Taking Chances (Blackrock Book 2) (2 page)

My
dad stands up hugging me. “I’m sorry, sweetheart, I hope
he is okay.”

I
nod. “Okay, I have to go.”

Driving
to Knox’s, takes me longer than usual because they have the
hill down to one lane. “Come on!” I shout to the other,
cars checking the time. As soon as I can go, I step on it, making it
to his house just before one o’clock. Crap, he will be pissed.
I just beep and wait for him. After about five minutes, I get out and
ring the bell, no answer. He left, “Shit.” Taking out my
phone, I call him,

“Hello,”
he answers groggily.

“Hi,
babe, I am outside.”

I
hear him moving around. “Shit I was asleep, look up,” he
says.

I
step off the porch and look up. He opens his window, dropping his
keys.

“I’m
jumping in the shower,” he says out the window.

Letting
myself in, I walk up the stairs and lay on his bed. His tux is draped
over the chair at the desk with dirt on the knees from the road. I
roll off the bed, deciding to get him something to wear. I grab a
pair of faded jeans and a long sleeve shirt from the drawer just as
he walks in.

“Hey,
Darlin’.” He kisses me while drying his hair.

I
can’t help myself; I have to touch his body, running my fingers
from his chest to the towel line. I smile at him and he pulls me
close, kissing me.

“Later,
Darlin’,” he says against my lips.

“I
know I just wanted to touch you.” I wink at him and pull off
his towel.

“Pervert.”
He shakes his head, smiling at me.

Handing
him his clothes, I sit on the bed watching him dress.

“So
how was the encounter?” I ask while he pulls on his boots.

“Okay
I guess. I still want to hit him all over again but Max is his son,
so I can’t do shit about him being here.” He stands up to
fix his hair and grabs his phone from the pillow.

“Ready,
darlin’?” I jump off the bed linking his fingers with
mine.

We
reach the hospital by one thirty and his father is already there
sitting with Max when we walk into the room.

He
looks up at us. “Hi.”

Knox
nods and I give a weak smile because I am not sure if I should say
hello; I don’t want to betray Knox. Knox sits beside Max while
I stand behind his chair and his dad looks at me.

“Would
you like to sit?” he asks, standing up.

I
wave my hand. “No thank you Mr. Porter,” I say in reply.

Knox
takes my hand, sitting me on his lap. “Sorry, Darlin’, I
wasn’t thinking.” He wraps his arms around me, holding me
close.

I
look at Max lying there I can’t even fathom it. He looks like a
little boy but with tattoos. No one says anything until the doctor
comes in about an hour later.

“Mr.
Porter?” he shakes their dad’s hand then Knox’s.

“Max is looking better but
I want him to remain in the coma until all the swelling goes down. I
will be moving him to a private room tomorrow, and he will have to go
through a lot of physical therapy when the casts come off. His pelvis
will take the longest to heal so he will be here a while.”

We
all stare at him, then Mr. Porter asks, “How long is a while?”
the Doctor flicks through some papers.

“A
couple of months, depending on how he is in physical therapy.”

Knox’s
dad rakes his fingers through his hair, so now I know where they get
that gesture from.

“Okay,
thank you, Doctor.”

We
all stare at Max who will have a rough road ahead of him. I feel Knox
shake and when I turn to look at him, I see tears rolling down his
cheeks.

“Babe,
he will be fine; he has us,” I whisper, wiping his tears with
my hand.

He
takes a shuddering breath. “I hope so Bailey,” he croaks
and my heart hurts for him so much as I pull him onto my, chest
giving what comfort I can.

I
am more tired than I thought, and keep yawning.

“You
can go home, Bailey, if you’re tired,” Knox says, cupping
my cheek.

“No
I am fine. I am waiting for you. You are staying with me tonight.”

He
smirks at me. “Am I now?”

I
nod in answer, yawning again. “I am going to try Paige again.
I’ll pick up some cafeteria sludge on my way back.”
kissing him quickly, I get up to leave. “Mr. Porter, would you
like a coffee?” I ask as Knox shoots me a look.

“Yes
please,” he answers, taking out his wallet.

“I’ve
got it.” I wave, walking away.

