Mr. Good Bad Guy

45 - You'll Be Fine

I was barely awake when I heard someone talking. My vision was fuzzy, and it took a moment for me to register that I was still in the hospital. It was almost a relief that I couldn't remember most of my panic attack from earlier. I could feel someone holding my hand, and I forced my eyes to focus on them.

"We're going to have to keep her here for a while. Monitor her brain activity and see if there are any underlying conditions we may have missed. In the meantime, why don't you just keep her company? Try to keep her calm until the police are ready to talk to her. It's fine if she has more visitors, but if she reacts to them like she did to Detective Moran...we might have to restrict her time with them. I'll be back in a couple of hours to check on her."

The hand squeezed my reassuringly, and I realized it was Axel's. I suddenly felt a pang of guilt at the thought of being a problem for him. He hadn't signed up for this when I promised to be with him. I swallowed thickly, forcing myself to take a deep breath. "I'm sorry," I managed to choke out. "I didn't mean to...I don't know what's wrong with me."

Axel squeezed my hand again, his grip firm but not uncomfortable. "Hey, it's okay. We'll figure this out together. Just try to relax, hermosa." He leaned in closer, his voice taking on a conspiratorial tone. "Why don't...I tell you about Kaiya's new boyfriend? Something to take your mind off everything that's been going on."

I nodded weakly, grateful for the distraction. Axel cleared his throat and began to speak. His voice was smooth and soothing as he joked about the guy Kaiya tried to hide from him and Jamie. I found myself laughing, feeling a small measure of normalcy returning. The nurse checked my vitals, noting my seemingly improved condition before leaving us alone again.

Time passed slowly, and I listened as Axel told me more stories about what had happened while I was gone. I was afraid to ask him about how long I'd been missing. There was no telling if I would get the answer I was looking for. What if I'd really been on something and wandered off after leaving Isaias's place? What if I never made it to his place? What if--

"I can tell you aren't listening anymore." Axel chuckled, kissing my knuckles. "¿Cómo te sientes ahora?"

"Better," I replied honestly. "I think the medicine is working."

"That's good to hear." He leaned closer, his voice dropping even lower. "You don't have to say anything. Blink once for yes and twice for no."

I blinked once, curious about where he was going with this.

"I want you to know that I believe you. Whatever happened to you, left you scarred. I know you were mad at Ezra, but how you reacted to seeing him, suggests a lot of things. Was he part of why you went missing? And did he hurt you?"

I blinked once, trusting that he knew I was answering both questions. I couldn't help but feel a lump forming in my throat as I thought about everything that had happened. I couldn't bring myself to speak the words out loud, to put them into the world where they might be twisted and misused.

Axel pursed his lips, considering my answer. There was no reason for me to lie. Yes, I had been mad at Ezra, but accusing him of something like this would take it too far for revenge. I trusted Axel knew I wasn't just being a bitch. I prided myself in being truthful and trustworthy, and I wouldn't let anything change that.

"I believe you," he finally said, his voice firm and steady. "I'll see what I can find out."

I didn't want him to get into any trouble. I didn't want him to meet an ending neither of us were hoping for. Being in love was...hard, to say the least. It made you do things you wouldn't normally do, and it made you feel things you couldn't ignore. I knew I had to tell him the truth, but I couldn't bring myself to do it just yet.