Page 61 of Hiding Rose
Chapter Seventeen
“Your hand should heal quickly,” the doctor said as he finished wrapping it with gauze. “I’ve covered it in burn salve, which I want you to do twice a day. Keep the hand wrapped in gauze until the blisters are healed over.”
I nodded as he spoke. I was in the spa where it was calming and relaxing. I had to leave the center since the cops were gathering the evidence and they didn’t want the doctor in their way. By the time he arrived there were two giant blisters on my palm, which he aspirated with a needle. It hurt like hell, but once it was done, I got instant relief.
“I’m sending a prescription for an antibiotic to the pharmacy. They’ll deliver it when it’s ready. I want you to take all of it. Hands are germy and we have no idea what he used on the cross or who else touched it. We don’t want to risk an infection setting in and you losing your hand.”
“Oh, just what I need,” I groaned. “I’ll take them.” A thought crossed my mind and I swallowed, knowing I had to ask the question in front of Sawyer. “Um, do the antibiotics…I mean will they have the same effect on my IUD as they do on the pill?”
He glanced up from where he was typing into his computer. “Excellent question. I wish more women were able to think on the fly the way you do. The IUD doesn’t work the same as the birth control pill, so antibiotics don’t affect it. You’ll be fine to take the antibiotics and continue your reliance on the IUD as birth control without a worry. The antibiotic I’m giving you isn’t one that interacts with hormones anyway. I’m prescribing a broad-spectrum antibiotic and you’ll only need a week of it. By then the hand should be healing up nicely. I’ll be back next week to look it over, but if it starts to hurt worse, fills with pus, turns bright red, or smells foul, call me immediately. It’s imperative you keep it clean and don’t break the skin open. You’ll have to avoid using it as much as possible.”
“Sure, I can’t imagine it will be hard, it’s only my dominant hand after all,” I said sarcastically.
He glanced up at me and sighed. “I know. It’s going to be a bit of a pain for a week or so. I’m sorry. I get so angry when I have to treat abuse victims. These animals don’t deserve to live.”
“I’m not an abuse victim,” I sputtered angrily. Sawyer squeezed my shoulder to calm me.
Dr. Rak gave me a small smile. “Yes, you are, darling. Yes, it’s escalated past the point of most domestic abuse, but he’s playing the same kind of psychological game. I’m glad you have Sawyer and Gideon on your side. They’ll catch this guy and make him pay.”
I glanced up at Sawyer over my shoulder and he caressed my cheek, an expression on his face I couldn’t describe. “We will. I’m angry and sick we let him hurt you again. I promised you I’d protect you, but I failed.”
Dr. Rak shook his head. “You can’t guilt yourself, Sawyer. What you have to understand is, these types of people aren’t predictable. Everyone here is doing all they can to protect her. I’ve done all I can for now as well. You know what to watch for and I expect an update every few days. I’ll be back in a week unless you need me before then.”
“Thanks, doc,” I said, giving him a wave.
He closed the door behind him and I stood, falling into Sawyer’s arms. “I thought he’d never leave,” I sighed. “I wanted you to hold me.”
His arms were wrapped around me, but he was stiff as a board, and his chest was heaving as we stood locked together. I glanced up at him and his eyes were closed, his lips pinched, and anger radiated from him.
I stepped out of his arms. “Sawyer?”
“I don’t deserve to hold you, Rose. I promised to protect you and where was I? Off playing. I can’t deal with the amount of anger flowing through me right now.”
“Sawyer, this isn’t your fault. Like Dr. Rak just said, you’re doing everything you can to protect me, but if he wants to get to me, he will. You have a life and a job. I don’t expect you to be next to me all day every day. We’d go crazy.”
He shook his head. “We should have had a better plan. Something to protect you. We know he’s volatile and unpredictable. Dammit,” he said, his hand in his hair. After a few moments, his hand dropped and his eyes opened. “I have to go cancel some plans. I’m going to walk you back to Gideon’s office. Wait there for me and I’ll get you in time for the brace fitting in an hour.”
I took a step toward him and he took one back. “What plans do you have to cancel? Your surprise?” He nodded and I shook my head. “No. Don’t cancel them, Sawyer. I’ll be done earlier than we planned since they’re coming here to fit the brace.”
“I have to. I was planning to take you into town. I can’t risk taking you off the property right now. He’s out there somewhere.”
I threw my hands up. “He’s always been out there somewhere! Maybe we’re finally close to getting him out of our lives.”
“Or he can take you out of mine,” he whispered.
I approached him and put my arms around him, pushing him up against the wall. “I still have a little fight left in me and if he tried, he’d fail. I’m too much in love with you to let him win. Sure, maybe he got a point today, but the cross appeared unassuming, until it wasn’t. I won’t make the same mistake twice. I have to take some responsibility in this too, and I dropped the ball today. I saw the box had no packing or return label on it, but I was caught up talking to Kate. Warning bells should have gone off, but they didn’t. If we sit here and pass the blame around then we’re wasting energy we could be spending on each other. I love you, Sawyer, and I won’t let Jarrett come between us.” He relaxed a bit and stroked my hair, his lips finding my temple, no longer able to pretend he didn’t need me as much as I needed him. “I could use a distraction tonight,” I whispered.
“How about if we meet in the middle? Instead of taking you to dinner in town, I’ll make you dinner in my apartment then we can take a walk on the beach.”
I caressed his face as I held his gaze. “It sounds perfect to me. Is it safe though?”
“I’ll make it safe,” he promised. “I’ll have security on the beach if I have to. We’ll want to test your brace out, and a moonlit beach is the perfect place.”
“It’s a date,” I said, smiling. “I’m nervous about the brace, so it will take my mind off wearing it for the first time.”
“Nervous? It won’t hurt,” he said, his head cocked to the left.
“I know,” I said shrugging. “It also might not help and then what?”
