CHAPTER 7

BILLY'S POV

I was brought into a waiting area and I continued to pace around to hear news about how Mia was. Bodie sat in the chair and watched me as I moved back and forth.

"Billy," I heard Joe's voice say and I looked over to see him coming into the room with the other guys following behind him. "Dude, I'm sorry," he started to apologize.

"IT'S YOUR FUCKIN' FAULT!" I shouted as I started to charge towards him and Bodie immediately got up as he tried to hold me back. "IT'S YOUR FUCKIN' FAULT DAT SHE'S BACK THERE DYIN'!" I shouted as I shoved my finger into his chest.

"Billy, man, calm down," Bodie said as he tried to hold me back.

"HOW IS IT MY FAULT?!" Joe shouted at me as I continued to struggle against Bodie.

"YOU WERE SUPPOSED TA KEEP HER SAFE!" I shouted as I grabbed onto his shirt and shoved him against the wall. "IF SHE DIES, IT'S YA FAULT!"

"IT'S NOT MY FAULT! THEY WERE WAITING FOR US OUTSIDE!" He shouted back at me and I immediately punched him in the mouth.

"Billy! STOP!" Bodie shouted as both him and Heco pulled me back from Joe.

"Dawg, STOP!" Heco shouted and I stopped struggling against them as I watched Joe touch his lip where the blood was coming out.

"Let's go, Joe," Baggy said and they left the room together.

I stood there and tried to calm down, but I couldn't help but think that Joe could have done something more.

"You alright?" I heard Bodie ask me and I nodded my head as I looked over my shoulder at him.

An hour passed by and I was starting to get impatient with waiting to hear news about Mia. Just as I was getting ready to walk out of the room, a doctor came in with a clipboard.

"Oh, hi there," he said in a cheery voice and I looked at him with a death stare. "Umm, are you here for Mia?" He asked in a nervous voice.

"Yeah," I answered as I continued to wait on news.

"She just got out of surgery. We got the bullet out and repaired what needed to be repaired. The bullet just missed the liver," he continued to read over the notes on the clipboard.

"Is she going to be okay?" I asked in a stern voice.

"Yes, she is going to be fine. She is stable. We are going to keep her overnight for observation," he said as he looked back up at me and I nodded my head.

"Can I see her?" I asked and he nervously nodded his head as we followed him out of the room.

We started to make our way down the hall and received stares from the other doctors and nurses as we passed by. I guess it was intimidating to see a gang walking together through a hospital, but that's what we wanted.

"She's right in this room. She's asleep right now from the medication, but she should be waking up within the next hour or two," the doctor said as I entered her room and saw her laying there.

"You can leave now," I heard Bodie say to the doctor from behind me and I walked over to the bed Mia was in.

Her eyes were closed and I looked up at the machine beside her to see her vitals. I felt my eyes soften as I continued to look down at her.

"She'll be alright, man," Bodie said as he placed his hand on my back and I nodded my head as I sniffled. "You comin' wit us?"

"I'm stayin'," I said as I glanced over my shoulder at him.

"Ya need anything?" He asked and I shook my head no as I looked back down at Mia. "Call us if ya do," he said before he patted my back and they headed out of the room.

I pulled the chair closer to Mia's bed and sat down on it. I took a hold of her hand and looked down at the floor as I closed my eyes. I couldn't believe that this had happened to her, but I felt like I needed to try harder to keep her safe.

MIA'S POV

I heard beeping and I slowly opened my eyes to see that I was in a hospital room. I slowly turned my head to the side and saw Billy sitting there with his head in his hands. I slowly lifted my hand up and reached over as I lightly touched his arm. He jumped and immediately looked at me to see that I was awake.

"Mia," he said as he stood up from the chair that he was sitting on and I smiled a little as he hugged me. "Thank god," he quietly said as I was taken back that he was hugging me.

"I'm okay," I quietly said as he pulled back from me and I winced from the wound.

"I'm sorry," he said as he sat back down on the chair beside the bed.

"It's not your fault," I said as I continued to look at him and he held my hand.

"I couldn't keep ya safe," he said as he looked down at the floor.

"Billy," I said and he brought his head up to look at me again. "It's not your fault."

"It's Joe's fault," he said, trying to point the finger at someone. "I'm gonna fuckin'.."

