Page 3 of He Will Come for Me

He approaches me slowly, like he would a scared animal. I turn the water off and allow him to pick me up again. What little strength I had is rapidly decreasing and I don’t want to fall at his feet.Would he kick me while I was down?I refuse to meet his eyes as he helps me back to the bed. There’s a woman and man standing near the bed talking in whispers, but when they notice me, they go quiet.

The woman’s eyes widen, but she schools her features quickly. “Miss Kenzie, how are you feeling?” I scowl at her.What kind of question is that? And why is she calling me Kenzie?That’s reserved for friends only and I have no friends in this room.

“Like I’ve been kidnapped and chained,” I reply. Her mouth falls open and Phoenix’s grip on my waist tightens slightly. I drop my eyes to the floor, feeling slightly guilty for snapping ather. She’s just doing her job. Phoenix helps me into the bed and the man approaches with a bag in his hand.

“McKenzie. I’m Dr. Chamberland.” He takes a stethoscope and blood pressure cuff out of his bag. “I’m going to listen to your heart and check your blood pressure.” I nod slightly as he does everything he needs to do, following his instructions when he tells me to take deep breaths. My hands are beginning to shake and the tightness in my chest gets worse.

What is wrong with me? Am I having a panic attack? Maybe it’s anxiety?

Dr. Chamberland stands from where he was sitting on the bed and I raise my knees, putting my forehead on them, trying to calm myself. The shaking in my hands spreads throughout my body.

“McKenzie?” Phoenix calls out to me, but I ignore him. The bed dips and out of the corner of my eye I see his tattooed arm reaching out to touch me, but I flinch away. He pauses in midair, retracting his hand. “What’s wrong with her?” His voice is hard as he addresses the doctor.

“I think she’s having withdrawal symptoms.”

I’m pretty sure they drugged me. My eyes drop to the inside of my arms, noticing the track marks again. Phoenix stands. I can’t stop my eyes from following him. He begins pacing like a lion trapped in a cage. He balls his hands into fists, causing the veins on his arms to pop even more than they already do.

A flash of a tattooed hand pushing my silver hair behind my ear goes through my mind and I suck in a breath. Shaking my head slightly, I silently berate myself.Don’t fantasize about your enemy.

There’s another dip in the bed, but I ignore it. “Miss Kenzie?” I inhale slowly, my irritation, exhaustion, and everything else overwhelming me.

“My name is McKenzie, not Kenzie.” I try to keep the irritation out of my voice, but her green eyes still cloud over with what looks like hurt that she hides quickly. She stands, rubbing her hands down her jean-clad legs. Something that feels a lot like guilt stirs in my stomach.

Does it really matter what she calls me?I glance around the room. I’m still being held captive; my cage just looks nicer. Even if it’s not her fault, I’m not comfortable with her calling me Kenzie. Maybe that will change, but not today.

“Of course.” I notice the doctor and Phoenix have stopped talking and their attention is focused on us. There’s an unreadable look on Phoenix’s face, but I ignore it.

“What’s your name?” I ask her, still trying to ignore the uneasy feeling I have. She stares at me, her eyebrows scrunching at my question.

“I’m Clara.” She swallows and looks at Phoenix before wiping her hands down her jeans again and offers me a small smile. “Are you hungry? I can bring you something.” At the mention of food, my stomach clenches with hunger pangs. I can’t remember the last time I ate.

“I would suggest starting off with some broth first before giving her solid food,” Dr. Chamberland states. I scowl at him. I don’t want broth. He notices my expression and his eyes soften. “Do you remember the last time you ate?” I shake my head slowly.

“Jesus Christ,” Phoenix growls.

Clearing my throat, I look between the three of them. “Even when they fed me, it was usually bread and cheese.” My voice is small. “I think. It’s a little fuzzy.” I don’t want to admit how much I don’t remember. What looks like concern flits across the doctor’s face and he walks over, sitting back on the bed.

“What’s the last thing you remember?” he asks. I begin rocking slightly, trying to ignore the shaking in my limbs as I try to recall my last memory before I was kidnapped.

“My father and I were going to a party. It was the first time he let me go with him to one of his parties.” I try to bring back the memories from that night, but all I remember was the dress I wore because he gave me shit about it from the moment he saw me in it.

It was a little more low cut than I normally wear and it had a slit to the middle of my thigh. But I refused to change because I loved it and I was sick of being treated like a fragile china doll. I think. The dress was my choice, right?

“I don’t remember anything about the party. My father and I argued all the way to the party because of the dress I was wearing. As soon as the driver pulled up to the door, I got out and put as much distance between us as possible.” Looking up, I glance around at the three of them. Phoenix has his hands balled into fists again, Clara is worrying her lip, and Dr. Chamberland simply nods.

“I was at that party,” Phoenix says. I narrow my eyes at him.

“You were?” I don’t remember him being there.Why would my father bring me to a party where his biggest enemy was?“I don’t remember,” I whisper. He gets that blank look on his face again, so I look away and focus on the doctor.

“When is the last time you remember seeing Phoenix?” I tilt my head at him.That’s an odd question. Why would he want to know that?Instead of asking, I think back. Clearing my throat, I hold my knees even tighter as another pang of hunger hits me.

“Ummm… I think at our high school graduation from Brighton Academy.” I watch to see what reaction that will get out of Phoenix, but he doesn’t react. Except for the tick in his jaw, he still has that blank look on his face.

“Clara, get McKenzie some broth,” Phoenix says, changing the subject. Clara nods and scurries out the door. “Dr. Chamberland, what do we need to do while McKenzie goes through withdrawal?” Dr. Chamberland doesn’t seem to be put off by Phoenix changing the subject.

“The IV will help. She’s dehydrated and malnourished. It could help move along the symptoms, but there’s no guarantee. Unfortunately, she’s going to have a hard time for the next week, maybe longer.” I swallow as I half listen to their conversation. They talk like I’m not even here, but I don’t care enough to call them out on it. My eyes are beginning to droop. I wouldn’t mind going to sleep because the urge to claw my skin off is becoming unbearable.

I think I must nod off for a few minutes because the next thing I know, Clara is shaking me slightly. “Miss McKenzie,” she whispers. I open my eyes slowly, trying to focus on her, but I seem incapable of doing that. “Your broth is ready.” She helps me get situated and puts a lap tray over my legs. My eyes finally coming into focus, I watch as Clara gets everything situated.

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