me, for the sake of my brother, out of his system and then return home. No one has to know. Andrew doesn't have to know.

Luke shoves through the door with a plastic bag in hand. "I got you some clothes from the gift shop. They're nothing flashy but sure beats walking out of here in a hospital gown."

I look at him with wide eyes. I don't know what to say. "Thank you."

"I spoke to the doctor. You're coming home with me, Tanna. I'll have someone come to the house to check up on you daily. But he says you should be fine." Luke pauses after placing the bag at the end of the bed. "You want me to help you get dressed?"

If my face weren't so black and blue, because I don't need to see it to know it is, I would be mortified at how red my cheeks are right now. "Um… no."

"I'll wait outside," Luke says, stopping to glance at me over his shoulder. "Call out if you need me."

Mrs. Jameson smiles at her son before turning back in my direction. "I'll help you, sweetie."

It takes a while, but eventually, I manage to get steady on my feet. And with a little assistance, I'm dressed in a pair of sweats and a hoodie. I must be losing my mind, going home with Luke. But it has to be a better option than being stuck in this hospital. And, honestly, I don't have the strength to argue with him right now.

Luke is in the room and by my side within seconds of Mrs. Jameson calling out for him. He wraps an arm around my waist and I flinch. I don't do it consciously. It's more out of habit.

"Shit, did I hurt you?" he asks. "Should she even be walking, Ma?"

"You want a chair, Montana?" Mrs. Jameson asks.

"No, I can walk," I tell her, then look to Luke. "I just… Can you hold my hand?"

"Of course. Whatever you need." He pulls his arm back and I feel like I can breathe again. I try to steady myself when he reaches for my hand. I really do try, but I think he notices my discomfort. Because his jaw clenches like he's mad.

"Sorry."

"You don't have anything to be sorry about," he says. "Come on, let's go home."

It takes a bit, but I'm slowly able to walk out of the hospital on my own two feet. There's a Range Rover parked out front. Luke leads me that way before opening the front passenger door. I'm holding on to the frame, about to lower myself onto the seat, when I notice a man in the back. A huge man.

"That's Grayson, one of my teammates. He took the drive with me," Luke says.

I pause, looking from him to the man. I know who he is. I, like most people around here, watch hockey. Even if I usually only catch the highlights after Andrew banned me from watching the game when he found out I knew Luke.

"You are safe with me, Montana. I won't let anyone hurt you. Never again," Luke whispers as he helps me into the car.

I nod my head, but I don't believe his words. It's also not up to him. Whatever happens to me is my fault. No one else's. I caused this. I didn't listen when I should have. I knew I'd get caught with those textbooks eventually. It was only a matter of time. I'm sure Andrew has seen to it that I'm disenrolled by now. The evidence was all over the floor after he flipped the couch. Which means he knows I lied to him when I said I withdrew last year.

I settle into my seat and close my eyes. It'll take us three hours to make it to Vancouver. If I at least pretend to be asleep, I won't have to talk. Because, right now, I don't want to talk to anyone.