Page 56 of Possessed By You
“Get used to it.”
He smirks. “I don’t think that’s possible.”
***
A gentle hand glides over my hair, stroking it softly, and that is how I come to consciousness. Opening my eyes, I realize where I am. After a quick shower and a shuttle to Scott Industries, where I dropped off an assortment of signed documents, I came back to find Benjamin asleep. I lift my head off my arms, realizing I passed out. He’s watching me with a calm expression. I lean into his caress when his fingers nudge my cheek.
“How are you doing?” he asks. “Honestly?”
I don’t know what to say. I don’t know how to say it. My emotions are so fluctuating. One moment, I’m angry. The next, despairing.
“Talk to me. Please, Darcy. I feel like we need to talk about this.”
“I don’t know what to say,” I utter lamely. “I just wish it hadn’t happened, you know? I-I felt her, or him, whatever they were. I didn’t know about it for long, but I felt like something was growing in me. I feel empty now.”
“When I was in that car and I could barely see straight, I kept thinking about it…about the baby. I don’t know why, but I didn’t want it to hurt. It’s ridiculous considering how I acted from the moment I found out.”
He leans his head back, squeezing the bridge of his nose with his unharmed hand. “I’m ashamed of myself. I think about what I said, how much of it I didn’t mean, and I want to be sick. If I hadn’t stormed out of there, we wouldn’t have been on the road. None of this would have happened.”
“Stop. We could have handled things very differently, Benjamin, but the miscarriage was because we were in a car accident. None of that blame falls upon you.”
I’m trying to make him feel better. I doubt I succeed, because just as he wishes to blame himself, I’m doing the exact same thing, wondering if it was my body that gave out or the stress of our fight that did it. I’ll never know, so it’s easier to blame the accident.
“You died in front of me, did you know that?” I whisper, wanting to change the subject. His gaze softens when I take his hand. “I did this…and there was nothing. You were gone.”
“The nurse told me. She said my heart started again when you touched me.”
“Nurses are romantics.”
“I don’t doubt it for a second,” he says, lifting my chin, making my heart stop. His eyes are piercing. “I don’t doubt it. You own me. You completely own me. I’ll always come back, Darcy…always.”
I clutch his face, nodding. He presses his lips to mine, raising a hand to my hair. I feel pain when he tangles his fingers into my waves, but honestly, I couldn’t care less.
“Lay down with me.”
“No.”
“Please,” he murmurs against my lips, nodding.
“You’ll hurt yourself. Your stitches…”
“I’m fine.” He winces slightly, scooting over, and I glare at him beneath my wet lashes. He lifts his arm, and I settle down beside him, careful to not move him too much. Both of our bodies relax against each other, a small normalcy after days of chaos.
***
After a quick scan of the assortment of breakfast foods lined up in the cafeteria, I choose a container of fresh fruit and a yogurt, only eating because I’m drained, and I feel it, which must mean I’m below par on my iron.
“Hello, Darcy.”
My entire body stiffens with discomfort. Please, no. Not today. I refuse to even look to my left. “Hello, Alexander.”
Lifting my tray, I leave my place by the counter and find a seat, sighing loudly when Benjamin’s adopted brother follows me and takes the seat opposite from me.
“You look exhausted.”
I open the yogurt carton in silence. He watches me the whole time. “Are you going to watch me eat this or do you have something to say?”
“I don’t understand why you’re angry at me. Did I do something to upset you?”
