Page 18 of A Tortured Temptress
Lizzy sighs big across the line. "How do you plan to get her here? And how soon?"
"She needs to stabilize. Is Archie still on staff at the hospital?"
"Yes, he's chief of staff still. I can't talk that man into retiring," she scoffs.
"Can she come there?"
"I'll have him give you a call and we can get it set up, but you'll have to have her medical power of attorney approve all this if she's unconscious or in a coma."
"That's easy. He can do that," I don't tell her it's me. "Thank you, Lizzie. I owe you."
"Just come visit soon. Gabby has been working a lot and you still haven't seen Aribella yet. She's getting so big."
"Yeah, Gabby sent me pictures. I'll have to see when I can take some time off. Just please help Giselle." I don't tell her that now that I'm sending Giselle there, I'll never be able to visit. I won't be able to see her again. I have to make a clean break of it for both of us.
"Okay."
I hang up and start making the arrangements with the hospital.
Giselle
A fogginess coats my brain and I know it's from pain medications. It's a feeling I've felt numerous times. I don't know why I'd have pain meds in my system though. I can't remember anything happening to me. Opening my eyes, I only see darkness. Memories of the last time I saw darkness hit me. I start to fight. Britain is coming for me.
I want to live. I don't know why but I need to.
My arms flash around, one is heavy, and I don't understand why. I try to kick my legs but only one of them is moving. My blood races, my heart rate accelerates. He's found me again and I'm tied down or incapacitated in some way. Through the fog of my brain, I hear beeping and alarms going off, but I don't stop fighting. Britain won't hurt me this time.
"Help me," my voice comes out rough and scratchy.
"Just a moment Ms. Bell, I'm Doctor Larson," a voice I don't recognize with an accent I don't either says from next to me. I swing my head in that direction and I feel pain everywhere, but I still can't see him.
"Where am I? What happened to me? Why can't I see? Did Britain do this?"
"You're in the hospital. You were attacked. I'm not sure who you mean by Britain but you're in Australia. You're no longer in Belfast." His words hit me but the fogginess in my brain doesn't comprehend it. His accent makes sense now.
"Why did Declan send me here? I can't see." I say again. I try to think back as far as I can. My last memories are of Fiona and the girls. I can't think of anything else about living in Belfast. "Where is Kelsey?" I'm worried if Britain found me, he found her too and attacked her. "Where are Fiona and the other girls?"
"Again, I don't know those names. You can't see because you have trauma to your optical nerves causing swelling. We think it's from the brain injury you sustained during your attack. You have been here in Canberra for a week. You were in a medical induced coma and then it took some time for you to wake up. The physicians in Belfast thought that keeping you in the coma until you settled here would be the best, plus it gave your brain time to heal more. We'd hoped that your eyesight would return but there is still a lot of swelling so it could take some more time."
"Why am I here though?"
"I think I can answer that." I hear a woman's voice. She sounds a bit older and has a thick Irish brogue. "I'm Lizzy. You were sent here so that I could help you." I turn toward her and feel her soft hand slide against mine and holds onto it.
"How?" My voice cracks again and I hear her moving around some more after she lets go of my hand. I can't move my jaw and my words are slurred from the pain meds.
"Take a sip. The straw is in front of your mouth, just lean up slightly." I do as she says and take a small sip of the cool water. It feels like I'm parched. "Shane thought you would heal better here." The name hits me. My heart clenching. Memories flood my brain and I reach up. Flashes of light come into my vision.
"Ahh," I cry out as I smack my head with something hard and my other hand. "What?" I hold up my right hand.
"You have a cast on your arm. It was broken in your attack," the doctor says again. He didn't leave the room obviously.
"Where is Shane?"
"He didn't arrive with you."
"Why? He doesn't want me anymore?" I try to look where I think the woman is standing.
"How do you know Shane?" She asks me instead of answering me.
