I heard the amusement in her voice. "Can you answer some questions? We were called because your blood alcohol level was high and you're a minor. You want to tell me about your injury?"
She was right. I winced against the pain and struggled to lift myself in bed. Holy hell. It sucked to be in the hospital, at least that was where I figured I was. Simple single bed. Plain gown that tied behind my neck with my bare ass hanging out. Pathetic television set mounted on the wall. A table beside me with a basin and a dull pink throw-up kidney shaped bucket. Yep. I was in the hospital.
"Go ahead. Ask away," I croaked. When I lifted a hand to my hair, Grace shot forward and swept my hair into a ponytail.
Officer Sheila was dressed in jeans and a white blazer. Her blondish brown hair was pulled back into a loose braid and she looked tired. The wrinkles around her eyes told me she'd been up for awhile. "How are you feeling, first?"
"I have twenty-six stitches. I've been better."
"Do you remember what happened?"
"I started to fall, but someone pushed me to the side. I was shoved into that glass table."
I held my breath. I expected someone to say I was crazy. They all thought I fell, but no one said a word. Bryce barely held his anger in check as he glared at a wall with his hands clenched into fists, tucked underneath his arms. Corrigan cast a wary look over him before looking back to me.
Grace held my hand. "You heal now and get better."
"Am I already on pain pills?" I asked her. She seemed nervous as she patted my hand repeatedly. I moved my hand away because it was starting to throb, but I didn't look away. Grace wouldn't meet my gaze. She stared at the wall as she kept patting my arm. Weird.
"I don't think the doctor has prescribed anything yet." Corrigan looked apologetic.
"Sheldon, you said that you were shoved?"
I focused on Sheila again and nodded. "Yeah, someone shoved me. They wanted to hurt me."
"You think they wanted to push you into the glass table?"
"Yes." I didn't mince my words. I knew it. I felt it in my gut.
Officer Patterson closed her notepad, moved forward, and touched my arm. "If you remember anything, you call me. I'll come back to finish up with our questioning, give you some time to think, if you remember anything else."
I nodded.
Bryce ground out, "There was a Dorothy girl there. I think she's Marcus Donadeli's cousin. She was serving food; some of it was catered from their restaurant."
Sheila's eyebrows shot up. "You ordered food from Donadeli's?"
"We ordered food from Sparky's. They took the place over."
Bryce further explained, "The Donadeli family sold it to the Rossi family. Dorothy Rossi is their daughter. She's cousins to Marcus Donadeli."
"And you know this how…?" Officer Patterson eyed him up and down.
He rolled his eyes. "When your girlfriend continues to go to the restaurant of the guy she killed and who stalked her, you do some investigating to make sure she'll be safe. I wanted to know what I was dealing with, what Sheldon was dealing with."
"And that Dorothy girl is weird." I shuddered.
"Rossi?"
Bryce answered again, "They're related through the sisters. Helena Donadeli is sisters with Selene Rossi."
Sheila nodded. "I got it. Any particular reason why the Rossi family decided to take over the restaurant? You got that card in your back pocket too?"
He grimaced and looked away. "I have no idea. I just wanted to know who owned it since Sheldon goes there. I didn't know if anyone was trying for revenge."
"That's what you think this is? You think this Dorothy girl wanted revenge on Sheldon? For killing her cousin?"
Bryce stared at her long and hard. "That's your job to figure out. Mine is to protect my own."
Protect my own. I'd said those exact words to countless numbers of people. That's what I did when I took care of Bryce and Corrigan. I protected my own as they were doing for me right now.
"I think we need to take a time out. Sheldon is in a lot of pain. I'm sure the doctors want to talk to her." Grace started to pat my arm again.
Officer Patterson gave her an odd look. "With all due respect, I don't think you know Sheldon that well." But she sighed and grabbed her coat. At the door, she turned back. "Sheldon, if you remember anything, you let me know. You have my number. And if you know of anyone in particular that might want to hurt you, you let me know that too. Shoving someone into a glass table where they could've been killed is a serious offense in my book, especially someone I care about."
When the door closed behind her, Grace laughed. There was a nervous tremble in it. "Care about? Since when do cops care about people?"
I looked at her with my eyebrows raised. Corrigan looked shocked, but Bryce blasted her, "She's the cop who helped us when Marcus tried to kill Sheldon. Remember that?"
"Oh…"
Grace was an idiot, but this wasn't normal behavior, even for her. She wasn't this big of an idiot, which made me wonder what else had happened tonight. She was usually strong, but now she was spineless.
Then a stabbing pain seared through me and I lifted a hand. "Can we please get some meds for me? I have to poop, and it's killing me."
Corrigan laughed.
Bryce didn't. "Who do you want here?"
"Uh…" I hoped he wasn't going where I thought he was going…
"You want Corrigan here or do you want me? You have to choose, Sheldon."
I swallowed over a knot. Bryce had gone exactly where I thought he was going.
"Sheldon," Corrigan started.
I didn't look at either of them. I couldn't. Grace had quieted, and she pulled her hand away from my arm. I wasn't ready for this, not yet, but something had happened that I wasn't aware about. I knew what choice I had to make.
Bryce demanded again. "Choose, Sheldon. You can't have us both. I'm not stupid enough to not know that something happened. You're bleeding on the floor but want me to comfort him. That's not normal. That's not…right… You have to make your decision."
Oh. Fuck. "When did this happen?"
"You might've been pissed at me, but I wasn't doing anything with Guadalupe. I was holding her back from doing something stupid. I was trying to tell her to leave me alone. Then I go to your place and what happens?! You fall into a table, bleeding, and you cry for me to help him!"
