The Way With You (The Way #2) (9 page)

"It'll all be okay. I promise."

I wince when a stabbing pain goes through my arm—the same damn arm I broke in the accident, only this time it hurts so much worse.

"Let me call the nurse for some more pain meds," my mom says from next to me. I startle. I didn't even know she was still there. Looking at her, I feel like a child again—a child who needs its mother.

"Mommy," I whisper, letting my tears fall.

"Oh, my baby," she replies, leaning onto the side of the bed, holding me as gently as she can.

"I'm scared," I admit, my eyes lifting to my dad where he's standing, next to my mother.

He gets that look—the one that lets me know he's angry, frustrated, and ready to do some bodily harm.

"You're going to be okay, Olive," he tells me softly. "You're safe now."

The nurse injects the medication into my IV, smiling at me softly, with sympathy. I don’t want her to feel sorry for me.

"I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me. I want you to feel sorry for whoever did this," I whisper drowsily. "They're gonna need it."

I drift off to Bash's murmured, "That's my girl."

I wake to angry shouts
, but I'm still too tired to open my eyes.

"Where the fuck have you been?" Alexa demands.

"I was at the frat," Cam answers.

"The
frat?
What the hell, Cam? Partying it up while your girlfriend was in the hospital having surgery and in agony because someone beat the hell out of her—and I, personally, think your skank bitch friend Alison had something to do with it!" she accuses.

He lets out a frustrated sigh. "I don't know anything, Lex. What do the cops say?"

She growls. "They, of course, let us know that psycho was at the game, in the stands, at the time of the attack—which we already knew.
But
I think she hired some thug to do this to Olivia and if Bash hadn't gone looking for her, who knows how bad it would have gotten."

"How bad is it?" Cam asks.

Lex's breath hitches. "It's
bad
."

I can smell Cam when he gets close to the bed, his breathing uneven as he curses under his breath.

"Hi Cam," my dad greets.

"Mr. Brennan. How's she doing?" he asks, lifting my hand into his.

"She's stable," my dad answers, then tells Cam about all of my injuries.

"They fucking cracked her jaw?" Cam seethes. "Excuse my language, Mrs. Brennan."

"No, it's fine. I've said more than a few colorful words myself. Honestly, Cameron, the jaw isn't as bad as her arm and bruised ribs. They're concerned about her kidneys, but so far the tests show they're functioning just fine. She'll be okay but it'll take time," my mom informs Cam.

"What about her classes?" he asks. "They'll let her make that up, right?"

"They will," Lex answers. "I already talked to her professors and the Dean."

"Good, good," he says. It sounds like he's distracted. "Do they have any leads?" he asks, and my hand tightens on his. He squeezes back softly.

"They'll never find him," I murmur sleepily, my eyes barely open. "It was Alison, Cam."

"How do you know for sure?" he asks and I pull my hand out of his. "Liv…"

"No," I blast, the increase in my heartbeat blipping loudly from the machine. "She threatened me yesterday. She told me I'd forgotten my place and she was going to remind me, that I'd never see it coming." I pause to swallow and rest my jaw. "She's right. I never saw it coming and then it was too late. I tried to fight back, to defend myself, but he was too strong and he just kept coming and coming and coming," I murmur, my breath hitching on a sob.

"Fuck," Bash murmurs, walking into the room and over to me. He elbows Cam out of the way, and takes my hand, using the other to wipe the tears off my face. "You're okay now, Livvy. You're safe," he tells me again.

He keeps telling me that. I think he thinks if he says it enough I'll start to believe it. I feel safe with Bash—Cam, not so much.

"Why haven't you answered your phone, Stone?" Bash snaps.

"It's been missing since before the game yesterday. I looked everywhere," he tells us. His gaze meets mine, "If I had known, I swear, Liv, I'd have been here. I didn't find out until now."

"Who told you?" Alexa asks, my parents looking on cautiously.

He looks down and swallows.

