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“Anna?”
“Is she here?”
“Not that I know of.”
“She disappeared out the window and…and then I saw her on the ground running into the trees. I don’t know how she got down. I followed her outside. I don’t remember much else.”
I was tired now. I needed to sleep.
Jace sighed heavily. A light tapping on the door preceded its opening. Oren, Eugenia, and a man in a white coat with the stereotypical stethoscope around his neck and a clipboard—the “someone” sent to look me over, I presumed—stepped into the room.
“Greer,” Oren said, his gaze stricken as he approached the bed. “Eugenia told me what happened.”
“Where’s Marina?” asked Jace in a voice that could cut glass.
“Gone,” Eugenia answered. “You two made quite the scene already. I called Oren in case I needed to have you physically restrained, Jace Blackwell.”
I smiled through my confusion. The idea of Oren “restraining” Jace was laughable. Jace and Marina had made a scene? I tried to force my brain to concentrate, but I might as well have been underwater for my ability to focus on what was happening around me.
The man in the white coat gestured to Jace that he should move, which he did reluctantly, ultimately deciding that looming over the end of the bed was the next best thing.
“Hi, I’m Dr. Stevenson,” the man said as he sat down on the side of the bed in the same spot Jace had been sitting. His chocolate-brown hair was cut short, and his eyes were a deep blue. “You can call me Guy.”
“Your name is ‘Guy?’” Jace asked derisively. “Are you serious, Eugenia? This is who you called to take care of my…Greer? A guy named ‘Guy?’”
“Jace Blackwell, if you can’t be pleasant, you can leave.” Eugenia’s face was ghost white, her manner much less effusive than usual. “Dr. Stevenson is a fine doctor, and we’re lucky he was willing to make the drive out on such short notice.”
Dr. Stevenson didn’t seem to notice the discussion happening behind him.
“I’m going to do a quick exam,” he said quietly just to me. “Would you like me to remove everyone from the room before I get started?”
“Like hell,” Jace bit out under his breath.
“No, it’s fine,” I answered. Dr. Stevenson lifted both my arms, letting them drop, and then checked my pupils. He used the stethoscope to listen to my heartbeat. The frown line between his thick dark eyebrows grew more pronounced as he kept the instrument over the center of my chest.
“Greer, how long were you unconscious?”
“I…I don’t know exactly.”
“She just woke up. It’s been twenty…thirty minutes from the time she fainted to when she opened her eyes,” Jace said in a tone that bordered on murderous.
“That’s…concerning,” the doctor admitted. “You took some medication?”
“I haven’t been sleeping well,” I told him, “and I was having trouble controlling my…some anxiety issues.” I snuck a glance at Jace. His blazing eyes roamed my face in disbelief. “I took a Valium early in the day. It usually helps me gain back some…control. I don’t know why I passed out.”
Now it was the doctor’s turn to sigh heavily. “Normally, I’d recommend an overnight in the hospital for a patient who was unconscious for as long as you were, but I understand from Eugenia that when you fainted, you were under a lot of stress. I think the combination of fear, lack of sleep, and whatever you took made your body shut down temporarily. I’d hate to add to your stress by moving you into a hospital environment.”
“I don’t want to go to the hospital,” I rasped emphatically.
Dr. Stevenson consulted his notes. “You’re on bed rest until this time tomorrow. Food. Hydration. Sleep. No more pills until I confirm it was Valium you ingested and do a consult with the prescribing physician.”
“Penny Waters,” I volunteered. “Shreveport, Louisiana.”
“An MD?”
“Psychiatrist.”
Jace sucked in a breath, and I squeezed my eyes shut, hiding from my shame; the corners burned with tears.
