Somewhere Between Water and Sky (Shattered Things #2) (40 page)

“
Stupid bitch making me drop my coffee
…”
I mutter before eyeing the floor in front of me. I scoot off the chair and position my purse and the bag Emma left behind as a sufficient enough pillow. I can
’
t remember the last time I really slept and so it comes quick and painless, my brain going fuzzy as the world around me disappears.

.::.

I wake up to someone shaking my shoulder.

“
Hey. Steph. Steph. Wake up.
”

I moan and push the mysterious voice away. I reach for a blanket that isn
’
t there and pry open an eye out of confusion. Ren is standing above me, his eyes full of laughter.

And he
’
s holding an extra cup of coffee.

“
Good morning, Sunshine.
”

I rub my eyes and blink a few times before propping up on my elbows.

“
Do you need some coffee?
”
He holds out the cup and I make a gimme motion with my hands.

“
You
’
re my favorite, Ren. Don
’
t ever let anyone tell you any different.
”

I bring the cup up to my lips and breathe in the sweet scent of a spiced mocha. I can tell even before taking the first sip that it
’
s loaded with espresso shots.

He sits in one of the chairs nearby.

“
Sorry I didn
’
t reply to your text last night. I was here with Jessa last night until her dad showed.
”
He shakes his head.
“
You should have seen his face, Steph.
”

“
Was he angry?
”

He brushes his lips with the back of his hand and raises an eyebrow.
“
No. That
’
s just it. He wasn
’
t angry at all. We haven
’
t ever really been on the best of terms but he walked in and grabbed me in this massive hug. And then he went and sat with Jessa and they just started crying. Both of them.
”

“
Wow.
”

“
Yeah. So, it was awkward and I was exhausted so I decided to leave knowing she was in good hands. I went home and crashed.
”

“
What time is it?
”
I ask him. A quick glance around the waiting room and I see Max crouched over in a nearby chair sleeping. Kevin
’
s parents are missing.

He twists his hand to look at his watch.

“
9:30 in the morning.
”

I stop mid-yawn. I think back to when Max was talking with me about Kevin and how he
’
d be able to see visitors in a few hours.

Ren smiles.
“
Relax. I already figured out a plan on how to get you back there.
”

I blink.

“
What?
”

He points toward the doors.
“
To see Kevin. I know how we can get you to his room even though technically it
’
s still family only.
”
He does the air quotes and rolls his eyes.
“
What
’
s with his mom anyways?
”

I widen my eyes.
“
Where do you want me to start? She
’
s crazy, unstable, and called me a whore to my face.
”
I twist and grab my purse from behind me and then hop up on my feet in one quick motion.

“
Damn.
”
Ren says.

I nod.
“
Yep. Not worth it, figuring her out. But seeing Kevin is so
…”
I look at him expectantly, my fingers twitching with anticipation.

He tips his head back.
“
Ah. Yes. Kevin.
”
Standing up, he motions me to follow him to the doors and pushes the red button.

“
What are you doing? I thought it
’
s only fam
…”

He places his finger over my mouth and I push it away with a puff of air from my lips. He smiles.

“
Kevin
’
s family has requested no visitors. But Jessa, on the other hand, needs as many visitors as possible before she
’
s goes insane.
”

I bounce on my feet.

“
We
’
re going to see Jessa?!
”

The double doors swing open and he grabs my wrist and pulls me with him.
“
We
’
re going to see Jessa, and then we
’
re breaking her out of her prison and going to find Kevin.
”

I give him an approving stare.

“
You are high on my list today, Renfro.
”

He smiles and wraps his arm around my shoulders.
“
You too, Mystery-Girl. You too.
”

Chapter Twenty-Three

“
Shoo-fly. Stop bothering me.
”

Ren and I look at each other and stifle our laughter. It
’
s obvious from the exasperated nurse walking out of Jessa
’
s room and nearly bumping into us that she is not the highlight of their day. The nurse sighs.

“
Oh. Sorry.
”

Ren raises his hands.

“
No apologies needed. I get it. She is not her best when she is confined.
”

She smiles and walks away, and he reaches for my arm, whispering.

