Page 99 of Tear Me Down
“Yeah,” I respond with a dry mouth. “Where are we?”
“University Hospital in North Carolina. You're okay. You’re safe now.”
North Carolina? Dranan wasn't kidding when he said he took me out of the state? I thought for sure he was playing some type of psychological game on me, and it would turn out that we were right outside of town the entire time. I lay back against the bed and close my eyes, allowing the throbbing pain in my head to settle before I speak again.
“Where’s Damien?”
“He’s right next to you. We knew that if he didn’t wake up beside you, he’d destroy this place.” She huffs a light laugh, but the look on her face is anything but amused.
I look over to the other side of the room to see Damien lying in his own hospital bed, hooked up to the monitor I heard before. He has an IV and blood bag like I do, but there’s also an oxygen tube hooked up to his nose. He’s asleep, and alive, thank God, but the monitor is the only reason I know that he is. His skin looks ghostly pale, and there’s bruising and bandages that cover his chest and arms, causing me to fear the response I’d receive if I asked about the damage below the blanket.
“I know me and him don’t get along or see eye to eye, but there’s no doubt that he loves you. I thought he was a ghost carrying you out of that building from the way he looked.”
Contradicting emotions charge in my chest. Fear and endearment collide and battle it out beneath my skin. I knew he would come for me, and I knew he would do anything to get me back, but seeing his injuries makes my heart feel heavy. He looks worse than I do, and I can only imagine what he went through or the pain he must be in.
I finally tear my gaze away to look at her.
“He’s okay?” I ask in quiet voice in hopes to conceal the trembling, and thankfully, she nods.
“Mostly. He was injured pretty badly before we knew you were…” She hesitates. “Gone. Then he was shot and stabbed rushing into that warehouse. He lost a lot of blood, and you've both been out for a while,” she admits, and I have to take a moment to absorb what she's saying. Why was he so hurt even before I was gone? All of the obvious damage to his body wasn’t from storming in to save me?
“What happened to him?”
“The meeting they tried to intercept was a trap. There was never any meeting. The moles are dead, and they have been for a while. When Damien and everyone else got to the warehouse, they blew it up.”
My eyes widen, and my heart sinks to the thought that I’ve potentially lost so many people.
Oh no…
“Zeke? Alex?” I ask frantically.
“They’re both okay, and back home. The hospital would only allow one visitor for each of you, so Carter and I stayed, with a little fight from Zeke, of course. He made Carter promise to call him every couple of hours to keep him updated. He’s outside in the hallway talking to him now.”
A part of me is glad that Zeke isn’t here to see me like this. At least Serena has seen me like this before, and I’m sure Carter saw the same files on me as Damien did. So, all of this shouldn’t be a surprise to him either. The last thing either one of us needs is pitiful looks, and I’m sure Zeke would be the first to sling them our way.
“How long was I out?” I deter, trying to change the subject.
“Um, well it’s around five in the morning now, so about fourteen hours,” she says, but shakes her head. “It’s all good, though. You need your rest. You lost a good amount of blood, too.”
That information sends a wave of concern through my body, and images of the pregnancy test flash through my mind.
“Have they, um…” I swallow harshly, afraid of the answer she might give me as tears prick my eyes. “Said anything about…”
“The baby is fine.” She grabs my hand, and her eyes tear up as well. “It’s okay, Momma.” A tear falls down my cheek, and I wipe it away with my other hand, feeling the relief roll over me in waves.
“Did they tell you for sure or…”
“Sort of, we found the test in your bathroom. After the explosion, Carter and I went to the house to get you. That’s when we realized what happened.” She runs her thumb along the outside of my hand, providing me with a sweet gesture of comfort. “I did a brief scan on the way here, and then they looked more in-depth once we arrived. They said they’d bring an ultrasound machine in here when you both woke up to do another check, but that everything was okay.”
I nod my head at her and look back at Damien, watching as his chest rises and falls in shallow movements.
“Does he know?”
“Yeah. I told him when we had to let him know you were missing, and I’m sure you can imagine how that went.” She tightens her hold on my hand a little and continues. “Girl, I’m not going to lie, I was thoroughly impressed with him. He acted like nothing was hurting him until he found you. We were in our fake-ass ambulance on the way over here, he made sure that you both were alive, and then he passed the fuck out. I thought he died at first.” She releases another stressed chuckle and shakes her head. “He’s been asleep ever since. He fought through hell to get to you.”
Of course he did. I know he did. The depth of Damien’s love for me doesn’t have limits, and just from the looks of him, he endured hours of pain like it was nothing. Well, the physical pain, I should say. His mind was already plagued by guilt and ideas of being a failure. I can only imagine the self-deprecating thoughts that ran wild, and how he’s continuously degraded himself since the scene at the warehouse.
I close my eyes and try to relax for a moment, but I'm only met with images of Dranan. Flashes of bright lights and red smears fill my mind, and I open my eyes again. The sight of ceiling tiles versus the image of the warehouse walls are a reminder that it’s over. Taking a deep breath in, I will myself to push the thoughts away, desperate not to remain haunted by yet another attack. Serena lets go of my hand, but only so she can scoot her chair closer and pick it back up.
