Love, Lies, and Other Ties

Chapter Fifty-Six

Carter's POV:

Flashback:

Mommy and daddy are arguing again. They don't do it often but it usually happens when my dad comes home late and has been drinking. It's been happening more and more lately and I don't know why. I hardly ever see them happy and loving anymore. It's hard to understand.

When they fight like this, I just go outside and play. I don't really have a lot of friends except Liam but he is usually busy with his friends which include Bash and he hates me for unknown reasons. I decided that today, I wanted to spend time with Liam and I know that he is down the street at the basketball courts playing with his friends. I don't know how to play so I just like to sit and watch. Liam has tried to teach me lots of times but I am just not coordinated.

I get there and Liam is there with his friends Bash and Max. nice but we hardly ever talk. Liam sees me and comes jogging over to where I'm sitting, much to the aggravation of his friends, and pulls me into a big hug.

"Hey, Car, What are you doing out here this late? Are your parents at it again?" He is the only one that knows about my mommy and daddy's fighting. I trust Liam with everything so I don't mind him knowing. I just answer him with the nod of the head and tell him I just wanted to sit and watch. Bash is calling him back over and is getting mad at me for it.

"Hold up, Bash! I'll just be a couple of minutes!" He yells at Bash and then turns back to me, "Listen, when this match is over, I'll tell the boys to get lost and then we can work on your three pointers, huh?" he jokes.

"Oh, yeah, like I'll ever be able to do one of those jump shot things while under the basket let alone a three point shot," I blush.

"First of all, it's called a lay-up and second, ya never know kid, ya never know," he jabs at my ribs.

"Stop calling me kid, Li-Li. I'm only three weeks younger than you," I giggle but am cut off by Bash marching up and grabbing the ball from Liam and marching off after giving me a deadly glare.

"Okay, I better get back but I meant what I said. Just you and me when this match is over." Then he runs back onto the court. After about fifteen more minutes, Liam says bye to his friends and then motions for me to come onto the court. We start trying to shoot baskets and I'm terrible. Liam suggests that maybe I try running and doing a jump shot thingy while he's chasing me to give me motivation to make the shot.

As I am running, I trip over my shoelace and fall. What I didn't see was the broken bottle on the ground and I hit it with my leg. I yelp in pain and look down to see my leg covered in blood and a piece of glass sticking out of it. Liam ran and got my parents and I had to go to the hospital and get a few stitches. That was the last time I played basketball and one of the last times I saw Liam when we were younger.

Flashback over

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"Hello? Earth to Carter! What is it?" I come out of my flashback to see that I was now standing outside of Kay's room and her and Loki are looking at my expectantly. I didn't even realize I had walked to her room after I got off the phone with Bash.

"Li-Liam is hurt. Several, I think, are hurt. The-there was a b-bomb at the house and They we-were hurt," I stutter out because I am two seconds away from losing my shit.

"Oh my god! Okay, we need to get calm and figure out what to do next. Where are they?" she asked.

"Bash said they are on their way here with Liam and that he's in pretty bad shape. They have notified the docs already but I don't know about anyone else."

"Okay, go wait for them at the infirmary and Loki and I will go and get the maids up so they can have guests rooms ready for those who don't fit in the infirmary but still need treated. You have to stay calm, Car. For Liam." She then runs off with Loki to the Servant's Wing.

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I have been at the infirmary for about ten minutes and I cannot stop pacing. The doctors and nurses are standing behind me and giving me looks of pity while I try to ignore them. Finally I had enough and screamed at them to stop staring at me. I felt guilty and just when I was about to apologize, Liam's black SUV pulled into the front of the wing where the infirmary was.

I stopped breathing the moment the back doors opened and Liam was being hauled out of there. It was just as I had dreamed only worse. He was covered in blood and cuts all over his body. He had places where there were thick pieces of glass were still imbedded into his skin and there was a piece of rebar sticking out of his shoulder.

I broke down and was feeling faint. I didn't know what I was suppose to do. Do I stand here and try to talk to him and get in the way of doctors? So I turn away from him in his time of need because my bad experience with blood and glass have made my stomach queasy all of my life? What do I do? I didn't have long to think because next thing I knew I was feeling dizzy and two large arms belonging to Bash caught me and everything went black.

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Bash's POV:

I caught her just before she was going to start falling. I may have been a total dick to her over the years but I still watched out for her and knew that since her incident on the basketball court when we were younger that blood and glass have always been a trigger for her. I carried her down the hall and placed her in the room beside the one they put Liam in. When and if he ever gets stabilized, she will want immediate access to his room.

After I got her settled, a nurse came up to me and smiled at me flirtatiously. Great, Cindy. I slept with her once and ever since then she thinks it's smarter to try and get back in my bed than to do her fucking job.

"Let me look at those cuts for you, Bash," she tried to say seductively.

"Let me make one thing clear to you. As of twenty minutes ago, my best friend, your boss and the head of this mafia was blown up in a house and we have no idea if he's going to make it. The love of his life just fainted in my arms which makes me the acting head of the mafia until one of them wakes up. I have a few scratches that don't need anymore than a band aid and as a trained nurse, I know you can see that.

"Now, instead of trying to seduce the fuck out of me, you should be in here to do one thing and one thing only and that is to check on your mafia queen. If you can't do that, then go help save my best friend or I will personally put a bullet right through your temple. Got it?" I screamed in her face. She had a look of terror on her face as she scurried over and cleared Carter of anything more than a fainting spell. Then, she quickly left the room.

Come on. I need you both more than ever.

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