Page 33 of Devoured

I’d protect her. I’d put her first. I’d be better.I’ll be a better man for you. I will, I swear.

“You’re all set,” Dr. Ridge said when he finally finished.

Penny slowly opened her eyes.

"Take it easy for a few days.”

"Thank you," she murmured.

Dr. Ridge nodded and gave her a small smile. But I could tell there was a lot more he wanted to say. I squeezed Penny’s hand one more time before following him out of my bedroom.

"What about her memory?" I asked when we were out of earshot.

"She's just in shock. She should be fine in the morning. Call me if she's still having trouble with her memory."

I nodded. "Thank you for coming out, Steven."

There was an awkward pause. "Did you want to tell me what happened tonight?"

Not really.And I knew that wasn’t really the question he wanted to ask me. "A sequence of unfortunate events is all."

"I see.” Another awkward pause. “How old is she?"

And there it was. I didn’t need to defend my relationship with her to him. "Old enough."

"Does Isabella know?"

For Christ’s sake.I walked him closer to the elevator, further away from Penny. “Isabella and I are divorced, Steven.”Almost.

“That’s not what I’ve heard. I thought the two of you were giving it another go?”

What the hell was Isabella telling people? “It’s over. And you shouldn’t believe anything you read in tabloids.” I hit the button for the elevator and the doors dinged open. I was grateful for him coming out in the middle of the night. But I was seconds away from shoving him onto the elevator.

He shrugged. And instead of stepping onto the elevator he opened his bag. “Put this on her forehead.” He lifted up a Ziplock bag full of bandages. “And have her take these. They’ll help with the pain.” He handed me a container of pills and the Ziplock. “I’m assuming you don’t want anything?”

“No, I’m good.” I knew better than to take any pills. I’d taken enough in college for five lifetimes.

"Put some ice on that eye, James." He stepped onto the elevator.

“I’d appreciate your discretion with this.”

“You already have my signature, James.”

The doors slid closed behind him and I exhaled slowly. I honestly didn’t even know when I’d made him sign an NDA. Probably one of the many times I was high out of my mind.

I sighed and stared down at my wrist. It was still red from my rubber band.

I needed to take my sessions with Dr. Clark more seriously. I’d do whatever he told me to do. I just wanted to be better. I didn’t want to be sick anymore.

Chapter 9

Friday

I walked back into my bedroom. The smell of cherries was everywhere. I hadn’t realized how much it had faded since Penny had last been here.

And even though Penny was hurt and scared, she still looked beautiful. I’d never stood a chance when I was trying to stay away from her.

I sat down on the edge of the bed and opened the Ziplock bag Dr. Ridge had given me. “Stay still,” I said. I gently dotted some of the salve onto her forehead.

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