Page 91 of Devious Eyes
“There’s my girl.” A hoarse sounding Nate speaks up from within the room.
“Nate!” I rush over and take his hand. He opens his mouth to say something. “No, shhh. You need to rest.”
“You’re both here? Quinn?” he slurs as his eyes drift closed again.
“I’m here.” Quinn lingers in the doorway, propping himself against the doorjamb with a scowl on his face.
“Excuse me, Sir.” I turn to see the doctor come in past Quinn. “Good to see you back with us Mr Cane.” He checks a few monitors and the chart at the end of the bed. “He’ll be pretty groggy for the next few hours. He lost a lot of blood.”
“But he’ll be okay? He’s awake now? He’s not in any more danger?” I wish I didn’t have to question this but seeing Nate so vulnerable has my heart in my throat.
“He’s through the worst, but we still need to monitor him.”
“Stop fussing. I’m fine.” Nate opens his eyes and squeezes my hand.
“Very well. The nurse will continue to monitor him.”
“Excuse me, Doctor?” I catch his attention before he makes it past Quinn.
“Yes.” He turns and looks at me expectantly, but the words dry up in my mouth, and I swiftly lose my confidence to speak.
“Can I speak to you privately?” I let go of Nate’s hand, but he grabs my arm before I have a chance to slip away.
“You’re not leaving my side. Whatever it is, just say it.” His eyes are still cloudy, but he’s more alert than he was a few moments ago. I shake my head and clench my jaw, hoping he’ll let this go.
All he does is grip my arm tighter and move to re-capture my hand.
“Doctor…” I start. I lock my eyes with Nate and think back to our time together in paradise. Where nothing but us mattered. Before pain and grief and violence had a chance to sabotage what we had. “I’d like you to examine my injuries please.” I look the doctor right in the eye, silently pleading with him to take that and move me out of the room.
“Of course. Looking at them, I can see you’ve sustained quite heavy trauma to the face, but most of that has come out in bruising.”
“No. It’s not just my face. Can we go to another room?” Panic starts to choke me as I fear admitting the true extent of what happened to me. I’m sure Nate must know but having to admit it will make it all real. Real between us.
The doctor’s expression softens, and I hope he’s caught on to what I’m trying to say. “Of course. This way.” He smiles at me, but my hand is still in Nate’s.
He pulls on it, getting my attention. “Tell me, Gabby.” There’s steel to his voice that wasn’t there before.
I shake my head again, not wanting to see the admission hit him. Tears sting my eyes as I raise them to look him in the eye. He knows. He knows what I’m going to say, but he’s going to make me say the words anyway.
“I was raped.”
We stare at each other for a moment and I can see his body tensing, the cords of his neck tightening and strength returning to his fingers as he holds onto my hand for dear life. We’re caught in our own silent conversation, avoiding the world around us.
The pain that cuts me open every time I think about what happened to me, shines back at me from Nate. But there’s something else behind his eyes.
Rage.
“You should leave with the doctor, Gabby.” Quinn steps into the room and crosses to the bed, as if he can read his brother just as well as I can. I nod, but my feet don’t move. Not right away.
“Gabby,” Quinn prompts.
I leave with the doctor and close the door behind me. It’s not enough to keep the deafening thunder of Nate’s rage from reaching me. He roars in anger, shouting so loudly I want to turn around and go back to him. His pain amplifies mine and there’s nothing that will fix it. I can’t hear the words he’s shouting at his brother, but I know they will be filled with vengeance. He tore up a room full of people to get to me. A big part of me wants nothing more than to go back into that room and prove I’m alright, but if I don’t do this now, I won’t find the courage again. Quinn is with him.
“Can we do this quickly, please? I’d rather not leave him for long.”
“Of course. I’ll get a colleague to do the exam.”
