AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Running my hand through my hair, I bunch my shoulders together to try and relieve some of the tension.
“We might be on lockdown, but we ain’t got all night,” Cas grunts, tapping his fingers against the table.
Looking over at him, I gather what strength I have left and begin under the watchful eyes of everyone in the room.
“We found out a few months ago that Harper was misdiagnosed. She’s bipolar. She was put on a new cocktail of meds, and things were going well until we found out she was pregnant. Convinced the meds were poisoning the baby, she stopped taking them.”
Inhaling on the cigarette one last time, I stub it out in the ashtray and continue. “She’s mostly quiet, stuck in her own mind, only losing her shit when I tell her I’m taking her to the doctor or that I’ll call you, Cas. I’ve rushed her to the hospital twice because she swore she’d lost the baby. She believes if it’s just me, her, and the baby, we’ll be safe. She has manic days, and days where she’s so depressed, it’s like she’s in a trance or something. She won’t even get out of bed.”
It's Slade who asks, “Why did you let her get so bad?”
I bite down on my tongue to keep from snapping at him. Somewhere in the back of my rational mind, I understand it’s a valid question from someone on the outside looking in. But the pissed off part of me grinds out, “I’ve been looking after her.”
“Can’t say you’ve been doing a bang-up job of it. Fucking hell, Jay, she’s completely lost it.”
“Fuck you, Slade. Where have you been? You’ve had no idea what’s been going on ’cause you ain’t been around to see her, so don’t you dare judge me.”
Slade opens his mouth to argue, but Cas holds his hand up to stop him.
“Can she take the meds during pregnancy?”
“Yeah. There are risks, but if she’s monitored by a doctor, it’ll be fine. Not that she’ll listen, though. She doesn’t believe anything anyone says.”
“So she’s having an episode?” Slade asks, his tone less bitter.
I nod. “And since she won’t take the medication, it’ll only get worse.”
“We’ll get the doc out here to help her,” Dad insists.
Cas shakes his head. “No. She’ll need professional help.”
“Then we look for another facility—one without our fucking enemies this time.”
At the reminder of Ellis, Leo’s hand curls into a tight fist.
“It’s not like we can help her. And, with us on lockdown, it could make her worse,” Slade adds.
I light another cigarette, thinking this is bullshit. Harper’s my old lady, and I should’ve done better by her. I should’ve gotten her into a place that knows how to deal with her.
“She seemed okay when I last saw her,” Luca says, raising his brow.
“She has her lucid moments.”
“I’ll stay up and find her a facility where she’ll be safe this time,” Slade offers.
I don’t want to be apart from her, but my need to have her well and back at my side overrides how much I’ll miss her, so I nod my agreement.
“Then it’s settled.” Cas rises from his chair. “We’ll make arrangements to get her where she needs to be when we know where that somewhere is. I’ll have the prospects stand at each door, so if she tries to sneak out, we’ll know.”
With that settled, I leave and head up to Cas’s old room to find the door still locked.
Resting my forehead against it, I knock. “Babe, please, open up.”
Nothing.
“I’ll kick it in if you don’t open it,” I warn.
Love is never easy. And I’ll admit, I don’t think I’d be in love with her if it were. Everything about her—the fire, the ice, the darkness—draws me to her, because when she smiles, that shit is what makes my heart beat, and her downs are what drives the hunger in me to protect her stronger.
