Straight As A Garden Hose

Chapter 20

Everly of course made me go to the ER to get checked out, no matter how many times I told her I was fine. Like I suspected, three of my ribs were broken, I had a massive concussion, and a nasty looking black eye.

I've had worse.

I was super thankful that David gave both of us a week and a half off of work, but I was even more thankful that Everly was safe.

I sighed and gently stretched in bed, savoring the feeling of being lazy.

"Hey there," Everly said softly as she padded into the bedroom. I smiled up at her as she gingerly climbed on to the bed beside me.

"Hey," I husked, my voice still sleepy. I rested my hand on her bare thigh.

"Did you sleep ok last night?" I asked. She gave me a confused look, and reached down to tuck my dark hair behind my ear.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" she questioned. I shrugged.

"Last night was traumatic and I want to know your ok," I replied. She smiled warmly at my words and leaned down to kiss me.

"I'm ok as long as your here," she whispered against my lips. I smiled back and kissed the top of her nose. 

"What are you plans for the day?" I asked after our moment. She shrugged.

"Probably just clean a little, do some laundry, and hang out with you," she replied, getting off the mattress. I pouted pathetically at the loss of her next to me, and she laughed.

"I'll be back, I promise," she said, disappearing into the other room. I sighed, and checked my phone, looking through all the texts I had received from co-workers, friends and family.

Mom: "Please tell me David isn't making you work. Are you resting enough? Is Everly there to take care of you? Maybe I should drive up and stay a couple of days and make your favorite meals."

I chuckled, and replied that I was fine, and that there was no need to worry, Everly had it all under control.

Grey: "I swear to God Charlie if I ever see that guy I'm going to kill him!! How is Everly doing?"

I rolled my eyes and replied to him.

Charlie: "Thanks for asking, I'm fine. 🙄 But more importantly, yes, Everly is doing good."

I scrolled down, seeing a new text from David.

"Hey kid, sorry again for what happened. I just wanted to let you know that Jason, the guy who attacked you, is going to court in about a week or so, but our lawyer is very confident that he's going away for a very long time. Turns out this isn't his first offense. But I hope you're hanging in there, and don't worry about the pub, I've got it covered until you return. Love ya."

I smiled, and texted back a "thank you" and "love you too", thankful that David was taking care of everything.

I set my phone down and listened to the washer machine being turned on, suddenly overwhelmed with thankfulness for having Everly here. There had been many times where I'd gotten into a fight and had to come home and take care of myself. I never realized how lonely that was until now. It was still hard to wrap around my thick skull that it could actually be nice to be in a relationship with someone who cares enough to take care of me instead of me taking care of them all the time. And not just in a sexual way.

This realization also scared the shit out of me. I had never felt this strongly about someone, and I wanted her by my side all the time. But what if she found someone new? Someone who actually deserved her.

I'm pretty sure if she ever left, it would completely break me. But I knew that I would let her go if it made her happy, because in the end that's all that mattered.

God, I felt so fucking helpless and pathetic.

Just then Everly came back into the bedroom and laid down beside me, her body turned towards me. She studied me for a moment, as I did her, but after a few minutes she took a deep breath.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked. I sighed.

"Too much," I replied, painfully pulling her closer and lazily draping my arm over her waist.

"Like what?" she pressed.

"A lot," I chuckled, and she rolled her eyes playfully.

"If you're not going to tell me I'm going to leave," she said, starting to pull away. I held tighter to her, making me hiss in pain.

"No no, stay," I begged, half laughing. She smiled and gently feathered her fingers over my ribs.

"Ok," she whispered, burring her face in my neck and snuggling in closer.

"I was just thinking about us. And you. And me," I said after a moment. She raised her head and looked me in my eyes, but didn't say anything, letting me gather my thoughts. Which I was greateful for. I knew what I wanted to say, but I had no idea how to put it into words.

I cleared my throat and began.

"I have never met someone who has made me feel the way you do, Ev. You make me feel happy, scared, protective and blessed all at the same time. When I see you, my whole body burns from wanting you so much. When you even talk to someone else, I get so jealous, even though I know I don't have a reason to be. And I know we've only known each other for a couple of months, but I can't help myself when it comes to you. I'm terrified of saying how I really feel because I don't want to scare you off, and I'm scared shitless of loosing you," I said, playing with her fingertips.

"And with what happened last night, it just made all of these feelings stronger. Because I really could have lost you. And I never would have forgiven myself for that," I added. By this time Everly's eyes had teared up, and she placed her hand on top of mine. Then she brought her other hand up to cup my face, and I inhaled her sweet scent when she leaned in and kissed me.

"I'm not going anywhere," she whispered against my lips. I smiled against hers, and kissed her again.

"Well good, cuz I just kinda laid my heart out there for you, which was a little uncomfortable for me," I replied with a chuckle. She laughed.

"I won't take it for granted," she promised. I cocked an eyebrow.

"And you won't tell anyone right? Because I still have a hard ass reputation to uphold," I teased. She groaned and gently pushed me down and crawled on top of me so as not to hurt me.

"Well we can't have everyone knowing how much of a softy you actually are, now can we," she replied, rolling her eyes and leaning down to kiss me again, her tongue running over my bottom lip.

Fuck, I've fallen so hard for this girl.

Hey there! It's been a while, but hopefully I'll be able to start writing more soon. Let me know what u think so far of this story! Next chapter is going to be fun, but also have kind of a cliffhanger. 😁
Love u all! Comment and vote!