Chapter 145
When I came to my senses, I heard the beeping of a heart monitor and the pungent smell of disinfectant. I tried moving my fingers and felt my index finger twitch. I tried to peel my eyes open next.
"She's waking up," someone called out before I heard multiple shuffling steps and felt the presence of others around me.
I peeled my eyes open but closed it immediately afterwards after getting blinded by the white lights.
"Call the doctor," I heard Jerry saying before a set of steps left my bedside and the door closed softly.
"Hey," Preston's voice softly called out when I tried opening my eyes open once again. I lifted one of the edges of my lips upwards, attempting a weak half smile in greeting. I still felt really weak, but I didn't have it in me to fight the feeling.
I was finally able to squint properly through my swollen eyes and I immediately looked around.
"Adam, Maddison and the kids are outside," Preston looked like he wanted to say more but hesitated. I quirked an eyebrow at him. I felt like my throat would burn if I uttered a word without having a cup of water to soothe it first. I moved the hand that wasn't hooked to the IV needles and the heartbeat monitor towards the desk with the glass of water on top of it. Preston passed the cup to me, helping me drink from it.
"What else is there?" I asked immediately after wiping my lips dry.
"Kiara is outside too." Preston hesitantly answered. I felt my heart boil. My heart wasn't beeping normally anymore. Preston and Jerry immediately tried to calm me down.
"What do you mean she's outside?!" I asked, enraged. My voice came out raspy. I thought about how the kids were outside too.
"I tried to get her to leave, Case but Adam wasn't having any of it. He wanted to stay and wait for you to wake up too, but he clung on to Kiara and I couldn't do anything about it. I asked Maddison to keep an eye on the kids," Preston explained quickly. It didn't do any good though. I tried sitting up, a new determination coursing through me at the thought of a threat being so close to the kids.
"Oh no, you don't," Preston warned. I glared at Preston.
"I just risked my life for those kids in that ring. I am not going to let them be so close to that bitch after the hell I went through." I said to him lowly, almost growling under my breath. Preston shook his head defiantly at me.
"You're right, you did go through hell and that's why you're in no form to be prancing about, kicking the bitch's ass. I'll have the kids taken in here and make sure Kiara stays out." Preston released me when I nodded at that. I'll agree to anything as long as the kids are kept away from Kiara.
"You better be back here in 5 minutes or I'm gonna rip these needles off my arm and get the kids myself," I told him. Preston just smirked, leaving me alone with Jerry.
The room fell quiet and I turned to Jerry who looked at me wistfully.
"It amazes me how much you would do to protect those kids," Jerry mused. I smiled at him when he wiped his teary eyes.
"I made a promise to your wife to be there for your family when she passed. They're like my own little brother and sister, Jer." I softly replied to him before a nurse and doctor entered the room to checked on me.
"Well, you look worse than you are. You have a mild concussion and a swollen jaw, a couple of bruised ribs but nothing broken so that's good." The doctor wrote out a prescription for the pain and gave it to Jerry, who thanked him as the doctor and nurse walked out of the room.
Not long after, Preston came in with the kids in his arms and Maddison trailing behind him. They squealed when they saw me awake, squirming to get out of Preston's hold. I smiled at them.
"Casey! Are you okay? Why is your eye so small?" Cali exclaimed in worry. She reached out to touch my swollen eye but changed her mind before she could touch it and cradled her hand to her chest instead. I chuckled at how adorable she was and touched my eye myself.
"I'm okay, sweetheart. My eye is just swollen." Pio's eyes became wide.
"Did you cry a lot? Is that why it's swollen?" He asked me, looking serious. I shook my head with a small smile on my face.
"I'm okay, Pio." I ruffled his head. These kids are worth every hit I got in every fight.
I finally remembered what I wanted to ask Preston and turned to him. "Did anyone call my parents?" I asked worriedly. I didn't want them to question why I was in the hospital and I didn't want them to worry about me. Luckily, Preston shook his head no.
"You owe me big time for that. I had to beg these guys to not call them. I even had to ‘seduce' that old woman at the receptiondesk." Preston gave out a fake shudder and I laughed at his theatrics before thanking him properly which he waved off.
Suddenly, I heard the door swing open and raised my head to see Adam with Kiara trailing behind him. Their hands were linked together, and my breathing stopped for a split second.
