Page 2 of Tear Me Down
My stare shifts as I hear someone come toward the room, and Carter steps out of the way as a nurse brings in a bowl of broth and a water bottle for Ashia. The sight making my stomach turn. All of her hard work overcoming her stomach issues is coming undone. She’ll lose weight because of this, and her stomach will have a hard time adjusting to normal food again. She’s already so small, and she definitely doesn’t need this setting her back.
She hasn’t needed the feeding tube, thank God, and they’ve been giving her anti-nausea medication to help her keep everything down. It’s the journey after she heals that will be hard for her. I researched her disorder extensively when I first met her, and it seems that overcoming the damage to her stomach mostly follows the same process, but she can’t even start to overcome the disorder again until her stomach heals. Even worse, we won’t know if she’s fully healed until she can stomach solid foods for twenty-four hours, which I doubt her disorder will let her do for a while. It’s going to be a balancing act, but I’ll be with her every step of the way.
The nurse, Bailey by her name tag, places the tray down on the table in the corner of the room and leaves without so much as a glance in my direction. I’m sure not only hospital security, but my own men guarding this entire floor, israising some concern with the nurses. They’re probably wondering who we are and why there is a need for such an intense security detail, but none of them have asked. They just walk in and out as quickly and quietly as possible, sure to avoid me at all costs.
Carter watches as she walks away, making sure she’s out of earshot before we start talking again, but I couldn’t care less if she overheard me or what she witnesses. The severity of my reprisal will be heard around the world. Every soul that walks the earth’s surface will know what happens when you hurt my woman.
I walk over to the tray and start sipping on her water and the broth without hesitation, taking a moment to concentrate and analyze if the taste is off or if I feel any effects.
“I’m sure you don’t have to worry if the hospital staff is going to poison her,” Carter says with a chuckled huff, but I’m anything but amused.
“Did you run background on the hospital staff?” I look up to him and watch as his eyes widen ever so slightly. My question clearly catches him off guard, and the thought irritates me further.
“No, I didn’t. I didn’t think you were serious. Serena vouched for the kitchen staff and the nurses. So, I didn’t think it was really necessary.” He shakes his head casually and shrugs his shoulders as if this is no big deal, but there’s also a hint of fear in his eyes at the possibility of messing up. Which he did. There’s no reason to believe that anything less than overkill is acceptable in our position, and I need to know if anyone coming within twenty feet of Ashia poses a problem or not.
“Since when does Serena’s opinion overshadow facts?” I can feel the heat behind my stare. Serena is too extroverted and trusting, still naive enough to believe that everyone could be her friend, and unaware of the dangers that could hide inside someone’s soul. I don’t give a fuck what she thinks, or who she thinks we can trust, and the fact that Carter would so easily turn a blind eye to the possibility of a threat really pisses me off—making me question my trust in him. “So what? You stick your dick in her a few times, and now she can manipulate the way you think? The way we operate? You know the dangers out there. The things we deal with and how quickly Dust is escalating. Who they could have in their pocket. They have the God damn police department, for fuck’s sake. Get it together.”
I immediately feel my chest tighten, and the look of shame on his face is like a punch to the throat. I know Carter would never blatantly ignore a command, and he’s taken over a lot since I’ve been here with Ashia. Plus, Carter finally has sex, and what? I give him a hard time for it? He actually seems to really like her, too. I shouldn’t berate him about it, no matter how stressed I am.
“I’m sorry, Carter. I…” I run my hand over my face, trying to find the right words, but I’m unable to at the moment. I know I’m losing my shit, but it’s like I can literally feel my world crumbling down around me, and I don’t know how to handle it. “I’m sorry.” I say punctually, those two simple words being the best I can come up with right now. He glances over at Ashia briefly before looking back at me, and a softness washes over his face like a wave.
“Get some sleep, D.” He says quietly as he turns to leave. I look back at the love of my life to see her perfect brown eyes staring back at me, a firm look of concern etched on to her sweet face.
“What’s wrong?” she says in a gentle voice, the exhaustion and effects of the pain medication are still clear by her grogginess. I walk over to her bedside and lean down, pressing my lips to her forehead in a soft display of affection.
“Nothing is wrong, little wolf. We were just talking,” I say against her smooth skin before planting a small kiss to it and pulling back, looking at those perfect golden globes, and her now dilated pupils from the medication. She reaches up and cups my face in her hand, using the perfect amount of pressure to caress my cheek with the pad of her thumb.
“You look so tired.” Her voice is so soft but filled with so much concern that it makes my heart ache. I lay my hand on top of hers, allowing the size difference to warm my chest as I nuzzle into her touch and kiss her palm as gently as I did her head. “Lay with me?” she questions so sweetly.
“The nurse brought you some food. You should eat first, baby,” I plead.
“I take it you’ve already tried it?” She smirks, and my heart skips a beat. The curl of the side of her mouth pulls my heartstrings along with it.
“Yeah, I did. It’s safe.”
She giggles quietly, and I can’t hold back the grin that creeps on my lips.
“You’re so cute, you know that?” She says, almost as a whisper. Her words are slurred barely and her eyes gleam in a soft daze, clearly feeling a little high. A small chuckle escapes my lips before I can stop it, showing my obvious fondness for her.
“You’re the cute one.” I run my fingers through her hair and adjust the oxygen tube around her ear to make sure it stays in place, my heart sinking at the motion. “You really should eat something. Even if it’s just a few spoonfuls.”
“Aw. Please, baby? Just for a little while?” She pats the bed next to her and pouts her lip, inviting me over. Fuck, she knows I can’t tell her no. Not with those beautiful eyes and that adoring face. I kiss her poked-out bottom lip before climbing into the hospital bed beside her, careful not to jostle her too much. I take her into my arms and hold her close as she rests her head on my chest, burying that cute nose into my shirt and inhaling deeply before her breaths even back out.
This is how it should always be. Her right here beside me. In my arms, so I know she’s safe. The softness of her skin grazing against mine and her warm breath whipping over my chest and neck. Her tantalizing scent whisking me away and pulling me into a sleep where I dream of nothing but her. Muchlike now, when even though I try to keep my eyes open, the comfort and relief of feeling her next to me forces me to relax and lulls me into slumber.
Chapter two
Ashia
Six Days Later
Regardless of the newfound chaos around us, I take a moment to inhale the sweet relief of normal walls and familiar scents. Lingering traces of his cologne and the warmth of his domain only ease my body and mind.
We’re finally home, no longer tormented by matte white walls, the sting of sterilization, or that incessant beeping from the monitors. I’ve been able to eat real food for a full day, although it was blended down into almost a liquid, it was better than just broth, and that was enough to convince them to release me. Along with other things, of course.
When my blood tests and vitals all came back normal this morning, Derek put in an order to have me discharged. Damien argued, though, wanting to be sure that I was actually okay to leave. Derek was in my room for at least an hour going over my chart and results with him, explaining that apart from time, there’s not much else that could benefit me by staying. The only pain medications I had been taking for the past forty-eight hours were over the counter, and the antibiotics could be prescribed. So, recovering at home was definitely a better option.
He never left my side, except to use the bathroom, and even then, either Serena or Carter had to be in the room with me. They watched over me like a couple of hawks. You know, in case I spontaneously died or something, because even after the first few days, that was still a fear of his. Showering, we did together like we always do. He wanted to make sure I didn’t fall. The sentiment was very sweet, but after day or two it made me feel like an elderly woman.
