Takea moment,
Look in the mirror,
see how strongyou are.”
—Oliver Masters
“OLLIE?” MY STOMACH stirred, and I threw my body over the mattress just as someone pulled a trashcan under me.
“I’m right here, Mia. I got you,” Ollie whispered, stroking the back of my head. “You have to get this crap out of your system.”
Hardly able to lift my heavy, pounding head when I finished, Ollie pulled me back onto the mattress. It was warm here, in these clothes, and … I turned my head. “Bria,” I whispered. She lay helplessly beside me.
Oscar.
Isaac.
My body flinched as the memories flooded.
“They’re gone. They can’t touch you.” Ollie moved the trashcan and crouched down beside me. “You have to drink some water.” He held a bottle in his hand, twisted the cap, and brought it to my lips. The water instantly soothed my throat. “There you go.”
“What happened? Why aren’t you …”
Ollie dropped his head to his chest for a moment, and when his eyes met mine, I was met with a bruised face.
“Ollie, your face.” I reached out to touch him, but he grabbed my hand before it made contact.
“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.” Ollie forced a small smile. “You need to get some rest.”
“Why aren’t you …”
Ollie shook his head. “I was only knocked out. I’m fine.” He kissed the palm of my hand. “Promise.”
“Did he?” I winced at the thought. But it wasn’t me I was worried about; I was afraid of what Ollie had witnessed. What exactly had he seen? Had I been touched? Raped? I couldn’t seem to remember.
“No, love. You made sure that didn’t happen.” He showed me the claw marks on his ankles. “See how strong you are? You woke me up, and I took care of the rest.” He pressed his lips to my forehead and sat at the edge of the bed. “I’m sorry, Mia. I had no idea Isaac would betray me. I should have known better.”
“It’s not your fault.”
Ollie’s gaze slid over to Bria then back to me. “I need to get her to the nurse, and I don’t know what to fucking do.”
“Go get Jake.”
“I don’t want to leave you.”
“I’m fine. Go get Jake.”
It didn’t take long for me to fall back asleep, and when I woke up again, Bria was gone.
“Take it easy.” He pulled the trashcan up again as I emptied my stomach into it. The convulsions strained my eyes as tears ran down my cheeks. My brain was still foggy and pounded against my skull.
Falling back against the pillow, I moaned. My mouth was dry, and my entire body felt like it had been run over by a semi.Twice. “Bria okay?” I opened my eyes, and Ollie sat on the edge of the bed again with his hands in my hair.
He nodded. “I think so.” He removed his hand and ran it down his face. “You’ve been sleeping for twenty-nine hours now. You have to eat something. You have to get up, take a shower, and soak this up with some proper food.”
Twenty-ninehours? It only seemed like four.“What have you been doing this whole time?”
“Reading.” He ran his hand over my forehead and through my hair. “I can’t leave you, Mia. I can’t turn myself in, either. Not until you’re better.”
