Run Bad Boy Run

Chapter 29

"Please, Ember, don't make me take another one of those pills," Stacie Chance begs from her bed. At the sight of the medication in my hands, she shrinks back into her sea of pillows and shakes her head like a toddler refusing to eat their vegetables.

"But they made you feel so good." I remind her, moving over to press a glass of water to her lips. "Don't you want to feel better?"

She opens one eye to look at me. On the television monitor above her hospital bed, a muted news story drones on about the mysterious shooting that's shocked Valleyfield to its core. The robberies were one thing. The fact that something like this could happen in broad daylight has everyone a breath away from losing their marbles.

I can see a tremor of pain in her expression and when her heart monitor kicks up a notch, she motions for the medication. The pills are massive: some for pain, one for immunity health, and the last an iron pill to combat her anemia.

"You want to know what would make me feel better?" my mother murmurs through gritted teeth. "That bastard Jason being castrated. That would cure everything."

The mention of Derek's ex-hit man unleashes fury inside of me. "That makes two of us."

Mom grasps my hand tight. "You know I'm sorry, Ember. I didn't know. I promise. If I had known—"

Leaning against her hospital bed, I pull her into the tightest hug her monitors will allow. "It's okay, Mom. I'm just happy you're okay. Please, don't blame yourself. Neither of us saw this coming."

The statement is partially true. A huge part of me knew he would hurt my mom from the very beginning. But the fact that he had the audacity to put the entirety of the blame on her feels the liquid fire in my veins. Derek Rodriguez is about to be the last of Jason's problems. I'll make sure of that.

And right after that, I'm going to tear the mastermind behind all of this in half.

"When is Corry coming back?" I ask her. The police department offered to end his internship early so that he could be with us while our mom healed. The county sheriff herself assured him he would still receive the benefits and scholarships that came with it, but my twin brother refused. It's personal for him now. And he's not going to stop working on the investigation until they've found answers.

"I don't know. I haven't seen him since the police came to question me this morning."

"You don't remember anything?"

"No." She shudders. "They moved so fast. I—I don't know."

My throat thickens. "I'm sorry, Mom."

"Don't be sorry." she drawls. Her frosted blue eyes sparkle in the light. "Unless you want to bring me a beer."

I shake my head and smile. "When you feel better, the first thing you'll get is a nice, ice cold Bud Light. Okay?"

My mother looks up at me through tired, half-lidded eyes suspiciously. I raise an eyebrow and she heaves a laugh, drained from her healing wound. "I'm going to remember that, Ember."

"I know."

"You go on and do what you need to do, baby doll. I'm just going to sleep for a little while. Please go to school. Your Uncle Richard will come later." My Uncle Richard lives an hour away in Stevens Point.

Leaning forward, I plant a quick kiss on her head and leave as quietly as I can. It's hard to slip out soundlessly while in crutches. And when I slip and let out a wail, I can hear her quiet chuckles, and a smile spreads across my face.

"Ember?" A voice calls from down the hall. Gabby She's been driving me to and from school thanks to my ankle. It's not broken, but I'm crutch-bound for two weeks. "Ready to go? We've got thirty minutes before class."