Goddess Sacrifice (13 page)

“Sure thing, Mr. Sheppard. And if you remember anything else, please let us know. I’m leaving you my card.”

“Okay.” Her panicked eyes searched Adin’s while he continued talking. “Can you all excuse us for a minute? I’d like to speak with Legacy alone.”

Everyone left, and she immediately started crying.

“Shhh…” Adin wrapped his arms around her. “We don’t know for sure if Medusa was behind my accident. Drugs can cause all kinds of hallucinations.”

She shook her head against his chest. “We both know that this isn’t a coincidence.”

He sighed, pulling away from her. “It doesn’t matter. She’ll never get to you.”

“But she can get to you,” she cried.

“Sweetheart, we only have a little over six more months until your ascension, and then we won’t have to worry about her anymore.”

Legacy sniffled as she pulled away. He leaned closer to her and winced as he moved.

“We have to worry about her now. She already hurt you, and…and you’re in
pain
.”

“Legacy, listen to me. We know she’s going to try to attack us. We just have to be careful. I don’t want you worrying about it. You need to focus on your change.”

She sighed and nodded. No matter what he said about this right now, she knew how bad this was, but she also knew he was in no condition to be worrying about her.

Adin put his arms around Legacy. “Are you ready for the others to come back in?” he whispered.

“Yeah, I’ll go get them.”

She walked to the door and opened it, telling everyone that they could come back in without looking at anyone. Then she walked back into the room and sat next to Adin as his guests came back in.

“Calli left and said to tell you she’ll call you later,” Myrha said as she sat down.

“Um, Dinny, you have another guest,” Rose said as she came into the room.

Who else could be here? Had they called his father?

Legacy looked up and stifled a gasp when Venus walked in. She gritted her teeth, looking away from that vicious bitch, and Adin rubbed Legacy’s hand. He couldn’t see his guest, but Legacy knew he understood who was here by her reaction.

As Venus walked around the corner and saw Adin’s face, she gasped, but Adin wasn’t looking at her. He was looking at Legacy.

“What happened?” Venus whispered.

“I was in a car accident,” he responded, still watching Legacy.

She stepped closer to him, and Legacy’s stomach turned. She couldn’t help but think about that skank kissing Adin. She tried blocking it out, but that image kept flashing in her mind.

“Are you okay?” she asked as her voice cracked.

He sighed, shutting his eyes. “Yes,” he answered, and then opened his eyes back to look at Legacy.

She felt tears forming, so she looked at the wall behind Adin. But he didn’t want that. He reached up and put his other hand on top of theirs. “Look at me,” he whispered.

She looked at him again, and his eyes locked onto hers. She was trying to breathe slowly to keep from bawling, but her tears were leaking over. “I-I think I’m going to step out for a minute,” she whispered.

“You don’t have to go anywhere,” he said softly.

“I know.” She leaned over and gently kissed him before standing up. “I’ll be back in a few minutes,” she said a little louder, so there’d be no question that she was leaving the room.

Legacy walked out of the room without even looking at Venus. When she got out, she kept walking. She went down the hall, down the stairs, and outside while she tried catching her breath.

When she got outside, she slumped against the hospital wall and cried as she sat down.

After she cried for several minutes, she felt someone’s hands on her shoulders, and her head shot up. It was Calli.

“Did something happen?” she asked.

She nodded, and Calli gasped.

“No, Adin’s fine. Venus’s here.”

“She’s not the only one,” Calli murmured.

Legacy looked up at her to ask, but she didn’t have to. She saw River standing across the walkway, watching her with sad eyes.

She got up and stormed over to him. “You being gone didn’t stop her!”

“I’m sorry.”

“Sorry? There were snakes all over my yard, and the man who hit Adin said there were snakes in his car!”

“I heard.”

She looked over at Calli, and she shrugged. “He saw the rain water everywhere and knew you were upset. He wouldn’t leave me alone until I told him what happened.”

She looked back at River. “You said you would watch out for him,” she said as she started to cry.

“Baby,” River started as he stepped closer to her, “I’m sorry he got hurt.”

She kept crying, and Calli put her arms around her.

