Shattered (Koa #5)

31. Asher

Chapter 31

Asher

I needed another surgery for my leg. At first, I wanted to push it off, but I had a moment of clarity. If I don’t take care of this now, how can I care for Lila?

Lannick and Ramos convinced me it was a simple surgery, and I’d be awake in a few hours. When I wake up numb and weak in a hospital bed, I feel calm. This feels like the right thing.

“Hello, welcome back,” a distant voice says.

I open my eyes to find a nurse above me, checking the monitor beside me.

“How’d it go?”

“Everything went well. The doctor will be in to see you in a while, but she was happy with the results. How’s your pain?”

“Manageable.” Thank god .

“There’s a young woman here named Neela asking for you. Should I let her in?”

Neela? “Yeah, sure.”

After the nurse checks me over, she leaves, and Neela enters the room, her eyes filled with worry and sadness.

“Asher?”

I nod a weak hello, my head spinning as she stares down at me, weak and feeble in a hospital bed. Another body stands in the doorway, a man with dark shaggy hair and a narrow face, who watches me. This must be her man. I guess I understand why he wouldn’t let her come alone.

“I heard about Bane and Jared. I’m really sorry.”

“Why are you here?” I ask.

“Lila. Our friend Macy’s with her now. She’s worried about you and wanted to be sure you were okay.”

“How did you know I was here?”

She smiles. “After they talked, Lila realized you wouldn’t have just left her. She figured maybe you were getting your leg taken care of, and she was right.”

Smart, smart girl. Realizing that she had faith in me makes everything feel a little lighter. “Can you get her on the phone?”

“Macy says she’s asleep. She’s been in and out, but she’s doing okay.”

“Good. Let her sleep. Do you think I could send a text to Macy for her?”

Neela smiles, offering her phone, and I take it.

“I’m surprised her guard dog allowed this. ”

“If you mean Turner, he didn’t. When she found out he chased you off, she kicked him out.”

Smart girl.

“What happened to her? No one knows anything; Turner and Macy won’t talk.”

“You know I can’t tell you that. But it was bad. She’s going to need all the support she can get while she moves on from this.”

“And she’ll get it,” the man in the doorway says.

“That’s Ty, my partner.”

I nod hello and wave him in so he’s not standing in the doorway. I motion to some chairs, and they both sit down while I formulate my message to Lila.

Hey Sunshine,

I wish I never left, but I think I needed to. A man’s gotta hit rock bottom before he can better himself, and I dug myself a deep hole. I’ll never be able to make up for everything that’s happened, but I hope you’ll let me try. I’m not going anywhere.

-Ash

When I return the phone to Neela, she doesn’t read the message, but I’m sure she will later.

“What will you need when you get out of here?” she asks.

The question catches me off guard because I hadn’t thought about it. With Bane gone, I’m on my own. I hope to win Lila back, but there’s no guarantee she’ll let me in. Even if she does, she’s the one who needs to be taken care of right now. So, where do I go from here?

“I don’ t know, why?”

“We can help,” she says as though it’s obvious.

“You’d do that?”

“We take care of each other around here. And if Lila’s chosen you, that makes you one of us.”

Tears burn in my eyes, and Neela smiles slightly as I break, supporting me. Lila’s lucky, she has a village. There’s one thing I know I’ll need, and I hate to ask for it.

“I can’t do stairs right now. Can you move my bed into Lila’s den?”

“Yeah, we can do that,” Neela says.

“It’s heavy. You’re gonna need some muscle,” I say. I don’t want to piss Neela off by implying she won’t be strong enough to carry it, but she won’t.

“We have muscle,” Neela says.

“Why don’t we just move Lila’s bed? It’ll be easier,” Ty suggests.

“No, I want her to have that personal space if she needs it.” I still don’t know if she’ll ever forgive me, but if she allows me to be there for her, that’s where I’ll be. If she kicks me out, I’ll go home and sleep in Bane’s bed. Hopefully, someone will be around to help me move it downstairs if that’s the case.

Neela smiles. “We’ll make it happen. No problem.”

I point to the table beside me where my keys sit. “Lila’s house key is on there, too. There’s an alarm on both houses. Edgar and Nash will know the code. You know them, right?”

Neela chuckles. “I should. Nash is my brother.”

Fuck man, I can’t keep up with these people.