Safer This Way

Chapter 15

Loving the comments on the last two chapters, I swear you all crack me up :) I'm not super thrilled with this chapter but felt it needed to happen for the story to move on, and it is looong, but I hope you enjoy it anyways...Happy reading!

*Nathan*

Holy motherfucker my head hurts.

Cracking my eyes open slowly, I take stalk of my numerous aches and pains ravaging my body this morning, without a fucking clue why I feel this way. I feel like I've just sparred with North, Silas, Owen, Kota, and my dad all in the same night followed by a horrible hangover, which could very well be what happened for how much of last night I remember right now.

Still moving slowly, I try to stretch out my sore limbs only to be met with resistance. "What the–?"

There are zip ties holding my right arm to the headboard. Fucking zip ties. We only use those as a last resort, and never on each other. What the fuck did I do?

"You're awake. Good." Doc's voice breaks me from the beginnings of a panic attack, only when I turn to look at him, there's no expression whatsoever on his face and that scares me more than the all of the possible scenarios running through my head.

"Sean?" No answer, he just walks over to me and shines his penlight in my eyes before checking several other things and nodding to himself, still totally silent.

"Sean, what's going on? What happened yesterday? What did I do?" The nerves are starting to get to me again when he continues to say nothing. Sean is always talking, so this Owen-like silence and cold shoulder means something is very wrong. Something that obviously has to do with me since he can't even look me in the eye when he cuts the tie on my wrist.

"Family meeting. Downstairs. Now," he finally tells me in a low, ice cold voice before leaving me alone in my bedroom.

My heart clenches at the obvious dismissal, and I rake my fingers through my hair before steeling myself to follow after Sean. I need answers, but at this point I'm not sure I want to know what happened.

The silence that greets me when I reach the kitchen tells me that I really fucked up last night, and I'm sure I don't want to hear what they're going to tell me. No one is meeting my eyes, and even Gabe sits at the table silently fuming, the shredded napkin in front of him tells me as much.

"Guys?" Not even Kota answers me, or acknowledges my presence at all until a back door opens and Owen walks in with his immovable mask on.

"Take a seat, Mr. Griffin," he orders and I do as told immediately. My easy acquiescence would normally garner teasing and laughter from the guys about me being Owen's bitch, but they say nothing. He used my last name though, and that means what little hope I had of being able to fix this mess is slipping through my fingers.

"What's going on? Why won't you look at me? What did I do last night? Did I hurt someone? Why can't I remember?" When the silence remains, and I catch them sending a mix of concerned and furious glances my way, I can't take it. "Answer me!"

Like one of those creepy ass dolls from the movies, Owen twists his head to look at me. "When Luke returns, you will have your answers, Mr. Griffin."

Fuck. Did I do something to Luke? The thought makes my stomach lurch, and I fight the urge to vomit at the thought of hurting one of my brothers.

As if on cue, the front door slams open, and in the next instant I'm on my feet and slammed into the wall with a fuming Luke Taylor in front of me.

"I should have you drawn and quartered for what you said to Shaw," he grounds out between clenched teeth, and I feel as if the ground was ripped away from beneath my feet.