Brothers of Paradise Series

It’s her car. It’s her car, damn it, and it’s totaled. Crashed into one of the iron-wrought lampposts that line Ocean Drive.

A policewoman is roping off the area. She looks grim, hair pulled back. “What happened here?”

“An accident,” she says, clicking her tongue at my brusque tone. “A motorcyclist and a car.”

“Was anyone hurt?”

“Yes.” Her eyes are stern, but they soften slightly as she looks at me. I don’t know what I must look like to be pitied, but I’m beyond caring. “One of the civilians involved had to be airlifted to the hospital.”

The edges of my vision flicker.

“Who?”

She shakes her head. “I couldn’t possibly-”

Rhys interrupts her. “Lily Marchand. What happened to her?”

“Over there,” the policewoman says with a nod. An ambulance is parked nearby. A woman is sitting on the back, a blanket around her shoulders.

I would recognize that hair anywhere.

“This is the scene of an accident. You can’t go inside-Hey!”

Nothing matters-not the angry shout from the police officer or the sound of her brothers behind me-as I run.

Images flash before my eyes of a different night, a different street. There had been so much blood then. We’d been alone, just her and me, my hands pulling her out of the wreckage. This is not that time. She’s whole-she’s safe.

Lily stands up to greet me, a faint wobble in her steps that sends my heart racing. I wrap my arms around her and pull her close. It’s need, pure and simple, to know that she’s safe.

Panic and adrenaline still pound through my body.

“Are you okay?”

Lily nods against my neck. Her hair smells like it always does, the same shampoo she’s used for well over a decade. “It was so stupid,” she whispers.

“And you’re sure you’re okay?” I loosen my grip, realizing I might be holding her too tight.

“Yes, yes. Just a few bruises.”

“God, Lily…” I pull back and tip her head up. Her eyes are wide and green as they stare into mine, but there isn’t a trace of pain or fear in them. I brush my thumb over her cheekbone, putting a hand on either side of her face. Her expression softens as she looks up at me.

“I’m okay,” she murmurs again. “I’m okay, Hayden.”

I lean my forehead against hers and close my eyes. My heart is beating fast, like I’ve run a marathon. “I thought…”

“I know. I know. But I’m okay.”

The decision to kiss her isn’t conscious. I need to know she’s okay, I need to feel it, and she’s just as eager as me. Our lips meet with soft, heated urgency, my hands pulling her closer against me. She’s real and she’s safe. I let my hands travel up her back to make sure, just in case.

Lily puts a hand on my neck and pulls me in closer, like she needs the reassurance just as much as I do. Her scent, her body, her taste is everything I feel-all of it telling me what I rationally know. She’s all right.

But more than that, I’m reminded of just how much I love her. How my life would come to a grinding halt if something were to happen to her, if I failed to keep her safe again.

Lily’s hands slide down my chest. I brush a final kiss to her lips, soft and sweet, my body aching for more of her. I’ll never get enough of her closeness.

She blinks up at me with a dazed smile on her lips. “Hayden, I-”

“Lily!”

We both turn to see her parents. Her mother’s eyes are frantic, sweeping over her daughter’s form, assessing her just like I did. I can see Rhys and Parker standing next to them. Both of their eyes are wide.

Shit. Well, at least they all know now. Really, properly know.

“I’m okay,” Lily says, loud enough for her entire family to overhear. “I’m completely okay.”

“What happened?” Rhys comes closer, the family in tow. “Lils, your car looks…”

“A motorcyclist was going crazy on the road,” she says. “Switching lanes, losing control of the motorcycle… I had to swerve, or I would have hit him.” She puts her head in her hands. “He had to be airlifted. I don’t know… it didn’t look good.”

I put my arm around her shoulders. I know I should let her parents get to her, her brothers-but I can’t let go of her yet.

“We’ll check on him, Lily,” her father says. “Don’t worry about that. God. You’re never getting in a car for the rest of your life.” He says it with as much sincerity as I feel. Twice is two times too many.

Rhys chuckles, but I can hear the strain in the sound. “Damn it, Lily. Why didn’t you call us right away?”

“My phone broke in the crash.”

Eloise Marchand sends me a curious look but says nothing as she leans in and hugs her daughter fiercely. “Let’s get you out of here,” she murmurs. “I’ve had enough of seeing my daughter in ambulances.”

I couldn’t agree more.

Lily

My car is towed-Parker and Rhys handle that, while my parents follow the ambulance to the hospital. Hayden rides with me. I feel fine, but the doctor takes a bunch of tests to make sure, X-rays and a CAT scan and a careful exam of my reflexes.

All the while, I see the same haunted, gaunt look on Hayden’s face. He’s a quiet shadow next to me, holding my hand. This is too much of a déjà vu. I can see it in all of their faces, bearing the same worried expressions I’d witnessed a decade earlier.

But it’s not like before. I’m barely hurt, yet it doesn’t matter how many times I say it, they don’t truly believe it until Dr. Rashid confirms it.

“You’re all clear,” he tells me.

Hayden clears his throat. “Is there a risk of delayed onset whiplash?”

My dad shoots him a surprised look. He hasn’t commented once on Hayden’s steady presence beside me.

“Not likely, no,” Dr. Rashid says. “But Lily, I want you to call me if you feel any pain in your neck in the coming days or even weeks. You can come in right away and we’ll take a look.”

“Okay. Thank you, I’ll do that. Do you know what happened to the motorcyclist?”Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.