Chapter 55

Merigold
I hear beeping but don't know where it is coming from. And it is annoying. I wish someone would shut it off. I hear voices but can't make out who they are. I think most of them are male but maybe a female or two. I wish they would shut up. I just want to sleep. I hurt so bad. At least I know I’m not dead. Or this is some kind of hell. I want to open my eyes but I can't get them to move. They feel stuck. Where am I now? Where is Lilly? Tank, I told her to go with Tank. Someone picked me up. Did we get out from the Reapers? I want to sit up. Why can't I sit up? Why can't I move?
Ok eyes open. I try but it hurts. I think I blink. Did I blink? Let's try moving my fingers. Come on body move, damn it. I don't think I did. That beeping. What's that beeping? It is getting annoying. I want to scream. Hey whoever is in here would you stop the beeping. It is driving me nuts. Where is it coming from? Am I the only one who can hear it? Do the voices I hear not notice it? Who the hell are the voices? I can’t make them out? Like my ears are stuffed with cotton. Wait, are my ears stuffed with cotton? I’m so tired and these thoughts are swirling around my head. I just want to sleep.

Rowdy
It has been two days since we got Merigold home. Tank has been blocking Axel and me from going in there with her. Ace, Thor, Tank, and Brick have been in. All of Alaric's crew have been in there with her. Jace and Jax have been in to see their mom. Anna and a few old ladies have been in there. Tank and Ace had to force Viper to leave. Ryans has been by twice a day to check her over. Even Lug Nut has been in there. I need to get in there. I need to see Merigold with my own eyes. But every time we try, Tank blocks us with one excuse or another.
Axel and I are sitting at a table with a good view of the door Merigold is behind. Axel is watching for Tank. One of us is getting in that door today and I don't care who I have to take out to do it. We need to see her. We have been told she still hasn't woken up. She hasn't even moved. I need to see for myself or I’m going to lose it. I look at Axel. I know he is feeling the same. Neither of us has slept. We have barely eaten. We don’t have a desire to. Our only focus is Merigold. Axel hasn't taken his eye off the door. I see Lug Nut come out.
I get his attention and he comes over to us. I feel bad for him. He keeps blaming himself for Merigold being taken. He is still healing himself. The bruises are now yellow and fading. His knuckles are no longer swollen. His ribs are still sore. " Who's with Merigold?" Axel asks. " Trina." he says. Thor's old lady has been going in and out putting clean clothes on her and cleaning her up. I am grateful for her help even if I can't say anything to her. Axel nods. " Lug Nut, we need to get in there. Even if it's just for a few minutes. We want you to watch out for Tank." Lug Nut looks unsure. I don't like putting him in this spot but we need to see her. " Tank and a few old ladies took Lilly shopping. He should be gone for a little while but you shouldn't stay too long. I’ll keep watch for Tank. Just make it quick. I don’t want to deal with him right now. I’m already on his shit list." Lug Nut says.
Axel and I get up and go to Merigold’s room. Lug Nut takes our seat to keep a lookout. We step inside and I can't breathe. It feels like all the air has been sucked out of the room. The room is set up like a hospital room. Merigold is laying flat on the bed with tubes and wires connected to her. She has an oxygen mask covering her mouth and nose. She looks so small in the bed.The only thing she has on is a tee shirt and is covered with a thin sheet. Her face and arms are covered in bruises. Trina looks up when we enter. " Trina, can we have a minute?" I asked. She nods " The doc says to talk to her. Says if she hears familiar voices it could help pull her out of it faster. It let’s her know that we are here waiting for her to wake." and she leaves.
I go to one side of the bed and Axel goes to the other. We grab her hands. I notice they are cold to the touch and I don’t like it. Merigold always runs warm. She should feel this cold. I just stare at her for a minute taking her in. This has been the closest we have been to here since the night before our run. If it wasn't for her chest rising I would think she was dead. It makes me want to kill the Reapers all over again. Even with all the bruises, our Merigold is still the most beautiful woman I have ever had the pleasure to lay my eyes on. I know under all of that she has the most incredible eyes. Bright shiny jewels that light up when she laughs. If she was bruised for the rest of her life I would still love to look at her face.
Axel breaks the silence " Hey, Merigold. It is us. We have been waiting to see you for a while. You have had a long line of visitors. We need you to wake up baby girl. We need you to come back to us. Rowdy and I need you. Jace and Jax need you. Viper needs you. The whole fucking club needs you. Your brothers from Alabama are here waiting for you. Alaric and Mac. We need you to wake up so we can explain what you saw the night of the party. I need you to understand what you saw with the club bunnies. It isn't what you think." his voice is breaking. He sniffs and wipes his eyes. " We didn't go with them. We pushed them away. You are the only girl for us. Baby girl, we need you to wake up. Please. Let us explain. Yell at us. Tell us to go to hell. Threaten to kick our asses. Anything. Just wake up. You have to know we would never take a club bunny over you. You are the one we want. Only you." I stand up, kiss her forehead, and whisper in her ear " Baby please come back to us. I love you. I should have told you sooner so you would never doubt you are it for us. There is nobody but you. From the moment you walked into the club. It has only been you. And it will always be you. " I sit back down and hold her hand.
Axel kisses her head " I love you, baby girl. We love you. We need you to wake up so we can make you our old lady, our wife. So we can show you how much we want you. How much we care about you. How much we love Jace and Jax. We will be here when you are ready. " It's killing me to see her like this. Merigold is always full of life. Always has a smile on her face. She loves to laugh. I'd give anything to hear her laugh right now.
A day later we are sitting at the bar trying to eat but I still haven't had much of an appetite since Merigold's kidnapping. Probably from the night she stopped talking to us but I didn’t notice. I see Tony burst through the front door followed by Alaric and Mac. They are running towards Merigold's room. I have a sinking feeling in my stomach. Please be good news. I jump up and go to her room. The door is shut. I stood there listening and I noticed other brothers had started gathering around the door waiting.