"It wasn't Joe's fault," I stopped him from continuing further. "They knocked him out as soon as we came outside. They had this planned out," I explained and he swallowed hard as he nodded his head and looked down again.

The next day came and I was being released from the hospital. Billy had brought me in a change of clothes to wear home, since my other ones were ruined. After I was discharged, he helped me walk outside to his car. He opened the door for me and helped me get into the passenger's seat. I winced as I adjusted myself and he shut the door once he knew I was okay. He headed around to the driver's side and got it before he took off. I rested my head back against the seat as I looked out the window. He hit a bump in the road by accident and I winced as I felt some pain.

"Sorry, Mia," he apologized as he glanced over at me.

"It's okay," I said as I nodded my head and opened my eyes again.

We arrived back at Stokley Hall a short time later and he parked the car outside next to Heco's. He got out and came around to my side as he helped me out. He had his arm around me as we made our way up the steps to the apartment on the second floor. We walked down the hall together and I could hear laughter coming from inside his apartment. He opened the door and helped me inside as everyone stopped what they were doing to look at me.

"And she's back," Bodie said with a smile as he stood up from the chair and came over to me. "How ya feelin', girl?" He asked as he gave me a small hug.

"Sore, but okay," I said with a small smile as I hugged him back and he pulled away.

"We're all glad that you're okay," Bodie said with a smile and the guys nodded their heads as I looked at each of them.

"We should probably get goin', though. Got work ta do," Heco said and the guys agreed as they started to make their way out of the apartment.

Billy closed the door behind them and I looked over at Joe as he rested back against the counter in the kitchen.

"You should probably go and rest. Take your pills before ya lay down," Billy said as he shook my pill bottom, but I kept my eyes on Joe.

I watched as Joe moved out of the way of Billy and walked over towards the couch. He wouldn't make eye contact with me as he sat down.

"What's wrong, Joe?" I asked as I started to walk towards him.

"Nothin'," he quietly said as he shook his head.

"Joe, you had nothing to do with this," I said as I slowly sat down beside him.

"Try tellin' him dat," he said as he motioned over to Billy and glanced at me.

"Billy," I said as I looked over at him. "Joe, had nothing to do..."

"I know. Haven't had the chance ta talk to him yet," Billy said as he handed me a bottle of water. "I kinda flipped on him last night before I talked to ya. Sorry, Joe," he said as he ruffled his hair and Joe seemed to look in a better mood.

"You did what you could," I said as I continued to look at Joe and he nodded his head as I went to stand up from the couch.

"Easy," Joe said as he stood up to help me up.

"Thanks," I said with a small smile and started to make my way to Billy's bedroom.

Billy pulled the covers down for me before I slowly sat down and rested back against the pillow. He opened the bottle of pills for me and took one out as he handed it to me. I took it and placed it in my mouth before I took the bottle of water and took a couple sips, getting the pill down.

"You gonna be okay?" He asked as he set the bottle of water and bottle of pills down on the stand beside the bed.

"Yeah," I answered as I pulled the covers up to cover my lower half.

"Okay, text me if ya need somethin'," he said as he set my phone down beside me on the bed and I nodded my head. "Either Joe or I will be here, so just let us know if ya need somethin'," He said as he bent down and gave me a kiss.

I rested my head against the pillow and watched as he left the room. I felt my eyes start to get heavy as the medication kicked in and I closed my eyes as I fell asleep.

The night time came and the guys had been there to check on me throughout the day. I was able to get a decent amount of sleep throughout the day, especially with the painkillers I had to take. The bedroom door open and I looked over to see Billy coming in, closing the door behind him. I looked over at the clock to see that it was a little after 9.

"Calling it an early night?"I asked as I rested my head back against the pillow.

"Somethin' like dat," he said as he placed his gun and cell phone on top of the stand. "You feelin' okay?" He asked as he kicked his shoes off.

"Yeah," I answered as he took his jeans off and I moved over to see he could in the bed beside me.

He rested his head back against the pillow as I slowly turned onto my side and snuggled up against him. He wrapped his arm around me as I placed my hand on his muscular chest.

"What about work?" I asked as I lightly ran my fingers over his chest.

"The boys got it covered," he said as he lightly ran his hand up and down my arm.

I lifted my head up to look at him and brought my lips to his. I rested my head back against his chest as he held me tight and we both drifted off to sleep.