Read Online Unstitched by Jacquie Underdown - Free Book Online

only in a pair of boxer shorts, holding a golf club over his shoulder ready to take a swing, every muscle straining.
    ‘Brendt, it’s okay. It’s only us. I overreacted,’ said Roslyn quickly, forcing him to lower the club.
    His eyes were wide as he took in the scene — a strange man holding a red, bloody wad to my head, the scent of copper in the air, and Roslyn dressed only in her dressing gown. ‘I heard a scream. And yelling. What happened here?’
    ‘I came into the kitchen for a drink. I didn’t know Anthea was home yet. I screamed because they startled me,’ said Roslyn, her voice unusually high.
    ‘You scared the fucking shit out of me. I didn’t know what was going on!’ he roared.
    Lucas helped me off the bench, still holding the towelling to my cut. The pain was easing, but my heart was still racing out of control. I had to lean against him for support.
    ‘Oh, my God, what’s going on?’ shrieked Rachel. She was in her flimsy nightie. Wide, frantic eyes darted from Brendt to me, to Lucas and back to Brendt. Brendt took Rachel’s shoulders and explained, calmly, what had happened.
    ‘What happened to you, Anthea? Why is your head bleeding?’ she asked.
    ‘I hit my head on the cupboards.’
    ‘How the hell did you do that?’
    Blush crept up my neck. ‘Never mind.’
    Rachel looked down at the golf club in Brendt’s hand. The corners of her lips curled upwards. Her shoulders jerked as a giggle escaped. ‘No-one would believe us if we told them about this,’ she said, now in full-blown laughter.
    Roslyn smiled then snorted. ‘It is kinda funny.’
    Despite the throbbing in my head and perhaps from slight concussion, I could see the hilarity of the situation and I giggled, which set Brendt off, which in turn set Roslyn off again then Lucas behind me, his chest vibrating. Our laughter grew delirious, complete with snorts and sobs and crying. Roslyn was cracking up so hard tears were streaming down her cheeks as she recounted the scene from start to finish, over and over, never able to form the words needed to recall the point where Brendt ran out in his boxer shorts, golf club hovering over his shoulder.
    I breathed in deeply and wiped the tears from my eyes. My head was killing me and it didn’t help that every time I smiled the skin tightened making it worse.
    ‘Now that you’re all here,’ I said, still giggling. ‘I guess the polite thing to do is to introduce you to my date.’
    They nodded, wiping at their face and eyes, taking deep breaths. I introduced them to Lucas one by one, finishing with Roslyn.
    Rachel peered down at her flimsy nightie and blushed. ‘I assure you we don’t always act like this, or dress like this.’ She wrapped her arms around her middle. ‘Seeing as everything’s under control, I’m going back to bed because I’m freezing. You coming, Brendt?’
    ‘In a sec, babe. You go. I’ll be in soon.’
    ‘Night, everyone.’
    Roslyn looked at the bloody wad on my head and sighed. ‘I’m really sorry, Anthy.’
    I shrugged. ‘You didn’t mean it. I’m sorry for yelling at you.’
    ‘We’re all a little shaken. Don’t worry about it. But you better let Lucas take a look. We may need to take you to the hospital for stitches.’
    I groaned. I really, really didn’t want stitches or that painful cold needle.
    ‘I won’t hurt, I promise,’ Lucas said, as he carefully released the makeshift gauze. ‘Now bend a little so I can get a good look.’ I did and he parted my hair, his fingers gentle as he assessed the severity of the injury. ‘It looks fine. It’s not big enough to warrant stitches. The bleeding’s stopped. You’ll have a sore head for a few days, that’s all.’
    Brendt came over and edged Lucas out the way with his strong body. ‘I better take a look. Just to make sure. You don’t want to wake up tomorrow having required stitches tonight.’ He carefully spread strands of my hair from side to side and cleared his throat. ‘Yeah. It