Pretend

4. Larkyn

A machine beeps rhythmically next to my head. The sound isn’t supposed to be heard. It’s supposed to become background noise. But my headache controls me. It’s as if you found all of the jackhammers in the world and used them all to drill into my head at the same time.

I’d take the jackhammers over what is happening in my head right now. My head is worse. A simple beeping is enough to make me want to rip off my ears and throw them at the machine, in hopes it will stop.

I keep my eyes closed, though I’m awake. Even with my eyelids shut, the light is too bright for my sensitive eyes to handle. Now I want to carve out my eyes, too.

Great, at this rate I won’t have any body parts left.

“Larkyn, are you awake?” the evil bastard asks.

I lie still, hoping Kade will go away if he thinks I’m asleep.

“I saw you ball your hands into fists, and you frowned when you heard me speak, so I know you are awake. You might as well talk to me,” the son of a b***h says.

Kade’s not going away. He feels guilty for what happened. That guilt won’t go away if he leaves. Maybe if I talk to him, he’ll leave.

“Turn off the lights,” I say.

I swear I feel the bastard grin. “I’m that bad to look at, huh?” Kade asks.

My lips tighten, but I refuse to frown or show any emotion for Kade. He and Sebastian are cruel. They don’t get to witness my suffering.

“No, I have a headache that hurts like a motherfucker, and the light is making it worse,” I say, not adding I don’t want him to see me in pain.

Kade turns off the lights without any more argument.

I slowly open my eyes. My eyes don’t burn from the light, but I wouldn’t call the room dark. The closed blinds let in far too much light to dampen how much agony I’m in.

Kade narrows his eyes at me and reaches out to touch my hand, as he sits on the edge of my bed. I pull my hand away and hide it under the covers so he can’t attempt to touch me again.

“You’re pissed, that’s good,” Kade says.

“How is being pissed a good thing?”

He smirks. “Because it means you remember what happened. The doctor was afraid you might not remember. The accident might have f****d with your head.”

“Of course I remember your brother almost f*****g killing me!”

He c***s his head. “And yet, you’re looking at me like you want to kill me as well, even though I saved your life.”

I huff and glare at him. I want both King brothers out of my life. I don’t want to think about either of them again. I wouldn’t be in the hospital for the dozenth time if it weren’t for these assholes.

I glance at the door, afraid Sebastian is going to walk in and want to apologize. I’m not ready for that. I don’t want to see him. Ever.

“Don’t worry, Sebastian isn’t here,” Kade says.

I exhale, after realizing I had been holding my breath.

“But Serena may walk in at any moment. She hasn’t left you, except to get coffee and occasionally food when I demand she leave,” Kade says.

I smile. At least I have one friend. But that means… If Kade knows Serena hasn’t left my side, then he hasn’t left my side either.

He looks at me with his big smoldering eyes, and my anger falls away. Kade did save my life, and then he stayed with me. I can hate his brother all I want, but I can’t hate him.

Nope, definitely can’t hate him when he’s looking at me with hungry eyes.

I force my eyes away, and the bastard chuckles like he knows the effect he has on me.

“How are you feeling?” he asks.

“Like I got hit by a car.”

He winces. “I’m sorry.”

I sigh. Kade’s sorry seems sincere. When he speaks, his whole body matches his mood. His eyes grow heavy, his voice softens, and his body stills.

“It’s not your fault, but I feel like s**t. I want to rip my head off…” I move to sit up more. “f**k, that hurts.” I grab my side.

He frowns. “You had a sizable piece of glass stuck in your large intestine. They removed the glass along with part of your intestine. They removed your appendix too.”

My eyes widen. “What else?”

He blinks, and I swear I saw a tear there. “You have been unconscious for forty-eight hours. You have a concussion, that’s why your head hurts so much. Glass in your stomach. Small shreds of glass in your legs, stomach, and head. A couple of broken ribs. Lots of internal bleeding. A couple of broken bones in your left wrist.”

I look down and see the small cast on my left arm for the first time. How did I not notice that? Oh yea, because my f*****g head hurts so badly I can’t think of anything else.

“And a couple of broken bones in your ankle. The doctors were amazed you didn’t break more bones.”

The last part hurts the worst. Broken bones in my ankle. That will take forever to heal. I won’t be able to run for months.

Tears.

Dammit.

No.

Kade holds my gaze, reaches out, and touches my hand over the covers.

I let him.

I need the comfort.

“The doctor wants you to stay in the hospital for another day or two. And then, she’ll set you up with a rehab program to help you gain your strength back. She gave you pain medicine a half hour ago, but I can call her back if you want more?”

“No, thanks.”

He runs his hand through his hair, and I permit myself to look at him closer. He’s still wearing the suit he wore two nights ago. The collar is open with multiple buttons undone, revealing a chest that looks hot, dark, and delicious. Then, I see the red blotches. Blood. My blood.

“Do you want me to call your family? Your emergency contact lists Serena, so they called her. But she said she didn’t have any of your family members’ numbers, and they never found your cell phone.”

“I didn’t bring my cell phone. And, no.” I don’t offer him any more explanations. I sure as hell don’t need my father lecturing me for walking home in the dark on a busy highway. If he finds out, I’ll deal with the lecture later.

“Okay,” he says, rubbing his neck.

My throat locks up, and my hand trembles a little in anger thinking about Sebastian, but I need to know. “How are Sebastian and his date doing?”

Kade moistens his lips and smiles softly. “Sebastian is a jackass, but he and Naomi are both fine. Sebastian was lucky, only a cut on his forehead requiring stitches. And Naomi has a little back pain from the collision.”

