Page 236 of Under Her Skin
Theo shook his head. ‘No, he did this, I know he did this. Does he have analibi?’
‘Says he was asleep at home. Yes, no-one can back that up but we can’t prove otherwise. How’sJess?’
‘Still unconscious.’ Amelia said, strain evident in her voice. ‘Doctor says she’s stable but still critical. We just have towait.’
‘When she wakes up, she’ll be able to tell us more. I don’t know when she’s come back from surgery but the doc’s just been here.’ Theo sat and made a growling noise. ‘Dammit, I know Gachet didthis.’
Mike gave them a sympathetic smile. ‘Unless Jess formally identifies him as herattacker…’
‘Her rapist. Her almost-murderer.’ Theo spat. ‘He wanted to murder her and nearly succeeded.’ The weight of what he had said sank in. ‘OhJesus.’
‘I’m so sorry.’ Mike put his hand on Theo’s shoulder. ‘I hope she can identify him. Any physicalevidence?
‘They’re sending it to thepolice.’
‘They’re at the house too, they told me. But, Theo, until they’ve got somethingconcrete–‘
‘They had to let him go.’Resigned.
Max looked at Theo and his mom, his face a mask of determination. ‘We’ll make this right, I swear to god, wewill.’
She openedher eyes and stared at the blank ceiling tiles above her. Everything in her body screamed with pain but fresh air, precious, fresh air filled her lungs. She was alive. Jess drew in a few grateful breaths, taking in the medicinal scent of a hospital, hearing the beeps of machinery. She could feel heavy bandaging on her abdomen, the sting of the central line needle in her arm, the blood pressure monitor on her finger. Her body ached, but she managed to move her stiff neck, turning her head and sawhim.
Theodore Storm.My love. He was asleep, his head resting on the bed next to her hand. He looked older, tired, shattered but to her, he was the most beautiful sight in the world. She gingerly reached out to stroke his dark hair, feel his skin. He woke, startled by her touch and she smiled down at him. His eyes widened when he saw her awake. He stood, leaned over to her, took her face in his hands, as if not believing she was alive. His green eyes filled withtears.
‘Oh god, Jessie, thank you, thank you for staying with me.’ His tears fell onto her cheeks and he kissed her gently as if he couldn’t believe she was stillalive.
‘Theo…’ Her voice was soft, gruff but she kissed him back as hard as she could. ‘I love you somuch.’
‘I love you, God, I love you, my Jessie.’ Theo stroked her face, wiping away the tears with his thumbs. ‘Jessie, I’m sorry he did this to you. I’ll never leave you aloneagain.’
Jess frowned, her head fuzzy. ‘Theo, I can’t… I can’t remember it. I don’t what happened to me. Theo, why can’t Iremember?’
Theo stared at her inhorror.
‘So this really happens,not just in the movies?’ Theo squeeze Jess’s hand as the neurosurgeon shone a light into her eyes. She winced at thebrightness.
Dr. Napier smiled. ‘You’ve had a serious head injury and suffered a severe concussion, on top of your other injuries. Plus, and this isn’t unusual, you’ve gone through just about the worst trauma a person can. Sometimes the brain just shuts out what it can’t copewith.’
Jess nodded. ‘Okay.’ She looked over at Theo, perched on the side of her bed. He smiled and squeezed her hand. Jess tried to smile. ‘When can I go home,doctor?’
‘Jessica – can I call you Jess? – Jess, you’re all hopped up on morphine at the moment so I doubt you can feel the extent of your injuries.’ He sat on the edge of the bed and patted her hand. ‘It’s going to take a while. At the moment, your belly is still in trauma from the stabbing, from the surgery we had to perform. Your liver needs to heal itself, your body needs to adjust to your new reality. If all goes well, you might be able to go home in a month or so. On the understanding that you give yourself time to recover.’ He added with a meaningful look atTheo.
Theo nodded and she knew she’d be under house arrest when she got home. A month. God. She looked up at thedoctor.
‘Thank you, really, for everything.’ The doctor smiled at her andTheo.
‘My pleasure. Call me if you needanything.’
Alone, Theo sat on the edge of the bed, his arms around his love. She leaned against him and they sat in silence for a fewminutes.
He tightened his grip on her and buried his face in her hair. ‘Jess?’
‘Yes?’
He thought for a moment then moved so he could see her face. ‘I want to ask you a question and it’s going to be rough but I have to. You can just nod or shake your head and when it’s over, I’m gonna hold you and never let you go.’ He smiled, a crooked, worriedexpression.
Jess took a deep breath and nodded. He took herhands.
