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“He wasn’t allowed while at Valley Hill because of your delusional obsession. But he’s the only one who knows how to deal with you. Now that you’re home—”
“But the nondisclosure said...”
“It says whatever the fuck I say it says. Understood?”
Mary-Mae must take my silence as understanding because she hangs up. The phone drops to the floor and my legs barely carry me to the bathroom before I’m dry heaving into the toilet. I hear muffled sounds but I can’t tell if it’s far away or if the ringing in my ears is just too loud.
The fuzzy darkness around my eyes gets more consuming until I feel like I’m looking through a tunnel. The sharp pain in my chest makes it hard to take a breath and I can feel my lungs screaming for more oxygen as I continue to hyperventilate.
“—trust me!” I hear someone yell before something cold as ice is placed on my neck.
I take a deep breath at the shock of it and blink my eyes back into focus. I’m sitting on the bathroom floor with Eli in the doorway and Ax is kneeling in front of me. Asher is beside me and my eyes scan down his shoulders to find his hand is on the back of my neck. The water from the rag he is holding to my skin drips down my back but it takes a minute to realize the wetness on my face is from my own tears.
I don’t know when a plan was formulated during my panic attack, but I know now what I have to do.
I stand up, catching the guys off guard and Ax stumbles to stand as well. He and Eli move aside as I push by, ignoring their questions and my name being called. My legs feel like jello by the time I get to the third floor and as I push open my door, I glance around the room in a daze.
“Katie!” I finally hear and I’m spun around only to have Ax’s face directly in front of mine and his hands on my cheeks. “What are you doing?” He asks softly.
I try to move out of his grasp but my whole body is trembling and he refuses to let go.
“I— I—” I stutter and shake my head glancing around the room again. “I have to go. I can’t… I can’t be here. I have to go.”
“Where are you trying to go?” He asks but the harshness of his voice is gone.
I stumble for words, and as his thumb brushes my cheek, I realize I must be crying again.
“Anywhere.”
Ax shakes his head and his finger continues stroking my cheek.
“You aren’t leaving.”
“No… no you don’t understand… I can’t…”
“They have no say, remember?” He tells me and his eyes lock on mine as though trying to find the memory for me.
“But…”
He shakes his head. “They have no say, Katie.”
“She said…”
“And it’s the last thing she will ever say to you,” he promises.
“You… you won’t let him come… he can’t…”
“You choose your own doctor, remember silly girl?” He smiles softly to me and the comment undoes me.
A sob breaks from my mouth and I’d hit the floor if not for Ax’s arms around me. I should yell at him not to touch me. I usually feel so much discomfort at someone else’s touch, and I’m so thrown off by the comfort that his arms around me bring. I don’t know how long I sit there in his arms on the floor, but I fall asleep to the feeling of his fingers through my hair.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
AX
The door to Katie’s room clicks shut and I notice Asher pacing while Eli types away at the computer screen from the security office. It took over an hour to get Katie to relax enough to let go of me and let me lay her in her bed. Somehow even in her deep sleep, she was able to keep a firm grip on my shirt.
“Wanna tell me what the fuck is going on?” I ask leaning over the desk to look at what Eli has found.
