Beautiful Oblivion (Maddox Brothers #1)(73)
Author: Jamie McGuire

He knocked a few times, gently, his eyes soft again. “Baby, roll down the window.”

I gripped the steering wheel, and then looked over at him from under my brow, my cheeks wet.

“I’m sorry. I’ll find your phone. But you can’t take off in your car upset.”

I stared ahead, releasing the emergency break.

Trenton put his palm flat against the glass. “Cami, if you want to take a drive, fine, but scoot over. I’ll drive you anywhere you need to go.”

I shook my head. “You’re going to find out. And when you do, it’s going to ruin everything.”

Trenton frowned. “Find what out? Ruin what?”

I turned to him. “I’m going to tell you. I want to tell you. But not right now.” I stomped on the clutch, and shoved the gear into reverse, backing out of the parking spot. I lowered my chin and cried for a few moments.

Trenton was still tapping my window. “Look at me, baby.”

I took a deep breath, pushed the gear up into first, and then lifted my head, looking forward.

“Cami, you can’t drive like this . . . Cami!” he said louder as I pulled away.

I made it to the parking lot entrance when the passenger door flew open. Trenton hopped inside, breathing hard.

“Baby, pull over.”

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Pull over, and let me drive.”

I pulled into the street and headed west. I had no plan to get to T.J., and now that Trenton was in the car, I really didn’t know what to do. And then it hit me. I would just take him to T.J. Get it all out in the open. T.J. had brought this on himself. If he had left me alone, I wouldn’t be in this position. But I needed to give Trenton time to cool off, first. I needed to drive.

“Pull over, Cami.” Trenton’s voice had an edge to it I’d never heard before. He was anxious and calm at the same time. It was unsettling.

I sniffed, and then wiped my eyes with my sleeve. “You’re going to hate me,” I said.

“I’m not going to hate you. Pull over, and I’ll drive all night if you want. We can talk about it.”

I shook my head. “No, you’re going to hate me, and I’ll lose everything.”

“You won’t lose me, Camille. I swear to Christ, but you’re all over the goddamn road! We’re on the edge of town, and will hit dirt road soon. Pull the f**k over!”

In that moment, a pair of glowing lights converged into one. I barely caught a glimpse of it from the corner of my eye, and then my head hit the window, smashing the glass into a thousand tiny pieces. Some of the shards flew outward, but most fell into my lap, or floated in the cab of the Jeep as it slid across the intersection and into a ditch on the other side. Time stood still for what seemed like several minutes, and then we were airborne as the Jeep began to roll. Once. Twice. And then I lost count, because everything went black.

I awoke in a room with white walls and white blinds that kept the sunlight from peeking through. I blinked a few times, looking at my surroundings. A television was on overhead but was muted, playing an old Seinfeld rerun. Wires and tubes were strung from my arms to a pair of poles next to me, the monitors attached to them beeped softly. A small box was stuffed into a front pocket on my gown, the wires following one another to sticky circles attached to my chest. Bags of clear liquid hung from one pole, releasing a continuous drip through to my IV. The tubing ended with a few pieces of tape on the back of my hand.

Just beyond my fingertips was a head full of very short, brown hair. It was Trenton. He was facing away from me, his cheek resting against the mattress. His left arm was over my legs, the other was propped between the bed and his chair, wrapped in a thick, lime-green cast. There were already several signatures on it. Travis had signed his name under a short note that simply said, “Pussy.” Another was from Hazel with a perfect impression of her bright red lipstick. Abby Abernathy signed it with “Mrs. Maddox.”

“It’s like a little guest book. Trent hasn’t left your side, so everyone who’s visited you has signed his cast.”

I narrowed my eyes, barely making out T.J. sitting in a chair in a dark corner of the room. I looked back down at the cast. All of Trenton’s brothers had signed, his dad Jim, my mom, and all of my brothers. Even Calvin’s and Bishop’s names were there.

“How long have I been here?” I whispered. My voice sounded like I’d been gargling with gravel.

“Since yesterday. You’ve got a pretty good gash on your head.”

I lifted my hand to gently finger the bandages wrapped around my head. A concentration of gauze bulged at my left temple, and when I put the smallest bit of pressure on it, a sharp pain shot down to the base of my skull. I winced.

“What happened?” I asked.

“A drunk male ran the stop sign going about sixty. He fled the scene, but he’s in custody now. Trenton carried you over a mile to the closest house.”

My eyebrows pulled together as I looked at Trenton. “With a broken arm?”

“Broken in two places. I don’t know how he did it. Must have been pure adrenaline. They had to put that cast on in your room in the ER. He refused to leave you. Even for a second. Even for the CAT scan. The nurses are all in love.” He offered a half-smile, but it was devoid of any real happiness.

I sat up, and glittering stars formed in my eyes. I fell back against the bed, feeling nauseated.

“Easy,” T.J. said, standing.

I swallowed. My throat was dry and scratchy.

T.J. walked over to a small table at the end of my bed and poured water into a cup. I took it from him and sipped. It burned all the way down, even though it was ice water.

I touched the top of Trenton’s head. “Does he know?”

“Everyone knows. About you. About us. But not about me. I’d like to keep it that way. For now.”

I looked down, feeling a sob well up in my throat. “Then why is he here?”

“The same reason I’m here. Because he loves you.”

A tear fell down my cheek. “I didn’t mean to . . .”

T.J. shook his head. “I know, honey. Don’t cry. It’s going to be okay.”

“Is it? Now that everyone knows, how could it ever be anything but awkward, and tense, and . . .”

“Because it’s us. We’ll handle it.”

Trenton’s right fingers twitched. His cast became dislodged and his arm fell. He jerked awake, and then grabbed his shoulder, clearly in pain. When he realized my eyes were open, he immediately stood, leaned over, and touched my cheek with his left hand. The bridge of his nose was swollen, and the skin under both of his eyes bore matching purple half-moons. “You’re awake!” He beamed while his eyes scanned my face.