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Chapter Eight
Not That Kind of Doctor
With things not being quite right between me and Brade, it gets awkward real quick. Even though we sorta made up, we don't linger in each other's presence once we go back inside. He disappears somewhere in the house, and I don't have long to ponder where to, when Marcus finds me.
"Does calling you Solovey bother you?"
I jump at the unexpected voice behind me, and with a hand to my racing heart, I spin around to confront Marcus.
The poor guy is wide-eyed with horror at my obvious scare.
"Christ, Lark, I didn't mean to scare you. I'm so sorry." I have to catch my breath before I can answer him.
"It's okay. I just didn't expect anyone to be behind me— but hey, points for me not having a panic attack this time," I say with a wry smile.
He looks at me kind of funny, and I briefly explain what happened when Emmett surprised me on our first day here. Marcus' mouth turns down in displeasure at my revelation, making me pause and remember he’d asked a question before.
"The Nightingale thing, you mean?" My change of subject seems to confuse him for a moment, but then he nods, kind of bashfully, which is cute on him. "No, I don't mind. Although I don't have some cutesy name to call you, so I hope 'Marcus' is okay."
"I seem to remember you threatening to call me 'Mad Dog', so I think 'Marcus' is just fine."
An embarrassed laugh escapes me as I answer him. "How do you know about that? And in my opinion it was deserved at the time.
"I believe you babbled it at me during an incoherent moment." My face falls along with my stomach at the reminder of some of the crappier aspects from captivity. "I'm sorry, again. I shouldn't have brought that up." His dismay radiates from him, but I get too lost in my own head to reassure him.
I shudder as I sink back into the world that still causes nightmares.
A guard holds a gun up to Braeden’s head, and I freeze, ceasing all resistance.
I slump in defeat for a moment, but my anxiety is through the roof at the hot brand coming toward me, and I start to tremble, unable to stop. Apollo has my leg brought as far away from the rest of my body as possible and lines up the hot metal. I can feel the heat radiating off it although it’s still several inches away. Apollo tells me to hold as still as possible so that it doesn’t skip or burn too deeply…
"Braeden, get in here!"
A voice filters to me as if it's coming through a tunnel. But— isn't Brade already here? I'm even more confused when I hear him talking, knowing he's out of his gourd across from me.
"Lark, hey, come on now, Birdie—"
"Come back, now. You're not there; I'm right here with you." Reality seeps back in, then snaps into technicolor all at once.
Brade is holding my shivering, hyperventilating body in his lap on the floor. Unable to remember how I got here— or even when, I turn my wide panicked gaze to his. I can't breathe. My throat constricts as if it's being strangled and I try to claw at whatever is choking me.
Braeden
"Shit, Lark, stop it. It's a panic attack." I have to physically pin her hands away from her throat, already showing bright red welts on the pale skin. Every single thing that sat unresolved between us flashed through my head when I ran in at Marcus's panicked shout and found him with her on the floor.
I'm so focused on Lark and berating myself for not handling things better that it takes a moment for the arguing to register.
"I don't have anything to give her. She's on medication already, and at this point Braeden knows more about what she needs than I do. He's been there for the protocols and medication requirements. I haven't. Throw in that she's pregnant, and I'm completely out of my realm. I'm not that kind of doctor. Do you really want me screwing it up? Because I don't feel like getting blamed when something goes wrong. I'm already enough of a pariah in this place."
As usual, Brent is useless. At least Lark is starting to calm down on her own. If she doesn't, she'll only pass out, but that can be scary too and isn't good for her or the baby.
"Guys, chill. Look, her breathing is slowing down." I turn from the others, grateful they've shut up, to refocus on the woman in my lap. "Hey, you. Ya trying to give me a heart attack? Cuz you nearly succeeded this time." She gives me a wan smile with her eyes closed.
She's always so worn out after one of these episodes. I'd really thought she was past them since she's been going longer in between them each time. Should have known all the stress would push her right back into them.
"How about I take you up to bed?" She burrows further into my chest and I can feel her nodding against it. Apollo guesses my predicament first and reaches down to pick her up. She startles, but I quickly reassure her, "Just need to stand up, Birdie. Apollo's helping."
She opens her eyes, taking in her surroundings before asking to be put down. I shake my head at her, but she interrupts any protest I have.
