Whiskey River, Drown my Soul

Chapter Twenty

I opened my eye, squinting at the bright light, and shut it again. I had no idea where I was. Only my right eye would open. I felt nauseous, thirsty, and my head was throbbing. Basically, I felt hungover.

I tried opening my eyes again but only the right complied.

Hospital bed. IV in my arm.

Shoot, I been here before.

I shut my eye again. It hurt my head to open it. I felt really weak, too.

The feeling of Deek pressing a gun against my temple popped into my head and I remembered what had happened.

He drugged me.

With what, I wasn't sure, but I assumed it was intended to cause me to be addicted and want more, so I would be a more willing worker and easier to control.

Clearly, he was a fucking moron. I don't know how much he gave me but it seemed like overkill if I blacked out and ended up in a hospital bed.

I forced my eyes open again, the left opening a slit this time, and turned my head the other direction, which hurt and made me slightly dizzy, but helped the glare by turning my face away from the window. It was apparently mid-day in the bold, blazing sunshine found in the great state of Texas.

And there was Rev, squeezed into a tiny hospital chair, hunkered down in a grumpy slouch with his massive arms crossed and his chin resting on his chest as he angry napped.

I felt a giant wave of guilt and affection for my man. I would bet my life he had been sitting in that chair all night...and, apparently, day...waiting for me to wake, worrying, and yelling at doctors to do better.

Ugh. My poor Rev. The poor doctors.

I visually scanned for injuries on him and didn't see a single one, though his knuckles were scraped and red. I had definitely seen them worse, though.

I didn't want to wake him, but I wanted an update on my condition and when I could be released.

"Rev?", I called to him quietly.

His eyes popped open immediately, filled with worry. He leaned forward and grabbed my right fingers and arm with his hands.

"Love", he said, sounding choked up. "Thank God".

God? He's never said that before.

Rev was an agnostic last I checked, other than the blip where he prayed when he got shot in the lung about nine years ago. He hadn't prayed for himself, either...he had prayed for me to be okay without him. He was pretty sure he was going to die, and almost had. Perhaps he had been praying for me again.

"How ya feelin'?", he continued, seeming overly emotional, especially for him. His eyes were filling with tears and his voice was wavering.

"I've been a hell of a lot worse", I said. "What's my status? When can I get out of here?"

He shook his head. "Check the brakes, sweetheart. You've been out for...nearly fifteen hours", he replied after glancing at the clock on the wall.

Holy shit.

I happened to notice I had a new cast on.

"They gave me a new cast?"

"Yeah, after giving you new X-rays. You got another three weeks minimum in that one and they want you to stop opening beer bottles with it".

"No problem", I muttered.

Obviously, I no longer had a job since my boss had me kidnapped and beaten.