Chapter 428: How Can You Stand It?

The pain of having her shoulder realigned was unlike anything Mina had felt. Even the feeling of having little rocks stuck into the bottom of her soles was less, and she was grateful that Connor had given her a choice between slow and fast. He was right, the pain was intense, but it faded quickly, and now she only felt extreme fatigue.

Mina could feel her eyes closing on their own, and she felt like she was going to fall asleep right where she sat. Not knowing what to say or do, she turned to face Connor, whose brilliant blue eyes looked the same color as pictures of the ocean she had seen in books. They were beautiful, and it was a shame that his personality did not match the softness of his features.

"Thank you," Mina said slowly. Connor did not move. He was staring at the woman who had accidentally lit a fire, but Cylus interrupted his thoughts with his suddenly annoying voice.

"Do you need a cigarette?" Cylus asked sarcastically. Connor's eyes never left Mina's face as he replied.

"And new shorts if you could." Cylus let out a disgusted sound, and went to help Mina stand, but she pushed his hands away.

"Mina come on; you can't be that angry with me." Cylus was trying to make her feel guilty, but he was forgetting that she was drunk. Mina laughed at his words as if they were the funniest she had heard.

"Says who? Vanya?" Connor was loving the drunk Mina, who had yet to move from where she was sitting, although he had released her from his hold.

"Mina," Cylus said in a warning tone.

"Cylus," she replied Mockingly, making the man laugh. She was really drunk, and there was no use arguing with her.

Connor helped Mina to her feet, warning her not to use her arm to lift anything for at least a week. Mina cut him off claiming to know how to treat dislocations from her work in a community center. She disappeared into the restroom, and both men heard the shower turn on.

"My future wife and I need privacy," Connor said, trying to give Cylus the cue to leave.

"Shut up. If Mina is going to marry any of us, it'll be Oric."

"I forgot about him," Connor grumbled. "So, you want to tell me why she is pissed with you?" Cylus explained the situation and Connor could only stare at his friend. "I believe her," he replied.

"That is because you like her."

"No, it's because she has no reason to lie. That does not exactly mean that Vanya planned it. She could have just capitalized on the situation." Cylus had left out the part about Olivia being naked in Bastien's bed when retelling the story, but he did not think it would change Connor's opinion and he wondered if he was wrong for not taking Mina at her word.

----

Oric made his way to where Olivia and Willow were and knocked on the door. Willow opened it with pepper spray aimed at him, and he quickly held his hands up, not knowing if his already injured face could take another blow. She shouted in alarm before pulling him into the room and making him sit on the bed. In Willow's mind, he had gotten into another fight with Bastien, and the man got the better of him.

"What happened? I thought Cylus was sending Bastien home."

"He did, this was courtesy of your boyfriend."

"Who?" Willow asked, before her senses returned. "Jeremy? Wait, you two fought? Why?"

"He attacked me while I was walking Mina to my car."

"Where is Mina?" Willow questioned, scared for her friend because she knew Jeremy's temper.

"She is being treated by Connor. Jeremy dislocated her arm." Willow's eyes flared open and she went to bolt out of the room, but Oric used the last of his strength to stop her. "You promised to stay with Olivia, and Mina is fine. If it makes you feel any better, Jeremy is already on his way to a hospital."

"Did he do it on purpose?" she asked, wanting to know just in case she needed to protect Mina in the future.

"The first time I don't think he meant to push her as hard as he did. The second time, he targeted her because he thought she was with me." Willow's eyes narrowed and gone were any feelings she had toward Jeremy. She had long been blaming herself for all the things he had done, believing that he had only done them because of her, but the more she thought about it, the less realistic that thought became.

Willow sat on the bed beside Oric, she wanted to thank him for defending Mina, but her pride would not allow her to say anything nice to the man. So, instead she offered to clean his wounds. Oric did not decline, and he allowed her to use a wet rag to dab at the split in his lip, and he was sure she was adding extra pressure on purpose.

"I noticed that you took a step back from Mina." Oric froze, not wanting to tell her that it was part of a deal between himself and Connor, but Willow kept talking. "If you like her, it is okay for you two to date, just be careful with her." Oric grabbed Willow's wrist, forcing her to retrain her eyes on his.

"You know I wouldn't have done that right?" Willow shrugged, knowing that Oric had returned to the past.

"Bastien wasn't the only one who said so, and I guess it was easy to believe at the time." Oric's facial expression changed to one of anger.

"Who else?" he demanded to know, and Willow told him those she could remember.

"Not everyone tried to sleep with me, some of them threatened me."

"Like whom?" Oric demanded to know.

"Cylus was the first." Oric stood, wanting to confront his friend for getting involved in things he should not have. "Stop," Willow said in a pleading voice. "He probably thought he was doing you a favor." Oric thought back to that time, and it was true, he had physically fought so many of their friends that before he knew what was happening there were only four of them left.

"Umm, not sure if this is a good time to interrupt, but I am awake," Olivia groaned out from behind them. Willow quickly made her way to the woman, who seemed to be noticing that she had been changed. She stood and groped herself roughly.

"Sh!t Olivia, I'm still here," Oric shouted.

"Sorry, but I don't remember what happened. Where are my clothes? Where is Mina?" Willow told Olivia how they found her, and she gagged. She ran into the restroom and emptied her stomach while Oric took his cue to get Cylus.

When Olivia had nothing left to come up, she sat on the ground huddled in a corner of the bathroom. Willow did not know how to comfort Olivia, but she knew she had to at least try. She just was not expecting the woman to turn the conversation to Mina instead.

"How can you stand being friends with her?" Olivia asked, almost offending Willow who had misunderstood the question. "I mean, how can anyone?"

"What do you mean?"

"Mina bought me the shorts I have on. I never wore them, but because she was around when I was changing, I put them on to make her happy." Willow suddenly understood what Olivia meant. It was difficult being friends with someone who appeared to have no flaws, but that was only because the women had not known each other long enough.

"While you and I have scars that are visible, Mina has scars that aren't. If you compare the ones you can see, we will always win, but neither of us could live a day in her shoes.