UNTOUCHED (Midwest Alphas) (Book 1) (12 page)

“What the hell are you doing?” I ask him.

Tobias lowers his fists briefly and pauses to take a breath. “Training,” he says, keeping his eyes forward.

“Why are you training? You should be resting.” My eyes fall to his glistening body, but I force myself to look away.

“I’ve been resting for two days, Claire,” he points out before jabbing the bag again.

“That’s not enough.”

He finally drops his fists and turns to look at me. I bite my inner cheek, forcing myself not to look him up and down again. “Don’t you have chores to do?”

“I already finished.”

“We shouldn’t be seen like this,” he says, looking over my shoulder towards the house.

“Charlie’s gone.”

“Where’d he go?”

“Jefferson City.”

Tobias turns back to the punching bag and chuckles. “Let me guess, farm equipment?”

“Yeah.”

He raises his fists, this time switching sides to lead with his left. “Dad’s got a thing for antiques.” He throws another punch at the bag.

I watch him pivot back and forth. The bruises, which were a deep red just days ago, have healed somewhat, but not enough to make me feel better about him being out of bed. “How’s it feel?” I ask.

“It’s manageable.” He puts on a tough front, but I can tell he’s holding back on his punches. His movements are sloppy and slow and he’s favoring his left side.

“Liar,” I say.

He throws a last punch and turns around to look at me. “You should go find something to keep you busy.”

“And what are you going to do?”

“I have an errand to run,” he says.

“Tobias, you can’t go anywhere like this—”

“Claire.” He clenches his jaw. “I’ll be all right.”

I look down his body again, still as worried as ever. Tobias has his mind set on this. I have to trust that he knows what he’s doing, or else I’m sure I’ll go insane. “Okay,” I whisper.

He looks back at me. “Hey,” he says, taking a quick step forward. “Like I said, I’ve had worse.”

I nod. “I trust you.”

His lips curl and he reaches out to drop a hand on my shoulder. “Thanks for checking in on me,” he says. “You didn’t have to do that.”

I shift slightly. “Someone had to…”

“Did Dad ask any questions?”

“No, you usually sleep all day anyway. I don’t think he noticed.”

“Good.”

I follow him back to the house, keeping a close eye on him as he climbs the stairs to the porch. He goes into the kitchen for a glass of water and I linger back in the doorway.

My eyes fall to the kitchen table and I chew on my lip. “Hey, can I ask you something?”

Tobias looks over at me. “Like what?”

“Who’s Mary?”

He pauses and sets the empty glass down in the sink. “Why do you ask?”

“The other day, Charlie called me Mary by mistake,” I explain. “He wouldn’t say who she was.”

Tobias fills his chest with a deep inhale and holds it for a second. “Mary’s my sister,” he finally answers. “You live in her room.”

“Oh,” I mutter. “Well, that… answers those questions.” I look at him and his eyes drop to the floor. “Where is she now?” I ask. He doesn’t answer and quite a few moments pass by in silence. His attentions shift around the room, avoiding me at all costs. “Tobias?”

“Get dressed.” He walks out of the kitchen and starts up the stairs.

“What?” I ask, following behind him.

“Get cleaned up and meet me outside.”

“Why?”

He turns around and looks down at me, towering higher than usual with the aid of the stairs. “Do you want to know where she is or not?”

It’s so blunt, I grip the banister beside me to hold me steady. “Yes,” I say, the word falling off my lips fast.

“Then get dressed.” He turns back up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

“I’m not supposed to leave the farm,” I point out, standing still.

“We’ll get back before he does.”

I rush to my room and do as he asks, grabbing a clean shirt and jacket from the closet to wear while the rest of my clothes are in the wash. My eyes scan the walls.
Mary’s
walls. I’ve been occupying her living space for a few weeks now, but I still don’t know anything about her. I wear her clothes every day. I read her books. I’ve been dying to know more and if Tobias has decided to leak the details, then I’ll take what I can get.

I step outside to see Tobias sitting on his motorbike, waiting for me. “Where are we going?” I ask.

“A hospital,” he says.

I quicken my pace towards him. “You said you were okay—”

“Not for me,” he says, holding out his helmet. “Put this on.”

It’s so heavy, I nearly drop it. “Whoa—” I say, tightening my grip. “Why is this thing so big?”

“So I don’t crack my skull open on the highway,” he says.

“Don’t have to be so graphic about it…”

“And here I thought you liked a bit of violence now and then,” he teases.

I lift the helmet and set it down on my head. He presses his hand on the top and forces it down until it’s secure. “What about you?” I say, my voice partially muffled.

“I’ll be—”

“Fine,”
I interrupt, finishing the thought. “Right, of course.”

He glares at me, but his lips curl into a smile. I try not to imagine how silly I look with a giant motorcycle helmet sitting above my petite shoulders. Thankfully, he says nothing about it, but his smile tells me everything. “Sit behind me and hold on tight.”

I slide onto the seat. “This is just like riding a horse, right?” I ask.

“What?” he asks, glancing back at me. “Rebellious city girl like you never ridden a bike before?”

“Your knowledge of city life is extremely outdated,” I quip.

Tobias turns the ignition and revs the engine twice. “I’ll take it slow,” he says.

I hold on, wrapping my arms around him just like I did on the horse, but I pay close attention to his body language to make sure I’m not putting too much pressure on his wounds. He does as he says he would and we take it slow until we reach the highway. Then, he picks up the speed and we race towards our destination. While I’m shaking with fear inside, I can’t help but love the thrill of it. Every moment with Tobias is like a fierce chemical high. He’s taken me to new heights, ones I’ve never experienced before.

