Love Survives (Love's Suicide #2)(69)
It was obvious that I was losing my composure. When I reached my room I took one look at my friend and knew it was important to calm down. “What’s up with you?” He asked.
“I don’t have time to explain. Toss me that bag. I’m going to be staying somewhere else tonight.”
“Did something happen, Brooks? Are you in trouble?”
I shook my head while packing the bag with my kit and then some clothes. “I’m fine. It’s my daughter and her mother. Her husband used her as a punching bag. Apparently it’s been going on for while. This time I put a stop to it.”
“Jesus, is she okay?”
“She’s got a nice sized gash in her head. I’m going to do my best to stitch it myself. She doesn’t want to leave the hotel to go to a hospital.”
“If you need anything you’ve got my number. It sounds like you’re knee deep in drama. Didn’t you just find out about this kid the other day?”
I turned to face him, nodding at the same time. “Yeah. It’s a long story; one too long to explain tonight. All you need to know is that Kat and I have a long history. We grew up together, under the same roof actually. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to protect her. I need to jet. I’ll check back in the morning. I’ve got duty.”
“Alright, man. See you then.”
I was able to grab everything that B would need if she were to get hungry or want a drink before heading back to the hotel. In all honesty it felt so good to be on my way to spend the night with them. I wasn’t thinking about it on some sexual level. This was about spending time with my girls, keeping them safe, and reminding them that I’d never let anything bad happen.
When I entered the room again, I saw B on the bed. She’d fallen asleep to her show and was still in the same position as when I left her. I stood there for a second taking in how cute she was. Cuddling up next to her was something I’d cherish. I still couldn’t believe we’d made something so perfect.
I could hear Kat sniffling in the bathroom. The sound of water splashing let me know she’d taken my advice and gotten a hot bath. I cracked open the door and heard her adjusting. “It’s just me.”
She’d tried to put rags over herself to prevent me from looking at her naked body. I found it cute.
“Do you mind?” She asked.
“No, I don’t mind at all. It’s nothing I haven’t seen before.” That was the truth. I’d memorized every inch of her a long time ago.
She threw a wet rag at my face. I caught it in the air. “Go away, you perv!”
I left the room laughing at her. At least she seemed in better spirits.
While Kat got herself out of the tub, I crawled on the bed next to my daughter and watched her sleeping so peaceful, as if she had nothing in the world to worry about. I wanted her whole life to be like this; innocent and sweet. I stared at her blonde hair and those long eyelashes. Her cheeks were so full, and I could see a hint of a dimple even as her face seemed relaxed. It was amazing to me how two people could make something so perfect. She had my heart from the first moment, but now I knew she had a lot more than that. I loved Kat. It was real and true. It always had been, but this child, she owned me. In such a short amount of time she’d become my whole world. When I woke up in the morning her face was the first I saw. Kat had been right to keep the truth from me because I would have attempted to swim across the ocean to be with them. Nothing would have stopped me.
When Kat walked out of the bathroom in only a towel, she immediately caught my attention. I tried so hard to only stare at her face, but it was quite impossible, given the situation.
“Did you rob the base?” She asked while pointing to my bags.
I kept staring, like a peeping Tom. “I needed to be able to change in the morning before my shift.”
“You’re staying?” Did she really just ask me that?
She ducked down and started rummaging through her luggage for something to put on. A part of me wanted to tell her clothes weren’t important, but there was a time and a place and this wasn’t one of them. I fetched a shirt out of my bag since I knew it was the last thing I’d stuck in there. “Here, just put this on. I don’t sleep with it on anyway.”
I think I saw her smile, just a for second. “Thanks.”
Kat went into the bathroom to change, leaving me on the bed wondering why she couldn’t just do it front of me. I mean, she had nothing to hide. We’d bathe together when we were little, and since then I’d seen everything she had to offer.
While she was in the bathroom she spoke. “So, are you sure you know how to stitch?”
“Yeah, I learned it in basic. I need you to get under the light and let me look at it. I may need to clip a piece of hair to be able to get a clean stitch.” I grabbed my kit and some whiskey out of my bag and watched her look down at me. “You’re probably going to want to drink this.”
“Seriously? I’ll get drunk.” It was extremely difficult to focus on anything but her in that t-shirt.
“I’ll keep you from stripping and handing out your number to strangers. Just take a few swigs and lay on your stomach.”
I could tell when I first touched her with the needle that she was in pain. I hate being the one to hurt her, but this was necessary. She needed to get sewn up to prevent infection.