Page 85 of Born into Darkness

“What if I do it wrong and hurt his fingers?” I ask, voicing my biggest and loudest fear.

“I’ll teach you how to do it properly, and you’ll practice in front of me so I can make sure you’re doing it right. Plus, Max will let you know if it hurts too much, and if it does, stop immediately and give me a call.”

“You don’t have to do this, Talia,” Max says again, and I can tell he means it.

I can say no, and he won’t hold it against me or make me feel bad about it, but as scared as I am of getting it wrong, I want to do this. I want to help him in any way that I can, so I look at Dr. Bennett and say, “I want to learn how to do it.”

The doctor smiles and nods before turning to Max. “Okay, let’s see how your hand is looking today.”

Danil and I stay out of the way while Dr. Bennett unwraps Max’s hand and takes off the finger splints. I get my first look at his hand since the basement, and when I see it, my first reaction is to come and stand next to him. I rest my hand on his back and kiss his shoulder as I lean in. His hand is still swollen, but the dark purple bruising has turned into a greenish yellow. The knuckles are puffy and red, and his hand visibly shakes as he tries to hold it steady.

I know it must be killing him inside to see the visual reminder of how much healing he still has to do, but he doesn’t let it show, and his voice is strong when he asks, “Still think I’ll get it back?”

Dr. Bennett gently pokes and prods at Max’s hand before he calmly says, “I do, yes. Do everything I tell you to do, and we’ll get your hand back to where it was. It won’t be overnight, though. It’s going to take a few months, but we’ll get there.”

He does another scan and determines that the index finger is the worst and needs to remain in a finger splint but that the others can be taped together to support one another. Max is given a softer, more flexible hand splint to wear, but we’re under strict orders to splint all fingers at night. Overall, it’s an improvement, but I can tell Max wishes this was all over and done with. The next few weeks are really going to test his patience.

“Okay, Talia, are you ready for the fun part?” Dr. Bennett asks, motioning for me to come stand next to him.

“I’m ready,” I say, not really feeling it but ready to do my part.

Dr. Bennett lays Max’s hand down, and then starts explaining the exercises to me one by one. I listen to every word he says and memorize everything he does. My stomach drops when he gently grips the middle joint of Max’s ring finger and slowly moves it side to side.

“We don’t want intense pain with any of these exercises,” Dr. Bennett says, watching Max’s reaction to every movement. “This isn’t agrit your teeth and bear itexercise. Pain is your warning system, and you need to listen to it. Anything stronger than a three or four on a scale of one to ten, you stop immediately. If you hear any sort of popping noise with the pain, you stop and you call me. Don’t tough this out, Max.”

“I won’t,” he tells him. “Trust me, Doc, I want this hand to heal properly. I’m not going to let my ego ruin that.”

“Good,” Dr. Bennett says, “because what a waste that would be.” He sees the confusion on Max’s face and smiles. “Your mom sent me a video of you playing. You’re quite talented. It’d be a shame if you lost that gift over something as stupid as a misplaced sense of pride.”

Danil lets out a soft laugh and shakes his head. “My sneaky little wife. I had no idea she did that. I’m not surprised, though.”

“She’s the one who taught me how to play,” Max tells the doctor. “She would also be in line right behind Talia to kick my ass if I tried to push through the pain.”

“Good.” Dr. Bennett scoots his stool aside and motions for me to step in. “Okay, your turn.”

I meet Max’s eyes, and the complete lack of fear in his gives me the confidence I need to rest my hand on his wrist and reach for his first finger. With Dr. Bennett’s guidance, I go through the exercises, constantly looking up to make sure Max is okay.

“You’re doing great, baby,” he tells me when my hands start to shake a little. “Just channel your inner nursemaid.”

I nearly snort out a laugh and drop his finger. The amusement in his blue-grey eyes has me shaking my head at him. “Behave,” I whisper, so grateful he didn’t add thedomineeringpart to that sentence. The last thing I want to do is try to explain that to his dad.

My escape from embarrassment is short lasting, though, because as soon as I’m done with his exercises and the doctor starts putting a splint on his finger, Max says, “I’m no longer taking the strong pain meds. I took my last one this morning. I need something a lot lighter, or I can just take over-the-counter stuff.”

“Really?” Dr. Bennett asks, keeping his focus on taping together the rest of Max’s fingers. “You should really stay on them for a few more days. These exercises will make them ache, and you might have a hard time sleeping.”

“I’ll be fine,” Max says while my face heats up.

Dr. Bennett grabs the new hand splint and fits it around Max’s hand. “Are you reacting badly to them? Having a reaction of some sort?”

“It’s more like I’m not having any reaction at all,” Max says while Danil hides his laugh behind a cough, and I pretend I have no idea what he’s talking about.

Dr. Bennett finally looks up. “I don’t understand. What do you mean?”

I cover my face with my hand when Max says, “They make it impossible to keep an erection, Doc. I can’t do it anymore.”

Max pulls me close and kisses my flaming cheek. “I promise I’ll do all my exercises, I’ll stop if the pain is bad, and I’ll take a mild pain reliever around the clock, but I’m not taking that shit anymore.”

Dr. Bennett thinks for a sec and then nods. “Okay, I can work with that. I’ll prescribe you something much more mild that shouldn’t interfere with anything below the belt, but I want your word that you’ll take the stronger stuff if you can’t sleep. A good night’s rest is a huge part of your healing, Max. More important than sex right now,” he adds.

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