5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Mia

Today has been going so well, I almost forgot why I’m here. Almost. Until I got a text message from my brother Gabe telling me he talked to the cops. The restraining order is now set, but there’s nothing they can do in the meantime.

Don will receive the restraining order tomorrow.

My entire body breaks out into goosebumps just thinking about it. What if it pisses him off and he tries to find me? I don’t even know how easy it is for stalkers to find people. Did I need to do something to make sure I couldn’t be tracked down?

I’m trying my best to act like I’m okay. Layla and her family have been so warm and welcoming. Well, all of them except for the one sitting next to me—the one I’m living with.

I can’t get a read on him. I sense anger, but also sadness. With everything I’m going through, you would think it would scare me, but it doesn’t. He doesn’t seem crazy. He just seems like he’s trying to bury emotions that he’s working really hard to avoid.

“This is really good,” he whispers to me like he wants it to be a secret.

I find myself smiling. “Thanks. I’m glad you’re enjoying it.”

“Oh my gosh. Marry me, Mia,” Liam shouts from across the table. “This food is the best I’ve ever had.”

“Excuse me?” Layla throws a roll at him. “You could at least be mindful of the fact that I’m right here.”

I can’t help but laugh at them. Everyone reminds me so much of my family. Now that I think about it, Eric reminds me a lot of my brother, Gabe. They share an intensity about them. Gabe was burned by his ex-wife who decided being a mother and wife wasn’t for her, so she took off to California.

It messed him up for a long time.

Liam continues to flirt with me and throw compliments my way, which makes Eric shift uncomfortably in his seat. I doubt it’s because he’s jealous, though my heart flutters at the idea of someone like Eric being jealous over me.

He seems so…powerful. What would it be like to be the object of desire from those angry eyes?

After we finish our dinner, I convince everyone that I can handle the dishes so that they leave. I can tell Eric has reached his limit, and I kind of feel bad for being the reason his home has been invaded like this.

Josh and Layla are the last to leave. After Eric closes the door, an awkward silence instantly falls between us.

He pulls at the back of his neck. It’s either a nervous habit or he is extremely tense. “Uh, thanks for dinner. I can get the dishes.”

I would be shocked that he offered, but I heard his mother scold him about not helping me since I’ve worked on the meal all day.

I fight back a smile. “I see you listen to what your mother tells you.” He looks confused. “I heard her telling you to help me with dishes.”

“Oh,” he smiles, “yeah, she likes to make sure I remember not to be my grumpy self sometimes. But she’s right, I should do the dishes.”

He’s even hotter when he isn’t being a complete dick. Not that I’m interested in men at the moment. In fact, I’m wondering if maybe his idea of being a loner is the route I should be taking.

“I’m not going to let you do the dishes all by yourself. How about we both do them? It’ll get done faster that way.”

He shrugs his shoulders. “Sounds like a good offer. I’ll take it.”

We walk into the kitchen where I’m all of a sudden eternally grateful for whoever invented the dishwasher.

“I rinse and you load?” he asks as we survey the damage.

“Sure. Let’s start with the dinner plates and silverware. We can handwash all the big pots and pans.”

We get to work quickly but spend most of the time in silence. There were a couple forced questions about the weather and his family, but I can tell he wasn’t in the mood to get to know me.

I still can’t figure out whether he doesn’t like me or just doesn’t like people. I watched him after dinner with his brothers and saw his tension ease a bit with a few laughs. Maybe it’s just me. It wouldn’t be the first time I had been looked over by an attractive man.

My brothers have always been oohed and aahed over, but I was just their annoying little sister who nobody really paid attention to. I went through some awkward years like most girls do, and a number of their friends weren’t shy with their “jokes.”

In the beginning, I really thought Don was different. He was kind, sweet, and attentive. It wasn’t until he became overwhelming and controlling that I realized his level of attentiveness was odd.

“I’m gonna be outside in the barn,” Eric says, pulling me out of my thoughts.

“Sounds good. I’ll probably just turn in. Good night, Eric.”

“Night, Mia.”

I head up to my bedroom to read a book and call my parents. I don’t want them to worry themselves to death over my safety so it’s best to check in. I slip into my pastel-pink silk tank top and shorts then climb into bed under my fluffy comforter. Despite the awkwardness with Eric, the house is a cozy place. So much better than a hotel. Plus, Josh showed me the security system.

It’s exactly like the bat cave, but it’s nice. I feel safe here.

I grab my book off the nightstand when I hear a low scream come from the backyard. I jump off the bed and look out the window. I see Eric walking towards the backdoor, grabbing his arm with his hand while he lets out another scream.

Oh, shit. He’s hurt.

Without another thought, I run down the stairs and outside onto the grass in my bare feet. It feels slightly wet, though I don’t remember it raining, but I run as fast as I can. As soon as I get to him, he stops, bends over, and grunts.

“Oh my god!” I scream. “What happened?”

“My arm,” he says through the pain with clenched teeth. “I was in the barn. Shelf broke. Everything fell on me.”

He’s in so much pain he can’t even speak in complete sentences. His hand is holding his arm over his blood-soaked shirt. I don’t know much, but I think I need to tie it off to stop the bleeding.

My knowledge of this is coming from movies, so there may not be any accuracy to it. I look around, fearing we’re too far away from the house to grab a towel.

I rip off my top. “Move your hand. I’m going to tie this around your wound. I think we need to stop the bleeding.”

