Page 55 of Devoured

I’d checked the security feed from outside her dorm earlier. She’d never returned to it. I wondered if she was out with friends somewhere.Drinking.I really didn’t like the idea of that. She was supposed to be taking it easy.

I stared at my ceiling. I knew she’d call when she was ready. I just wished I could fast forward time.

Three hours later, my phone buzzing would have woken me up if I wasn’t still wide awake staring at my ceiling. I grabbed it and glanced at the display. It was 2 a.m. But more importantly…I finally had a text from Penny.

"Are you up?"

I texted back. "Yes."But you shouldn’t be.She needed rest. What the hell was she doing?

My phone buzzed again. "Can we talk?"

Seriously, why the hell was she up right now? Maybe she was having as much trouble sleeping as I was. And I could fix that situation. "I'll come get you. Are you in your dorm?"

"We can talk on the phone. Call me."

I frowned at the text. "I want to see you."I need to see you.I needed to make sure she was okay. She’d left more than 12 hours ago.

She didn’t text back right away.

Fuck. She was breaking up with me. The thought settled around me. But I immediately pushed it away. That wasn’t going to happen. Finally my phone buzzed again.

"Let's just wait until the morning. I'm actually pretty tired."

Of course you are, it’s fucking 2 a.m.And I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to talk to me. She said we could talk on the phone. Which meant she just didn’t want me to know where she was. "Penny, where are you?"

My phone buzzed again. "Please don't freak out."

If she was with Tyler, I was most definitely going to kill him. I gritted my teeth as I typed out a response. "Where are you?"

"I'm in the hospital."

I stared at her text. For a second, my tired brain refused to understand her words. And then it hit me like a ton of bricks.What the fuck? What happened?I pushed the covers off of me. I never should have let her leave. I knew it and I still fucking let her. I almost fell over as I hopped around, pulling on a pair of jeans while balancing my phone. "I'll be there in twenty minutes."

"I think visiting hours are over."

Fuck that.She needed me. And I was always going to show up for her when she needed me now.

Chapter 14

Saturday

The possibilities went around and around in my head on repeat. Dr. Ridge said that Penny had a concussion. But if she was in the hospital…what if it was worse? All I knew was that this was my fault. Her getting hurt in the first place. He roaming around Main Street alone. If something had happened to her… Fear gripped my chest as I pulled into the parking lot and cut the engine.

I hurried inside. Ignoring everyone else in the waiting room, I walked up to the desk. It took less than a minute for the woman to tell me to come back tomorrow. Penny was right, visiting hours were over. But there were some pros to being rich. This woman didn’t seem like the one to bribe though.

“What room is she in?” I asked. “For when I come back tomorrow,” I added when she gave me a dirty look.

“She’s in room 216. I will see youtomorrow, sir.”

It was like she somehow knew what I was planning.

“Have a good night,” I said and walked away. When she wasn’t looking, I pushed through a side door and ran right into a male nurse. He probably looked as tired as I did.

“Sorry,” he mumbled with a yawn. “Wait, you shouldn’t be back here.” He stared at my face. “Are you here about that shiner?”

Having a black eye made everything harder. Upstanding citizens didn’t get in fist fights. And they also didn’t bribe staff members. But this guy was tired and overworked. He would do. I pulled out my wallet. “I need you to escort me to room 216.”

“Visiting hours are over.”

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