Their Kitten: Chapter 9

My nerves start to get the best of me once we get to the hospital. The entire ride here, I kept thinking of a way to ditch them, as I know the hospital is going to want to know my real name. That’s probably the only reason why Tristan is fine with bringing me here to begin with, thinking that he’s going to get my name.

I’d rather die than let that happen.

The harsh fluorescent lights in the hospital make my bruises look even worse than I thought they did, the purplish-green marks like beacons to alert everyone to the abuse I’ve suffered today. The guys fussed back and forth about the story I was to tell the hospital staff so they wouldn’t get in trouble, but I can’t even focus on anything they’re saying to me. I have my own stuff to worry about.

The three of us approach the check-in desk, the woman behind it giving us a smile until her eyes settle on me. “Oh my goodness,” she says with a small gasp. I can only imagine how horrible I look. After crying for hours and all the trauma I’ve been through today, I’m sure I look as bad as I feel. The woman gives the guys accusing glances.

“Our friend needs to see a doctor,” Talon says. The woman disregards him and focuses on me.

“Are you in danger, ma’am?” she asks. I have the thought to tell her that I am just so I can get away from Tristan and Talon, but that’ll be pointless. They know where I live. The way they broke into my house tonight is the same way they can do it again. And there’s no telling what’ll happen if I get them in actual trouble.

I shake my head and try not to look uncomfortable. “I…think I need to see a doctor.”

“Can I get your name and date of birth, ma’am?” the woman says, her voice soft.

“I…don’t remember,” I lie.

“Come on. I’m sure you remember your name,” Tristan says from behind me, his voice flat.

“A lot of things are fuzzy in my head right now,” I say, not bothering to look back at him.

“Do you have an ID or something on you?” the nurse asks. “We can’t check you in without an ID.”

“We can pay for the visit upfront if we need to,” Talon offers.

“I still need her name.” She sits back down at her desk and poises her fingers on the keyboard. “What’s her name?”

The guys cast uncomfortable glances over at me, but I don’t say anything, only blankly staring at them. Talon nervously rubs the back of his neck, and the nurse frowns at us.

“You claim she’s your friend, and you don’t know her name?” she passes another accusing glance over at them. “Maybe I should get security⁠—”

“We just know her as her nickname,” Tristan quickly says. “She goes by so many different things that I’m not sure what her actual name is.”

The woman continues to look around for a security officer, and I know it’s only a matter of time before all hell breaks loose.

“Ah!” I scream, crouching over and holding my stomach. Even though I’m in pain, I make all kinds of noises as if I’m in the worst pain I’ve ever felt, sending the nurse into a panic as she calls for help. Within seconds, two other nurses and a doctor rush out into the waiting room with a wheelchair.

Everything moves quickly as they fire a million questions at me that I can’t give them the answers to. I simply stick to my story of not being able to remember, only telling them that things are too fuzzy for me to remember. The police show up, and I get worried that Tristan called them to force me to give up my name, but the cops don’t even focus on me.

“Ah, it’s the Steeles,” one of the officers says, shaking Tristan’s hand. The polite smile he gives the cop almost makes me sick to my stomach after the way he’s treated me today. It’s a shocker that he knows how to be decent. The cop looks at me and gestures to Tristan and Talon. “You got good friends here. Most respectable guys in the city.”

I fight the urge to scoff. Yeah right.

“Yeah, just making sure our friend gets the care she needs,” Tristan says, but the look in his eyes is anything but friendly. He and the cop share a few more insignificant words before the cop and his partner excuse themselves without even talking to me. I guess that’s for the best. It’s not like I can tell them I basically prostituted myself that ended up in me being raped by two of the “most respectable guys in the city.”

The doctor comes back into the room to give me stitches, and Tristan leaves without saying anything to any of us. He’s definitely not the guy I remember. He’s such an enigma now, always angry, always harsh, and seems to thrive on violence and intimidation. He’s the complete opposite of who he used to be, which only makes me realize how much we’ve all changed. I’m sure I’m not who they remember either.

“Is he always so angry?” I ask when Talon and I are alone.

A strange look passes over his face as he shrugs and leans against the wall. “You probably would be too if you had a lot to lose.”

“I didn’t do anything to you guys⁠—”

“We know you know us, and you refuse to tell us your name.” He narrows his eyes on me. “We don’t know what your intentions are when you refuse to give us simple information.”

If only it was that simple, I think to myself, but I don’t say anything. If they were strangers, the second half of today wouldn’t have happened. I would’ve just done my original two hours, collected my money, and tried to move on with my life. Now, not only am I injured, my past has come back to torment me long after I’ve left the club.

Fuck my life.

When I’m finally discharged from the hospital, Tristan is nowhere to be found once again. I definitely don’t complain. With all the pain medicine they gave me in the emergency room, my head is spinning, and all I want to do is sleep my life away. I don’t want to fight or feel as if I have to exist on eggshells simply because Tristan refuses to control whatever rage he wants to take out on me. The sooner I can get in my bed, the sooner this nightmarish day can be over.

Talon takes me back to my apartment. I don’t object when he helps me to my door, but I’m confused when he comes inside before I can close the door in his face.

“What do you think you’re doing?” I ask.

He moves past me and heads to the couch, flopping down with a sigh. “I’m going to stay here while you get some sleep,” he says with a raised brow, as if he doesn’t know why I’m asking him that.

I shake my head. “I didn’t give you permission.”

“I don’t need permission to stay.” He stretches out and puts his hands behind his head. “This couch is shit.”

“Well, it’s not meant for you to sleep on,” I fire back, slightly offended. “I don’t understand why you would want to stay here anyway. If I’m so untrustworthy, why do you insist on being around me?”

“To keep an eye on you, obviously.”

“What the hell are you guys expecting me to do? It’s not like I can tell anyone I sold my virginity. Do you think I want to get in trouble, too?”

“I think we’re well beyond that, Kitten.” He says my name sarcastically. “You’ve been lying since we laid eyes on you and since you refuse to give us your name, it means you’re hiding something else that we don’t know about. I don’t trust you, so I’ll make sure I keep an eye on you until we know the truth.”

“I’m no one important,” I state, my voice shaky.

He only shrugs. “I guess time will tell who you really are.” He shimmies a bit in an attempt to get comfortable. “You should get some rest. You may need it.”

I stare at him for a long while, hoping that he’s joking about sleeping on my couch, but he doesn’t budge. As much as I want to stand here and argue with him about it, the medicine coursing through my system makes it hard for me to continue standing upright without the room spinning. I grind my teeth and slowly turn on my heels to head to my bedroom. I change out of my bloody clothes and put on another pair of pajamas before settling into bed.

As much as I want to stay awake to keep my eyes on Talon, the medicine soon pulls me under into a restless sleep.