“Well for starters, Riley is no longer in isolation and should be waking soon, so I’m taking her to see?—“
I’m cut off when the haunting sound filters through Collins’ door. Ayla’s eyes widen into saucers in shock and panic, but I don’t have time to worry about her reaction when I leave her alone in the hall and rush back into Collins’ room. I come up short when I realize she’s not in bed. I look around frantically for her. Alarms are blaring in the room, but it’s nothing compared to the sound of Collins’ low cry echoing off the walls around me.
I spin on my heel, darting toward the bathroom, where the sound is coming from.
“Collins?” I call out to her, but I’m answered with nothing more than a sorrowful, rasping moan. My heart cracks in my chest when I reach the door and the sound of her heavy sobs fills the space. I rap against the wood, “Stardust?”Another broken cry.
The nurse and a younger girl in scrubs come rushing into the room, but I hold up a hand to stop them when they dart toward the bathroom where Collins is hiding.
“Mr. St. James, we need to get in there. She could be hurt.” The nurse sounds genuinely concerned, but I don’t give a shit. Nobody is seeing her before I can get my eyes on her to make sure she hasn’t hurt herself.
“I’ll check on her,” I practically growl, fucking irritated that she isn’t backing up. The other girl looks like she’s ready to bolt, though.
“Sir, please. It’s hospital policy?—“
“I’m checking on her,”I grit through a clenched jaw. “If she’s wounded, I’ll call you in, but until then, fuck off.”
Nurse Jo looks genuinely hurt and confused by my dismissal, but luckily Ayla is there to play peacekeeper and tries to guide them away.
No longer my concern, I turn back to the door where I hear Collins’ broken sobs and wheezes mix with the sound of running water. “Baby, I’m coming in,” I speak cautiously through the door before pushing it open slowly.
If my heart wasn’t already on the floor, it’d be shattered into a million pieces from what I’m seeing. Collins sits huddled into a tiny ball in the corner of the room, her head buried between her arms that are folded over her legs, and her shoulders shake with silent sobs. Every inhale sounds like a struggle with the way she cried out, but it’s followed up with a deep, agonizing wail that’s so quiet I can barely hear it now.
I’m across the room, kneeling in front of her before she has time to let another tear fall.
“Collins look at me,” I placate, softly stroking a hand over her hair. She’s not under the stream of water running from the shower head, but her hair and skin are damp from the steam and mist flowing throughout the room.
I bend to kiss the top of her head. “Talk to me baby, tell me what happened. Did you fall? Are you hurt?”
Slowly, she shakes her head before lifting it, and the anguish taking over her expression is enough to slay me. Her jade eyes are void of the tiny spark of fire that was there just minutes ago. Her lips move, but once more, her vocal cords are once again shot and no sound escapes as she speaks.
It takes me just a moment to read her lips, but when I do, my heart clenches more painfully in my chest than I’ve ever felt.
“He ruined me.”
“He ruined me.”
“He ruined me.”
“He. Ruined. Me.”The words are mouthed between short staccato breaths. Her eyes shift past me and over my shoulder. I follow her fixed stare, but all I see is the mirror on the wall?—
Oh, shit.
She must have finally seen her injuries. I knew she was avoiding looking at them when Dr. Munn had gone over each one and their care instructions.
I turn back to my girl. “He didn’t, baby.”
I turn carefully and slowly until I’m sitting next to her, my body just barely under the spray of the shower. Collins’ eyes track the movement, and she watches me cautiously.
“He did.”she tries to argue, voiceless.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“Come ‘ere,” I beckon, stretching out my legs and holding out my arms in invitation.
I’m pleasantly surprised when Collins doesn’t hesitate to shift, moving carefully to straddle my lap, her hands resting delicately against my chest. Her face is hidden behind a curtain of wet hair, and her gown is rapidly soaking through.
