36. Brixton

Chapter 36

Brixton

“ I ’m so proud of you, Brix. And I miss the shit out of you. But it’s not your time yet. You’ve got really important things to do…you need to keep kicking ass on stage and get your career back on track.” Davis smiles. “Take your head out of your ass and fix your life because it’s a damn good one.”

“I know,” I say to Davis. “I will. And I miss the shit out of you, too.”

“I’ll always be watching over you guys. Take care of my girls for me.”

“I will,” I say. “I love you.”

Bleeping sounds scrape away at my subconscious, nudging me out of a deep sleep. I open my eyes a crack. The lights are dim but my head screams with a pounding ache. I try to wiggle my fingers and toes but they don’t respond.

They’re still asleep, I guess.

Where the fuck am I?

I open my eyes wider then snap them closed.

Why the hell am I surrounded by a bunch of strangers ?

I try to shift and yelp at the scorching pain that radiates through my left side.

“Don’t move, Mr. Scott. You need to stay still.”

The female voice is soothing and I float toward it…until she turns around and yells, “Dr. Rajan! You need to get in here now!”

She’s panicking.

That can’t be good.

“Why do I need to stay still? Where am I?”

My mouth is drier than a camel’s ass right now, so the words are barely recognizable, even to me.

A tall guy in a white coat with dark hair and glasses rushes into the room and jogs over to my bed. He immediately checks the monitors and the papers flowing out of them. Then he turns back to me with a confused look on his face.

The pain slices into me again and I let out a howl. “Fuck, what happened?”

“You were shot,” the doctor says, his eyebrows knitted together. “Do you remember anything about it?”

“Oh, shit,” I mumble, my mind stumbling back to those seconds in the parking garage. “Yeah. I was heading into the hospital and this black truck stopped right in front of me. Window goes down, gun comes out firing.”

I let out a shuddering breath, unease grabbing my by the throat.

“I’m not dead.”

“No, thank God.”

I solely twist my head to the side. “Sam?”

His face is pale, eyes red. He pushes past the nurses and limps over to my bedside with his crutches and takes my hand before bringing it to his lips. “You fucking scared me to death. Me and the rest of the world waiting outside for good news.”

“I honestly was doubtful we’d have any to give.” The nurse looks between us, her mouth open, head shaking. “This whole thing is crazy,” she murmurs. “His pressure dropped again, so I ran in when the alarm sounded. I was afraid he was going to code, and just as I was about to hit the alert button, everything suddenly stabilized for the first time since he arrived post-surgery. I checked the readings to be sure, and then he just woke up, after all those hours. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“How do you feel?” The dark-haired doctor asks me.

“Like I was shredded by a few bullets.” I try to manage a smile but it fucking hurts like hell to move even my mouth muscles.

“Makes sense,” the doctor says. “That definitely happened. It’ll be a long recovery, but you made it through the critical point.”

“He’s a stubborn ass,” Sam says. “He wouldn’t have quit so easily.”

“I shouldn’t have quit on you, either,” I say, looking up at him. “I didn’t fight hard enough.”

“Luckily, you’ll have plenty of more chances to fight me on anything you want.”

“That sounds like a good plan.”

He gives my hand a squeeze.

I see the nurse smile out of the corner of my eye.

“So it is true,” she says with a conspiratorial smile. “I knew all along it wasn’t just a publicity stunt.”

“Nope, this shit is real,” I say, winking at her.

“Thank God you’re awake,” Allie cries out, rushing into the room and over to me. She drops a kiss on my forehead then looks at the doctor. “Is he going to be okay? This is a good sign, right?”

“It is good news, indeed.” The doctor smiles. “Now, I don’t want to interrupt this very emotional reunion, but I have to examine our wonder patient. ”

Allie and Sam walk out into the hallway and loiter in the doorway as the nurses and doctor check every possible one of my vitals.

“I’m in a lot of pain. You guys got any of the good stuff?” I ask, wincing when I move my left arm. The nurse nods and rushes out of the room. A few minutes, she’s back with injectable pain meds that she pushes into my IV line.

“That should give you some relief,” she says, patting my right arm.

“It truly is an incredible recovery,” Dr. Rajan says as he leans down to flash a penlight into my eyes. I recoil, the brightness temporarily blinding me. “You were very lucky because although the bullet damaged your heart, it didn’t hit any other major organs, vessels, or arteries.”

“Who did it?” I ask, my brain fogging up from whatever drugs they just pumped into my IV to call up the memory of those horrific seconds. “Did the cops catch them?”

“We don’t have any information on the shooter, but the police will be in at some point to take your statement. There’s a lot of pressure to find who was responsible and they won’t rest until they do.”

A few minutes later, the doctor and nurses leave. Allie and Sam rush back inside.

Allie runs a hand down the side of my face. “There are so many people who care about you, B. You have to know that. I think all of Oakland is outside the hospital right now. And the waiting room is full of people who love you, people who are your family. You always had a family. You were just too stubborn to let them in.”

She pauses and exchanges a look with Sam over me. “Your dad is here, too. He’s downstairs with Jules but I just texted him to let him know you’re awake.” A smile lifts her lips. “He wants to see you, sweetie. I think he?— ”

“I don’t care.” My voice sounds thick, my tongue heavy.

“B, you just had a brush with death. I don’t know if you’re thinking clearly right now,” she says. “Let him see you. Take the chance to make things right. Be the bigger person here.”

The drugs are definitely having an effect. But I’m lucid enough to know that I don’t want to see my father.

“He’s poison,” I mumble through the wads of imaginary cotton in my mouth. “I don’t want that in my life. And great that he’s backpedaling now that I almost died. If I wasn’t on the brink of death, he wouldn’t have come. If he wants to redeem his black soul, he’s gonna have to find another way to do it. I’m done.”

