Burning Love ~ Billy Hargrove ( +18)

Chapter 29

Billy's POV

November 30, 1984

As soon as Maddie finished getting dressed, she brushed past me with a light shove of her shoulder before heading toward my Camaro. I followed her, muttering curses under my breath. Not only did I have to take her to the hospital, but now I had to put up with her attitude too. Just great.

We got into the car and drove to the hospital in complete silence. I turned on the radio, letting the music fill the space between us, anything to avoid talking to her.

I had no idea what the hell was wrong with me. Once again, I'd slept with my damn stepsister. There had to be something seriously messed up in my head because Maddie was the last woman on earth I'd want to be with. Even if she were the only one left. I hated her more than I'd ever hated anyone.

And yet...

And yet you're becoming addicted—to her kisses, her touch, her scent, her whispers.

And don't lie to yourself: you don't hate her as much as you claim.

You've been the first to defend her whenever she's been hurt. And deep down, you know that for some time now, you'd give your life to protect her if it came down to it.

We finally arrived at the hospital after one of the longest and most awkward drives of my life. We went straight to the reception desk so Maddie could fill out the emergency form about what had happened and the pain she was experiencing.

We waited for our turn in the waiting room.

Luckily, the emergency department wasn't too busy, so it wasn't long before they called her name and we were led into one of the examination rooms. Inside, the doctor was already seated at a desk on one side of the room.

'Alright, Miss Mayfield. Please have a seat on the examination table,' the doctor said without looking up from the form Maddie had filled out earlier, now in his hands.

"Sure" she replied, dragging out the word lazily.

'And you are?' he asked, finally glancing up at me over the rim of his glasses.

"William Hargrove. I brought her straight from school-she had a nasty fall and hit the ground hard." I replied firmly.

"You did the right thing; it's best to treat these kinds of injuries as soon as possible," the doctor said with a smile before walking over to Maddie. "Let's see what we have here."

"Despite the black discoloration, that's just from the impact, so there's no need to worry, Miss Mayfield," he added, releasing her wrist. "At first glance, it looks like the bone in your wrist is slightly displaced. Nothing serious-we'll just need to immobilize it. Still, we'll take a quick X-ray to make sure everything is alright."

"Alright, thank you," Maddie said with relief, and I let out a quiet breath myself. Thank God it wasn't anything serious—otherwise, my father would have had a field day with me.

"Your boyfriend can wait here while we take the X-ray. It'll just take a moment,"

The doctor's words snapped me out of my thoughts.

"He's not my boyfriend. Gross," Maddie replied, making a face of disgust.

"Even grosser for me that you'd think that, I assure you," I grumbled under my breath. A few minutes ago, she didn't seem so disgusted while we were hooking up in the locker room. "This idiot is my stepsister, not my girlfriend."

"Oh, well... What an unfortunate mix-up," the doctor said, scratching the back of his neck nervously. "Since you look about the same age and your last names are different, I assumed that coming in together meant..."