Page 56 of The Doctor's Twins

You’d better tread carefully, Ben. Don’t fuck this up.

16

PEYTON

Ihated the after-effects of anesthesia. I tried my best to keep my eyes open but all I really wanted to do was close them and sleep for an eternity. My head was swimming, but I was happy to see Ben’s face. I wondered how he managed to find me.

His soothing voice kept me calm. I’d wait until I stopped floating before I’d think about the possibility that Mateo had found me. Did he drive away when he saw the accident?

The sudden realization that he may be somewhere in the hospital scared me back to my senses. I sat up way too quickly. In hindsight, it was a silly thing to do because it made me instantly nauseous.

“Slowly, Peyton,” Ben said again and gently rubbed my back. “You have a concussion.”

“I’m gonna be sick,” I said and heaved.

A bucket appeared before I could make good on my threat, and Ben rubbed my back while I threw up into the vessel. Great. Anesthesiaandvomiting—super day.

“Ooph, my arm,” I moaned once I stopped heaving.

“You fractured your radius and cracked the ulna. Dr. Evans did an excellent job of setting the broken bone. Don’t worry, you’ll heal quickly.”

“What a mess. Ben, I have to get out of here.”

He looked quizzically at me.

“What? I don’t understand. You’ve just had surgery. You have to stay put for a bit.”

“No. I can’t. You don’t understand. I have to leave. Right now!”

“Shhh. What’s wrong, Peyton?”

Fuck! I wasn’t ready to tell Ben about Mateo. Why did this have to happen? What would he say if he knew the truth?

“I think I’m in danger,” I said softly, praying that Ben wouldn’t ask too many questions.

“No, you’re perfectly safe, Peyton.”

“No! You don’t understand, Ben. I didn’t just crash my car because I was driving recklessly. I was trying to escape a dangerous situation. Someone was following me, and I …”

Ben looked down. Was he trying to avoid my eyes? Was it too late? Was he ready to leave me? Great! Let’s dump the crazy woman.

“Peyton, I have to tell you something.”

Oh, no. Not the ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ speech. Not now! Not when Mateo was out there ready to pounce.

Oh, please, God. I can’t lose Ben.

“It was me, Peyton.” What was he talking about?

“I don’t understand. What do you mean? What was you?”

“I was the one following you. I’m so fucking sorry.”

“What?”

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen. I just wanted to see where you were going.”

I stared at Ben without speaking, trying to figure out if I was happy that it wasn’t Mateo chasing after me, or absolutely furious because Ben had been spying on me for no good reason.

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