Once
I am outside, the cold air wakes me up like a slap on the face. I
swipe my phone and call Paige. Finally she answers

“Hello,”
she says, sounding terrible.

“Hi, Paige, how are you?”

I
hear her sniffle. “Okay.” Jesus she sounds far from okay.

“Do
you want me to come over?” I ask, hoping she is okay.

“No I am at my parent’s
house, the police have just left. They wanted another statement.”
She sniffles again,

“Paige,
if you need me I am here, okay? Don’t go through this alone.”

“I
know, Bailey thanks. How is Max?”

Now
it’s my turn to sigh. “He is in a coma, has broken legs
and pelvis and swelling on the brain.”

I
hear her sob. “It’s my fault, Bailey, it’s all my
fault.”

Oh
my god, what is she saying?

“No,
Paige, it’s not. It was an accident.”

She
is crying harder now. “No it’s my fault,” she says
before hanging up.

I
don’t know what to think, she sounds in a bad way. I stay
outside for another ten minutes just to people watch before heading
to the cafeteria. The coffee is not actually that bad, and I sip on
mine as I walk back in to Max’s room with two more cups. Knox
and his father are sitting silently, both watching Max as the
ventilator swooshes.

“Coffee’s
here,” I say, putting the cups on the bed tray. They both turn
their wary faces towards me. “I spoke to Paige,” I
announce, and Knox’s dad stands quickly.

“What
did she say? Does she have information?”

I
shake my head. “No she said the police came and took another
statement from her but that was it,” I lie.

He
is standing, looking at me like I have just fed him a load of bull.

“Did
she say anything else? Is she coming here to see him? To even let us
know what’s going on?” He holds his arms out from his
sides looking at me for answers I don’t have, then Knox gets up
to stand in front of me.

“Don’t
interrogate my girlfriend. She wasn’t fucking there, she was
with me.”

Mr.
Porter sighs, “I am sorry, forgive me. I am just trying to find
out what happened.” Je looks at me apologetically.

“I
understand,” I say still, hiding half behind Knox.

Knox
turns to me. “Thanks for calling her, Darlin’. Is she
okay?”

I shake my head. “No she is
in bits. She said she is staying with her parents for now.”
Knox smooth’s my ponytail while drinking his coffee looking at
me. “You okay?” I whisper, he nods then rolls his eyes.

3 weeks later

Max

My
head feels like it’s trapped below a ton of bricks. I can’t
move my body and I don’t know where the hell I am. All I can
remember is Paige crying, standing in front of me as she told me her
news. I was holding her hand as we crossed the street to campus.

“You
okay, angel? You’ve been acting weird for a while now. Are you
looking to get rid of me already?” I teased her.

“What!
No, Max, I don’t want to get rid of you but you might want
out,” she said, looking sad.

“Hey,
what is it, Paige? Tell me,” I asked, stopping in the middle of
the road; there are no cars around tonight anyway.

Paige
has her head down looking at her feet and I can hear her sniffle. She
is starting to worry me now. Maybe her ex is back in the picture.

Lifting
her chin I make her look at me. “Tell me please,” I plead
wiping away her tears.

“I’m
late,” she whispers.

“Late
for what, angel? It’s three in the morning.” I smile, but
she shakes her head as more tears run down her face.

“No,
Max, I’m late, as in late late.”

I
have no idea what this chick is talking about; she is not making any
sense. Taking off my jacket, I wrap it around her.

“Paige,
late?” I question.

She
takes a deep breath. “My period is late,” she says and
looks at me.

My
heart stops in my chest, fuck! How the fuck is that possible.

“Are
you sure? We were careful all the time.”

I
am stunned I can’t believe this. My whole future is down the
drain now; no business with Knox, who is going to fucking kill me.

“I
am going to the doctor tomorrow to get a blood test but yes, I am
sure.”

She
snaps me out of my own insane ramblings. I can see she is scared and
I am not helping matters, so I take her in my arms.

“I
will go with you. We will be okay. If we are pregnant, we will have a
few decisions to make, but we will be okay.”

I
kiss her head trying to comfort her as much as myself, what the fuck
did I do?

“Max!”
Paige shouts, pulling away from me.

