Twice Over

Chapter 114 - Umbrage

umbrage
noun
1. offence or annoyance.
2. [archaic] shade or shadow, especially as cast by trees.

The cafe table dug into my hip and my sore knee twinged a little in pain. I looked down at the floor full of broken glass mess with my hands around the pillar of support that had saved me from landing on my arse and probably banging my knee up again. When the blonde girl I'd been reminiscing about earlier began giggling across the table from me, I realised I had my arms around Mr Anginelli's neck. I quickly let him go but leaned into him again when another glass fell of the waiter's tray and crashed onto the concrete right next to us.

Everyone in the vicinity of the venue turned to look at the commotion that I think I had just caused. It was an awkward affair and all the attention was overwhelming, so much so that I blanked out a little. Grant and Patricia stepped towards me to help me up, but I didn't get what I was supposed to do until the chest I was leaning against vibrated with the clearing of his throat.

"Do you mind, Miss?" That low sounding voice sounded out and I looked at him in a daze, almost eye to eye with the handsome man. Specks of gold glinted in the depths of his dark eyes as his brows drew together in consternation. He was not a happy camper.

"What?" I asked dumbly and turned to the tinker bell laughing across the table again.

"Get. Off. Me." He ground out, his gravelly voice gaining a lower octave.

"Oh," I exclaimed, really stupidly, then tried to get off his lap. My foot slipped, again and I landed back down on him. When I realised my knee hurt, I tried to turn to get up and onto the foot that was undamaged. It was easy to lay one hand on the cafe table beside me, and the other in the lap of the guy I was sitting on, but I realised too late that I had placed my hand where I shouldn't have. What gave it away from the higher grunt from the man and a slight tensing of all of his thigh and gut muscles. He quickly pulled me up, my sore knee non-withstanding and flung me away from him.

"Ah!" I yelled as I lost my balance, not that I had it in the first place. Grant tried to catch me but I ended up on the ground anyway. I hissed in pain, both my knee and where I landed on broken glass, my hip and arse stinging in slicing pain. Grant and Patricia quickly stood in front of me between the two siblings and waiting staff member and others who had joined the scene.

"Stand back." Patricia spoke loudly, her no-nonsense attitude warding everyone away from me, her charge, including the Anginelli siblings.

Grant quickly picked me up off the ground and onto my feet then pulled me carefully away from broken glass as he tried to check out where I was hurt. I limped quickly away from him, trying to minimise the attention on me, then turned to Mr and Miss Anginelli and the cafe waiter to apologise.

"My apologies, I wasn't watching where I was going. Sorry to disturb your lunch meal. I'll pay for your meal and the damages to property. Again, my apologies." I quickly waved at Grant to pay for everything at the cafe counter while Patricia lead me away from the scene.

"Joseph, why did you ditch her on the ground like that. That was mean." I heard Molly whining at her older brother behind us.

"She was just another girl tying to hit on me. Just drop it." He groused out. My face burned hot as I heard him say that, embarrassed at his accusation. Like I was some cheap trick trying to gain his attention.

"No, it wasn't like that. It was clearly an..." She was interrupted again by her brother.

"Molly, drop it. Let's go." They brushed past where Patricia was leading me away from the scene.

"Oh, Joe, she's bleeding!" The sister exclaimed. She pulled her hand out of her brother's and turned back to offer me her help.

"Do you need help getting to the campus medical centre?" She asked politely, concern written all over her kind features.

"No, I'm fine." I gritted out in frustration. Patricia was already on the phone to my physician, Dr Styles, receiving instructions to take me to the hospital where he works.

"You aren't fine. Joe, she's bleeding. Look what you did." She turned back to her brother who finally showed a different emotion on his face for once. He looked frustrated, until he saw the blood running down the side of my bare legs from the glass cuts on my hip and thigh.

"Shit." Grant exclaimed as he arrived back from paying the bill. "Let me take her." He gingerly picked me up trying not to jostle me, and half walked, half ran to where the car was parked nearby. I looked over his shoulder back at the blonde siblings where I saw Mr Anginelli pulling Molly away from following Grant, Patricia and I. She turned and told him off for pushing me down and creating more trouble for what was already an accident and causing me harm.

Mr Joseph Anginelli's face showed traces of a troubled look bordering on guilt, then he hardened up when he realised I was watching them. His face looked stern then blank as he turned away from my stare.

"Arsehole," I mumbled and turned away from him in anger.

"Handsome arsehole." Grant murmured back and I scoffed and complained.

"He just threw me down onto broken glass and you're giving him that title? I have the right to veto. He doesn't deserve anything to do with 'handsome'. More like turd brain." I groused.

"More like tsundere." Grant quipped.

"What? No way!" I crossed my arms as we arrived at the car. They both opened it up and settled me in. I huffed and refused to listen to anything they said right up until we arrived at the hospital.

"Tsundere, my arse!" I contradicted Grant again.

"Say all you want, but that handsome man is bonified tsundere." Grant opened up the door and picked me up again and carried me into the hospital.

"You saw the way he took care of his girlfriend."

"Sister." I replied.

"Sister. Even better." Grant smiled down at me in his arm.

"Even better, my arse!" I complained then wriggled out of his arms when we arrived at the gurney the hospital staff directed us to in the emergency centre. I hissed as I lay down, landing on a piece of glass that was embedded in my butt.

"Shit." I swore, then spent the next hour going through tests on my knee and having glass pulled out of my rear end. It was so embarrassing.

Mum arrived in time for me to be discharged three hours later and I was taken home to their place. My light blue bedroom was soothing and inviting and perfect for the much needed afternoon nap.