Bruised Angel (River of Lies #2) (18 page)

“There is some dinner in the fridge for you if you’re hungry. Are you cold?” he asked with a frown.

Chelsea nodded, she didn’t feel like eating she wasn’t hungry at all.

“Yeah I’m freezing” she said shivering as she sat down beside him.

Mason shook his head and frowned at her again.

“Do you feel alright, you’re really pale?” he said.

Chelsea nodded.

“I’m tired and cold but that’s about it. My leg hurts a bit.” she said hugging herself to get extra warmth.

Mason frowned again eating the rest of his dinner. After he had finished they sat on the couch for a while watching the football game on television. Chelsea didn’t remember drifting off but when she woke her body was covered in sweat, she was shivering and her leg felt like it was on fire. The morning sun was filtering in through the curtains of Mason’s bedroom and Mason wasn’t in the room. She pulled herself out of bed, which sent pain through her whole body and went to the bathroom. When she pulled her pants down to look at the wound, she saw that the pus was oozing through the gauze and it was starting to have an unpleasant smell that reminded her of really bad foot odour.

Chelsea took the gauze off the wound wincing in pain, all around the cut was red and hot to the touch. Sweat continued to drip off her. She was feeling light headed and sick to her stomach. Chelsea didn’t have any strength in her body anymore. She just wanted to climb back into bed and sleep. Chelsea knew she had to clean the wound again, but she just didn’t have the energy. As she stood in the bathroom darkness seemed to creep into the corners of her eyes. Her mind started to go fuzzy like she was watching the white noise on television, it crept in and began to take over. Her knee’s started to buckle and Chelsea felt herself falling but she couldn’t do anything to hold herself up. She felt the cold of the tiles on her back and the crunch of her skull as it hit the bathroom floor. She wanted to call out to Mason, but her voice didn’t work, all she could do was close her eyes and let the darkness envelope her.

When Chelsea woke again she was back in bed and she couldn’t move her arm without it hurting, she looked and realised she had a drip connected to her. Her leg was still aching and her head was still spinning. Chelsea closed her eyes and drifted back into sleep.  She was surrounded by darkness, when suddenly a screen flickered to life. Chelsea watched herself walking through life, there was Carl, Maggie, Dylan, Mason and Maddison. It was like watching a movie of Chelsea’s life, some of it was a horror movie and other’s made her smile.

“Is she going to be alright?” Mason spoke.

Chelsea turned in the dark but couldn’t see him.

“I don’t know” she heard a voice reply that she didn’t recognise.

Chelsea tried to call out to Mason, to let him know she was fine she was watching a movie of her life, but no sound would come out of her mouth. In the distance she could see a small doorway that light shone from. Chelsea started to walk towards the door but every step she took made the door get further away.

“Sit child, rest” Chelsea heard from behind her.

Chelsea turned and looked into the face of Augustine. Chelsea shook her head.

“Am I dead?” she asked.

Augustine smiled a gentle smile and pushed Chelsea’s hair off her shoulders, cupping her face with her hands.

“No, you are very sick, but not dead” Augustine replied.

“Where am I?” Chelsea asked.

“In your head. You will be here for a little while until you heal enough to wake up” Augustine replied softly, her brown hair caressed her face and her eyes were gentle yet seemed to sparkle in the dark.

Chelsea nodded and sat down, she found herself sitting on the couch that she recognised from Mason’s living room. Augustine sat beside her and they held hands in the silence for some time just watching the movie replay itself over and over.

“Chelsea I love you” she heard Mason speak.

Chelsea turned to see where he was, however, nothing but darkness surrounded them, apart from the small light from the movie and the distant doorway. Chelsea turned to Augustine who watched the movie with tears that drowned her cheeks.  Chelsea turned back to the screen and playing out was Augustine’s rape and death. Chelsea sucked in a sharp breath and she shook her head, closing her eyes. When she opened her eyes again the movie had changed and Mason and Chelsea were making love on the screen. Chelsea glanced at Augustine who suddenly had disappeared, Chelsea giggled to herself and thought Augustine probably didn’t want to see her son doing such things.

Suddenly Chelsea was surrounded in a bright light. She shut her eyes tight unable to look at the light without pain. When she opened her eyes again, she was back in Mason’s bed with the drip connected to her arm and Mason asleep beside her. Chelsea moved her head and reached out with her free hand clasping his. Mason’s eyes shot open as he sat up and looked at her.

“Oh thank God Chels” he said with tears in his eyes leaning forward and kissing her softly all over the face.

Chelsea tried to push herself up in the bed, her leg was no longer hurting but her head felt a little light and fuzzy. Mason stood and helped her to sit, before going out of the room and calling for his Dad and someone called Brady. Soon the three of them were bustling in through the room. The man who Chelsea worked out was Brady looked down at her and smiled warmly.

“Well you gave us a right scare there” he said with a friendly smile.

Chelsea weakly smiled back up to him.

“What happened?” she asked.

“I found you on the bathroom floor, you had whacked your head and was out cold” Mason said.

Chelsea reached up and touched the back of her head where she felt some small stitches under her head.

“You’ve got five stitches there, I’ll take them out in a couple of days.” he said.

Chelsea frowned and nodded her head.

“You had a massive infection in your leg and I’d say you passed out in the bathroom and knocked yourself out when you fainted” Brady said.

“I don’t even remember” Chelsea said shaking her head.

She didn’t really remember anything at all. Except for Augustine sitting next to her while she was in the dark. Chelsea looked up at Mason.

“When I was in the dark, your Mum was there, she was sitting on a couch next to me watching a movie. I can’t remember what it was we were watching” Chelsea said to Mason.

