Page 33 of Tempt Me

“How are things going in here?” Dr. Morris asks, walking in the room as Zoey’s eyes snap open and I slowly turn my head to face her.

“Am I gonna lose our babies?” Zoey immediately asks, her voice weak and wavering with the emotions filling her.

“No, I don’t think you will. I think the reason you’re bleeding is because of the stress your body has been through. You’ve been in an accident from what I’ve been told and then beaten by your kidnapper. The heartbeats of both babies sound steady and strong. There’s nothing on the ultrasound to make me believe that you will lose either one of the babies. To help ensure that you keep the babies and give you peace of mind, I’m going to put you on bed rest. The only time I want you out of bed is to walk very slowly to the bathroom, and then getting back in bed. I don’t want you sitting in a living room or anything else. You can sit up when you’re in bed though. If you feel any pain in your stomach or the bleeding continues or starts again, I want you in my office immediately. For now it appears as if the bleeding has stopped. We’re gonna admit you to the hospital for a few days. I want to keep a close eye on things and have immediate medical care there if something happens,” Dr. Morris answers as I move to stand next to Zoey and hold her hand in mine.

“I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure I don’t lose our babies. Can I do schoolwork online instead of going to the campus for now?” Zoey asks her as I squeeze her hand tighter in mine.

“I’ll permit you to work on schoolwork for an hour a day, Zoey. I don’t want you under any stress or putting too much of anything on your body. So, that’s the best I can give you until we’re completely sure nothing will happen,” Dr. Morris answers, a small smile on her face as she looks between the two of us. “This also means no showers or baths for right now. You’ll have to have sponge baths in bed. I’m sure Savage won’t have a problem helping you with that.”

“Okay. What else do we need to know?” I question both doctors as they stand in the room with us.

“Everything is coming back negative on the testing we’ve done. There is no internal bleeding and all the cuts and bruised areas have been cleaned. We’ve started you on antibiotics through your IV to ensure no infection sets in. That will only complicate matters. We’d rather have you take the medicine and not need it, than not give it to you and you end up having a horrible infection given the circumstances of everything. We’ll continue to draw bloodwork and make sure your HCG levels don’t start dropping from what they are today. The next few days you’ll be kept on the IV so we can ensure you’re getting enough fluids and aren’t dehydrated. If you feel nauseous, we’ll give you medicine to help combat that. You’ll have regular meals and can eat anything you want to. If there’s something your family wants to bring in, we’ll allow it,” the second doctor informs us, his voice full of warmth as he looks between the two of us and doesn’t keep his eyes on my girl and only her. “This is a sensitive question, but it has to be asked. Were you raped when you were held hostage?”

“No. He attempted to, but I didn’t let him get close. That’s the one thing I did prevent from happening to me,” Zoey answers, fear filling her as she avoids looking at me and quickly drops her eyes as if I’m going to be mad at her or something.

“Okay. We weren’t going to perform a rape kit unless it was needed. Since there’s no reason for it, that’s one less thing we’ll have to put you through. We’re in the process of securing you a room upstairs. As soon as we have one, we’ll get you moved and your family can come in and see you,” he states, looking anywhere but at Zoey right now after asking her such a personal question he knew she wouldn’t want to answer.

“Thank you. Both of you for workin’ so hard and fast to keep my girl safe. I might step out to let our family know what’s goin’ on. Is there someone that can sit with her? I don’t want her alone for a single second,” I question the doctors as a nurse walks by the room. It’s one of the nurses Zoey has had since we got brought back.

“Of course,” Dr. Morris says, turning to face the hallway. “Amanda, can you come in here please?”

The woman stops walking and enters the room with a smile on her face. “How can I help you?”

“Can you sit in here for a few minutes? He’d like to go inform their family of what’s going on and doesn’t want Zoey left alone,” Dr. Morris asks her as Zoey grips my hand even tighter than before.

“Absolutely,” Amanda answers, her voice full of happiness as she steps around the bed opposite of me and pulls up a chair to sit in.

Leaning down, I press a gentle kiss against Zoey’s lips. They’re still cracked and I don’t want to cause her any pain where her bottom lip is split. “I’ll be right back. Let me just tell them what’s goin’ on and I’ll return. I promise you I won’t be gone very long at all.”

“Okay. Please hurry back, Jameson,” she murmurs, her voice breaking once again right along with my heart.

Nodding my head, I follow the doctors from the room and head straight for the waiting room. Tank and the triplets are immediately in front of me. Maddie pushes past the men in her life as more people step up so I can tell them what’s going on. In seconds, I’m surrounded by our family and friends. Members and ol’ ladies from all three clubs are mixed together and it pulls at something deep inside my soul to know that we have so many people here for us.

“How’s my baby girl? How are the babies?” Tank questions as Maddie and the other ol’ ladies gasp in shock at the news we’re gonna be parents.