“Don’t think that I’ve forgotten about that wiseass crack you made back at my apartment,” Sam says, holding my hand close to his lips the next night. The sky outside of my window has turned into a dark, dusky blue.

I’ve graduated to a level below the ICU where I’m in a VIP recovery wing.

And thankfully, the pain is about a five instead of a nine.

God bless those nurses and their magic needles of good stuff.

I furrow my brow. “You can narrow it down to one?”

“The only one that stung.” Sam grins. “That bullshit you spewed about Travis Kelce. You remember?”

“Ah,” I say, chuckling. “You didn’t like that, did you? I was banking on that.”

“You know it’s a load of crap. I’m a hundred times better than he is.” He pauses, a mischievous glint in his eye. “Although, he does have Taylor. That ups his cred.”

“You’ve got me to up your cred. ”

“Do I?” Sam cocks his head to the side. “She’s pretty huge.”

I snort. “Please. I’m way hotter.”

“Maybe so, but she wrote a song about him and she’s worth a shit ton more than you.”

“I highly doubt that.”

“No, it’s confirmed. I googled.”

“Whatever. I’m way better arm candy.”

“Are you trying to convince me or yourself?” He waggles his eyebrows at me.

“So sensitive,” I say with a smirk. “What’s the matter? You can’t take a joke?”

“Okay, pot. Or do you want to be the kettle?” Sam leans forward, a serious expression clouding his face. “It was a dickhead thing to say, but I said some dumb stuff too.”

“Yep, like how I need to heal on my own. Cold, dude. Ice fucking cold.”

Sam sighs and drops his eyes. “I didn’t mean any of it. I was just scared to fall in love with you, that maybe your feelings weren’t the same as mine.”

A lump lodges itself in my throat, goosebumps pebbling my skin. “And what about now? Are you still scared?”

He said love.

Does he love me?

Sam looks back at me. “No, I’m not. I decided I didn’t care about the risk. Being with you would be worth it.”

“I shouldn’t have left your apartment. I should have told you the truth.” I take a deep breath. “That I didn’t want to lose you to Jack or anyone else. And that I love you.” A smile lifts my lips. “I think I have ever since you attacked the guy who stabbed me that night in the hospital.”

A light breaks over Sam’s face. “I’ve loved you since that night in the chapel two years ago,” he murmurs. “And I always knew we’d find each other again.”

“This time, I won’t let go.”

“Me either.”

A knock at the door interrupts the moment and one of the nurses opens the door. A cop follows her into the room.

“Don’t take too long. He isn’t up to a lot of questions,” she warns before checking my vitals again. They really have been all over me since I woke up. Seems like someone is in here every fifteen minutes for some test or reading or to change my IV.

The cop walks toward the bed. “Mr. Scott,” he says. “I want to find the people responsible for the shooting, but we’re really lacking on leads. There weren’t people in the parking garage, and the license plate of their truck was covered.”

I grit my teeth. “Security couldn’t pull up any images at all? That’s fucking bullshit. So this person is just gonna get away with attempted murder?”

“We’re going to keep on it. But it’s not looking great so far. So anything you can remember, as small as it might be, can help us.”

I go through those minutes again in my mind but I still come up blank as I fist the bedsheet.

Once the cop leaves, I lean back against the pillows. “Who the hell could it have been?”

“Oh, like there’s a shortage of people who want to make you suffer?” Sam quips. He gets up and walks over to the window. “I don’t think the shooter is down there, that’s for sure.”

“Down where?”

“The front of the place is swarming with your adoring public.” Sam sticks his thumb at the window. “They’d tear the shooter to shreds in a hot second.”

“I need to see them.” I start to sit up but fuck, it burns. My entire chest is in flames.

“No. Don’t move. You shouldn’t get out of bed.”

“Yes, I can. Help me up,” I say through gritted teeth.

“Jesus, could you be any more stubborn?” Sam rolls his eyes and stabs the nurse’s button. “You’re not moving unless the nurse says it’s okay.”

The nurse rushes in. “What’s wrong? Are you in pain?”

“Nah,” I lie, because I’m in fucking agony. “But my boyfriend here thinks I need permission to get up and walk over to the window. There are lots of people down there. And I want them to see for themselves that I’m good.”

A smile plays at her lips. “I’m sure they’d really like that. But you shouldn’t move.”

“But I could move if I was careful, right? Come on, I accept full responsibility. I’ll sign a napkin or whatever.”

She wrings her hands together and bites her lip for a long minute. “Okay. We’ll take it very, very slowly.”

“I promise.”

They help me out of the bed and walk me over to the window after disconnecting me from the machines and IV bags. My legs feel like limp spaghetti noodles, buckling as I take my first step. I cling to Sam.

“Bad idea,” Sam says. “Let’s get you back to bed.”

“I’d normally love to hear you say those words to me. But save them for another time because I’m gonna get to that window.”

We finally get there. Feels like forever has passed and darkness dips lower in the sky. Sam holds me against him as the nurse works the window open. Seems like there are thousands of tiny flickering candles lighting up the grounds.

The nurse gets the window open and positions me in front of it.

The cheers from the crowd below ring out as I come into view. The screams are deafening. People flood the perimeter of the hospital for as far as my eyes can see.

“We love you, Brixton,” someone yells.

The rest of the horde goes nuts.

It’s the best feeling…next to hearing Sam say he loves me.

A smile stretches across my lips. “I love you, too,” I murmur, casting a glance at Sam.

He grins back. His dark eyes glow with emotion, his heavy stare confirming that I’m the center of his world. I’ve never felt so secure, so protected, and so complete.

Then I feel it. The thing I’ve wanted most for as long as I can remember suddenly creeps through my insides and lights up every cell.

Happiness.

And now that I have it, I’m never letting it go.