Mason smiled and looked at Knox who blinked back some tears and dropped his head. He reached out to Chelsea’s hand and gave it a squeeze.

“Did she look happy?” Knox asked blinking back more tears.

Chelsea couldn’t remember so she smiled and nodded her head. Knox returned her smile and took her hand up to his lips giving it a kiss.

“I’m glad you’re back with us kid” Knox said gently.

Suddenly there was a bustle at the bedroom door and Chelsea looked over to see Kelly and Lincoln come bowling into the room.

“Oh my God Chelsea you’re awake” Kelly cried as she pushed Mason out of the way and sat on the bed, giving Chelsea a hug.

“I was so fucking scared. I thought we were going to lose you” she cried.

Chelsea reached up and stroked Kelly’s head.

“It takes more than a little infection and a bump on the head to take me out” Chelsea said with a weak smile.

Chelsea still felt so weak and tired from the infection. Brady was checking the drip and pulled back the blanket to check her wound which had also been stitched and was starting to heal. It didn’t look red and angry anymore, it wasn’t oozing with the yellowing pus like it was before. Chelsea looked up at Brady and smiled.

“Thank you for looking after me. Are you a doctor?” she asked.

Brady glanced over his shoulder at Knox and back to Chelsea before he nodded.

“Knox rang me to help, I’m part of the club, here mostly for my medical assistance. They thought you probably wouldn’t want to go to a hospital” he said with a smile.

Chelsea nodded her head, they at least knew her well enough to know that she wanted to keep it quiet.

“Well thank you for coming and helping me” she said.

Brady smiled and nodded, before looking around the room that was crowded with people.

“Alright everyone, I think she is going to need some more rest, the infection hasn’t completely left her body” Brady said.

Knox, Kelly and Lincoln all nodded and filed out of the room. Mason laid down on the bed beside her and gently put his arm across her waist, Brady stayed behind.

“Rest some more. You’re out of the worst of the infection, but it won’t take much to flare it back it up, so rest for a few more days.” he said as he pointed to Mason “And no sex”

Mason groaned and Chelsea laughed.

“I’m sure we can restrain ourselves” she smiled even against Mason’s protests.

Brady laughed and patted her shoulder before leaving the room and shutting the door quietly.  Chelsea looked down at Mason, who was watching her. He leaned up and gave her a small kiss on the lips.

“How long was I out for?” she asked running her hands through her hair.

“Three days” he said.

Chelsea was shocked, it had only felt like minutes.

“I don’t stink” she said with a raised eyebrow.

Mason grinned at her and pretended to sniff at her pits before shaking his head.

“Kelly came and washed you every day, she was the right nurse, I got lectured every time I lay down with you” Mason laughed.

Chelsea smiled; it felt so good to have such loving people around her, caring for her.

“I heard you say that you loved me” Chelsea said with a smile.

Mason grinned.

“I never left your side” he replied.

Chelsea smiled and kissed his forehead.

“Thank you” she said closing her eyes.

Chapter Seventeen

Chelsea continued to drift in and out of sleep for the following two days, each time she woke Mason was right there by her side. Finally she started to be awake more than she was asleep and by the fourth day she felt more like herself. Chelsea noticed that the drip had been removed from her hand and she was able to get out of bed. She sniffed at her pits and pulled a face. Mason was asleep in the bed next to her, so she quietly crept out and went into the bathroom. Chelsea made sure to leave the door open so that should she fall again he could hear her. Chelsea’s legs were still a bit weak, but she felt good being able to get out of bed. Chelsea noticed that the stitches in her leg had been removed and nothing remained except an ugly jagged scar beside the other. She reached up and touched the back of her head and noticed that those stitches too had been removed.

“Back to normal” she said with a smile as she turned the shower on.

Chelsea stood under the hot water feeling it stream down over the top of her. She made the decision that she would never cut herself again. Brady had told her when Mason was out of the room that she had almost died. That she should have been in hospital. Chelsea was glad that they hadn’t let her go to the hospital but it scared her to know that she had almost died. As she was standing under the water she heard the door of the shower open and felt Mason step in behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and bent his head down to kiss her neck.

Chelsea leant back into his chest and felt safe in his arms. He took the soap from the holder and began to lather up the front of her body, paying close attention to her breasts, which were aching from the stiffening of her nipples. She moaned as he wiped over them again with soapy hands. She could feel him growing hard against her back. Slowly Mason worked his lathered hands down her body and between his legs where he slipped his fingers into the folds. Chelsea moaned and rocked back and forth on his hands. Slowly she turned and kissed him passionately.

Mason reached around and put his hands under her thighs lifting her easily. He rested Chelsea gently against the back of the shower continuing to kiss her mouth, face and neck. She felt his cock sitting at her entrance, he groaned a throaty deep moan into her mouth as she thrust her pelvis down onto him, his cock slipping easily inside her with the lubrication of soap. Pressed against the wall Mason moved in and out of her fast and deep. It didn’t take long before Chelsea was screaming as an orgasm wracked through her body.  Mason opened his eyes wide and quickly slipped out of her, she watched as he shot his juice across her stomach with a groan. Mason looked down at her and gave her a crooked smile.

“That was a little close for comfort, I forgot I didn’t have a condom on” he said with a sly laugh.

Chelsea opened her eyes wide, she hadn’t even thought about it.

“Oh boy, now that would have been messy” she said with a laugh.

Mason laughed and kissed her again nodding his head. When they were both dressed Chelsea’s stomach started to growl as she realised how little she had eaten over the last few days, she was now ravenous. When she got into the kitchen Kelly was standing preparing some pancakes, she turned and smiled sheepishly at Chelsea.

“Hey Kel, they smell delicious, is there enough for us?” Mason asked.