“The babies are okay for now. Zoey’s bein’ put on bedrest for the time bein’. She can literally only get out of bed to go to the bathroom and back again. Dr. Morris said their heartbeats are steady and strong and nothin’ on the ultrasound indicates that she’ll lose either one of them. Neither one of us are gettin’ our hopes up. At least we’re tryin’ not to. She’s got no internal bleedin’, doesn’t need stitches, and they’ve started her on fluids through an IV along with antibiotics so she doesn’t get an infection. She’ll be permitted to do one hour of schoolwork a day while remainin’ in bed and can sit up against the headboard, but that’s all she can do. I know she’s gonna go insane before too long. They are admittin’ her to the hospital for a few days. Right now, they’re tryin’ to get her a room so she can be moved upstairs. Once she has her room, you guys can come in and see her,” I answer Tank as he stares at me with pain filled eyes.

“Has she said anythin’ about what happened?” Hawkeye asks me, his hands clenching into fists at his sides.

“No. The only thing she’s said is that she wasn’t raped. She stopped it from happenin’. When the doctors aren’t in the room, she keeps her eyes closed because she doesn’t want to talk about it right now. I’m givin’ her that because I know she’ll want to talk to all of us at one time so she doesn’t have to continue repeatin’ the hell she was just put through. She’s got a nurse in there with her right now, I just wanted to update you all. I’m gonna head back in. I’ll send a message when we learn of what room Zoey will be in. It goes without sayin’ that I’m not leavin’ here until she does. And, she can eat whatever she wants when she wants. I don’t honestly know if she’s hungry right now, but I’ll find out when I go back in. I’m not sure how long it’s been since she’s actually had anythin’ to eat,” I answer him before turning and leaving our family and friends in the waiting room once more.

Getting back in the room where my kitten is lying in the hospital bed, I take a seat next to her and thank Amanda for sitting with her. I take Zoey’s hand in mine again and press my lips to the back of it before leaning my head on the side of her bed. Neither one of us speaks as we get lost in our heads. I know I need to find out if she’s hungry or needs anything else, but for now, I am just savoring the feeling of her hand in mine and knowing that she’s here with me and no longer with the fucker who couldn’t leave her alone. We both need to soak up this time because once she gets moved to a room upstairs, our family will come in to see her and it will be a while before we’re left alone again. So, no words are needed as we hang onto one another and don’t let go.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Zoey

I’VE BEEN MOVED to a room upstairs and I know it’s just a matter of time before my family shows up to see that I’m okay with their own eyes. Jameson hasn’t left my side since he found me in that house other than for a few minutes to let our family know what’s going on. He’s been my rock and I’m going to cling to him for as long as he’ll let me. Even though Dr. Morris has told us she doesn’t believe there’s a reason to think I’ll lose our twins, I refuse to get my hopes up. Until they are safely born and in our arms, every second of the day is going to be torture for me. I’m going to overthink and overanalyze every twinge and pain I feel for the remainder of my pregnancy. Plus, I know I still have to let everyone know what actually happened. Jameson has been giving me the space I’m desperate for while staying close. He’s not badgering me with the questions I don’t want to answer.

“Kitten, are you ready for our family to come in?” Jameson asks me as he looks down at his phone after pulling it from his pocket.

“I’m as ready as I can be. There’s no reason for us to put this off any longer. You all need answers to questions and I have one of my own. Just remind them that it can only be a few of them and that I can’t be stressed while they’re in here,” I answer him, my voice a whisper with the knowledge that I’m about to relive this shit when it’s the last thing I want to do.

No, I haven’t seen the cops because Jameson made sure the doctors and other medical staff didn’t call and report what happened to me. He told them all that we had already called them and they were currently talking to others who weren’t at the hospital yet. They had waited behind at the location I was being held in. His quick thinking means there is no police involvement and that is one thing I am happy about.

“I’ll make sure they know. Your mom will be in here with your dad, the triplets, my parents, Playboy, and Slim. No one else will be allowed in right now. The guys will ensure everyone knows what happened so we can move forward. And I believe I have the same question as you do. They’ll be here in a few seconds, kitten,” he tells me, not moving from right next to my bed. “I love you, Zoey. When I knew you were gone, somethin’ deep inside me broke and shattered. It took one look from Reagan and I knew my gut feelin’ was true. I’ve loved you most of my life and thought you would always be there no matter what I did or how often I pushed you away. I don’t expect you to say it back, and I’m not sayin’ this because I almost lost you. I’m sayin’ it because it’s the truth and I need you to know that I love you with every beat of my heart and ounce of my soul.”

“I love you, Jameson. I’ve always loved you and I don’t see that ever changing. When he had me, I didn’t let myself think of us having a future because I thought I lost the twins and that you’d never forgive me for not protecting them as I promised I would. In that moment, I cut off the part of myself that loves you and let an icy numbness replace my entire being. But, I do love you, Jameson, with everything in me. I’ll love you today, tomorrow, and every day of our future,” I return, knowing he needs the words as much as I do.

---