“Whatever you said crushed her,” Collin went on as he checked over the stitches.
I looked over at them as the air stung the redness. It wasn’t horrible, but it was red and angry.
“She knew where I was,” I said, finally taking my eyes away from the cut as he wrapped it back up.
“We all have for a while, yes,” Collin said. “And none of us knew for sure what was happening. Our main source apparently didn’t give us the correct information.”
“Lisa,” I sighed. Would she really make me stay there after knowing what was going on?
“I’m not sure what she was playing at, but she wasn’t forthcoming on anything that was to do with you, and I have no clue why. She had to have been hiding something. But that still doesn’t excuse the way you spoke to Hannah.”
“No, it certainly doesn’t,” Caesar said, entering my room. With his presence, a wave of hurt and fear filled the room. “Leave us, Collin.”
The doctor gave me a sad smile before quickly picking up his supplies and making his way out of the room. Caesar shut the door almost all the way before stalking to the end of the bed. He crossed his arms and stared me down.
I breathed in deeply, trying to quench the fear that ran through my blood. What was he going to do to me?
“Look at me,” he commanded. When I didn’t, he walked around the bed and lifted my chin, forcing me to meet his dark angry eyes. My entire body flinched from the contact, expecting pain. “I do not put up with anyone yelling at my wife. Ever. I don’t give a fuck if you don’t care if she’s your mother or not. No one speaks like that to a woman in this household. Ever.”
His words were hissed quietly, but the meaning was there, clear as day. His hold on my chin was light despite the chilling words. My heart raced in my chest, like it was running its own marathon.
“You will apologize to Hannah, and you will never raise your voice again towards her. She’s been through a lot.”
“And I haven’t?” I seethed, pulling my chin from his grip as anguish won over the fear.
“I didn’t say you haven’t,” Caesar said, his voice alone causing me to look up at him. I saw it in his eyes. He demanded only respect from those in his family; from those in his house, too.
I gulped.
“You know nothing of what this family has been through. You can’t ever grasp the pain any of us have suffered. Just like we won’t be able to understand why you want to kill yourself. So, this is what will happen. You will not raise your voice. You will talk to someone. And most of all, you will stay alive. If not, I’ll arrange a way to give you back to Alan.”
He wouldn’t, would he? Tears clouded my vision at the possibility that he would do that, even after he promised I’d be safe here.
“Next time you see Hannah, you will apologize to her.”
I nodded, feeling any fight I had leave my body. I’d do whatever they wanted.
“Dominic will be unable to be of service to you.” With that, he left the room, slamming the door open against the wall.
Feeling caged, I ventured out into the hallway again. This time, Zevon sat in the chair right outside of my door. He didn’t notice me at first as he was reading something on his phone, so I walked right by him.
I looked at the pictures on the walls. There were only a handful of photos. Most were of Hannah and Caesar with Peyton. One was of Peyton and a girl everyone said was me. She was maybe three years old with pigtails, and Peyton was looking down at her.
I wondered what it would feel like to feel loved and cherished. To be treated like an equal. Every passing day, I felt more and more out of place here. I wasn’t perfect. I wasn’t anything like these people and, when I finally tried to stand up for myself, they knocked me back into place.
“You okay?” Zevon asked, coming up beside me.
“No,” I answered, moving onto the next picture.
“Wanna talk about it?”
I glared at him. He was one of the last people I ever wanted to talk to about anything.
“Just asking,” he said, holding up his hands, “but I’m glad to see you starting to come around. Although it seems everyone here had a dick up their ass.” I ignored him, moving onto the next picture. I wasn’t really looking at them, more just thinking.
“I could give you something,” he whispered, “to help take the pain away. Ace would hate it, but you need something.”
“Don’t you dare try,” Dominic said. I jumped and moved away from Zevon.
