Page 96 of Pretty Little Fears

Slippingon the gown,Ifeel anxious and nauseous.Thelast timeIwas in one of these,Iwas strapped to a table against my will and found outIwas pregnant.Thememory bubbles up inside of me, tears swelling in my eyes.Ilet a few fall in remembrance of our unborn angel, wiping them quickly before stepping back into the room.

Dr.JosiahandEmmettlook up at me at the same time.Thedoctor offers me yet another soft smile and directs another question towards me. “Doyou mind sitting on the bed for me,Blair?”

Withoutresponding,Isit on the foot of the bed next toDr.Josiahand his medical bags.Hewalks me through everything he’s doing from untying my gown to cleaning and soothing the lacerations, and finally bandaging them up.

Hegoes back and opens the other bag, digging around until he pulls out what looks like anIVbag. “Idon’t have all of my equipment on such short notice, butIfigured with the urgency, you may need this.”Hiseyes look from me toEmmett, scanning his body. “Youdo as well.”Hemumbles out.Settingup the at-home fluids.

Emmettsits next to me on the bed, grabbing my hand and interlocking our fingers.Iwatch asDr.Josiahmakes a makeshiftIVpole, hanging the bags up before cleaning the back of my free hand and inserting the small needle.Iflinch as it pricks my skin, squeezing ontoEmmett’shand as if he’s my life raft.

Ina lot of ways, he is.

Itwas sink or swim, and without him,Iwould have sunk.

Dr.Josiahperforms the same motions onEmmett, inserting the needle into his hand and letting the fluids work through our bodies.Wesit in a comfortable silence until half an hour has passed and the bag is starting to empty.Hebegins to remove theIVfrom our hands and packs away the equipment then rummages in the first bag, packed with first aid supplies and medications.

“Youhave quite the infection.”Hestates before producing an orange pill bottle and a small tub of cream. “Here.Takethese once a day until you’ve run out.Asfor that antibiotic cream, apply it daily after you’ve showered.Shouldmake you feel and look good as new.”

Heplaces the items on the nightstand and continues, “Iwould highly suggest following up with your obstetrician-gynecologist considering you miscarried.Pleaseprioritize rest and relaxation until then.Fuel.Hydrate.Again,I’msorry for your loss,MissSterling,Mr.Blackwood.”Hegives another soft, sympathetic smile before he turns and givesEmmetta nod, then exits the room.

“Thankyou,Dr.Josiah.”EmmettandIsay in unison.

Emmetthelps me change out of the gown and into my own pajamas.Iclimb into bed and bring the comforter up to my neck.Myhead hits the pillow and my eyelids feel heavy and weak.Iknow how much my body is craving rest, but my mind runs a mile a minute, afraid ifIlet my guard down, my safety will be threatened once again.

Emmettwalks over to the bed and sits on the edge.Hebrushes my hair out of my face and leans down to cover me in soft kisses, starting from my forehead, and trailing down to my lips.

“Youare safe,Blair.I’mjust going to go heat up some food for myself and eat.I’llbe right back.Shoutif you need me, alright?”Hereassures me.

“Okay,”Iwhisper and watch as he steps out of the room.Iclose my eyes and take deep breaths, waiting for sleep to come.Tossingand turning,Itry to find the most comfortable position, but to no avail.Itfeels as if hours pass by when it’s been less than twenty minutes.Finally,Igive up and stare at the ceiling.I’drather wait forEmmettto return to find sleep, than to try and keep failing.

Afew more minutes pass andIhear the creak of the door.Myhead snaps in the direction of the entrance of my room, paranoid that another kidnapper has come for me.

“It’sjust me.It’sokay, you’re okay.”Emmettwhispers.Heremoves his hoodie and crawls into bed with me.Hisarms envelop me in his warmth andI’minstantly soothed.Myheavy lids begin to fall shut as he gently pets my hair.

“Closeyour eyes.Getsome rest.I’mright here with you, my little obsession.I’llremind you every morning when you wake up and every night before you fall asleep.Iam never leaving you.”Hewhispers.

Myheart swells andIfall into a deep sleep.Realityhas not felt real as of lately.Itfelt like a replaying nightmare andI’mparalyzed, unable to wake myself up.Butnow, my body intertwined withEmmett’s,IknowIam safe.

Iamhome.

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

EMMETT

We’vebeen back homefor about two weeks now.Blairhas been suffering from insanely vivid nightmares since returning toBlackwood.Shehasn’t returned to her classes nor has she even attempted to pick up a textbook.Sheclaimed getting back on track would be easy, butIrefuse to let her rush her healing process.

Everyoneknows we were missing due to the posters with our names and pictures, but no one knows we’ve returned safely.Grimmhas made sure of it.IwantedBlairto have as much privacy as possible.Sheneeds time to recover andI’mnot confident she would’ve been given time to heal.

Nightafter night,Icrawl into the bed next to her and wrap my arm around her body, pulling her closer to mine.Thefeeling of her pressed against me brings me peace.Nuzzlinginto her neck,Iinhale and bury my face in the crook, occasionally leaving light kisses untilIfeel her breathing even out.Onlythen, doIsuccumb to sleep as well.

Myeyesopen and the pressure on my bladder makes itself known.Islowly untangle myself fromBlair’ssleeping body soIcan use the restroom.Somethingclose to fear shoots through me and my brows furrow.Decidingit must be becauseIdon't like leaving her alone now,Ihead to the bathroom.

Thefeeling follows me asIgo to relieve myself.Ichalk it up to just being extra protective of her.I'mpulling my boxers and sweats back up when a blood-curdling scream sends chills down my body.Thenoise has every fiber of my being on high alert.Thesound quickly solidifies the death of its prosecutor.It'sa noiseInever want to hear leaving her mouth again unless it's because of me.Andeven then, the screams are entirely different.

KILL.

I'mout of the bathroom and into the room faster than a speeding bullet.Thesight in front of me sends the depths of my darkness reeling to the forefront of my mind, just like when she was taken.Likea switch being flipped in my brain,Iam nothing but the one word that consumes me.

KILL.

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