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She’s blunt and to the point, which I appreciate.
“How did this happen again?” she asks, eyeing my broken finger with enough pity to drown myself in.
Appreciation gone.
I technically don’t have to answer, but the excuse slips my from my mouth anyway.
“I smashed it in the car door.” It’s the first thing that came to mind. And when her brows tighten, I realize it probably wasn’t the right excuse.
“Huh,” she says, her voice suspicious. “Usually fingers don’t break when they’re crushed like that. And especially in the manner that your finger was broken.”
“Are we done here?” I ask impatiently. She takes a step back, her lips tightening, seemingly sensing my growing agitation.
“If you don’t feel saf—”
“I feel fine,” I snap, cutting her off. I don’t want to go down this road. The last thing I need is a nosey ass nurse asking questions and trying to pry into my life. I’m glad I didn’t tell her about the head wound. Ryan said I hadn’t bled, and there’s a small knot forming on the back of my head. The knot isn’t forming inside of my head, though, so I’m not worried. More than likely, I have a slight concussion. I had already healed from the last concussion, courtesy of Billy.
Ryan already promised he’d wake me every couple hours as punishment for causing the concussion.
I wouldn’t have to come to this god forbidden hellhole in the first place if I was able to fix my finger myself. Unfortunately, it was too far bent for me to set it back into place. And considering neither of us have any medical experience, it’s likely we would’ve just made it worse.
Billy did have medical experience. There’s no way he acquired his medical knowledge the old-fashioned way by attending college. I get the feeling that Billy dealt with many broken bones in his life, and instead of going to the hospital, he learned how to handle them himself. He had to have had someone teach him surely. His connections reach far and to people with many different occupations.
Cops. Politicians. Business men. Doctors. Even celebrities.
Luckily, I’ve only had minor broken bones. Fingers, toes, and my nose. Billy would set my bones back into place for me. I was never under the impression he did it because he cared, but because having an imperfect prostitute wouldn’t sell very well.
The nurse gives me instructions on how to care for the finger. I hardly listen, too anxious to get the hell out of here. Ryan’s outside the door, waiting for me. He refused to let me go alone, just in case the nurse who helped me is a male. Said he doesn’t like it when another man touches me, even if it’s to fix a finger he broke.
I just want to go home. I fucking hate hospitals, and I’m discovering a newfound hatred for this nurse too.
“Can I go now?” I ask, cutting her off mid-sentence. She shoots me a derisive look, and huffs.
“Yep,” she says shortly.
I walk out without a thank you. Nurses deserve thank-yous, but she’s just going to have to get that from another patient tonight.
Fourteen
Mako
I’M SEVERELY TEMPTED TO just kidnap the little wench.
I really thought she had made a breakthrough when she called me that night. Worst fucking night of my life. Hearing her small voice through the receiver, helpless and in pain—I had nearly lost my mind.
I think I did lose my mind.
And then she disappeared on me. Ran right back into his fucking arms. So badly, I wanted to drive to his house and ta
ke her back. But I’ve seen this before. The push and pull. The mental manipulation. How he hurts them, and then woos them back into his arms.
He’s a master manipulator. He convinces them that it’s their fault that he beat them. How he does it, I have no idea.
I know I can’t even begin to understand the spell they’re put under. I had asked Alison over and over again how she keeps falling for the same old shit. There were so many times in the beginning where she raged at me, screaming at me that I will never understand what it’s like to be in that position. I just… didn’t get it.
Finally, she tried to explain it to me. The fear that grips you when you think about turning him in. How many times he threatened to kill her, and then would nearly follow through. Not for one second did Ryan make it seem like an idle threat. And then the brainwashing. He would convince her that it’s her fault he treats her like that. As if she actually fucking deserved it. Gaslight her and make her feel crazy and dramatic. He would dehumanize her, strip away her identity and make her feel like no one else could love her except for him. That he’s doing her a service by loving her when no one else possibly could.
I know he’s doing the same thing to River.