"
Alison?
" Alexa asks incredulously.

Cam nods. "Yeah. She was at the frat when I went down to get breakfast."

"Of course she was," I murmur.

Cam looks at me and I stare at him. His jaw is set and gets tighter every time he sees Bash squeeze my hand. My jaw is killing me, but it's time to say what needs to be said.

"Cam," I begin.

He shakes his head. "I know, Liv. I've been a shit boyfriend, but I didn't know. I swear," he pleads.

"If you're going to remain friends or associate with Alison in any way, we're done. We can't even be friends," I say flatly. "I can't be friends with anyone who has anything to do with the bitch that had someone do this to me."

"No," my mom states. "
She
did this. It might not have been her fists, but she did this."

I blink in agreement with my mom—nodding hurts my neck, jaw, and head too much.

"I'll make sure she never sets foot in the frat house again. She's ruined," Cam says.

I blink at him and he relaxes his shoulders just a little.

"I know it's unreasonable to be mad at you when you didn't know about this, but I am," I confess to Cam, who takes a seat in the chair on the other side of my bed. "I think it's because you've been absent."

He wants to grab my hand, but it's casted, so he rests his hand on my shoulder. "I know, Liv. I'm sorry. Christ, I wish I'd known."

"Did you see Alison yesterday?" my dad questions.

Cam nods. "Yeah. She was at the frat. She's seeing one of the linemen."

"So she could have taken your phone, sent the message to Olivia—" my dad begins but Cam cuts him off.

"Wait—what? They sent a message to you from
my
phone? What did it say?" he asks, his eyes blazing with anger.

My dad tells him and Cam's anger grows.

"I can see why you'd be pissed at me," he tells me, "even though I had nothing to do with it. I've been around her. I let this happen because she wiggled her way in."

"Yeah," I admit.

"She'll answer for this," Cam growls.

"What are you gonna do?" Bash asks him.

"I'm not sure yet. I'm gonna talk to Dekker and Brax and figure this shit out. What she did… Liv, Christ, I'm so sorry. I'm not the one who hit you, but I may as well have. I'm so damn sorry," he pleads.

I close my eyes—so confused, so hurt. I know he's sincere right now just as he was yesterday when we spoke, but is it just a fleeting vehemence, one he'll forget when I'm not there, or will these feelings stick with him, even when I'm not around?

Only time will tell.

Bash gets up. "I'm going to go grab a shower and something to eat."

I don't want him to go. I feel better when he's here—safer.

He must see my panic because he squeezes my hand again. "I'll be back soon. I promise."

I blink my agreement and he winks before he walks out of the room.

"He's been here the whole time?" Cam asks, walking around to the other side of the bed so he can see everyone in the room and doesn't have his back to my parents.

"Yeah," I answer.

"He found her, Cam," Lex reiterates. "Except for when she was in surgery, Bash and I haven't left her side."

He nods. "I wish I'd been here for you, babe."

"I know," I tell him and mean it—mostly.

He lifts my hand, bringing it to his lips for a kiss. "I'll do whatever it takes to find who did this to you." I stare into his eyes and see the determination, the sincerity, and the love—a love that doesn't burn as brightly as it once did. Why doesn't that bother me?

"I know," I whisper. "I know."

But I really don't. He doesn't have the time—for me.

Three days later
and a gazillion arguments with my mom later, I'm back at the dorm. Mom wanted me to go home and heal, but I need to be here to keep up with my schoolwork. Most of my professors have accommodated me as far as the coursework is concerned, but I still have to take the tests and exams, plus write the major papers that are required. There's no getting out of that.

Honestly, I'm fine. My mom was insisting on staying here since I wasn't going home. I kept reassuring her and arguing until my dad intervened. Really, what can she do to help that Lex or Bash can't help with? She didn't like that—feeling like I didn't need her and that wasn't what I meant. I gave her a hug and told her this is where I needed to be right now. I wasn't going to fall behind on my classes and let whoever did this win.

