Losing Nuka (Litmus Book 1) (22 page)

Brett purses his lips. “Yeah, that’s happening. But something’s not right. He knew to attack your left side. He knows you were injured there a few weeks ago. I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m going to find out. The way he knew you—”

“He’s probably just been to my fights before. Hell, our banner has a photo of me with a giant bruise down my left side. It was clear he was an experienced fighter. Maybe he just saw this as an easy way in, instead of trying out or negotiating with the owners.”

“Maybe.”

“Nuka,” Sasha says again.

“What?”

“Are you going to be okay?”

“I’m fine, Sash. My ego’s a little bruised, though,” I laugh … well, cough. “I really thought I was going to get my first knockout tonight.”

“Well, you did, in a way,” she says with a small smile.

“So, broken wrist and ribs, hey? That sounds painful—”

“You’re on some pretty awesome painkillers,” Brett answers.

“When do I fight again?”

“Six weeks,” he says.

“Six?” I throw my head back on the pillow … slowly. “That sucks.” I was hoping to move up tonight, not take a step back. “When can I go home?”

Brett and Sasha share a look. “How are you feeling?” he asks.

“Is that a trick question? It feels like I got the crap kicked outta me.”

“Brett wanted to take you to the hospital,” Sasha says softly. “Mum and Jonas wouldn’t allow it. We’d feel better if you at least stayed here with one of the onsite doctors.”

Rolling my eyes before my body screams at me not to, I just shake my head. “Just take me home.”

They both reluctantly agree and help me up, the bed paper crinkling underneath me and falling to the floor. The walk to the door of the infirmary is slow going. My ribs on my left side are broken so I lean on Brett on my right, my whole left side hanging limp. Colton and Ryker are waiting outside the door when we get out into the corridor.

“Holy shit, Nuka,” Colton says, covering his mouth with his hand.

Ryker’s staring at me with narrowed eyes. “You weren’t focusing.”

I half-laugh. “Already with the lecturing? You don’t think you could wait until I was at least able to train again?”

He throws his hands up in surrender.

Movement behind him catches my eye. Taser’s coming down the hallway, dressed casually in jeans and a tight T-shirt. “Aww, someone get a little hurt?” he asks, his condescending tone hitting me like another punch in the face.

“What are you doing here, Brayden? It’s not your fight night,” Brett says.

“I can’t come support my team? Chi’s fighting tonight, you know.” He has a weird smirk on his face, and his words are laced with menace.

“Colt,” Brett says, gesturing to take his place next to me, holding me up. Taking a step towards Taser, Brett crosses his arms over his chest. “No. You can’t. Well, you can, but you never do. What are you doing here, Brayden?”

“You set this up,” I accuse, realising what Brett’s implying.

“Now, now, no one likes a sore loser.”

Brett grabs Taser by the shirt, pushing him sideways, crushing him into the wall. “What are you playing at?” he spits at him.

“Save it for the arena,
Brawn.
I’m not saying the little bitch didn’t get what she deserved, but you can’t prove anything. You can’t touch me. Jonas and Cade wouldn’t like that very much, would they?”

Brett lets Taser go, taking a few steps backwards.

Taser tsks, “No, we wouldn’t want to upset them.” He straightens his shirt, standing up straighter. “See you tomorrow night, Brett. Looking forward to it.” He walks off, leaving the rest of us standing there not really knowing what to do with ourselves.

“Tomorrow night?” I ask when Taser’s out of sight.

“I’m scheduled to fight him,” Brett answers. “Come on. Let’s get you home.”

-18-

RECOVERY

“Sash, help Nuka into my room,” Brett orders, as we walk painfully slow down the hall.

“Where are you going to sleep?” I ask, confused.

“I’m not leaving you tonight. You might have a concussion, you might pass out again, the list of ‘mights’ is endless. You’re stuck with me, okay?”

“If this is your way of trying to get into my pants, I have to say, your timing isn’t great. I’m a little too sore for that.”

Sasha laughs, and Brett just shakes his head at me. We get to his room, and Sasha helps me over to the bed.

“Can I take a shower?” I ask.

“Yeah, but you can’t get your arm wet. I’ll help you,” Sasha volunteers.

“I’m pretty sure I can do it myself.”

“Lift your arm to shoulder height,” she orders.

I lift my right arm easily.

“Other one, smartass.”

Yeah, okay, she has me there. It hurts to lift my arm with my cracked ribs. “Fine. Just go get me some pyjamas and bring them in here.” Sasha leaves to fetch me my clothes, and Brett looks about as horrible as I feel. “I can sleep in my own room. You don’t have to—”

“He did this because of me,” he says, not making eye contact.

“What?”

“It’s my fault you’re in pain.”

His eyes meet mine just as Sasha comes back in with clothes and a plastic bag. Averting my gaze from Brett, I struggle to stand as Sasha helps me into the bathroom. She starts wrapping my cast in the plastic, making sure it’s as airtight as it can get, before turning the shower on for me.