We ride for over an hour and a half, crossing through three small towns, until we finally reach the outskirts of St. Louis.

***

Tobias doesn’t say a word as he leads me into the facility.

I’m so full of questions, but I’m too scared to say them out loud. I know that eventually, if I just wait a little longer, the answers will present themselves to me, but I’ve never been a very patient person. I lick my lips, preparing myself to say something, but I catch that serious look in Tobias’ eyes and my lips fall closed again.

When he said we’d be going to a hospital, I expected something much larger. The building is small, maybe only about two stories tall, and carries a far homier vibe than I think of when I hear the term
hospital
.

“Hello, Tobias!”

He gives the woman sitting at the front desk a quick wave, but he doesn’t slow down.

“They know you here…” I say.

“Yeah,” he mutters.

We round the first corner and I catch glimpses of the patients lying in the passing rooms. They’re all small and fragile, with weak bodies and translucent skin. Unconscious and unmoving. Their lives attached to machines. I slow down my stride, transfixed by the sight, when the reality begins to dawn on me.

This is where people go to die.

“Tobias…” I whisper.

He turns back and takes my hand. “Come on,” he says. “Just keep your head down.”

I stare at my feet and I let him drag me through the silent hallways until we he finally pauses in front of an open doorway.

“Claire,” he begins, “this is Mary.”

I look into the room. There’s a girl, no older than myself, lying in the bed. Her eyes are closed. Her black hair, long and perfect, lies on either side of her pale face. Her hands, small like mine, lie across her lap with overlapping fingers. A rhythmic whooshing sounds cuts the silence in pieces as a respirator forces air into her lungs through a plastic tube sticking out of her mouth.

I turn away. “What happened to her?” I ask Tobias.

He steps into the room. I stay behind, clinging to the doorway. “She got mixed up with some bad people,” he says, staring down at Mary’s serene expression. “Started taking drugs, staying out all night. She’d go missing for days at a time and come back home blitzed out of her mind with no memory of where she was — or so she claimed.”

My feet carry me inside. “Where were you?”

“I…” He keeps his head down. “I was too busy with my own shit to even notice that she needed my help. Dad tried, but… by then it was already too late. One day, she didn’t come home at all.” He reaches out to her and touches her hands softly, careful not to disturb her graceful pose. “They found her by the side of the road, about a mile away from the house.”

I clutch my chest, staring across the room at her thin face. “Jeez…” I breathe, unable to process any other words or sounds.

He turns to me and somehow, he shows a smile to lighten the mood. “They want to move her somewhere smaller and closer to home, but…” He shakes his head once. “She can’t get the care she deserves there. As long as we keep paying, they can’t touch her.”

I look into his dark eyes. “Is this why you fight?” I ask slowly.

“She’s why I fight,” he says. “The money I get from the tournament will be more than enough to keep her here until she wakes up.”

“Do they think she will?”

“Doc says there’s a good chance.” He looks at her again. “That’s good enough for me.”

My eyes wander her pale, blank face, as he leans over to plant a kiss on her head. “I feel awful…” I mutter.

“Why?” he asks.

“I live in her room.”

Tobias steps away from the bed. “Don’t feel bad, Claire.” He pauses next to me. “Beds were meant to be slept in. Books were made to be read.” His eyes fall to my jacket. “Clothes were meant to be worn. She’d want that.”

My skin crawls. “I’m so sorry, Tobias,” I say, forcing the lump in my throat down.

He smiles again and cups my cheek with warm fingers. “Well, I get the feeling she’d like you. Probably wouldn’t mind you borrowing her stuff for a little while.”

It’s supposed to comfort me, but the lump grows. This girl — she’s just like me in almost every way. One more party, one more hit, one more burst of anger from Rick, and it could be me lying in this bed, trapped inside a body that no longer does its job. I feel nauseous and scared. My skin itches, eager to rid myself of her clothing. It’s too much for me to handle. It’s not—

“Claire…” Tobias whispers my name, drawing me out of my dark spiral of thoughts. “Let’s go home.”

I nod as he wipes a tear off my cheek.

***

We stop at a gas station just down the street from the hospital. Tobias climbs off the motorbike to refill our tank while I watch the cars pass by us on the busy street and fight the tears stinging my eyes. As hard as he tried to comfort me, I can’t shake the spiders off my skin. I can’t sit still without that black pit in my stomach getting darker and stronger.

I pull the large helmet off my head and set it down on the seat. “I’m going to use the bathroom,” I tell Tobias. He nods, saying nothing, but I notice him keep his eyes on me while I step inside. I’ve gotten used to him watching over me and I don’t mind it, but right now, I need a moment to myself.

The gas station is nearly deserted, save the bored-looking cashier leaning over the counter with a dirty magazine in his hands. I follow the broken neon sign pointing towards the restrooms to the back corner and pull the door open.

More tears hit my cheeks before I even manage to lock the door behind me. I haven’t recovered from what I just saw and I’m honestly not sure I ever will. My heart breaks slowly in my chest, each passing moment feeling worse than the one that came before it. I turn on the hot water and let the faucet run onto my cold, shaking hands.

I live in her room.

I think of Charlie. Even he makes a little more sense now. There are moments when he looks over at me and I feel like he’s looking right through me. Now I know why. He’s not looking at me, he’s looking at Mary — the person he failed to help before it was too late.

I wipe the tears off my face before leaving the bathroom.

“Claire.”

I freeze and look up, his voice scratching down my spine. His thick shoulders cast a dark shadow over me and I quiver down to the bone.

Pike the Punisher.

“Oh, hi—” My tongue goes numb in my mouth and I choke on my words. I try to step around him, but he easily blocks my path.