Page 134 of Ashes and Lilies
The surprised lift of my eyebrows was all the confirmation he needed.
“You should be interviewed,” he said. “However, Finn was surprisingly helpful when speaking to the police. You’re off the hook.”
I clenched my fists. Why? He never cooperated with anyone.
“That being said, there’s another reason. It seems Dr. Trinity ‘Reed’ has been throwing around her influence on your behalf,” he said, raising his hands to emphasize her last name. “Why she’s using that alias is beyond me. However, she maintains that as your physician, she does not deem you capable of being interviewed, and your name is being withheld from the investigation.”
Most of Bryce’s words faded away.
Dr. Reed.
I hadn’t seen her for months. If she were involved, then theywould be too. My stomach turned, and I sat up, clutching my sheets against my chest. “Dr. Reed is here?”
“Is she really that frightening?” Bryce frowned at me, but then his attention was captured by something outside the window. He continued speaking regardless. “That’s surprising. I think she’s soft.”
“You know her?” I asked, noting the lift of his brow as he continued to frown at the window.
“Our families are close,” he responded. His voice held a nervous note, and his shoulders were tight as he moved his attention to the foot of the bed.
He placed his hand on the arm of his chair. “Maybe I should—”
The door opened, and I instantly forgot about Bryce Dubois.
My mother entered the room in a rush. Despite her hurry, her outfit was perfectly pressed, and not a single chestnut curl was out of place, as she moved to the side of my bed. My father followed her, dark hair tousled and the collar of his shirt wrinkled. He had turned his bespectacled gaze toward the hallway behind him.
My heart thudded as I stared at the couple who had raised me.
I should have expected that this day might come, but it was the worst possible timing. And the last thing I needed was Bryce’s intrusion into my personal life. He and his closed-off mannerisms weren’t the most emotionally supportive.
“H-hi—” I began.
“I cannot even bear to look at you,” she snapped, already heavy in her dramatics as she began to pace at the foot of my bed. “What did you think you were doing? Did you even consider the potential consequences of your actions?”
I opened my mouth, but she continued.
“I cannot believe that you chose to ignore me the instant you had no supervision.” She stopped pacing and began to pull at her bun. “I was so worried. Then I hear that you stopped your medication.”
“I—” I began again, but she was lost in her anxiety.
“Then, this morning, Trinitycalled to inform me that you were in the hospital!” She finally looked me in the eye. “What were you doing? Do you understand what could have happened?”
“I—” I told her. “I don’t want the medicine.”
“I don’t care what you want,” she said, pointing at me. “This isn’t your decision. And for good reason—what would possess you to put yourself in such a dangerous situation?”
I frowned and looked at my knees. “It—it wasn’t on purpose.”
“Hold on,” Bryce interrupted. The air shifted as he stepped beside me. “Why are you lecturing her? You haven’t even asked her how she feels.”
My father—who’d remained by the door as he perused my chart—looked up while my mother was startled.
“Bryce Dubois,” my father said, lowering the clipboard. “I haven’t seen you in a while.”
“Bryce…” My mother’s expression crumbled as she touched her mouth. “You’re older now.” Her lined, red-rimmed eyes flickered between us, and she frowned.
“What are you doing here?” she asked him. “You’re not normally in this realm.”
“Well,” Bryce replied. “I have my studies. Regardless, why are you telling her what treatments she needs? She’s an adult.”
