Southern Secrets by Natasha Madison

Chapter 14

Amelia

I feelthe heat from his chest on my back as he sits behind me and holds me up. My head’s still spinning, and when I close my eyes, my stomach lurches like a wave in the pool. "What do you mean you felt something? Was it something or someone?" Asher asks, and I can tell he's angry from his tone.

"I don’t know," I answer honestly. "I walked out, I was looking down, and then I felt as if I was being followed."

"Are the cameras up yet?" Asher asks, and I look over to see who he is asking.

"They are up," my father says and gets his phone out. "I’m going to call Casey."

"Wait a second." I hold up my hand. "Who put cameras up?"

"Your father," my mother says. "And I, for one, am not going to say I told you so." She looks over at him. "But I’m happy he did."

"We are going to have words," I tell my father but stop talking when the medic takes my blood pressure. "When my head isn’t spinning."

"I can’t wait," he says, and I close my eyes and lean back against Asher for a minute while I try to get my head to stop spinning.

"Her blood pressure is a little high," the medic says. "But that’s normal."

"Shouldn’t she be assessed by a doctor?" Asher asks from behind me.

"She’s going," my father says, "even if I have to carry her."

"We can get the stretcher," the medic says, "but with the rocks …"

"I’ll carry her," Asher says from behind me, and before I even know what’s going on, I’m in his arms. One arm under my knees and the other around my back. "I’ve got you," he says, and I look up at his chest as he carries me all the way to the waiting ambulance. He steps into the back without skipping a beat.

He places me in the middle of the stretcher. "I have to stay here and make sure we get everyone’s statement," he says, and all I can do is nod my head. I don’t trust myself not to ask him to come with me. I don’t trust myself around him. He makes me want things that I vowed never to yearn for.

"I’m going to go with her," my mother says from beside Asher. "I’ll keep you all informed."

"Thank you," Asher says, taking one last look at me and then getting out of the ambulance. One of the medics steps into the back and closes the door. I put my head back, and a tear escapes.

"It’s going to be okay, baby girl," my mother says, grabbing my hand in hers. "Before you know it, you’ll be home, and this will all be over."

"I’m fine, Mom," I say.

"Always so strong," she says, and I see her wipe her own eyes. "It’s okay to need help, Amelia." I don’t answer her. Instead, I close my eyes.

When we get to the hospital, they pull me out, and I don’t know why I’m shocked that Chelsea is waiting for us. "You don’t have to be here," I say, shaking my head. "I’m fine."

"Um …" She looks at me and then down. "I was given strict orders to come here and not leave your side."

"Can my father exaggerate any more?" I chuckle, and so does my mother.

"It wasn’t your father," she says. My head whips back to look at her, and it’s the wrong move to do because it makes my stomach rise, and I lean over the side and vomit.

"Oh, my," my mother says, putting her hand to her mouth.

"I’m not a doctor," Chelsea says, "but I think she has a concussion."

"Here, rinse your mouth." My mother runs to me with a bottle of water.

I grab the bottle, not even giving a shit that I just threw up in the middle of the parking lot, and rinse my mouth out. "Ready?" they ask me, and I nod my head.

We get into the room, and I look up at Chelsea, who is typing away on her phone. "I’m not going to put in this text that you threw up," she says, "because no one needs to know that."

"This whole thing is ridiculous," I finally say. "I fell and hit my head."

"Well, as soon as the doctor tells us that, we can go." My mother folds her arms over her chest, and I know that no matter what I say, she isn’t going to let me leave here until the doctor sees me.

I don’t have to wait long. He comes in, and after thirty minutes, he sends me for tests and finally comes back and tells me that I have a concussion. "Do you have anyone at home who can monitor you for the next twenty-four hours?" the doctor asks me.

"I can do it," Chelsea tells him. "I work with Dr. Gabe."

"Perfect," the doctor says. "Now on to the nitty-gritty stuff.

"No work for the next five days at least." My mouth opens, and I’m about to argue with him when he says, "You’re lucky it isn’t seven."

"But …" I say.

"Your brain just suffered a contusion," he says. "Which means you have to give it rest to get back to normal."

"We will make sure she rests," my mother says, and I turn to glare at her, but she ignores me.

"Limit the time you watch television or you’re on the computer," he says. "The minute you get a headache, you have to start back at day one."

"After five days, I can go to work?" I ask.

"For a couple of hours," he says. "But you have to be headache-free for five days before you even go back to work." He smiles at me. "You’re lucky that your head didn’t crack open."

