13
MAXIM
Two days after the explosive encounter with Hollie’s parents, I ride the elevator to the top floor of the Heart Memorial Hospital with Rex by my side. My phone rests in my hand with the CCTV from my new apartment displayed on the screen.
“That counts as stalking,” Rex remarks.
“Does it when it’s my own house?”
“Yup.”
“Who are you, the morality police?”
“Maybe. With how things are going with your father, I might need to change careers.”
I snort softly and watch Hollie as she busies herself in the kitchen making some pasta. “You couldn’t be anything else, Rex. You love guns too much.”
“Maybe.” He leans up from the wall and peers over my shoulder. “What is it with this girl, anyway?”
I can’t give him an answer. What started as trying to do the right thing is quickly morphing into something else. My silence drags on until the elevator doors open, and Rex doesn’t push it, but there’s a touch of concern in his eyes when I look at him.
“I won’t be long,” I say as I step out.
“I’ll be right here.”
The quiet corridor leads me past several private rooms, each one locked securely with access only granted to medical staff with the passcode. Reciting a number in my mind, I type it into the pad on the third door on the right and step inside as the door opens with a soft hiss.
Inside, warm yellow light floods the room. A soft breeze kisses the blinds covering the window and causing the lit candles on the bedside to dance with a little more vigor. In the single bed lies a woman, her head to the side and her attention fixed solely on the candles.
She’s swathed in bandages and hooked up to more wires than I’ve ever dared to count. One hand rests across her abdomen above the blanket while her other rests underneath her pillow. Soft beeps rise from the machines next to her bed and music drifts from the small radio resting on the table at the foot.
I remain silent, watching her quietly until my presence finally catches her attention. She slowly turns her head and our eyes meet.
Pain squeezes through my chest and the weight that formed days ago with Hollie proceeds to increase like something has sat down on my breastbone and refuses to move.
“Maxim?”
“Hi, Zoe.”
Zoe’s beaten, bruised face breaks into a watery smile that lasts until the fat, healing split on her lower lip pulls painfully. One of her eyes is severely bloodshot and bruised, her cheek carries scars where knuckle dusters turned her bone to dust, and her patchy hairline shows promising regrowth amid the surgery scars across her skull.
“You came to see me?” she croaks, moving her arms around the bed to support herself as she attempts to sit up.
Her movements spur me closer, fearing she’ll hurt herself if she tries too hard, so I take the seat next to her bed with a slow nod. “I did.”
“You didn’t have to do that.” Her voice remains cracked and fragile even as she tries to smile at me once more.
Every time I see her, the list of injuries given to me by her doctor plays like a film reel in my mind. Broken ribs, punctured lung, ruptured kidney, countless lacerations, soft tissue damage between her thighs and a bite mark so severe on her shoulder, it’s a wonder she didn’t bleed to death. The list goes on and on, but I keep my face as light as possible.
“I wanted to,” I reply softly. “How are you feeling?”
She waves one hand and swallows audibly. “Fine. The doctor says he wants to start weaning me off some of the good stuff, but I told him if he did that, I’d make sure he never got another good night's sleep with how often I’ll press the call button.” Her smile wavers and a deep sadness floods her eyes. “I don’t want to feel any of this.”
“Do you want me to talk to him?”
She shakes her head. “You’ve done enough for me, Maxim. More than I deserve.”
“Don’t say that.” My hands clasp together as my elbows rest on my knees. “What happened to you is what you didn’t deserve, and I’msorryI couldn’t stop it.”