“You know, maybe there’s truth behind the prophecy after all,” she whispered as she cried.

River’s breath caught.

“Because if anything happens to Adin, that means you let it happen, and I will
never
speak to you again.” She sobbed. “So for your sake, you’d better hope he stays alive.”

“Please calm down. I can’t stand seeing you like this,” River whispered, agony in his eyes.

“Then maybe you should leave.”

She turned around and headed back into the hospital, and Calli was right beside her. But she heard River walking behind them too. When they got back to Adin’s floor, she turned around and looked at River. “You should go. I don’t want Adin under any unnecessary stress. He already has to deal with Venus,” she whispered through her teeth.

“Okay… Just call me if you need anything.”

“The only thing I need from you is your mother’s wicked head severed from her dead body.”

River sighed and turned around, and Legacy and Calli walked back into Adin’s room.

When she stepped in, she saw Venus beside Adin, sitting in her chair, but at least Adin had his arms crossed, not letting the ho-bag touch him.

“You’re in her seat,” he said to Venus when he saw Legacy come in.

Venus stood up and walked back, and Legacy took her seat back.

“I’ll see you at school,” Venus said with a sad voice.

“Okay,” he said to her while he looked at Legacy.

After Venus left, Adin leaned over. “I’m sorry she showed up. She already felt bad about what she did, so finding out I was in an accident just added to it.”

“I’m fine.” She shrugged.

The look on his face showed he didn’t believe her. “You’ve been crying,” he whispered.

She nodded as more tears developed.

“Come here.” Adin leaned up and put his arms around her.

“We’re going to go, Dinny,” Rose said.

“Yeah, Legacy, I need to leave too. I wasn’t expecting to come right back,” Calli said, standing back up.

Legacy pulled away from Adin and nodded at her BFF as she wiped her tears away.

After Adin’s guests left, he put his arms back around Legacy and held her. “I love you,” he whispered in her ear.

“I love you too.”

He leaned away from her and scooted to the side of his bed. He winced as he moved.

“What are you doing?” she asked, sitting up straighter.

“I’m making room for you.”

“Oh, no. I can sleep like I did last night.”

“No, sweetheart. I know you couldn’t have been comfortable. Besides, we’ll both sleep better if you’re in this bed with me.” Adin spread out his arms and smiled at her. “Now, come snuggle with me.”

She barely chuckled as she crawled into the bed.

Adin gently wrapped his arm, wires and all, around her. She fell asleep against him, and they slept all night.

* * * * *

The next morning, Adin was released, and Legacy rode with him to his grandma’s house.

She stayed with him all day. They talked and laughed while Adin was awake, but his pain medication made him sleep a lot. She lay down beside him whenever he slept, and a few times, she dozed off too.

When Adin was awake, he was looking up cars. Since his car was totaled, he was trying to look at the bright side of things. She’d never understand what men saw in cars, and Adin was no different from other men when it came to muscle machines.

“What do you think about a Porsche 911 Turbo?” he asked as he looked at car models on his laptop.

She shrugged. “I liked your Camaro.”

“Yeah, but a Porsche is sportier.”

“It’s also much more expensive,” she said, glancing at him.

He smiled crookedly, not saying anything. He kept playing on the Internet, glancing at her periodically through the corner of his eye. She wasn’t sure what he was doing, but she figured he was still eyeing the Porsche.

She smiled at him. “Didn’t you tell some story about your family not flashing their money?” she chuckled.

“
Yes
, but I really don’t care what other people think. I only care about what you think,
princess
.”

He flashed a smile at her, and she wasn’t sure what to make of it, but she smiled back. Honestly, it didn’t really matter if he wanted it. She knew he could afford it anyway. “As long as it’s blue,” she conceded.

Adin gazed into her eyes. “Blue is a beautiful choice.”

Throughout the rest of the day, Adin had several visitors, but luckily, Venus didn’t show up. When Lissa came over, she brought Legacy some pajamas and a change of clothes since she knew she’d be staying again. By the end of the day, everyone had left, and she and Adin had eaten dinner.

After he fell asleep again, she decided to take a shower and change into the clean pajamas Lissa brought over. She left the door cracked so she could hear if Adin woke up.