"Oh, yeah," I say sarcastically. "So lucky."

He laughs and walks out of the room. "Let’s get you home," my mother says.

I stand and walk out with both of them at my side. "Are you hungry?" Chelsea asks, and I shake my head. I get into the back seat of the truck, and my mother gets in next to me.

"The guys are still at the bar," Chelsea says, and I look at them. "It’s been three hours?"

I look out the window now as Chelsea drives toward my mother’s house. Pulling up, I see that the lights are on outside.

My mother opens the door and then comes to open the door in the back, sticking her head inside. “Are you sure you don't want me to stay with you?” she asks, her hand going to my cheek.

“No, I’ll be okay, and if I need you, I’ll call you,” I say, and she leans over and kisses my cheek.

“I’ll come by in the morning to bring you food,” she tells me, “and you promise to call me if you need me.” She looks at me now, waiting for me to answer her and mean it.

"I promise," I say, and I hug her before she gets out of the truck and closes the door. I close my eyes as we make the four-minute drive to my house, and when we pull up, I am suddenly disappointed that Asher is not here. I push it far down when I get out of the truck, and I walk up the step and into the house.

"Go take a shower," Chelsea tells me. "Just don’t close the door."

I walk toward my bedroom and stop and turn around. "Who told you to come to the hospital?" I ask.

She avoids my eyes and puts her purse on the couch, and then goes to sit down. "Are you sure you want to know?"

"If I asked you, it’s because I want to know," I say, ignoring the heat that comes up my neck.

"Asher," she says his name, and I close my eyes. "He was a mess," she says and I hold up my hand.

"I’m sure he would have been that way for any of us." I turn, not ready to have this conversation with her. Not ready to have this conversation with anyone actually. Making my way to the shower, I stand under the hot water for a couple of minutes, letting it seep into me.

When I woke up in the dark, I was so confused and scared. Especially when I couldn’t remember where I was. Then I heard his voice and felt his hand in mine, and a calmness came over me. I knew I would be okay.

When I walk back out of the bathroom, Chelsea is sitting on my bed with her phone in her hand. "How do you feel?"

"Tired," I say, climbing into bed. "And like I got hit on the head with a baseball bat."

"I think that is pretty accurate," Chelsea says, laughing from beside me.

"On a scale of one to ten …" I look over at her. "Do you think anyone is going to forget that I can’t go to work on Monday?"

She gets up and laughs, shaking her head. "I’m going to go with one hundred."

I laugh at her, knowing the last thing anyone in my family will let me forget is that I have to be rested. I’m about to say something when we both hear the front door open and slam closed.

I hear the boots on the floor, and I hold my breath, hoping that he just goes to his room. But I should have known better than that. His body fills the doorway, and my heart speeds up while my mouth gets suddenly dry.

"Asher," I say his name in almost a whisper. He looks like he’s been through war. His hands are dirty, and his face shows that he has dirt also on his cheek.

"Hey," he says, walking into the room. "I got here as soon as I could. How are you feeling?"

"I’m okay," I answer him, and his eyes never leave mine.

"Mayson is waiting for you outside." He finally turns to Chelsea.

"I thought you were going to stay with me." I look over at Chelsea. "You told the doctor that you would watch me." I sit up, ignoring the way my head throbs.

"I told her that I would do it," Asher says, and Chelsea just looks at me, trying to hide her smile. "It made no sense for her to stay here with you." I want to tell him it makes no sense for him to stay here with me, but all the words get stuck in my throat. "I can look after her," Asher says, and Chelsea just shrugs.

"I’ll call you later," she says, leaning over and hugging me. "Go easy on him," she whispers in my ear, and she kisses my cheek.

"Thank you," he tells her when she gets close to him, "for keeping me in the loop tonight."

"I didn’t think I had much choice in that matter," she tells him and then turns to me. "Call me as soon as you wake up tomorrow." I just nod at her as she looks back at Asher one last time and then walks out of the house.

"Do you need anything?" Asher asks me, and I can see that his shirt is dirty and so are his jeans, and I wonder what he has been up to.

"No," I say. "I’m fine." He just stands there with his hands on his hips, looking at me. "I don’t need anyone to look after me."

"Why are you like this?" he asks, throwing up his hands. "Why can’t you just accept the help?" He runs his hands through his hair. His brown eyes looking almost black.

"Because I learned a long time ago that I can only depend on myself." I wipe away the tear before it falls down my cheek. "I learned that the hard way." I swallow down the lump that was building up. "And I’ll never go through that again."