I'm lying on the couch watching TV when there's a knock on the door.

Lex goes to answer it.

"Hi," Raven Ruiz, head basketball cheerleader greets.

"Hi," Lex welcomes.

"I hope it's okay that I stopped by?" Raven questions.

"Of course. Come in," Lex invites.

"Oh, Olivia," she breathes, her hand flying to her chest, her eyes full of sympathy.

"Hi Raven," I say, hoping she'll lose that look of pity. I hate it.

"I heard what happened and wanted you to know we—the squad—came up with a different way to determine if you would make the squad or not," she tells me.

"Really? I thought for sure my chances were gone," I admit, feeling hope spark.

She nods. " We wanted to give you a fair chance."

"And how will you do that?" I ask.

"Well, we reviewed some tapes from when you cheered in North Carolina. We were able to judge your form and technique—really everything we needed to see," she tells me.

"That's pretty cool," Alexa states.

I nod. "What did you determine?"

"You made the squad!" she tells me, excitement radiating from her. "Both of you did as well as Candace Stetson."

Alexa and I exchange a look. Candace is one of Brittany's best friends and Brittany is Alison's cousin, which equates to trouble.

Raven senses our unease. "You don't have to worry about Candace. She's no longer friends with Brittany. She's been trying to break free from that clique for a while now."

"Really," Lex says.

"Yep," Raven affirms with a nod. "She's been pretty embarrassed by Brit's behavior and when Alison showed up, she had an escape. Brittany pretty much forced Candace to be her friend but now she's got Alison."

"So Candace is free," I offer. I'm really glad I'm able to open my jaw a little bit more now. Talking with my mouth closed makes me drool and that'd be pretty humiliating in front of the cheer captain.

"Candace is free," Raven agrees, but looks at her hands.

"But?" I offer.

"Not really a 'but'. Candace wanted me to apologize on her behalf for all the things you've had to endure at the hands of Brit. She'd like to be friends—if that's possible," Raven adds quickly.

Lex sits down on the sofa by me.

"Is this some kind of trick?" I ask, not trusting anyone—not after what happened.

Raven's eyes widen. "No! Oh my God, I never even thought…" She shakes her head. "I'm sorry Olivia. I didn't think. I can personally vouch for Candace's sincerity. I've known her a long time. She just got caught up with the wrong people and couldn't break away."

I look at Lex who shrugs a shoulder.

"As far as we know, Candace hasn't done anything to you. It was just Brittany with her bitch mouth and Alison with her—well, yeah," Alexa says.

I think back and remember seeing Candace wince when Brittany started her shit at a couple parties. She always stood in the background, looking very uncomfortable and out of place.

"Okay, but I'm saying that cautiously. I can't trust anyone right now," I confess.

"I can understand that," Raven says. "You're out for six weeks, right?"

"Maybe less depending on my ribs," I tell her. "I can still cheer with the cast—I think. I'll have to ask my doctor."

"Okay. You can still wear the uniform and attend the games until your doctor clears you. Does that sound okay?" Raven asks.

I nod slowly. "It does. Thank you for being so accommodating."

She just smiles. "It's my pleasure."

After she leaves, I look at Lex.

"Did that just happen?"

She nods.

"How did she know where to look? I mean Destiny, North Carolina, is but a speck on the map," I wonder aloud.

"I bet I know," Alexa replies.

"Spill."

She simply says, "Sebastian."

My heart flutters. Is there anything he won't do for me?

"That'd explain it."

Lex leaves the room and I settle back onto the sofa. A few minutes later she comes back into the room with a glass of vileness.

"Ugh," I whine.

She rolls her eyes. "It's not that bad—and it's good for you. You'll get all the nutrition you need since you can't really chew."

I give her a look.

Bash stands in the doorway. "It's a protein smoothie—chocolate flavored with pureed fresh strawberries blended in. Suck it up, love. You need your strength to heal."