Page 59 of Tangled In Lies

“Hey.” I clear my throat. “The doctor is here to check on you.”

Her gaze shifts around the room when she realizes other people are present.

I point at the older man putting a stethoscope around his neck. “That’s Dr. Harvey.”

The man in question steps closer and smiles at Evangeline. “How are you feeling? I heard you had a small mishap.”

As if she only now remembers what happened, Evangeline’s eyes widen. “I . . . I guess I did.”

The doctor chuckles behind me. “Phoenix, I need to actually get to Miss Caldwell if you want me to examine her.”

I stiffen. “Of course, sorry.”

Holden laugh-coughs, unable to hide his shit-eating grin when I join him a few feet away.

Evangeline pushes herself up to a sitting position and winces.

Crap. “She said she cut her hand.”

“Let’s take a look at it, shall we?” He inspects one hand, turning it over to study it from all angles, before he does the same to the other one. “Thankfully you didn’t break your skin with all of these marks, although I’m sure you might feel them for a few days. Good news is that the cut is shallow and doesn’t need stitches.”

Evangeline nods. “Okay.”

“Let’s clean the wounds and make sure there aren’t any glass pieces in there, and then we can put on some ointment and a bandage.” The doc walks to his bag to get the supplies he needs before getting started. His gaze remains on Evangeline’s hand. “Do you want to tell me what happened?”

Her throat bobs, her gaze flickering in my direction. The doc eyes us too.

Holden is the first to take the hint. “I’ll wait outside.”

My feet are reluctant, but after a few moments, I follow him to the door.

“Phoenix.” My name is quiet on Evangeline’s lips.

I turn around and glance at her. Her lips are pressed tightly together, and her eyes shimmer as if she’s holding back tears.

When she doesn’t say anything, I focus on her pleading eyes. “You want me to stay?”

Her nod is almost indiscernible, but it’s there.

Why the fuck would she want me to stay? Me, of all people? At this point, I’d have expected her to pick Holden over me.

Pushing my thoughts aside, I swallow and point toward the couch. “I’ll be right there.”

“Thank you.” She exhales and shifts her focus away from me and back to the man by her bedside.

I instantly miss her eyes on me.

Calm the fuck down.

I’m too wired to sit, so I pace back and forth in front of the couch.

“What happened, Evangeline?” The doc’s voice is gentle, as if he’s talking to a wounded animal.

Her shoulders lift and drop like she’s carrying the world’s weight on them. “It’s really not a big deal. I just got a little frustrated and threw some things. At first, I thought I was going to have a panic attack, but I haven’t had one in a while, so maybe that’s why it hit me harder than usual? I don’t know.”

He nods and grabs the ointment from the small tray he put on the bedside table with his supplies. “Have you been treated for them before?”

She casts a quick look my way before she shakes her head. “No, I . . . mmh, I didn’t have the support, so I kind of just dealt with them until life calmed down.”

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