Page 9 of Reconciling the Consequences

“I’ve been on my own most of my life.” She shrugged. “I’m used to it.”

Derrick shook his head; his green eyes were sad. “You shouldn’t have to be, baby girl.”

She shrugged and turned away from him. She focused on the TV and let the conversation go.

He turned to the nightstand, grabbed a tray he had sitting there, and handed her a plate with a sandwich, chips, and her pills in a little cup.

They were going to kill her with kindness, trying to make shit up to her. And she was going to let them.

Kara woke slowly when she awoke next. She took notice of the changes in the room first. The TV was off, the overhead fan was on, the curtains had been closed tightly—though she could still see light peeking through the slight gap and around the top edge. The room had been plunged into cool darkness.

It felt amazing.

She turned to see who was in bed with her and froze when her eyes landed on Johnny. His eyes were closed as he lay on his back. His chest was bare, and he had crawled under the covers but kept his distance in the king-size bed.

It was too dark in the bedroom to make out the bruising on his face, but she had seen it—he had two black eyes and a busted lip. His face had been almost as black and blue as hers, though his was healing faster. He was already on the yellowing stages, while she was just starting to turn from black to blue. She had some green tinged areas at the edges, but she still had several weeks of recovery ahead of her.

Kara sighed when her bladder made itself known as the reason she’d been woken. She tossed the sheet and blankets off and swung her legs around; the stack of pillows that were used to elevate her knee had been kicked away in her sleep.

She was able to bend her knee slightly without pain, and from reading her discharge papers, she really should be trying to use it more regularly at this point and only elevating and icing it to alleviate swelling.

She sat up slowly and only gasped slightly from the tinge of pain that emanated from her ribs.

“Need help?” Johnny’s thick voice startled her.

She jumped and hissed, grabbing her ribs to stem off the pain. “No,” she grumbled.

“Suit yourself.” He grunted, his breathing already evening out again.

She rolled her eyes and stood up. She took her time, using the wall to hobble toward the bathroom. All the while, Johnny slumbered peacefully in bed.

She closed the door softly behind her, though she felt like slamming it loudly to wake him up. She wasn’t that petty, though, even if he got under her skin constantly.He had to have chosen to put me in his bedroom for some reason, right?She knew the guys lived together. Derrick or Kevin could have easily had her bunk with them.

Kara did her business in the bathroom and eyed the shower wistfully. There was a built-in bench on the back wall and a detachable showerhead. Her stomach grumbled for dinner, but a shower sounded wonderful. It had been a full week since her attack and the surgery to repair her knee.

She felt gross, and the urge to shower overwhelmed her. She was still in the hospital scrubs she was sent home in, as her clothes had been destroyed at the hospital. The smart thing would be to wait for Kevin or Derrick to be around and have them help her. Her cast made it difficult to do much of anything, while her left arm was covered in twenty stitches, and she had a couple in her side from the chest drain as well.

It was unavoidable: she would need help.

She sighed and finished using the bathroom. She would have to speak to Johnny and find out if Kevin or Derrick was home. She opened the bathroom door and noticed the clock on the nightstand next to Johnny read 8:05 p.m. That would explain why there was still light coming from behind the curtains.

“Johnny?” she asked softly. He must be tired if he was in bed at eight on a Saturday night.

“Yep,” he replied without opening his eyes.

“Is Kevin or Derrick home?” she asked, tentatively.

“Nope.”

She frowned and glanced back at the shower longingly.

“What do you need?” he asked.

She shut the bathroom light off and sighed in disappointment. He was still being a dick, and she really didn’t want to ask him for help. She limped around the bed and headed back to her side.

“Kara.” Johnny groaned and sat up slowly. “What did you need?”

“Nothing,” she said.

---