Page 20 of Embers in the Dark

“Maybe we should gather some belongings. We can always come back in a few days and grab a few more things too. But for now, some things for overnight essentials would be best. I think whomever you’re staying with probably has a few things you can borrow, just tell me what to grab for you and I’ll throw it in a carry-on or something,” I tell her, moving toward her room.

I realize I’m moving toward her room and she isn’t following. I come back out to the living room and Baylee is still staring at that wall.

“Baylee, we need to get you to the hospital. Come show me some stuff I can grab for you. You don’t have to lift a finger. Just a few items are fine. I bet your friend has whatever else you need. Then your brother or I can drive back and grab a few more things for you before you officially move again and get situated wherever you end up,” I explain.

This move was news to me. Then again, I barely talk to Baylee anymore and Rios never talks about his sister to me, so I shouldn’t be so surprised. I’ll let her tell me more as she chooses. I turn and make my way to her room, hearing her footsteps following this time.

I walk into her closet and find her carry-on luggage easily. Pulling it down, I bring it to her bed and unzip it, waiting for her to guide me in what to grab. I was so distracted I hadn’t noticed the few packed boxes around her room. She must’ve been preparing to move prior to all this happening with Myles.

“Okay, let me know what I should start putting in here.You can sit down and I’ll do all the heavy lifting,” I tell her. I want to get her to the hospital as soon as possible.

“Um, just some of those dresses right there.” She points to some items hanging in the closet, so I go ahead and begin pulling items off the hangers. From there, she continues guiding me and I fold and place items in the luggage. Little by little it fills up. She gets up to get her underwear and toiletries. Once the bag is full, I close it up.

“Okay, is there anything else you want to grab before we head out?” I ask her.

She grabs a change of clothes and places it in a tote. “I’ll change once I get the all-clear from the hospital staff. I assume they’ll need me to keep this on until they evaluate me,” she explains, pulling her arm around her middle again.

I simply nod, keeping my anger below the surface because I still have to compartmentalize my feelings right now. I can’t let my mind wander to what Myles did to her tonight.

“Alright. Then we’ll go to the hospital. Did you let your friend know we’ll be headed their way after we’re done at the hospital? I know it’ll likely be a few hours, but it’s good they’re aware.” I don’t know what time of night it’ll be once we’re done over at Connecticut General, but I have a feeling the sun will be rising. I’ll have to let the Rios family know what happened here sooner rather than later.

“Um, yeah, about that,” Baylee begins.

“Do you need your phone?” I ask. I realize then I haven’t seen her with her phone.

“No, it’s not that. My move. Not many know about it. I, um”—she looks down—“I’m moving back to Boston.”

“Oh. I didn’t know.” This is completely out of left field and has my head spinning.

“Yeah, it’s sort of a new turn of events. But it’s a great opportunity with school for me. I’m transferring. It just happened within the last week. It has nothing to do with what happened tonight, although it’s perfect timing. And,yeah, um, I don’t have housing figured out yet. I have most of my stuff packed up.” She motions with her hand around her room.

“Okay, so are you going to stay with your parents?” I ask.

“That sounded like a probable plan at first, sure.” The way she isn’t looking at me makes my heart rate uptick.

“Okay, what am I missing, Bay?”

It’s only then she looks up at me and the determination in her eyes is the first time I see that a piece of the strength Baylee possesses is still in there.

“You’re the friend I want to move in with, Tucker.”

CHAPTER 7

Baylee

Why dohospitals all have the same feel to them? A coldness laced throughout the halls. I sit in the gurney, waiting on my nurse to come back into the makeshift room, and the beeping on my monitor leaves me feeling more alone here than when I woke up in my apartment.

Unfortunately, Tucker had to stay in the waiting area while I was being assessed back here. I don’t know what a difference it would’ve made though because he was a statue after I dropped that bomb about staying with him.

I know, maybe I shouldn’t have sprung it on him like that. But what was I supposed to do? Wait until we were here and my family was surrounding me? I mean, that seems like the wrong time. Actually, no one trains you how to react when your ex-boyfriend physically attacks you and your life is completely catapulted into this new dimension. This wasn’t supposed to be my life.

I reacted rashly, but living with Tucker is probably the best course of action. I can’t live with my parents right now; Myles will find me there. And there’s no way I’ll stay with Danny. He’d likely be a nightmare if I stayed with him. If I thought he was protective before, now he’ll be one hundred timesworse. Plus, Tucker will act like I’m a normal human being at least. He won’t treat me like a delicate piece of porcelain. I need to live my life as normally as possible. I want to move to Boston and continue to tackle my life and forge ahead toward my goals. This isn’t going to derail my plans.

As much as I was pining after him, Tucker has no romantic feelings for me, and I’ll just have to put whatever I felt for him aside while we’re sharing a space. I can do this as I adjust at my new school. We’ll be fine together. This will be a good test of wills for me.

“Okay, Ms. Rios, good news.” Dr. Berkett walks around the curtain. “Your X-ray shows no rib fractures, which is always a good sign. You have bruising, which will take a few days to subside.”

I wrap my arms around my middle. “That’s good news.”

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