When she turned off the water, she heard the television on in his room. She guessed he’d woken up and didn’t want to disturb her shower. She dried off and wrapped the towel around her. Then she peeked out the door, and Adin’s eyes flashed in her direction.

“How are you feeling?”

“Lonely.”

She smiled at him, and he smiled back. She pushed the door open wider, and his jaw dropped when he saw her in nothing but a towel.

She continued to smile as she walked out of the bathroom and toward him. When she reached him, he sat up and slowly grabbed the bottom edge of her towel, pulling it slightly to the side.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk…you shouldn’t do that,” she teased.

Adin looked up at her as he bit his bottom lip, but then he sighed with a smile on his face and let go. “I should probably take a shower too.”

“
You
should take a bath. You’re doped up, and if you fall, I’ll have a hard time helping you. Besides, you don’t need to get your stitches wet.”

Adin nodded as he slid out of the bed. She helped him steady himself, and he kissed the top of her head as she guided him to the bathroom. Once inside, she grabbed her clothes so she could get dressed.

“Leave the door open so I can hear you, okay?” She went back into his room and changed while he got in the bathtub. After about ten minutes, she heard him shut off the water.

“Can you come in here, sweetheart?”

Her heart took off. She didn’t know why he’d called for her, but she knew he was still sitting in the bathtub. She walked to the door and pushed it open, but stayed in the doorway. “Yes?”

“Can you get me a sponge out of the top drawer? I think it’d help me with this dried blood.”

“Sure,” she said, and her dang voice cracked! She stepped into the bathroom, walked over to the drawer, and pulled out the sponge. She started to make her way over to Adin and gasped at the sight of his bruised chest. “Oh gods, does it hurt?”

“Only if I move around too much.” He shrugged.

She stepped over to the bathtub and dropped to her knees, staring at his face. She started to hand him the sponge, but dunked it in the water instead. He looked like he was in pain, so she wanted to help him. She grabbed the soap and lathered the sponge while Adin watched quietly. Then she gently wiped his chest and arms, staying away from his stitches.

Adin leaned back and shut his eyes at her soft touch. His lips parted, and he took shallow breaths while she cleaned off the dried blood from his chest and worked her way up his neck. When she finished with his neck, she picked up the washcloth and gently cleaned his face and ears. Now, she was finished with his front side.

“Can you lean forward, so I can check your back?” she whispered.

He opened his eyes and grabbed the side of the bathtub, pulling himself up, water sluicing off his hard but battered and bruised body. He turned his head so that his face was at hers, but she looked at his back as she washed it. She was holding onto the side of the bathtub with one hand while she cleaned him with the other, so Adin slid his hand on top of hers, keeping his eyes trained on her. She glanced at him and smiled, but when she did, he leaned toward her. He took his other hand out of the water, and the sound of the ripples he caused when he moved filled the stillness of the room. He slowly slid his wet hand onto her cheek.

She breathed heavily in reaction as she gazed into his eyes, but continued to gently wipe his back. Adin leaned in closer, wetting his lips before pressing them against hers. They kissed briefly before she broke away, chuckling.

“You’re not behaving yourself,” she chided playfully.

“I know, but I didn’t expect to enjoy this as much as I am.”

She smiled at him and cleared her throat. She needed a distraction
now
. He was injured, for crying out loud! She looked around the tub and grabbed a cup. “Lean your head back.”

Adin did as requested, and she washed and rinsed his hair. When she got finished with that, he watched her as she stood up, grabbed an extra towel, and stepped back toward the bathtub.

“Do you want to stay in a little while longer, or are you finished?”

“I’m done.”

She bent over and unplugged the bathtub. Then she stood back up and dried off her hands before handing him the towel. She turned around and grabbed the other towel while he got out of the tub and wrapped the towel that she’d handed him around his waist. Then she faced him as he eased down and sat on the edge of the tub.

She gently dried his chest, back, and arms, staying away from his stitches. While she dried his hair, Adin clutched her waist and pulled her closer, but she stayed focused on the task at hand. When she finished, she squatted down and dried his legs, then stood back up.