Page 50 of Submitting to Them
I whirl around.Iamworried about her.I’m worried about Bash.Staring beyond the hospital windows, out over San Esteban, I think about how easy it would be to lose them.One moment here, the next moment, gone.
I pack the thoughts up, shove them into a box in my mind to take out later.
Turning back to Ella, I ask, “Have you talked to the police yet?”
“Yes.They didn’t seem like they were hopeful about finding the men who hurt Bash.”She shakes her head.“I don’t know what else to do.”
“We’ll ask Ironwood to look into this, as well,” I say.It certainly couldn’t hurt, and Lin is going to have a more vested interest in this investigation, anyway, given that it involves her cousin.
“Sure, I…I actually have a photo of them,” Ella says.“I tried sending it to my brother to ask if he knew them.I texted it to the police detective, too.”
“Yeah, we’ll give it to Ironwood as well.You can talk to Lin when she gets here.”
Natasha and Kellan return with food, which is shared all around.Lin arrives, and Ella goes through the incident again.Then, Detective Baldwin from the police department shows up to ask Ella some more questions about the attack.He also talks to Natasha and Kellan.When he’s done, we still don’t know how Bash is doing.Ella’s holding herself together, but I can tell she’s retreating, mentally.So much so, I don’t think her emotions are only about Bash.
Then I remember.“You’ve had some bad hospital experiences, haven’t you?”
She gives a little shrug.“Yeah, some.”
“How about you go back to my place?”I suggest.“You can rest, and I’ll stay in touch.”
“It’s okay.I want to be here for Sebastian.This isn’t about me.”
I lead her to two cushioned seats and take one, gesturing for her to take the other.She sits down gingerly and I tug her until she leans against my shoulder.
“Are you sure you’re not hurt?”I ask.
“Very light bruising,” she says.“I got knocked over, but I’m really okay, I promise.”
The doctor walks through the doors, his face expressionless.“I’m looking for Sebastian Crown’s family.”
“That’s us,” Lin, Ella, and I say, standing up.
“He’s out of surgery,” the doctor says, “and he’s doing well.We’d like to keep him here for a few days and make sure he heals up properly.”
Ella exhales in relief, and so do I.
Ella
On Monday, I’m back in the hospital at Sebastian’s bedside.He’s recovering quickly, getting up to use the restroom on his own, holding down his food.The wound is healing well, according to the doctors, but they want to keep him until Wednesday, and he’s getting antsy.
“Ugh, this is bullshit,” Sebastian says, jabbing the power button on his remote control to shut off the news playing from the TV bolted to the wall across from his bed.
“Do you want me to get King’s tablet?”I ask.“We could stream something.”
“No, sorry, princess.I’m just bored as hell.”
I stroke his arm, careful to avoid the bruises left from his IV.It’s tricky because they’re hidden by his tattoos.“Understandable.What kind of medicine do they have you on?”
“Some pain killers, mostly.I told them I didn’t care what they gave me, as long as it doesn’t come from Perdure Pharma.”
“Is that Joel’s mom’s company?”
Sebastian nods.“Yeah.They’re mostly famous for manufacturing diet pills, though.Not pain meds.I don’t want to talk about those assholes, though.How’s Schröde?”
I’ve been taking care of Schrödinger for the past few days.Kingston and I even slept at Bash’s place last night, so the kitty wasn’t neglected.
I pull a few pics up on my phone, proud of the new cardboard scratching house I’ve assembled.It’s designed to look like a donut shop.
