“Are you sure you have to do that?”
“Look buddy, sit your ass down and let me do my job.”
“She’s saying no, that she doesn’t want to take it.”
He looks exasperated, sighing at me. “I am too damn tired to be dealing with this tonight. Mallory, we need to get your heart rate down, okay? This med will help with that.”
She looks at me, finally and relaxes, nodding her head yes. If that nurse was going to go against her wishes though, I would have had no problem punching him out. Injured or not.
“I’ll be right back. I need to alert her doctors that she’s awake.” Nurse Terrance says after administering the medication. Hazel’s eyes don’t leave mine as we wait for him to give us a moment alone.
“What the hell happened to you?” She asks the second he’s out the door.
I smile, “Nothing that time won’t heal. More importantly, are you okay? What do you remember?”
I’ve been desperate to hear her voice, hoping beyond hope that Kyle didn’t touch her. But his words to me about almost being done with her have haunted me since.
She shakes her head. “It’s a little fuzzy, but I think…” She licks her chapped lips and looks up at the ceiling. “I think I remember what happened that night ten years ago.”
“You do?”
Her eyes are crystal clear, heart rate steadying on the monitor. “And I want to fucking kill him. I want him to die for what he did.”
CHAPTER 29
HAZEL
27 YEARS OLD
By the fifth day,I’m cleared for discharge. Though, Ace was cleared days ago, he still managed to finagle a way for him to stay with me. Cuddling in the uncomfortable hospital bed when the staff isn’t looking.
He makes me feel safe in the midst of chaos. He came for me, ripping me away from Kyle and whatever his fucked-up mind had in store for me. I shudder to think of how bad it could have been if Ace hadn’t shown up.
The road to recovery looks like it’s going to be brutal for both of us. The doctors say that what happened to me was a mix of physical trauma and serotonin syndrome, in which whatever drugs Kyle had dosed me with were a fatal mix with the prescriptions I normally take. They caught it just in time. Though the lasting effects are yet to be seen. As of right now, it’s a constant throbbing headache and some waves of dizziness that my doctors seem to think will eventually go away on its own. If it doesn’t subside within the month, they’ve instructed me to come back for more testing.
The thought of what this stay is going to cost eats at my already fragile psyche. I’ve worked so hard to pay off my other bills, being almost free of them and then this has to come andknock me out at the knees. The minimal insurance I hold isn’t going to cover even half of what I need.
With how I’m feeling now, there’s no way I can manage my work. Even stepping away from it for this long has left a gnawing feeling in the pit of my stomach, wondering if I made the right choice.
Ace tells me not to worry and that he’ll take care of it but having spent the majority of my life scraping by, it’s hard to take his reassurance as fact.
Dr. Thurston has been helping me with the aftermath of healing, asking what I remember. From what I remember of that night, I don’t think Kyle recognized me. But he did know his brother, which means he’ll be on the hunt for him. I don’t tell this to her though, instead I remain vague as ever, not wanting to incriminate myself or Ace.
Dr. Thurston has been by every day since she learned of my accident. I’ve learned that her office is only a few blocks away and she’s taken it upon herself to check in on my well-being. Though I can tell she’s waiting for me to give her the whole story. She has a way of looking at me that makes me want to confess every dark and twisted part of my soul to her.
“You ready?” Ace asks, popping his head into the bleak, sterile room.
“God yes.” He’s brought me some clothes to change into and a bunch of much needed toiletries. I’ve been using the ones provided by the hospital, but I can’t wait to smell and feel like myself again. “Next time we take a vacation together, maybe it should be some place less eventful.” I say, shrugging on a gray cashmere sweater. It feels like warm butter against my chilled skin. The black leggings feel even better as I pull them up my legs. After so many days stuck in this hospital gown, the feel of soft fabric wrapping around my body is a heaven-sent gift.
“I can arrange that. In fact, I think you’ll like where I’m taking you.”
Eyebrows raised, I follow him out of the room with my new medication and discharge papers in hand.
“This is fucking gorgeous.” I squeal. Dropping my bag at the entrance of the cabin.
I don’t even know if cabin is the right word for how expansive this place is. It’s more like a mansion made a baby with a cabin and birthed this gorgeous, secluded abode.
The sharp crisp air of fall bites at my back, pushing me further into the living space while Ace brings in several large bags through the open door.