I
turn to see two bright lights heading for us. I push Paige as hard as
I can to move her just as the car hits me. I feel the bones in my
legs crunch before the pain paralyses me. I feel my body float into
the air; it all happens in slow motion - The stars, the pain as I
bounce off the window, the stars again then the road and blackness…

Opening
my eyes hurts; it’s like they are glued together. I try to lift
my hand but it’s too heavy. I can hear beeping and figure it
must be my phone. I manage to crack open one eye only to be hit with
a bright light - what the fuck, Knox? I am going to kick his ass for
messing with me. I know I drank last night but Jesus, not that much.
I try my eyes again even though I know the light is waiting for me.
Opening them I call out to Knox; he is fucking dead when I find out
what he has done to me.

I
guess Bailey did bring my old brother back; the one who likes to play
practical jokes on people.

“Knox,
motherfucker!” I see his face appear above me. “What did
you do to me?” I croak out.

“Hey
don’t talk, bro. Just wait a sec,” he says and takes off.

Don’t
talk! What the hell is doing now? I am getting really pissed and I
try to sit up but pain radiates through my body, causing me to scream
out. “I can just about see Knox through my tears when he is
back by my side, looking worried.”

“What
is going on, Knox?”

I
feel his hand in mine so I squeeze it and he lifts my hand to his
chest. “Max, you are in hospital. Take it easy the doctor, is
on the way.”

I
shake my head. “No, Knox. Paige, is she okay?” I can only
manage a whisper

“Yeah
bro, she is okay. Just hang on a minute.”

I
can see a doctor and a nurse come in. The nurse is pushes Knox away
from me but I grip his hand.

“Knox,
Knox,” I call.

“It’s
okay, Max. I’m here; they are just going to check you, okay?”

He
lets my hand go and I can feel my panic rising. “No, Knox, not
okay,” I say as the nurse finally moves him away.

The
doctor shines a light in my eyes, making me flinch while the nurse is
poking and prodding me.

“Get
away from me!” I shout at her, trying to get up.

Knox
is beside me again. “Calm down, Max” he says, holding my
shoulders.

I
don’t know what the fuck is going on here, but I grab his arms,
holding on to him like he is a life raft and beg him with my eyes not
to leave me.

“I’ve
got you, bro, I’ve got you,” he says with tears in his
eyes.

“You’re
scaring me, Knox. I can’t feel my legs,” I whisper as my
own tears fall.

He
leans down wrapping his arms around me. “It’s okay, Max.
We will get through this together, okay?”

What
the fuck is he saying here? Are my legs gone? Can I not walk?

“Max
I am Doctor Murphy.” The doctor speaks and I look over I see
him and see him watching my brother and me. I just nod, refusing to
let go of Knox like a two year old with his mama. “You were in
an accident on New Years Eve, do you remember?”

“I
nod as Knox lifts himself up, still maintaining a firm grip on my
hand.”

“Well
you got some serious injuries and we had to put you in a medical coma
for the past three weeks.”

Three
weeks? What? I look around in confusion.

“Knox,
what the hell? No that was last night,” I say but Knox shakes
his head.

“You had swelling on the
brain so we had to make sure it came down by itself before waking you
up. You have two broken legs and a broken pelvis,” Dr Murphy
says and he is not making this any better.

“Will
I walk?” I ask, squeezing Knox’s hand.

“Yes
with some therapy, but it will be a rough road,” the doctor
answers; I just nod.

“Okay,
can I talk to my brother now?” I ask and both Dr Murphy and the
nurse leave.

“Jesus,
Max, I thought I’d never hear your asshole voice again.”
Knox grabs me, hugging me.

“I
know bro,” I say and he pulls back wiping his eyes on his arm.

“What happened? Do you
remember?”

I
nod, looking at him. “Where’s Paige? Is she okay?”

Knox
sits on the bed beside me. “She is with her parents. I haven’t
seen her, she doesn’t come to classes anymore.”

I
cover my face with my hands trying to hold it together. “I
fucked up, Knox. I really fucked up.”

He
takes my hands away. “What do you mean?” he asks, holding
a straw for me. I sip the water, which is nasty and warm.

“She
told me that night she might be pregnant,” I say looking at
him, waiting for an explosion to come but it doesn’t.

“Is
she for sure or just late?”