Page 92 of Montana Silence

“X-rays didn’t show any damage to the spinal column. And now that you’re awake and can tell us if you’re in pain, you can take it off.”

He helped me, gently undoing the Velcro closure and pulling it out from behind my head. I slowly turned my head from side to side and then moved it up and down. “It feels fine. Which seems like a miracle.”

“Honestly?” The doctor laughed. “It is. You could have ended up with much, much worse.”

“Yeah…” I looked at him. “How long do I have to stay?”

He marked something down on my chart before hanging it on the end of the bed again. “I’d like you to stay a couple more days just in case. With incidents like these, sometimes there are deeper things which don’t reveal themselves right away. But I promise, we’ll get you out of here as soon as possible.”

I nodded. “Could I go see someone?” In the corner of my eye, I saw Liam’s brows rise. “She’s here in the hospital.”

“I’ll allow it,” Dr. Araya said. “But wheelchair only.”

“Thank you.”

He smiled at us both. “I’ll check on you again in a bit before I go home for the night.”

I looked over at Liam, who took my hand in both of his. “You want to see Brynn?”

“Yeah. I feel like I need to.”

“Let me go grab you a wheelchair.”

As he left, I moved a little more, testing my boundaries. It hurt, but not as much as when I’d first woken. Liam was right. Mostly bruising. I could move. And I took the opportunity to slowly sit up and shift myself off the bed, taking my IV with me as I shuffled to the bathroom. I loved the man, but we weren’t at the point where I wanted him to help me pee.

He entered the room with a wheelchair right as I exited the bathroom, and he scrubbed a hand over his face. “I am so glad I didn’t walk in ten seconds ago and think you’d disappeared again.”

I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around him, awkward with the cast. It would take both of us a while to get over that. “I’m not going anywhere,” I said. “I’m moving in, remember?”

Liam squeezed tighter. “Oh, I remember, sweetheart. I can’t wait.”

We got a little carried away kissing before I remembered I was supposed to be sitting down in the wheelchair. “Let’s go.”

He looked me up and down. “You sure?”

“As much as I’d like to stay here and dothat, I’d rather not while in the hospital.”

“That’s fair,” he muttered. “I’ll just die quietly.”

I smacked his arm and sat in the chair while he took me to Brynn’s room. It wasn’t far from mine. “Do you want me with you?” he asked.

“No,” I said and leaned my head on his arm. “I think this has to be me.”

Leaning down, Liam kissed the top of my head. “I’ll be right outside if you need me.”

The maneuvering was more difficult with a cast, but I managed. Her eyes locked on mine the second I turned the corner, and whatever I’d thought to say flew right out of my head. Liam was right. She had been beaten so badly it was amazing she’d even made it to Liam in the first place.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

I rolled closer. “Liam told me you helped save my life. I came to say thank you.”

Brynn stared. “You’re not angry with me?”

“I thought I might be,” I admitted, looking away. “But how can I be, when I’ve been there? It took me untilnowto be able to speak regularly again. What they did to our minds goes deep. You didn’t hurt me, and you helped save my life. I can’t be angry with you for falling under the same spell as everyone who believed them.”

Silence stretched between us, Brynn looking down at her hands. “I’m still sorry, Mara. I’m…so ashamed I believed all of it. It seems so stupid now. How could I fall for something like that? And what do I do now?”

I shrugged. “You find a way through it, and you’re already Rayne’s client. Even if everything you were telling her was fake.”

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