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ChapterFourteen
Jones had dropped Rose off at Blake’s estate before continuing on to the station with Blake in tow. Now that this guy had escalated things so drastically, Jones needed someone to give an official recorded statement – by the book, he’d said. The potential charges had jumped from destruction of property to assault and attempted murder and Rose wanted to scream that the cops were only now paying attention after they’d almost been killed. Wasn’t it their job tostopthose things from happening in the first place?
The sun had started to set, and Rose couldn’t stop her anxious pacing as she waited for Blake to call and tell her they were back on the road. Somewhere along the way she’d lost track of whether today was Wednesday or Thursday, but it was the evening, and the darker it got outside the more anxious she became. Bailey watched her from his place on the couch, his eyes going back and forth with her movements. He was surprisingly calm considering he’d only been out for one walk earlier that morning. She’d let him out of the house as soon as she’d got in but couldn’t bear to be so exposed outside and had called him back in twenty-minutes later.
Finally, her phone rang and relief struck through her.
“Blake?”
“Sorry, Rose. Doctor Makers here. I heard about what happened on the news and thought it might be better to check in with you now instead of Friday.”
“Oh, right. Thanks for calling.”
“How are the new meds working for you?” he said, and that was one thing she’d always appreciated about him –his ability to cut to the chase.
“They’re okay so far. Things are starting to settle down now, I think. Hard to tell with everything going on. I was a bit up and down for a few days, and I also noticed an, um, increased libido.”
The Doctor hummed over the phone, and she imagined him scribbling notes down in his little black notebook that he’d always carried for their sessions before. “That’s good. Nothing to worry about there. Do you have any concerns?”
“Well, I was worried about the libido increase, actually. It’s a little better than it was for the first few days, but still higher than I’m used to.”
“You don’t need to be concerned there, Rose. The likelihood is that your own anxiety was reducing your sex drive, so now that it’s being regulated, your sex drive is returning. You’ll get back into the swing of things soon I’m sure. Any word on your father yet?”
“He’s going to be alright. They’re giving him a stent. I’m actually just waiting on Blake to get home with an update from the cops after the crash.” She bit the inside of her cheek with a sigh, and Makers made a sympathetic noise. She’d already torn the skin there to shreds on the inside from anxiously chewing but couldn’t stop herself even with the pinch of pain and metallic taste in her mouth.
“Did the hospital give you any medication?”
“No,” she said, relieved. “So I’m all good to keep taking my meds?”
“Yes, I don’t foresee any issues there, but I would like to keep up with our check-ins.”
“Of course. Listen, Blake is supposed to be calling me any minute to let me know when they’re on the road, would it be okay to pick this up another time?”
“Of course,” he said carefully. “I’ll get off the line so you can keep an ear out. Any questions about your prescription please get in touch, and I’ll give you a call on Friday anyway to see how things are progressing, seeing as this was only a short chat instead of our usual session.”
“That’d be great. Thanks so much. Take care,” she murmured and then sank onto the couch, resting a hand on Bailey’s back and just feeling him breathe, timing her breaths to coincide with his until her head stopped spinning so much.
God, she was absolutely parched. Other than being knocked out, it felt like she hadn’t stopped since everything had happened. There had always been someone else to think about or a new thing to worry about. She was just relieved to finally sit and reflect in silence.
Until her leg started to bounce and her brain started to conjure scenarios up from thin air about what might happen to Blake on the way home. Why hadn’t he called yet? Rose shivered, brushing off the imaginary feeling of glass shards tickling her skin, and then pushed up from the couch and went to get a drink, walking back into the TV room as footage from the car wreck rolled across the screen. From this angle it looked even worse. The left side of the car was crumpled and dented, the paint scraped off and a smear of silver ripping across the black exterior. The windows had shattered when the car flipped, and footage from a bystander caught a glimpse of Rose’s blonde hair as the car settled back down onto the ground with a bounce and groan of metal. It was horrifying, so naturally, the news station replayed it in slow motion.
Rose sat on the floor for a little while longer, just watching the news through sightless eyes with Bailey curled in her lap, until a key rattled in the door and he took off running with a bark. She wanted to follow him, but when she stood her legs shook, and when she blinked her eyes felt full of grit. For the first time in a long time, all Rose really wanted to do was get in bed and cry.
Instead, she made her way to the front door and pushed Bailey down and off of Blake before he could knock him over. Then she looked at him, and her eyes flooded with tears that she quickly blinked away. She’d seen him in the hospital, but in the hours they’d been apart his bruises had deepened, and the effect it had on her was almost as bad as when she’d seen him for the first time in the hospital, so many hours after she’d woken up and demanded to know if he was okay.
His face was bruised at the left temple, a raw purple splotch that told her exactly how he’d ended up unconscious before. Blake’s perfect bottom lip was split down the middle with two stitches holding it together that she hadn’t noticed before, and he winced when he tried to smile or talk. One faltering step towards her had him swaying, and she quickly brought an arm up and around his waist as she led him back to the couch one small step at a time. He’d been sitting on the side that had taken the brunt of the impact before they’d flipped and while her concussion was already healing, it would take him a little longer to recover.
“Why didn’t you call?” Blake opened his mouth, but she pressed a finger gently across his lips before he could speak. “Never mind. The nurse told you to take it easy. I should have gone with Jones.”
Blake shot her a defiant look that was mostly just tired and Bailey whined as he followed them into the room, but she ignored him in favor of tucking a cushion under Blake’s head and draping him in the blankets from the basket. The TV was on mute but the bright lights played out across his face as his eyes fluttered closed and she stroked a hand across his brow. Who knew she would actually care if something happened to David Blake? She wasn’t even sure if she really trusted him. But it was becoming very clear to her that she did care, and if she’d lost him today she never would have forgiven herself.
“David,” she whispered, and he lifted his eyes ever so slightly to show he was listening. “Nod or shake. Did you really only ask me to stay here with you just to keep me safe?”
She held her breath, not sure what exactly the answer would mean to her but knowing it was important that she ask and actually listen this time, and if her heart got hurt in the process… well, it turned out she could take a little pain.
One nod.
Yes.
