Page 89 of Reclaiming Adelaide

Jake hobbled up the stairs, the doctor trailing behind him. “I’m not done yet.”

“What happened?”

“You told me to take care of her—”

“She tried to choke me.”

“I didn’t try. I was working on it.”

“Jesus, Charity. I asked you to stop her, not assault her.”

“Technically, you just said my name. All else was implied.”

“Not implied.”

Jake hobbled towards me as I rubbed my throat, where her ghostly touch constricted against my skin.

“When you try to help a friend out…” she mumbled.

“I think we need to give you lessons on social cues or something, Bella,” Max said.

Luca stepped up behind her and put his hands on her hips. “Charity.Giuro su Dio.”

“She’s crazy,” I whispered as Jake wrapped his arms around me, the inky black rage boiling inside of me subsiding, making way for his warmth and comfort.

“I’ll take care of this. I promise,” he whispered in my ear.

“Jake, why don’t you and Adelaide go up to the second floor and hit the guest room? It’s been a long couple of days, and we have some cleanup to do.” Nico said.

“I still need to finish his stitches.” Doctor Dan held two metallic medical instruments in his hand, wearing a tight frown.

“Do it upstairs.”

I followed them up the steps, to the left, and along the corridor. The bedroom door opened to reveal a spacious room with a king-size bed to the left, a headboard made of industrial pipe, and two lamp-post-like end pieces.

Jake laid across the width of the dark blue comforter on his belly and groaned as the doctor set back to working on his stitches. I lay beside him, his breath on my cheeks, and grabbed his hand.

This was where I should have been. Beside him, not seeking an escape but breathing the same air as him. I should’ve swallowed my grief, held his hand as I was now, and comforted the only person I had left in the world.

Well, maybe not the only person anymore.

Max walked in with the doctor’s bag and set it down beside him, then walked away with a sympathetic smile and shut the door.

Were those the looks I’d get now? Would people see me differently, pour their sympathy over me, walk on eggshells around me, or guard their words?

“Okay, make sure you keep it clean and call me if you need anything.”

“Thank you,” Jake said as he released my hand and stood beside the bed.

He nodded. “I’ve left two pills on the nightstand for you, Adelaide. Get some rest. And Jake, this bottle is yours.” He tucked it into his medical pack and pulled out an orange prescription bottle. “For the pain.”

I couldn’t take those, could I? I’d heard there were only certain things you could take while pregnant, and although it didn’t bother me last week about what I put into my body, it mattered now.

The doctor left with a pinched smile and gentle nod, leaving Jake and me alone. This would either be the beginning or the end for us.

There was no turning back now.

27

---