Chapter 105 Reunited

Chapter 105 Reunited
He nodded and hung up heading to the door to direct the police to the freezer and take note of every badge number and name. If any of those bastards ended up free, he knew who to blame. 
When he got into the driver's seat, Lydia's family had piled into the back. The woman's hand shook as she stroked Lydia's hair. Dorian tore away from the curve, cutting across the city to the little hospital on the north side of the island. It was half the size of most hospitals in major cities and twice as equipped thanks to the wealth on the island. It was also free access to registered students, alumni, and citizens of the island.
Lydia whimpered, shifting. He placed a hand on her head where a lump was starting to form. 
"You're alright," Dorian said. "You're safe, okay?"
He glanced noting the blood seeping through the linen he wrapped her in and pressed the gas pedal harder. 
There had been so much blood everywhere. A fucking massacre. God he hoped very little  of it, if any of it, was hers.

The air freshener her grandfather liked to use to refresh the carpet hadn't been used in the house since the carpet was ripped open and they realized that the scent was enough to trigger Lydia, no matter how faint. 
The fact that she could smell it now meant she was back in her memories, lying on that floor in just as much pain. Younger. Thinner. Shocked into silence and fear. 
The door slammed shut, leering laughter danced in the shadows of the living room, bouncing off the walls of that carpet that had to be taken for evidence and the chair, the table they'd broken, the TV. 
The wreckage of the scene filled her eyes just as it had then, but there were no bodies, no Quillan there to take the knife from her shaking bloody hands or wrap his coat around her and hold her. Her grandpa wasn't there, lying unconscious, maybe dead in the living room. 
The darkness crept forward, blocking out everything until a single flame danced in her vision and Sterling's half scorched face snarled at her. 
She swung through the air. A man let out a grunt as her fist connected, but she kept swinging until the darkness gave way to too bright light. The burning air turned sterile, and instead of a scorched athlete, a man in scrubs stood several feet from her, hands up and frozen, watching her. 
Where was she?
Scrubs. Hospital. A hand on her head, stroking her head. Shea butter? Her head pounded and she groaned, leaning as her stomach lurched. Bile burned over her tongue as she threw up, emptying whatever had been left in her stomach, splattering onto the floor. Gasping at the fever creeping up her neck and the burn in her throat, she sat back, covering her eyes to see someone else in the room with her.
A man? A nurse? Why wouldn't a nurse know she might throw up and be prepared. Warning prickled along the nape of her neck.
"Dorian?" She whispered, dry and hoarse. She shut her eyes from the bright lights. 
A cup was placed in her hand. 
"Drink." The nurse said. "The IV only does so much."
Lydia pulled the blankets up her body, curling away and refusing to drink from the cup. He wasn't on her IV side, but the visitor's side closest to the door.
The door was closed. 
Why was the door closed?
"Whose idea was it to give me a male nurse?"
He scoffed. "I'm not going to answer that. Drink."
She tucked the cup to her side, refusing and cracking her eyes open. Noting no sign of a badge and no gloves. 
Not a nurse. 
"You need to drink that."
"What happens if I don't?"
He bared his teeth. "You really want to find out?"
The second after stretched thin until it shattered. He lunged at her, catching her arm as she reared back. 
She swung hard, aiming for his head. Her fist connected.  He whirled back grabbing her arm and pressing  against giant bruise throbbing in her arm. Pain ripped through her as he yanked her forward and pinned her. Legs kicking and writing to the bed. HE reached over and grabbed the cup. 
"Open your fucking mouth."
The last man who had said that to her ended up a dead woman.  
This one just vanished in a thunderous crack and flash of movement.
She looked up, expecting Dorian, but froze, gasped and stared as the face that turned back to her, framed with curly hair like her own, a little paler, with more of slant to his eyes turned back to her. Older than her memories from that night, closer and realer than they had been in years.
Her eyes burned, tears streaming down her cheeks as she sucked in a rattling, gasping breath.
"Nii-chan?" She sounded like a toddler. Hadn't spoken those words since they were kids and realized the were no longer Zembayashis because no Zembayashi claimed them. 
Tears welled in his eyes and he cupped her face. His hands warm and real. 
"Kita," he whispered, swiping her tears away. "Kita, Nee-chan."
A sob ripped out of her as he pulled her into his arms and squeezed. He smelled like the ocean wind, stale airport air and hints of the grandfather's house. The relief that filled her, gushing out of her eyes, rattling out of her chest, had no beginning or end. 
If all of this terror and fear had gotten Quillan out of prison, she'd endure it again just to be able to hug him again. 
He kissed her head. "Mom and grandpa are in the hall with the police, but you need to lay back down. They said you have a concussion and you took a hell of a beating." He lowered his voice to a murmur. "They didn't get what the wanted, but the fuckers got a piece of what they deserved from what the doctors said about their conditions."
Lydia sniffled and nodded, letting him lay her back and pull the blankets over her. He dimmed the lights and dragged the fake nurse out of the way, leaving him sprawled on the ground. 
"A Dorian is with the police, too. Giving a statement or something. He uh... apparently knocked some teeth out?"
Lydia nodded as he slipped his hand into hers. "He's a hockey player."
"What? You and another jock? Really?"
"This one is a professional."
"How'd that happen?"
"A long story..." She swallowed, wetting her mouth. A nurse leaned in and gasped at the man on the floor. 
"Could we get her some water, someone to bag this cup for evidence, and a police officer?"
The woman ducked back out as Quillan turned back to her, a small tired smile on his mouth. 
"T-they knew..." Lydia choked on the words but forced the rest of them out. "They all knew the others. T-The belt----"
Quillan hushed her. "There's footage. You don't have to talk about any of that right now."
"B-But the cameras were off."