Page 60 of Stone
“Uh, Rose…” Kimmy tries as the beeping in my room intensifies.
I snap, “No, I gave that man all of me, my heart, my body, my soul, and for what?!” I grab my cup of water and throw it across the room, water going everywhere, and I growl, “For him to throw me away like I meant nothing!”
“You really do want to stay in that hospital bed, don’t you?” Doc confirms as he walks into my room holding my notes, and I growl, “You!” making him stop and look at me.
His eyes widen as I point at him and accuse, “You did this, you set us up knowing he was married to a crazy lady, this is all your fault!”
Doc clears his throat as he side eyes Donna and confirms, “I take it her anger has now come out?”
Donna eyes me as she slowly nods her head, and I narrow my eyes at the MC president, my colleague.
“Anger?!” I ask, “No, I’m pissed! I wake up to find out the man who shoved his way into my life wasn’t by my side in my time of need, but he also drew up divorce papers giving me thousands to what? Ensure I stay gone? To ensure I sign them?” I scoff, “Does he really think that is all I was after whenhepursued me? He lied to me,hemarried me without my knowledge!”
“Rose, he blames himself for why you’re in this bed,” Doc unhelpfully admits, and I snap, “I know he does, and that is what is more frustrating because instead of telling me this, he’s running away!”
I chuckle darkly and choke, “I was stabbed in the chest, she tried to kill me, and instead of sitting beside me holding my hand like a normal person, he decided to stalk his ex-father-in-law and make his ex-wife go crazy before killing them both!”
I slam my hands down on my table, making Doc wince, and Kimmy whispers, “He loves you, Rose. He loves you so much he’s blaming himself for this, for not divorcing Elsie all those years ago, going against his father. He’s blaming himself, so he’s now punishing himself by freeing you of him and the club.”
“She’s right,” Doc chimes in as he takes a cautious seat at the end of my bed, and I raise a brow as he states, “This is the only thing he can think of doing to keep you safe.”
A lump forms in my throat as I fist my hands on my table and remind Doc, “Cage was my safe place, and he’s now torn that away from me after I was learning to try and forgive him. After I realized my heart was never going to let him go. He’s only thinking about himself in this scenario, not me, because if he were thinking about me, he would realize that I needed him… need him, but he’s not here, he’s running away.”
“Rose,” he whispers, but I cut him off, fed up with the conversation and Cage’s ‘woe is me’ crap, and ask, “Who is Tinkerbell?”
Doc freezes, and his eyes widen, and I raise a brow at the man because yes, I do remember hearing him.
Doc clears his throat and mutters, “No one…”
Donna chimes in, clearly loving seeing her boss squirm, and asks, “Does she know she’s no one?”
Kimmy giggles but coughs to cover it, and I smirk.
“Stop changing the subject,” he says, ignoring Donna and Kimmy, “Cage is running because he thinks he’s the problem, he thinks he’s the reason you are currently sitting in this bed.”
“He is the reason, Doc,” I say softly, not willing to lie, and he flinches, knowing it’s the truth, but I carry on, “He came into my life, pursued me, knowing how Elsie can get, knowing the rumors at school were not rumors. Knowing that he was still married to her. He wanted me, so he went after me, the consequences be damned. I’m not saying I regret it because Idon’t, that man is my everything but instead of staying by my side, he’s taken the cowards way out. I was hurt because of him, because he allowed his dad to get in his head, he allowed that woman to believe they were still married.”
“He loves you, Rose,” Doc states firmly, but I shake my head and tap on the papers and deny, “No, he doesn’t. If he did, he wouldn’t have had these made, he wouldn’t be running away, he would be here by my side, holding my hand.”
I eye the papers before looking at the pen.
“Rose, don’t do this. He isn’t thinking straight right now,” Donna tries, which is kind of surprising.
Pretty sure she’s supposed to be on my side in all of this.
“Rose,” Doc says firmly, and I look up, our eyes locking. He pleads, “fight for him…”
“Why?” I ask with a whisper, “He isn’t fighting for me, he isn’t helping me through the trauma I went through, he isn’t fighting my nightmares with me when I see that evil woman’s dark eyes as she smirks, stabbing the knife into my chest.” He flinches and I choke, “Why should I fight for a man who lied to me, who kept that woman around even after divorcing her and marrying me?”
“Because deep down you know he’s struggling with his guilt. He knows this is all his fault, and he can’t handle the fact that his decisions up until this point are what caused you to be hurt. He thinks by setting you free, in his mind, you’ll be safe,” Doc leans forward and he pleads, “Don’t sign those papers, Rose, don’t leave him. Show him that you do love him, that you’ll get through this together, and that you understand where he is coming from, because if you didn’t, you would have taken up Annalise on some of her torture techniques.”
A lump forms in my throat as my eyes tear up, and I quickly look down at the paperwork again.
I’m mad, I know I am, and I know I shouldn’t be making decisions irrationally, but I just…
How can he walk away so easily?
How can I fight for us when he isn’t willing to fight for me?
