Damien glares at him. “I’ll handle it,” he tells the doctor. “When can she leave?”
“As soon as her fever is under control. Of course,” he hedges, “we’ll want to examine her first. I see she’s awake.”
He nods at me with a kind smile, but I cringe further back into the bed as Damien’s cold eyes take me in. I wish I’d had the sense to stay asleep.
“How long have you been awake?” he asks in a neutral tone, but I sense the threat hiding behind his words.
The doctor watches our interaction, his face registering slight surprise. “I thought you told me she was your girlfriend?”
Damien hesitates. “I did, yes.”
I stifle a gasp. Why would he have said that?
“I think it would be best if I speak to her in private,” suggests the doctor. “Perhaps we can get at some of the root of her anxiety. You know, even with the best intentions, we can sometimes inadvertently cause stress to the ones we love best.”
Logan snorts again.
Damien gratifies him with another glare, before turning back to the doctor. “There’s no point in speaking to her. She’s mute.”
The doctor raises an eyebrow. “Oh? She doesn’t speak at all? When did this begin?”
“Well, she’s never spoken much,” says Damien. “But these past few months, she hasn’t spoken at all.”
The doctor jots down a few things on his clipboard. “That sounds like it could be selective muteness. A condition usually brought on by a high level of stress. Has she experienced trauma in her life?”
Damien doesn’t answer, and I can feel his dark blue eyes fixed on me, though I don’t dare to look up at him.
“You could say that,” mutters Logan.
“But you’re telling me she doesn’t speak at all,” continues the doctor thoughtfully. “Usually, people with selective muteness don’t talk to people they’re uncomfortable with, but they can anddospeak to close friends and family.”
“Yeah, she doesn’t have any of those.” Logan’s looking at me too, now, and I have the sudden urge to go back into that hole six feet underground, just so they’ll stop staring at me.
“Not even you?” questions the doctor.
“Listen,” snaps Damien, tearing his eyes away from me. “Is this a fucking interrogation? Her fever’s down. Sign the release papers and let us go.”
The doctor seems a bit taken aback. “I… I’ll go see about that. I’ll be right back.”
He hurries away, and in a flash, Damien’s by my bedside, removing the IV drips with a none too gentle hand. Then he lifts my trembling body up in his arms.
“Let’s go,” he grunts, “before that idiot calls the police.”
He hurries down the hallway, closely followed by Logan.
“Hey! Stop!”
The doctor’s just seen us, and he tries to block us from going down the hallway, but Logan pushes him aside, and in just a few moments we’re out of the hospital and in the car.
I can’t control my shaking anymore as Damien whirls onto the highway, speeding past the other cars. Logan presses an electronic thermometer to my temple.
“Her fever’s going up again,” he warns. “102… 103… fuck, 104…”
“WELL, FUCKING DEAL WITH IT!” roars Damien. “GET HER TO UNSTRESS!”
Those are the last words I hear before I thankfully plunge once more into a deep, unnatural sleep.
13
