“Thanks.” She gulped, reaching down and tugging on the drawstring.
Once she had the pants on I let go of the breath I didn’t know I was holding. Zoe sat back down on the side of the bed and I stepped away from her and grabbed my sweater. She was going to drown in it. Right now, that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
“Ouch!” Zoe squeaked.
At the sound of her voice, I spun around and saw the pain etched on her face. Then I noticed what she was trying to do. Zoe was just being Zoe. Trying to do everything herself, the way she always had. Right now she was trying to reach around behind her and undo the ties holding her flimsy hospital gown together.
“Need a hand?” I offered.
“Yeah, but you don’t have to look so damn smug about it,” she scolded, and for the first time I knew Zoe, my Zoe, was still in there somewhere. She might have been silenced momentarily, but she hadn’t been gagged indefinitely.
“Who’s looking smug?” I countered with a smirk. If Zoe wanted to play, I wouldn’t be the one to deny her. At least not today.
“You know you are. Just undo the damn ties and break me out of here.” She huffed, folding her arms across her chest.
“Yes, ma’am,” I winked, stepping up beside her and reaching towards her back.
It took me a moment but I wanted to throw up. Her whole back was covered in scratches. It was scraped red raw with tinges of green grass stains on her soft, creamy skin. There were claw marks across her collarbone and down her shoulder. Some monster had really made a mess of her. I wanted to rip something or someone apart. I heard my teeth grinding and my jaw instantly ached as I clenched it together. I didn’t want Zoe to know how wound up I really was, but I knew I was a shitty actor and she wouldn’t buy it if I tried to lie. Instead I focused on the task at hand and quickly untied each of the three strings across her back.
“Done,” I said through gritted teeth.
“Thanks. Help me with the sweater?” Zoe asked, her soft voice trembling with each word.
“No problems,” I lied. There was a problem. A huge fucking problem.
Quickly I grabbed the sweater and pulled it over her head, watching I didn’t catch her face or ears. Zoe must have sensed my unease and nerves. She wiggled her arms free from the gown but held it tight against her chest. That was the last thing I needed to see right now. Zoe’s boobs in my face. I was struggling to hold my shit together, let alone letting my dumb ass hormones take control. I pulled it down her back and was thankful when Zoe arranged the front.
Stepping back, I knew I was breathing heavily. I didn’t want to be, but I couldn’t help it. It took a moment of us both staring at each other before the tension in the room dulled down a notch and I was able to once again think straight.
