I felt the heat from the bright lights beating down on my face as I struggled to open my eyes. My head was pounding, and my body felt heavy as hell. My eyes finally opened, and I was met with a tiled ceiling. I could hear the monitor beeping next to me. Turning my head, I saw Killian next to me with his head resting on his arms, sleeping peacefully.
Across the room sat my aunt, uncle, and sisters, all sleeping as well. I went to reach for Killian to wake him up when I realized my hands were bandaged up to my arms.
“What the hell?” I mumbled.
Beside me, Killian stirred. He looked up at me and smiled softly. He stood and kissed my forehead.
“You’re awake.”
“What happened?”
“Youum…you blacked out. Your aunt said you were talking to yourself in the mirror and then you started hitting it. I had to hold you down, and you were fighting hard to get free. You cut up your hands pretty bad.”
Tears sprang to my eyes at the realization that I’d tried to fight him. How could I do that to him?
“I’m sorry—”
He shook his head. “No, baby. There’s nothing to be sorry about. You had a moment.”
“Did I hurt you?”
He chuckled. “Do I look hurt?”
I looked him over, finding him in perfect condition. I sighed heavily as I relaxed into the bed.
“Are they putting me on a seventy-two-hour hold?”
“No. I explained the circumstances. They do want to keep you overnight just for observation, and they recommended you speak to the psychiatrist. You have symptoms of PTSD, which is understandable. The doctor just wants to see if they can prescribe you something.”
I nodded, tears streaming down my face. As he was talking, the memories of what happened came flooding back. I remembered my sisters walking in with that box and the looks on their faces. I never wanted them to see that side of my trauma. I suffered too long to keep it from them for them to see it live in living color.
“Should I wake them up?” Killian asked, following my gaze. “They’re worried about you. You scared them, baby.”
I shook my head. “I’m so fucked up, Killian,” I whispered through my tears. “Maybe you should just get out of this while you can. I can find somewhere else to live—”
“No. We aren’t doing that. You aren’t running from me, and you’re not finding somewhere else to live. Your home is with me now, Alayah. I love you. You understand that? I love you, and I’m here with you through everything. Get that negative thinking out of your head right now. When they release you, you’re coming home with me, and we are gonna deal with this together.”
“I don’t deserve you.”
“Yes, you do. You deserve me, you want me, and I want you. That’s it, that’s all. Do I make myself clear?”
All I could do was nod. He stood and kicked off his shoes. Putting down the railing, he climbed into bed with me and pulled me into his arms. After placing a kiss to my temple, he rested against the pillow.
“Get some sleep, love.”
I closed my eyes and settled into the warmth of his body. Before long, I was out.
Chapter 31
Killian
I sat in the conference room waiting for Kennedy to be brought in.
It had been two weeks since Alayah was released from the hospital. She seemed to be in and out of a depressed state. The meds the psychiatrist had prescribed hadn’t fully kicked in yet, so she was mostly moody. Mr. Easton had given her time off work to recover since she couldn’t do much with her hands. That alone had her frustrated. She cried often, and when she wasn’t crying, she was sleeping.
With sleep came the nightmares. The first one she had in bed with me scared the hell out of me. She woke up screaming and confused.
“No…no,stop! Please!”
