It Drives Me Crazy

RILEY

I can’t stand hospitals.

The smell of rubbing alcohol mingling with disinfectant makes my stomach flip. And don’t even get me started on the bland food they serve here.

I tried to convince one of the nurses to sneak in a pack of Skittles for me, but she’s more interested in keeping her job.

I can’t blame her. But I swear, if another person walks in here with that stale bread and cold oatmeal, I might just use my IV needle as a weapon.

~I’m not on my deathbed, folks. Show some respect for my taste buds!~

I stare out the window. The morning sun is blazing hot. What a perfect day to be stuck in a hospital bed. Can you hear the sarcasm?

If I hadn’t left my knife behind that day, I might have sliced open one of those muscle-bound jerks, but maybe it wasn’t in the cards for me to catch a charge.

I scratch at the irritating bandage wrapped around my head. The blue hospital pajamas, decorated with random baby dinosaurs, make me grimace.

I look like I’m battling cancer. It’s just a minor rib and head injury. Is all this really necessary?

My mom thinks I was knocking on death’s door, and I can see why she’d think that. I was out cold for days. But that was only because I was worn out. I put up a good fight against those guys.

The door to my room slides open, and I close my eyes in a silent plea. “Please! No more stale bread, please!”

“Riley.”

The sound of my best friend’s voice turns my head in her direction, and my heart fills with joy as Rainey rushes over, pulling me into one of her bone-crushing hugs.

I let out a giggle, which quickly turns into a groan as my ribs protest.

She pulls back quickly, her eyebrows furrowing in concern. “I’m sorry. I’m just so relieved you’re okay, Ry. I thought I’d lost you.”

I see the tears in her eyes, and it tugs at my heartstrings, but I play it cool, frowning.

“You know I’m not going anywhere anytime soon, Rain. God isn’t ready for me up there yet. He knows I’m a handful.”

She laughs at this. I can tell she’s been blaming herself for what happened to me. But this isn’t her fault. It’s mine, for a whole bunch of reasons.

If I’d just convinced her to come to my family reunion that night, or if I’d skipped it to watch ~The Walking Dead~ with her, she wouldn’t have ended up at that bar with Kendra and the girls.

I know Rain’s life is complicated. She often feels alone, even though she tries to hide it.

And I let her down that night, enjoying cocktails and roast chicken while she was nearly raped.

It’s all my fault.

“Have you been crying?” I ask, frowning. She sighs and gives me a sad smile. “I’m fine, Rain. You know I’m not going down without a fight. Seeing you so upset is the only thing that hurts me.”

She nods, and I give her shoulder a comforting squeeze. My gaze drifts to two familiar faces.

“I’m glad you’re okay.” Ansel smiles. “We were worried about you.”

“Thanks for coming.” I give him a genuine smile, noticing how Alex is nervously patting his head as he stands next to his brother.

He’s wearing ripped jeans and a plain black T-shirt, but he looks effortlessly handsome. His earlobes are adorned with black earrings.

Damn. He’s so attractive it’s almost intimidating. But I can’t let him see how flustered he makes me. That’s rule number one of being a badass chick.

“Thanks for coming too, Alex.” I smile, and he nods, his lips curling up slightly.

My heart does a weird flip in my chest at the sight of his dimples. I quickly look away, reaching for the teddy bear on my nightstand to distract myself.

“So, who got me this adorable teddy bear?” I ask, grinning. Ansel and Rainey both look at Alex, who suddenly looks very uncomfortable as he rubs the back of his neck.

“Uh…it was on sale, so…”

“It wasn’t.” Rainey grins. “He almost punched the store clerk to get it for you.”

“That—that’s not true.”

“It is,” Ansel laughs. “And he got drunk last night, worrying about you. He came home after one in the morning, smelling like a brewery.”

“Dude.” Alex’s eyes widen, and I can’t help but chuckle softly as my cheeks turn pink. The blush on his face is too cute.

Ansel and Rainey are laughing hysterically while Alex nods, a mischievous smirk on his face.

“Alright, alright. Since we’re sharing secrets, let me add my two cents.”

Ansel licks his lips, smiling. “Yeah? Go ahead.”

“Riley, I left these two alone in the motel room last night. You know what I walked in on?”

Rainey’s face turns bright red as I squint in curiosity.

“They were up against the balcony door, groping and kissi—”

Ansel quickly covers Alex’s mouth with his hand while he laughs, trying to pull his brother’s hand away. I frown. I didn’t catch that.

I look at Rainey, who’s blushing furiously as she quickly changes the subject. “Um, have you eaten yet, Riley?”

I give her a suspicious smile. Rain is a pro at changing the subject. I’ll definitely be asking her about Alex’s unfinished sentence later, but for now, I’m starving.

“No, they keep giving me stale bread and cold oatmeal.” I pretend to gag, and she giggles.

“I’ll go get you some food. What do you want?”

“Skittles.”

“I meant ~real~ food, Riley. ~Real~ food.”

“Skittles counts as food, Rain. It’s going in my stomach.”

“Okay, Skittles. And what else?”

I tap my chin thoughtfully. “Just a bag of Cheetos, that’s all.”

“Alright, but you’re eating a real meal later.”

I nod, my mouth watering at the thought of Skittles and Cheetos.

“I’ll go with you. Don’t want you wandering around here by yourself,” Ansel tells Rain. She nods in agreement, and they both exit the room.

He’s got a point. There could be guys lurking around, ready to snatch her. I wouldn’t want her out there alone either.

Suddenly, I realize it’s just Alex and me. My cheeks flush as I nervously play with the hem of my pajama sleeve. I try to lie down, but a sharp pain shoots through my rib, making me wince.

Alex quickly comes over, gently taking hold of my arm. “Hold on, let me fluff your pillows.”

I glance up at him, seeing the worry in his eyes. I sit up while he fluffs my pillows and then arranges them back in place.

He takes my arms gently, guiding me to lie back down. My head sinks into the soft pillows as I look up at him. His hands remain on my arms, his body hovering over me.

His dark hair brushes against my cheeks as he looks down at me.

I swallow hard, wondering why he’s still so close. His handsome face is making my cheeks betray my feelings for him.

“Promise me you won’t get hurt again,” he whispers, his eyes locked on mine. “It drives me nuts.”

I catch my breath, and before I can respond, Alex leans down and presses his lips against mine.