After awkwardly showering, with my sister helping me the whole time—undressing me and washing me in places no sister should ever have to—she dresses me and takes me back to Brett’s bedroom, laying me down on his bed.

“I’ll come by in the morning to help you, okay?”

“I’ll be fine by then, I’m sure of it.” I let out a sad laugh. “I almost got that out with a straight face.”

As soon as Sasha’s out the door, I’m glaring at Brett.

He takes his shoes off, removes his shirt, climbs into bed next to me, removes his jeans under the covers, and chucks them on the floor.

“Okay, spill … wait … are you nak—”

“Calm down, I’m wearing boxers.” He rolls on his side to face me.

“You just didn’t want me to see your scrawny legs?”

“I
do not
have scrawny legs.”

“Why did you say he did this because of you?” I ask, the conversation suddenly serious.

His smile fades. “That fight. The first night you came to watch us … It was only an exhibition fight. Flat rate, no betting, no percentage, just basic flat-rate pay. I thought it was weird that he asked me to …” He sucks on his top lip, biting down so hard I wonder if he’s breaking skin.

“Asked you to what?”

“I threw the fight,” he practically whispers.

“What? Why?”

“Brayden offered me more money, and I needed it. At the time, I thought it was weird, too good to be true, but I was too focussed on getting my family out of the Estates. It wasn’t a proper fight. Betters weren’t going to miss out on money if I took a dive. I couldn’t see the catch. But now …”

“He wants you to do it again? For real this time?”

“Yup. And he’s threatening to tell everyone what I’ve already done. By getting me to agree to the exhibition fight, he backed me into a corner. I think tonight was a warning for what’ll happen if I screw him over.”

“Maybe,” I ponder, pursing my lips.

“You don’t think so?”

“Well, I guess it makes sense. But you also have to remember that he can’t expose you without exposing himself, right? So if he hired that guy to fight me tonight, it was just a scare tactic. He’d have to be bluffing, because if you go down, he’ll go down.”

“I’m sorry you’re in pain because of me.”

“You didn’t do this, Brett. Who knows, Taser might’ve had nothing to do with this. Maybe it was just a coincidence.”

“If he wasn’t there tonight, I’d be inclined to agree with you, but he
never
comes to fight night unless he’s on.”

Starting to get uncomfortable in the position I’m in, I try to roll onto my side, but I can’t move without gasping in pain.

Brett sits up and leans over me. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just trying to get comfortable.”

“Did you want more painkillers?”

“There’s more? Gimme!”

He laughs, reaching over to his side table, and then hands over a glass of water and two pills.

Swallowing them down, I hand back the water and wait for them to kick in. “Thank you for staying with me.”

“Anything for you, baby.”

“Baby?” I laugh.

“Oh, so you only like to be called that when you’re out of it and about to pass out from pain?” He smirks.

I laugh even more remembering our conversation on the side of the ring. “Oh, yeah. I forgot about that.”

“You were pretty out of it. Now make sure you stay over on your side of the bed.”

“Of course, because right now it’d be so easy for me to jump you. Considering I can’t even roll on my side, I think you’re safe.”

“I’m more worried about what
I’d
do if you came near me,” he mutters, rolling over and putting his back to me.

Even though I’m in an enormous amount of pain, I can’t wipe the smile off my face.

***

“Kill me,” I grunt. “So. Much. Pain.”

Brett sits up, handing me more water and more pills.

“Thanks.”

“Is there anything I can do?” he asks, taking the water from me and lying back down beside me.

“Yeah, win.”

“What?”

“Tonight, against Taser. Put that bastard in a coma.”

He smiles. “I would, but I’m not going in tonight. I called Ryker this morning, asked him to take my spot.”

“Good. Ryker can put him in a coma then.”

“So you’re thinking it
is
Taser’s fault now?”

“Maybe. Okay, yeah, it probably is. But why’s Ryker really taking your place? It’s not because of me, is it? You don’t have to stay here, I’ll be fine on my own.”

“It
is
because of you, but not because of the reason you’re thinking. I decided I need to call his bluff. Plus, I put it to Cade and Jonas that it would look insensitive of me to fight when my girlfriend’s at home, injured.”

He’s called me his girlfriend a thousand times, but this time when he said it, it sounded natural.
Real.

“So you’re just going to babysit me all weekend?”

“How is that any different to what I already do?”

“Hmm, true.”

There’s a knock at the door, followed by Cade entering the room. Brett sits up, moving away from me. She takes one look at me, her face ashen. “Oh, Nuka, honey. You look …”

“Terrible? I know. I don’t feel too great, either.”

“Is there anything I can do for you?” she asks.

“I think Brett has it sorted.” I throw him a smile. He, however, is scowling at Cade.

