A Slave to Love

Chapter 47: Provoked

By breaking pretty much every law of the road ever created, I managed to get home in record time and still evaded any cops looking to pull over anyone speeding. When Raoul opened the door to see me with Lexi in my arms, his eyes went round and his mouth dropped open. But he composed himself and wiped it away with a quiet, "Follow me." Even though I really wanted to go find Kiana, I had to take care of Lexi first. She did have priority after all. Sometimes.

We went up two flights up stairs and Raoul knocked on the door; one of the maids also doubled as a doctor in my parent's house, like Jordan was my cook and a doctor as well. It was easier that way. Actually, the maid was Jordan's twin sister, their family had been good friends to mine and had been serving us for ages.

She didn't look the slightest bit surprised when she saw us as this was definitely not the first or last time she'd seen Lexi or myself in such rough shape, and sent Raoul immediately to get my parents while I set Lexi down on the table to be examined.

I started to leave since I figured I didn't need to be here and really needed to check on Kiana, but Joan shot me a stern look and directed me to a cot.

"I'm fine. Honest," I said, trying to fend her hands off.

"Fine my eye," she snorted, "If you're so fine then let me check you over. It'll only take a minute. If you're as fine as you say you should be out of here in that time."

I glared at her, but when she touched my ribs, or rather nearly slapped my ribs to prove a point, I am ashamed to say I yelped like one of those yappy little dogs in pain.

"Yeah you're fit as a fiddle," she said sarcastically. "I wonder how many cracked ribs you got. And what happened to your face? Did she hit you?"

"She kicked me in the face," I mumbled. I clenched my jaw, feeling how stiff and sore it was. But it was healing up rather nicely since it hadn't been too bad, especially compared to my ribs.

She sighed, exasperated, as my parents walked in.

"Oh my goodness!" Mom exclaimed, red eyes wide as they landed on a limp and bleeding Lexi, and then on me. She was always shocked by the violence and gore of our altercations as if it was the first time, and not the millionth over the course of two centuries.

"I didn't have any other choice," I said quickly, just to cover my own ass. She always encouraged us to sort our problems out with words not fists, but that was damn near impossible between Lexi and I. Didn't mean I wanted to add an ass kicking from my mom as punishment to my current list of injuries.

"You did what you had too," Mom assured me, still looking slightly upset with all the blood and injuries everywhere.

"Shirt off Blade, I need to see all of the damage," Joan ordered, walking to the other side of the room to get supplies while Dad went to see Lexi.

Unbuttoning my shirt, I was suddenly thankful for my hasty choice in outfit this morning. If it had been a shirt that I needed to pull over it would have hurt like a bitch.

Once it was off, Mom slapped me in the back of the head hard enough to make me feel like my brain was rattling in my skull, my body lurching forward from the impact, which only sent more pain shooting through my torso.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?!" I cried, clapping my hands over my head protectively. I had enough injuries and she just said everything was fine!

"That was for fighting with your sister. You guys are such babies! You're far too old to still be acting so childish! Couldn't you have discussed this instead of fighting?" she chastised me, arms folded over her chest, face stern.

"But she started it!" It was impossible to reason with someone as psychotic like Lexi.

"I don't care who started it. You're older and you should know better. Violence doesn't solve anything."