[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
but would be moved to a regular floor later if she remained stable. He wiped his hands with
antibacterial crap at the door then took two steps into the room and froze.
Holy Mother of God.
Miranda s face was black and blue. She had casts on three of her limbs and a sling on the other.
What skin that wasn t covered by bandages or the bedding was bruised or red. Her eyes were closed,
and because she was sleeping, he knew that her pain level was manageable. When she woke up
though, fuck, it wasn t going to be good.
He walked to her side and reached out for her uncasted hand, only to stop and pull himself back.
There wasn t a place he could touch her and not hurt her. He let the tears fall into his beard, and he
sucked in a breath.
The only thing he could think of was the redness on her ass, the bruises on her hips when he d
taken her hard against the wall, in his bed, and on his floor. He d been so fucking rough with her, and
yet look how fragile she was.
How was he any better than Jack?
Just because his marks on her had been hidden under her clothes didn t make them any less
painful.
He sank down into the chair next to her, knowing that he had to end this. What would happen
when he snapped? What would happen when he finally turned into his father? He couldn t be the
person who hurt Miranda like this. He couldn t be the one who gave her more pain.
It felt as if someone was ripping his soul from his body, but he knew it was for the best. If he
didn t leave now, he d only hurt her in the future.
He stood up on shaky legs and leaned over, gently brushing a clear patch of skin with his lips.
I love you so fucking much, Miranda. That s why I have to do this. I hope you understand. I
know you re going to hate me, but it s for the best.
He knew she couldn t hear him and wouldn t understand when she woke up and he wasn t there.
But he couldn t be the person that she needed him to be.
He d write her a note, tell her the reasons she was better off without him, and then find a way to
live again.
With that, he walked out of the room, past the waiting room without stopping to talk to Storm. He
and the family would figure it out eventually. They were better off without him. They all were.
Decker was meant to be alone. Though the Montgomerys had been a safe haven, they weren t for
him.
It was time they realized that.
Decker finally had.
Chapter Twenty-one
Miranda lifted her arm then cursed. Austin was right there, holding out her juice cup and putting
the straw to her lips. She tentatively wrapped her lips around the straw and sucked, ignoring the pain
in her head when she did so. She didn t have a concussion, but she had one hell of a headache.
Everyone kept saying she was lucky to be alive, yet a week later, she wasn t so sure. No, she
couldn t be that melancholy, that depressed, but it sure hurt a hell of a lot to heal. Every inch of her
body hurt to move. Well, that was when she was allowed to move at all anyway. Some things were
strapped down or in a cast, so she could do no more than wiggle her toes in some instances. As long
as she didn t move too fast, or move at all, she was fine.
Living again without being able to move was going to suck.
Yes, it was only temporary, but she didn t know for how long. The doctors were being very
cagey when it came to timetables at this point because they didn t want her to overdo it. They only
said it would take more time than she probably thought and to work on resting her body before she got
to the next step. Her parents probably knew more details, but they were keeping them from her. They
at least had the ability to research recovery times and methods, but she was locked in bed. That
wouldn t last long, though, since she would be demanding answers soon. No one wanted her to worry
and had been very vague, but positive. Too bad she liked numbers. Numbers kept her sane. She
needed an end goal, and the doctors being vague because they probably didn t know themselves
wouldn t help her recover.
After she was finally able to stay awake for more than an hour or two at a time, she might be able
to find out when physical therapy would start and when she would be herself again.
She swallowed hard, struggling to keep the tears back.
She wasn t sure she d ever truly be herself again.
God, she was so fucking scared. She honestly thought that had been the end of it.
She barely remembered the car hitting her, thankfully. She remembered only the confusion, then
the fear when she was flying. She didn t remember the pain. Well, she remembered some of it, but that
came only in spurts. Even then, the flaring agony that came in dreams was from after the crash& with
Jack. She only remembered his shoes so she wouldn t have ever known it was him for sure without [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]