Page 50 of Double Trouble

Her eyes drift closed, and her voice comes out in a whisper. “I don’t know anymore.”

The paramedic snaps her fingers in front of Mad’s face. “Maddie, you can’t sleep right now.”

“But… so tired.”

“Stay awake for me.” When Maddie’s eyes stay closed, the paramedic gives her a sternum rub. She gets a death glare and a lazy bat of Mad’s hand.

“Fine.” Mad turns to me. “Keep me awake.”

“No pressure, huh?”

“You could kiss me.”

“Probably not the time.” I nod to her neck brace. “Even though you look so sexy in that.”

She snorts, then coughs, choking on her laughter. She spews a few more non-sensible things, like how much she likes my eyes and how she wants to swim in a pool of my hair. The paramedic suppresses a grin the entire way to the hospital, and my cheeks flare up like the sun.

They wheel her into a room, and I get stuck at check-in with a buttload of paperwork. The worst part is when they ask who’ll be covering the cost—Mad’s insurance or Troublemakers. Boy, am I in some deep shit. I gulp and shake my head at the forms, leaving those spots blank.

A doctor comes out and says they’re taking her in for a CT, and she wants me there with her. I follow his long strides toward the room and find Mad in a wheelchair, hospital gown, and blanket.

“Hey, boyfriend,” she says almost normally. Fear powders her voice, her eyes red-rimmed. I crouch next to her chair and take her hand, pressing my lips to her palm.

“Hey.”

“They say my brain is broken.”

“Just a bump.” I run a hand up and down her forearm. “You’re gonna be okay.”

She gulps and gives me the saddest smile I’ve ever seen. “Is this just a bump, too?” She points to her leg and slowly, she eases the blanket from her lap.

A black boot covers her right leg from knee to toe. Dark purple peeks out from the top, spilling across her skin in scary waves. The shock resonates in my gut, and I beg myself to keep my face composed for her. Do it for her. She needs to see me relieved that there’s not more damage, that she’s still alive. But when I lift my eyes and see the stray tear falling down her cheek, I can’t hide how I feel.

The sound of her dream crashing and shattering is so loud I’m surprised no one else can hear it. All they hear are the beeps and intercom noises of an emergency room. But Mad and I… it’s an explosion so big I’m not sure either one of us will recover.

Mad’s grin greets me as she lands her twentieth hardflip for the night. We celebrate, her body up against mine as I spin her around, my camera long forgotten. I knew she could land it. I knew it wasn’t impossible, and I want to make fun of her for being so skeptical, but her lips are on mine, and all teasing is lost.

The edges of my vision turn hazy, transforming on the spot. Mad’s face twists in horror, her smile lost to a dark shadow that passes over our heads.

The thud and rumble of a thick wooden door slamming against the drywall jolts me from my nightmare, and I shoot upright in the chair next to Mad’s bed.

A chink of curtain hangers gliding on the metal rod fill the room, and Pete’s face appears. His eyes land on his sister, who is awake and suppressing a grin at her brother’s entrance.

“She’s okay,” I rush out, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. A sharp stab of pain skyrockets through my neck.

Pete’s shoulders deflate, but his jaw clenches when his gaze turns to me. I jerk back from the hate in his eyes, the fear, the anger—things I’ve never seen in his eyes till this day, and you couldn’t pay me to see them again.

“Your ass is fired,” he says, jutting a finger in my direction. “Get the hell out of here.”

“Pete—” Mad interjects, but he levels her with the same look I had the privilege of resurrecting. I reach for Mad’s hand and give it a squeeze, rising to my feet.

“I’m gonna grab some breakfast. Be back in a bit.”

“The hell you are,” Pete growls.

“Pete,” Mad repeats, and I see the look is genetic. Yikes. “I want him here, so he’s going to stay.”

I stand a little taller. There’s no way I’ll match his height, but I will fight for what Maddie wants. Mad presses her lips to the back of my hand, melting my he-man stance.

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