Page 129 of One More Kiss

Chapter2

“Who areyou and why can we hear you from all the way down the hall?” The doctor who was talking to mom a few minutes ago is back. It doesn’t surprise me that everyone on this floor could probably hear mom and Axe fighting.

“I want this man out of my daughter’s room! He stormed in here, screaming and yelling at me. I want him removed now.” Great, why can’t she just leave? She knows I don’t want her here.

“Check your files. Tink has me listed as next of kin, emergency contact, and medical power of attorney. She wants nothing to do with her mother and has even barred her from contacting all her doctors for updates on her.” Axe’s voice is calmer now.

Using almost every ounce of energy that I have I force my eyes open. “Axe.” I whisper his name and try to smile when he looks down at me.

“Tink.” He sighs my name as he leans down and kisses my forehead again. “You scared the fucking hell out of me baby girl.”

“Miss Washington, I need to ask you some questions.” The doctor says. “I need both of you to leave for this.” He tells Axe and my mother.

“I’m not leaving my daughter.”

“Yes, you are.” I tell her, it comes out as a soft whisper, but it was loud enough they all heard me.

The threat of having the police called on her was what got my mother finally out of my hospital room. Axe didn’t want to leave me, but the doctor assured him that this wouldn’t take long.

“Seems you have a difficult relationship with your mother.” He chuckles. “I’m Dr. Hines by the way.” He takes a seat in the chair that was by my bed. “Your mother is convinced that what you did two nights ago was a suicide attempt.”

“Two nights ago?” I wheeze out.

“Yes, you were brought in night before last by ambulance. Your mother said she had come over for a visit and found you in bed bleeding to death.” Looking over at him I find that he is reading the notes from my chart. “You had multiple cuts on each wrist. Your mother swears you were trying to kill yourself, I’m not so sure. The cuts on your wrist were in a pattern, not jagged and not truly deep. You didn’t need stitches at all, and there hasn’t been one sign of an infection. Also, there were no other marks on your body. The sedation we gave you was to let you rest since your heart rate was sky high, but your blood pressure was low. I don’t believe you lost enough blood to cause any harm. Your cuts weren’t deep enough for that. Would you mind telling me your version of what happened?”

Dr. Hines places my chart on the bedside table then lifts his right leg up to rest on his left knee. I thought it was a weird way for a man to cross his legs but then I saw him pull up his pants leg just a hair, no more than an inch. Even with the brown hair covering his leg I could see the scars. Cutting scars. My eyes went to his and an understanding look passed between us.

“I’ve been cutting since I was fourteen. I’ve tried to kill myself six times, but only two of those times involved cutting myself.” When I start to breathe heavily the doctor presses the button on my bed to raise my head up.

“Go slowly.” He tells me as he pours me a glass a water. I take a few sips before continuing.

“I let the darkness get the better of me.” I mutter before taking another sip of water. “This wasn’t a suicide attempt. This was me trying to clear the fog.”

He looks at me for a few minutes before he says. “I figured it was something like that. Only people who have been there can understand the difference.” He glances at the door. “Does the beast of a man who came storming in here know the difference?”

I can’t help but smile at him calling Axe a beast of a man. “Axe sometimes does. He hates when I cut, but he doesn’t judge me for it. He also doesn’t accuse me of trying to kill myself when I do cut. Unlike my mother who has never understood and has had me committed to the psych ward too many times to count because she thinks I’m a danger to myself. This is the same woman who finds it embarrassing to have a daughter with a mental illness.” I make sure to whisper mental illness like it’s an evil dirty thing to have.

“I still have to bring in a psychiatrist to do an evaluation on you. They may want to do a twenty four to seventy two hour hold on you. I can’t stop them if they order that. However, most of the psychiatrists here understand cutting isn’t always a sign of someone being suicidal. I’ll also make sure to talk to whoever gets assigned to you just to give them my opinion on what’s going on.” He stands and pats my shoulder. “Now, as to your two visitors. Was the beast telling the truth about the paperwork change?”

“Yes, we had my mother removed from everything. She’s not someone I trust to have a say in what happens to me. If you can get Dr. Fran assigned to my case that would be great. She has known me for years and also knows how dramatic my mother can be.” I sigh before glancing at the door. I can see a shadow under the door and I’m almost sure it’s Axe.

“You may be in luck, I’m fairly sure I saw Dr. Fran earlier today. I’ll page her first before I turn your case over to anyone else. If you don’t mind may I ask about your father?”

“He died when I was a baby. He was a coal miner. One day the mine he was working in collapsed. Turns out the owner was paying off the inspector so he wouldn’t have to do any extra work on the mines.” I wish I would have known my father. I’ve had relatives tell me I’m a lot like him.

“I’m sorry to hear that.” He says kindly. “Well, it was nice chatting with you. I know cutting is a hard thing to overcome, but it can be done.” He pats me on the shoulder again before walking to the door. When he opens the door Axe is standing there, not one bit ashamed he was caught listening in on us.

“When can I take her home?” Axe asks him.

“She has to talk to the psychiatrist first. As long as they don’t hold her, she may get to go home later today.” Dr. Hines looks back over at me. “I will be recommending that someone stay with you for a few days. It would honestly be better if you had a roommate or lived with a family member. Being alone when the fog hits isn’t safe for anyone.”

“She’ll be with me.” Axe states as he walks over to my bed. “We are going to have a long talk once I get you home.”

“Yes, sir.” I grumble.

“Baby girl.” Axe leans down and whispers in my ear. “What did I say about you calling me that?”

Oh shit. A little unknown fact about Axe, he’s a primal alpha male. If you aren’t familiar with the BDSM world than that title means nothing to you. Even to some who are in that world, that title means nothing because not all people see it as a true title. Primal? Yes. Alpha? Yes. Primal alpha male? Well, it’s debatable to some.

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