He lets go of the wound and I work so quickly I don’t even get a good look at it. It’s probably for the better because my specialty is wine, and if I’m being honest, blood makes me a bit woozy.

After I tie it, we both look down at his arm. There doesn’t seem to be any blood soaking through, at least not at a quick rate that is noticeable.

Eric’s eyes meet mine, only for a second, then they look down. I see his throat bob as he gulps. “You don’t have a bra on.”

I look down at my breasts which are on full display. “Yeah,” I whisper, “I was just getting in bed.”

Another moment of silence passes between us, our eyes latched on to each other’s, before he groans again in pain.

“Come on. We need to get you to the hospital. Let’s get you in my car,” I tell him.

I wrap my arm around his waist and try to let him lean some weight on me.

“I think you need to get clothes on before we go,” he croaks.

“Shit. I do. Let me get you set up in the car and I’ll run inside and change.”

I manage to get him in the car and change into jeans and a sweatshirt before we head to the hospital. I have no idea where I’m going so Eric has to navigate for us.

My hands tremble on the steering wheel as I drive. I don’t think I’m good in emergency situations. I can feel my leg shake on the pedals, making my driving feel erratic.

I drop him off at the emergency entrance and promise to come in and find him after I park.

Why the hell aren’t there like valets or something at the emergency room? I don’t need someone to park my car ten feet away for me when I’m going to a restaurant. What I do need is someone to park it so I don’t have to leave a man who’s bleeding and in pain alone.

I sprint inside directly to the front desk. “Hi,” I smile at the blonde woman behind the desk. “My friend just came in here. His arm is cut, I think pretty badly, and I was hoping to make sure he’s in a room and doing okay. I want him to know I can be there if he needs me.”

She returns my smile calmly. “The gentleman with the arm injury is sitting over there. We will call him back shortly.”

I turn around to see Eric sitting next to some patient blowing his nose. His face is pale and there’s blood all over his white t-shirt. An odd sense of rage bubbles out of me as he looks at me.

I cannot believe they didn’t take him back immediately.

“Excuse me,” I turn back to the woman. “I’m sorry, but my friend is badly injured. He needs to be taken back immediately.”

Her eyebrows turn up at me, which for some reason pisses me off.

“Your friend has been evaluated by our staff. He will be brought back by priority,” she says sternly.

I don’t accept that. He is bleeding and obviously in an immense amount of pain. What kind of hospital doesn’t see that as a priority? “He clearly should be top priority. I was there when it happened. There was a lot of blood. Just look at him.” I turn back to him and see a slight smirk on his lips which is not helping my argument right now, but I’m invested. “His face is pale, and his shirt is soaked with blood. Tell me how that doesn’t take top priority?”

Just then a nurse comes up to the desk and looks at her colleague. “I’m sorry, is there a problem?”

“Yes,” I interject. “My friend sliced his arm open, has lost a lot of blood, and currently looks like he could lose consciousness at any second. He needs to be seen now.”

The nurse turns towards Eric and her eyes open widely. “I see. We can take him back now. Sir, would you follow me?”

I turn to the blonde and give her a smug look. I knew I was right. I walk quickly over to Eric and give him my arm. We follow the nurse back to a room where she immediately lies him down on the bed. After she asks a couple of questions, she tells us the doctor will be in shortly.

The room falls silent as we wait.

“That was quite the outburst you had out there,” he says, breaking the silence.

I look over at him. There’s no hint of a smirk now. He’s just stating a fact, and I can’t tell if he’s judging me or not.

“First of all, you’re welcome. You could’ve been waiting there for God knows how long. Second of all, I’m Italian and we’re known to be loud and opinionated. I’m proud of that, and you aren’t going to make me feel like shit because I care enough to fix a wrong.”

His eyes bore into mine with such intensity that I find myself needing to look away.

“I never said it was a bad thing. I was just stating my observation. Thank you for doing that. My arm hurts like a motherfucker. I was thinking the same thing.”

“Why didn’t you speak up?” I ask him.

He shrugs his shoulders. “Didn’t seem worth it to me I guess.”

“Mr. Williams.” An older doctor with grey hair walks in holding a clipboard. “It looks like you had quite the accident. How much pain are you in?”

Eric rolls his eyes and it’s my turn to smirk. “A lot. My arm was sliced into while being hit by large falling objects.”

“Let’s take a look.” The doctor walks over and unties my silky tank top, then holds it up. “Interesting choice.”

I slide down my chair, completely mortified. My cheeks feel like they just got scorched with boiling water.

“Yeah, it offered a nice distraction from the pain,” he says as he looks at me.

My legs squeeze together from the intensity of his burning eyes. I still can’t tell if he’s complimenting me or insulting me. He’s such a mix of emotions. I can’t get a read on him. But all I know is my body has never felt this aroused from a simple look before.

I don’t know why I’m reacting like this to him.

“Well, you do have quite a deep cut there. And I can tell with the bruising already forming around the cut that there will be a significant amount of swelling. Other than that, I think I can just stitch you up, get you cleaned up, and you will be good to go home. You will have to wear a sling for a little bit to let the wound heal.”

He groans. “How long will it take to heal?”

The doctor mindlessly gathers materials and starts cleaning the wound as Eric winces from the pain. “You need to rest. No lifting anything with this arm for at least a week. Then you can start gradually with objects no more than five pounds.”

I can tell where this is going. Eric starts to argue with the doctor about going back to work on Monday. In the end, Eric is stitched up and now sporting a scowl as he accepts his fate of resting at home for a week.