“Well, I just thought I’d come down here and let you know … that man, the one you fought, he was all set to sign with Holt—”

“Taser’s team? Really?” I shoot Brett a knowing glance.

“But it turns out, he’s not Immune.”

“What?” Brett asks.

“He’s normal? What is he, some kind of fighting robot? Please tell me he’s not human.”

“I’m sorry. But the good news is he’s no longer with us,” Cade says.

My brow furrows. “They killed him?”

Cade starts laughing. “No, dear. He’s banned from fighting, and from Litmus.”

“Oh, sorry. I think these painkillers are making my brain fuzzy.”

“Sure they are, dear.”

Was she just being condescending?

“Make sure you rest up, okay?” she says before leaving.

“He was normal?” I say more to myself than to Brett.

“Probably just adding insult to the injury. Your badass rep will be tainted now by the fact you were beaten by someone who’s normal.”

“How could he have been normal? He was a frickin’ machine.”

“If I had to guess, I’d say Brayden sought him out for his talents. He did it on purpose.”

“But we can’t prove it?”

Brett shakes his head. “No. We can’t.”

***

After four days of lying in this bed, I’m now able to move around and shower by myself—slowly and carefully. Sasha’s been a saint, and Brett even more so. Cade came to check on me that first day, and that’s all. It really pisses me off that she doesn’t seem to care I’m majorly injured, but I guess I can’t say I’m surprised.

Climbing into bed after a shower, I’m shivering. It’s freezing in here, and I couldn’t even get the water hot enough to warm me. I know something’s wrong.

“Brett,” I whisper. I don’t know where he’s gone, but I know he’s still on the grounds somewhere. “Brett,” I say a little louder, doubling the blanket over me and curling into a ball.

“I’m here,” he says, entering the room. “What’s wrong?”

“So cold,” I say, my teeth chattering.

“Cold?” He approaches me, feeling my forehead with the back of his hand. A sizzling noise fills my ears as Brett snatches his hand away, shaking it off as if I’ve burnt him. “You’re burning up. Literally. You just almost set my hand on fire.”

“I’m sick? I don’t feel like I have a flu or anything.”

“You probably have an infection. We need to take you to the hospital and get a proper diagnosis.” He pulls the blanket off my shivering body, lifting my shirt to expose my ribs. “Shit!” He walks around to his side of the bed, frantically grabbing his shoes and putting them on.

I’m wondering what has him so freaked out until I look down at my side. It’s practically black.

“You need a doctor, Nuke. You need one, like, yesterday.” He rushes over to the phone, picking it up and dialling a single number, I guess to phone upstairs to Cade’s room. “She’s got an infection. I’m taking her to the hospital … No, I’m taking her … You’re not listening to me. She has a fever, her entire side is black, she could have internal bleeding … Fine.” He slams down the phone. “Your mum’s on her way down.”

She arrives a few minutes later. “Nuka, how are you feeling?”

My lips are trembling from the cold. “Freezing.”

She looks at Brett. “Give her some meds, wait for the fever to come down, and see how she is then.”

“Cade—”

“Do as you’re told.”

He storms into the bathroom, and a few seconds later, there’s a loud slam of the cabinet doors.

“You’ll be fine,” Cade says in a soothing voice. “He’s just overreacting because he’s worried about you. He really cares about you, you know.”

“Uh …” I don’t know what to say to that.

Brett re-enters the room, handing me different pills than the painkillers he’s been giving me. “I’ve got it from here,” he says to Cade.

“Let me know if anything else develops,” she says, making her way back to the door.

Brett checks my fever again as she leaves.

“They’re not going to work that quickly,” I say, swatting his hand away.

He lies down next to me, gently pulling me into him. “I’ll keep you warm.”

“Don’t. I’ll burn you.”

“I don’t care.”

With his arm draped over me, I succumb to sleep quickly.

After what feels like a couple of minutes later, he’s shaking me awake.

“Nuke, let’s go,” Brett says.

“What?” I grumble, not opening my eyes.

“It’s been an hour and your fever hasn’t dropped. It’s time to go to the hospital.
Now.
”

“Have you told Cade?” I ask groggily, slowly cracking my eyes open.

“Nope. And I’m not going to this time. Let’s go.”

“Can I at least get dressed first?”

“What you’re wearing is fine. We need to go now while Jonas and Cade are … busy.”

I screw up my face. “Eww. Did you just say my mum is upstairs having s—”

“Yes, so we don’t have long. Let’s go.”

“Eww again,” I say, rubbing my head and putting on my slippers.

Before walking out the door, I grab a spare small blanket off the bed, which I’m guessing Brett put there while I was sleeping. Wrapping it around me, we quietly sneak out of the house. We probably should tell Cade, but I’m in no position to argue—I feel like crap.

Sitting in the car makes me woozy. I’m dizzy, freezing, and in pain. Not a great combination to be riding in this stupid sports car.