“
When she was in the hospital last time her nursing team was relegated to this big burly guy and a few fierce women. No softies. They can
’
t handle her. She gets too feisty when she feels trapped.
”

I think of her comment to my dad about stabbing him with her stiletto and a smile creeps across my face.

“
I can imagine,
”
I whisper back.

We walk in and she
’
s flipping through the channels on the television above her.

“
No. No. No.
…
.FUCK no
…”
She throws the remote down by her feet and falls against the pillows behind her before she notices us walk around the corner.

Her face lights up.
“
Ohmigod! You guys!
”
She reaches out for hugs and then winces, falling back against the pillow. Ren rushes over and helps her situate herself to where she
’
s more comfortable.

I frown.
“
Are you okay?
”

She nods and flicks her wrist toward her chest.
“
It
’
s these damn broken ribs.
”
She wipes at something on the corner of her mouth and levels me with a stare.

“
Your dad has a mean kick on him, you know that?
”

I grimace.

“
Shit, Jessa. I
’
m sorry.
”

She waves her hand as if it
’
s nothing and turns to smile at Ren.

“
And he had a mean kick.
”

She looks at me.

“
What?
”

I step forward and sit on the edge of her bed.
“
He
had
a mean kick. He
’
s dead. Kevin shot him.
”

She watches me for a few beats.

“
Are you serious?
”
A smile starts to form on her face and she wipes it away.

“
You can be relieved, Jessa. It
’
s okay.
”

Ren takes to rubbing her back with his hand and she reaches for my own. She closes her eyes for a second before opening them again and finding my own.

“
I
’
m sorry. Did you just say
Kevin
shot him?
”

I nod.

She waits.

“
Is he
…”

“
He shot my dad in the neck, right in the jugular. He came up behind me; I didn
’
t even see him. I had the gun, and I was going to shoot my dad because he took a shot at Jude and hit him in the shoulder and I was pissed and Kevin came up behind me and shot him first.
”
The image of my dad falling and bouncing on the cement flashes across my memory and I flinch.

“
My dad didn
’
t have a chance, but he took one shot on his way down and punctured Kevin
’
s lung.
”

Her hands fly to cover her mouth.
“
Ohmigod. Stephanie.
”

“
Kevin
’
s okay. Just
…
I haven
’
t seen him but they say he
’
s okay.
”

“
And Jude?
”

“
Jude is okay too. He had surgery early this morning to remove the bullet lodged in his shoulder.
”
I grab her hand.

“
I
’
m really, really sorry you got to meet my father.
”

She smiles but it doesn
’
t reach her eyes. I recognize the haunted look and squeeze her fingers.

“
Did he do anything to you?
”

She shakes her head fast and wipes some stray tears on her cheeks. I see Ren
’
s jawline tense and his hand pauses on her back.

“
He made a lot of threats. Said a lot of words I
’
d rather forget. But other than kicking me and pushing me around, he did nothing.
”

“
Did you really stab him with your stiletto?
”

A laugh breaks out from the midst of her crying and she nods.

“
I did. I wish you were there. It was amazing.
”
She wrinkles her nose.
“
Although that
’
s why he kicked me. Because I stabbed him.
”

I make a face and she shrugs.
“
He stayed away from me after that, though. Tied me up on that piece of cement and had your mom take pictures. Creeper.
”

She looks at me.

“
Are you okay?
’

I nod.

She narrows her eyes.

“
Promise?
”

“
Check yes,
”
I whisper and she smiles, satisfied. Shifting her head to look at Ren, she bats her eyelashes.

“
Did you come to bust me out, my knight in shining armor?
”

Ren rolls his eyes.
“
I am not your knight in shining anything, remember? I practically led Stephanie
’
s dad right to you.
”

She places her hand on his face and brings him close, kissing him lightly.

“
That, my love, was not your fault.
”
She looks him in the eyes long enough for secret messages to pass between them and I look away, clearing my throat. She drops her hands against the blanket.

“
Now that we got that settled, Renfro, be a good Moondoggie and bust me out of this hell hole?
”