I nod. I hate them, but I’m glad they aren’t injured.

“Sebastian would like to apologize when you’re ready to hear it. I told him that would probably be months or years from now. He understands. He’s offered to give up his driver’s license, and do some community service. He will also pay all of your hospital bills, and pay you well for your emotional damages.”

The words Kade is speaking make sense, but I don’t want to hear them.

“No, thanks.”

Kade grimaces. “You can sue him, but you’ll lose. Sebastian has a highly paid lawyer who doesn’t lose. If you fight this, you will be out lawyer’s fees and get no reimbursement. Sebastian won’t lose his driver’s license or do community service, and he definitely won’t spend a night in jail, if that’s what you are after, as much as he deserves it.”

My eyes flicker to Kade’s. Though he is defending his brother, his eyes say Sebastian deserves worse than he is getting.

“I’m not going to sue him. I don’t want his money or apology or any of it. I don’t want to think about Sebastian again.”

Kade’s body stiffens, and his face grows red before he pulls his phone out. “Make sure Larkyn’s hospital bills are taken care of.” Then, he ends the call.

I frown.

“You can’t do that.”

“I just did.”

I sigh. I should let Kade pay my hospital bills. I don’t have enough to cover them, and I don’t want to have to go to my father for this.

“Paying for your hospital bills isn’t enough though. What else can we do for you? Sebastian will do anything to make this right.”

I peek under the covers and see the brace on my foot. I wince at the black and blue covering my legs. This accident is going to ruin my running career.

“He can’t make this right. I don’t want to be near him. And I sure as hell don’t want his money.”

“Then, let me make this right,” Kade says, his head dropping a little in embarrassment.

“You did when you saved me.”

He shakes his head. “That’s not enough. I shouldn’t have let you walk home that night. You wouldn’t have been out there in the dark if I hadn’t made sure you had a ride home, instead of treating you like crap. I’m sorry. Let me make it up to you.”

Damn Kade, and his sincere apologies. His puppy dog eyes and sad face, which somehow still shows his dimples, make me want to grab his face and kiss him. Then accept his apology immediately. I restrain myself, mainly because moving that much would hurt like a motherfucker.

“Kade, I don’t—”

“Stop, I’m making this up to you. I understand you don’t want to deal with my brother, and you’re right. He doesn’t deserve to be forgiven any time soon. But let me be nice so that I can have a shot at forgiveness sometime in my lifetime.”

He grins.

And I grin.

His grin reaches his eyes when he knows he’s winning.

“I’m stubborn. I won’t take no for an answer. So you might as well start thinking of ways I can help you.”

I bite my lip, trying to stifle my smile, but it’s a useless endeavor.

“Okay.”

He tightens his grip on my hand over the covers, and I regret hiding my hand away in the first place.

“So what will it be? Money? A new car? A broken faucet that needs fixing?”

I raise an eyebrow. “You know how to fix a broken faucet?”

He shrugs. “I know how to hire a plumber.”

I shake my head. Of course, his ways of helping are to give me money. I don’t want his money, though. If I won’t take my father’s, I sure as hell am not taking a King’s money.

What do I want?

To be healed, but Kade can’t help me with that. He already covered my hospital bills.

I need a place to stay after graduation, but I don’t want to take his money.

My car could use a tune-up, but no, no money.

Graduation is coming up. I could use a new dress for the graduation party my father is throwing, so for once, I could meet his unbelievably high standards. But again, that would require Kade’s money.

My face lights up when the perfect idea creeps in. I shyly peek over at Kade. Do I have the balls to ask him this?

He’s looking at me eagerly, squeezing my hand twice, trying to coax words out of my mouth. I don’t have a choice but to ask him or come up with another way for him to pay me back, fast.

“My father is throwing me a graduation party in two weeks.”

“Isn’t that a bit early for a graduation party?”

I smirk. “Yes, but my father wants to throw it early, so he doesn’t have to cancel and be embarrassed in front of his friends on graduation day if I don’t graduate.”

“Is that a possibility? I mean…don’t answer that,” he says, his cheeks flushing. He draws his hand back and grabs his neck, like his collar is too tight, though his collar is barely brushing against his neck.

I’m not offended by his words, so I continue, forcing the words out. “Take me to my graduation party, and pretend I’m yours for the night.”

He sinks back in the chair next to my bed, like I pushed this conversation too far. But of course, I did. I asked Kade King to pretend to be mine for a night. It would ruin his reputation in Santa Barbara. If any of the wealthy women that run this town saw Kade King with me, the drama it would cause would never end. He can’t go on a date with me. Even if it might be the only thing to make the disappointment in my father’s eyes disappear.

“You mean, be your date for the night?” he asks.

I bite my lip again, considering not saying the next words, but I’m committed now. “No, I mean, pretend I’m your girlfriend for the night. It has to be more than just a date.”

Kade’s eyes narrow as he searches mine for the truth. For why I need him to pretend I’m his girlfriend. But he isn’t going to find the truth. If he pretends to be my boyfriend, he might get answers. It would take him five minutes in my father’s presence to figure out why I need him. But if he says no, he’ll never know the reason for my embarrassment.

The silence stretches, and I can’t take it any longer. If he wants to say no, he needs to say it and stop toying with my emotions.

“I understand,” I say, but I can’t continue. He should go.

“I’ll pretend you’re mine for as long as you want,” he says, with a wink.

I chuckle. “The one night will be enough.” I peer at his cocky grin and blush. I hope one night is enough.