The sound of the clock ticking was magnified in Lindsey's head. The bright lights that shone in the hospital waiting room almost nauseating. He sat hunched over, his hands on his knees, his lip caught between his teeth as he gnawed on it. His eyes were focused on the dial hands of the clock, each second ticking by slowly.
"She'll be ok man." Brian gave him a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder, Lindsey sighing.
"I know she will be." He ran a hand over his face, his hair unruly and sticking out every which way. He glanced towards the nurses station with agitation. "I just wish someone would tell me something, anything."
Brian nodded in understanding. "Yeah. She's a feisty little thing, she'll pull through."
Lindsey nodded, not letting his dark thoughts get the better of him.
"Javier's still with Rupert, begging him not to cut the deal."
"Javier's got his head up his ass. There's not a chance in hell i'm working for that creep. I can't believe they didn't arrest him."
Brian shrugged. "It sucks, but he's got money, and he's high up in the industry. No surprise he weaseled himself out of it."
Lindsey shook his head. "It's not right."
"It's not." Brian agreed.
Silence followed, Lindsey going crazy in his seat. He fidgeted around, his fingers drumming against the arm of the chair. He was stuck inside of his own mind, going slowly insane. What if she doesn't make it? What if she doesn't regain her memory?
He didn't know much about Roofies, or the risks that came along with it. He had no reason to ever look the drug up. He was going out of his mind with worry. Hours had passed, the waiting room seeming like a ghost town. Monitors could be heard beeping, people coughing.
Reaching for Stevie's purse that he'd grabbed, Lindsey opened it. He wasn't trying to snoop, but at the moment her things held an odd sense of comfort, cautiously digging through her brown leather bag. He pulled out what looked to be a sketch book, skimming the pages.
Beautiful sketches of Angels and goddess like women etched the pages, her cursive scrawls littering around the drawings. He flipped further, coming to what seemed like journal entries.
'I'm starting to question myself more and more. Am I doing the right thing, did I make a huge mistake? I know this isn't a healthy lifestyle, but I don't care. He makes me feel more alive then I've ever been. He lights something inside of me, something powerful. I'd follow this man around the world...we'll I technically am at the moment. It's like we're living in a little bubble, and I fear it's going to pop sooner or later. I have to return to reality at some time sooner or later, I just can't bring myself to do it."
Lindsey checked the date of the entry, his mouth twisting seeing she'd written it just the day before. He pondered over her words, getting caught up in her writing. He had mixed feelings about continuing to read her private thoughts. He was invading her privacy. At the same time he really had no clue how this woman's mind worked, it was a nice little insight.
Flipping to the back of the book, he came across a list of contacts. The first name he read was 'Mom & Dad' with little hearts drew around it. Following the name was a phone number, a lump forming in Lindsey's throat.
............
A sharp searing pain scorched across her frontal lobe, her eyes burning as she tried to open them. Her vision slowly but surely came back to her, Stevie's eyes moving lazily across the room. Her eyebrows knitted together seeing all the medical equipment, slowly coming to the realization she was in the hospital. Her right hand weakly patted her left arm, feeling the tape that held in her IV.
"Hey you."
She turned her head, feeling a bit of relief seeing Lindsey. "Hi." She croaked out. Lindsey approached her, his hand soothing over the side of her face.
"How are you feeling?"
"Tired." She mumbled, her eyes slipping shut again. "What happened? Why am I in the hospital?"
Lindsey sighed, a hand pushing his hair away from his face. "You got roofied Stevie, Rupert did it."
She felt vile rise up in her throat, gagging as she hunched over, reaching for the garbage pale by her bedside. Lindsey held her hair back as she retched, rubbing her back in soothing circles. She finished up, tears burning her eyes as Lindsey handed her a cup of water.
She sipped on it slowly, just starring at Lindsey, tears starting to roll down her cheeks. "Did he...did he ra-" the word got cut off by a quick gasp, Stevie holding her hands over her chest as she began to unravel. She was gasping for air, the tears starting to pour.
"No." Lindsey quickly reassured her. His hands ran down her arms soothingly, trying to comfort her without stepping over any boundaries she had put up. "I got there just in time, he didn't get that far Stevie."
Her eyes searched his, a sob ripping from the back of her throat as she crumbled. Lindsey quickly took her in to his arms, kissing the top of her head as he soothed her hair down.
"I don't...I don't remember anything."
"You probably won't. It's going to be ok."
"The last thing I remember was looking for you, I just wanted to
find you."
He took her face between his hands. "I will never let anything like this happen again."
Stevie nodded, a mess of thoughts swirling about her head. She couldn't register what had happened to her, she didn't know how to process her emotions, starring numbly at the door as Lindsey hugged her.
"Where is he?"
Lindsey knew she was referring to Rupert, holding her tighter. "I don't know, the cops were called and I filed a report, but the dude's got so much charm he didn't even get a ticket."
Stevie felt like she were going to be sick again, swallowing the bile in her throat. "So he's just out there, roaming around?"
Lindsey tensed at the thought, pulling away. He grabbed her face gently in between his hands, starring her in the eyes. "I am so sorry Stevie, I should have been there."
She shook her head, fighting to keep her eyes open. "It's okay..."
"I swear to God if he ever comes near you again I'll kill him." He gripped her hand tightly.
"Make love....not war..." She slurred out. Lindsey couldn't help but smile, watching her start to relax and drift back in to sleep. His fingers combed through her hair soothingly as he sat down in the chair next to her bedside. There wasn't a chance in hell
he was leaving her alone again.
A knock at the door drew him from his thoughts. His face scrunched and then panic starting to hit him. He looked down at Stevie, her face furrowing with a mix of confusion and anger as she looked through the glass window to see who was on the other side of the door.
There was no doubt who these people were, Lindsey knowing exactly as soon as he laid eyes on the couple. He felt Stevie recoil from his arms, feeling himself being pushed away. He met her eyes, her brown orbs holding a mixture of hurt and betrayal.
"You called my parents?"'
