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I wish you were dead.
My heart thumps in my chest. I invited him to do it.
Then get it over with. Kill me.
Did he try? Is that what’s happening? I’m in some bright white waiting room on the other side because Timofey did what I dared him to do, at the same time as the unbearable release he gave me was still pulsing deep within my core?
That’ll be a tough one to explain to the Big Man Upstairs.
“Piper.”
A voice cuts through the noise in my head. I turn towards it.
God?Only if God is a woman.
“Piper?” the voice calls again, soft and low. “Can you hear me?”
I blink repeatedly, my eyelids peeling open bit by bit until I’m staring up at a blurry silhouette above me.
“There you are,” the voice says. “I thought you were awake.”
“Where am I?” My throat is sandpaper.
Something touches my lips, and I flinch back.
“It’s just ice water. You can take a drink. Here’s the straw.”
Either Timofey hired a kind woman to staff the interrogation dungeon beneath his mansion, or I’m not in a dungeon.
I take a long drink and try again. “Wh…where am I?”
My vision is becoming less blurry by the second. The shape next to my bed forms into a tall, thin blonde woman with an equally tall, thin nose. She’s middle-aged and has a glittery purple stethoscope around her neck.
“You are in one of the best hospitals in the city receiving the best possible care,” she says with a smile. “We were threatened within an inch of our life to make sure of it.”
I take another drink. “How long have I been out? Am I okay?”
“A few hours. You were dehydrated when you came in. You are doing great now, so don’t worry about that. It looks like you’re just a little iron deficient.”
There is an IV in the back of my hand and a heart rate monitor beeping along behind my bed. I’m not sure how I didn’t hear it before. Now, it’s almost all I can hear.
The woman says something else, and I have to plug the ear closest to the monitor to hear her. “Sorry. What did you say?”
“Naps,” she repeats. “I’d recommend working a daily nap into your schedule and some relaxing practices. Light exercise works, if you’re up for it. If not, meditation is great. Anything to help you stay calm.”
I frown. “So naps and meditation will help with the iron deficiency?”
She chuckles. “No. I’m afraid that’s just something that comes with the territory. Lots of women end up being anemic. You’ll be on iron supplements for the next seven or so months. Your doctor will monitor those levels and let you know if anything changes.”
“I—What?” I struggle into a seated position and take another drink of water. “I’m sorry. I guess I’m a little confused. I thought—I passed out, right?”
“Correct. You were admitted after fainting. We ran some tests, and your iron levels came back low. You are now classified as ‘anemic.’”
“And that will just go away after seven months of supplements?”
She shrugs. “Sort of. Really, it will go away with delivery. That’s when most women see their iron levels return to normal.”
“Delivery? Of what?”