She was right. I winced against the pain and struggled to lift myself in bed. Holy hell. It sucked to be in the hospital, at least that was where I figured I was. Simple single bed. Plain gown that tied behind my neck with my bare ass hanging out. Pathetic television set mounted on the wall. A table beside me with a basin and a dull pink throw-up kidney shaped bucket. Yep. I was in the hospital.
"Go ahead. Ask away," I croaked. When I lifted a hand to my hair, Grace shot forward and swept my hair into a ponytail.
Officer Sheila was dressed in jeans and a white blazer. Her blondish brown hair was pulled back into a loose braid and she looked tired. The wrinkles around her eyes told me she'd been up for awhile. "How are you feeling, first?"
"I have twenty-six stitches. I've been better."
"Do you remember what happened?"
"I started to fall, but someone pushed me to the side. I was shoved into that glass table."
I held my breath. I expected someone to say I was crazy. They all thought I fell, but no one said a word. Bryce barely held his anger in check as he glared at a wall with his hands clenched into fists, tucked underneath his arms. Corrigan cast a wary look over him before looking back to me.
Grace held my hand. "You heal now and get better."
"Am I already on pain pills?" I asked her. She seemed nervous as she patted my hand repeatedly. I moved my hand away because it was starting to throb, but I didn't look away. Grace wouldn't meet my gaze. She stared at the wall as she kept patting my arm. Weird.
"I don't think the doctor has prescribed anything yet." Corrigan looked apologetic.
"Sheldon, you said that you were shoved?"
I focused on Sheila again and nodded. "Yeah, someone shoved me. They wanted to hurt me."
"You think they wanted to push you into the glass table?"
"Yes." I didn't mince my words. I knew it. I felt it in my gut.
Officer Patterson closed her notepad, moved forward, and touched my arm. "If you remember anything, you call me. I'll come back to finish up with our questioning, give you some time to think, if you remember anything else."
I nodded.
Bryce ground out, "There was a Dorothy girl there. I think she's Marcus Donadeli's cousin. She was serving food; some of it was catered from their restaurant."
Sheila's eyebrows shot up. "You ordered food from Donadeli's?"
"We ordered food from Sparky's. They took the place over."
Bryce further explained, "The Donadeli family sold it to the Rossi family. Dorothy Rossi is their daughter. She's cousins to Marcus Donadeli."
"And you know this how…?" Officer Patterson eyed him up and down.
He rolled his eyes. "When your girlfriend continues to go to the restaurant of the guy she killed and who stalked her, you do some investigating to make sure she'll be safe. I wanted to know what I was dealing with, what Sheldon was dealing with."
"And that Dorothy girl is weird." I shuddered.
"Rossi?"
Bryce answered again, "They're related through the sisters. Helena Donadeli is sisters with Selene Rossi."
Sheila nodded. "I got it. Any particular reason why the Rossi family decided to take over the restaurant? You got that card in your back pocket too?"
He grimaced and looked away. "I have no idea. I just wanted to know who owned it since Sheldon goes there. I didn't know if anyone was trying for revenge."
"That's what you think this is? You think this Dorothy girl wanted revenge on Sheldon? For killing her cousin?"
Bryce stared at her long and hard. "That's your job to figure out. Mine is to protect my own."
Protect my own. I'd said those exact words to countless numbers of people. That's what I did when I took care of Bryce and Corrigan. I protected my own as they were doing for me right now.
"I think we need to take a time out. Sheldon is in a lot of pain. I'm sure the doctors want to talk to her." Grace started to pat my arm again.
Officer Patterson gave her an odd look. "With all due respect, I don't think you know Sheldon that well." But she sighed and grabbed her coat. At the door, she turned back. "Sheldon, if you remember anything, you let me know. You have my number. And if you know of anyone in particular that might want to hurt you, you let me know that too. Shoving someone into a glass table where they could've been killed is a serious offense in my book, especially someone I care about."
When the door closed behind her, Grace laughed. There was a nervous tremble in it. "Care about? Since when do cops care about people?"
I looked at her with my eyebrows raised. Corrigan looked shocked, but Bryce blasted her, "She's the cop who helped us when Marcus tried to kill Sheldon. Remember that?"
"Oh…"
Grace was an idiot, but this wasn't normal behavior, even for her. She wasn't this big of an idiot, which made me wonder what else had happened tonight. She was usually strong, but now she was spineless.
Then a stabbing pain seared through me and I lifted a hand. "Can we please get some meds for me? I have to poop, and it's killing me."
Corrigan laughed.
Bryce didn't. "Who do you want here?"
"Uh…" I hoped he wasn't going where I thought he was going…
"You want Corrigan here or do you want me? You have to choose, Sheldon."
I swallowed over a knot. Bryce had gone exactly where I thought he was going.
"Sheldon," Corrigan started.
I didn't look at either of them. I couldn't. Grace had quieted, and she pulled her hand away from my arm. I wasn't ready for this, not yet, but something had happened that I wasn't aware about. I knew what choice I had to make.
Bryce demanded again. "Choose, Sheldon. You can't have us both. I'm not stupid enough to not know that something happened. You're bleeding on the floor but want me to comfort him. That's not normal. That's not…right… You have to make your decision."
Oh. Fuck. "When did this happen?"
"You might've been pissed at me, but I wasn't doing anything with Guadalupe. I was holding her back from doing something stupid. I was trying to tell her to leave me alone. Then I go to your place and what happens?! You fall into a table, bleeding, and you cry for me to help him!"
