Taming the Beast novel Chapter 32

(Caroline’s POV)

I opened my eyes slowly and everything started spinning. I groaned and closed my eyes again when I felt Keegan’s hand on my cheek.

“Shit, shit, shit!” Keegan muttered. There was a pause. “Mom, I need your help,” he finally said. What in hell were they making a big fuss about? I tried to sit up, but Keegan’s hand held me down. “Don’t move,” he said panicked. I groaned again and opened my eyes.

“I-I’m fine,” I lied. “Why is everyone freaking out?” I asked. It was then that I smelled something metallic. It was very distinctive. I smelled it before… after the accident.

Blood.

I took deep breaths and tried to calm my breathing. I wasn’t squeamish about blood or anything; it was just that I was thinking about the accident again. I sighed and reached my hand back to touch the top of my head. Keegan swatted my hand away before I could.

“Don’t touch it,” he said. He looked nervously towards the stairs. “Mom!” he yelled louder. His worried and scared face turned back to me. A moment later, we all heard her footsteps descending.

“Mom! I hurt her! We were wrestling and I went too far. I-I can’t… I can’t,” Keegan was in full overdrive. He was on the brink of hyperventilating as his eyes darted around nervously. I reached my free hand over and squeezed his hand in mine.

“Keegan, calm down,” I said softly. His eyes snapped to mine and he did calm down a bit. I rubbed my thumb over his hand and gave him a soft smile. “I’m going to be okay, it’s just a bump. But you need to keep it together… for me, okay?” I asked gently. He calmed down more as he nodded. My smile widened a bit. That instantly sent more pain to my head, but I ignored it and tried not to wince at the pain.

“Okay,” he croaked out.