His Secret Bodyguard

Part 50

The next day, I was looking at some of the new articles, and saw that they'd seen me yesterday. When I'd tried to leave, and Jeff grabbed me and made me come back.. There wasn't a clear picture of my face, so they were all just assuming it was me. But, this whole thing was becoming chaotic..

I hadn't slept much. Hospitals freak me out, so I only slept for maybe an hour, and watched tv for the remainder of the night..

At around 9:00AM, a nurse came in with breakfast. I'd turned off the tv, and was sitting there, looking out the window..

She brought up the little table, pulling it across me, before setting the tray down on it. I didn't even look at it. I knew I didn't want to eat. The very thought of eating anything, only made me nauseous. I hadn't eaten any of the meals they'd brought me yesterday either. She spoke to me in French. "You really should eat." She said. I shook my head, pushing the table away from me.

"I'm gonna leave this here for you. Okay? I'll be back in a little bit with Dr. Armel. He's going to talk to you about a few things." She explained. I knew he was the therapist. They were all dancing around the word. But, it's who he was. And, it wouldn't make a difference talking to him.

As soon as she was out the door and down the hall, I got off the bed and went into the bathroom. Jeff had brought me some more clothes, so I changed into a grey sweatshirt, and kept my athletic shorts on....

I snuck out of my room, pulling my hood up, and quickly making my way down the hallway. I opened the door to Harry's room, going in and silently shutting it behind me. His mom wasn't here yet.

It took me a minute to move from that spot.. I stood by the door, looking at where he was lying. Machines on either side of him, an IV going into his arm. The scar on his chest had been bandaged. I hesitated, walking over to the side of his bed. He was still asleep. I sat down in the chair that was there, thinking. I'd been the cause of it. I drove him to want to drink that much.. It's my fault that he almost died. No matter how many times people tell me that it isn't my fault, there's no believing them. Because, it was..

He didn't have any wires or tubes on this side, and I hesitantly stood back up. He was lying primarily on the other side of the bed. I glanced over at the door, before slowly climbing onto the bed, lying next to him. I turned onto my side, and let my head rest on the pillow. Jeff had mentioned that Harry hadn't woken up yet. It had been nearly a week. That was what the doctor was talking to him about yesterday..

Supposedly, his brain is preserving most of its energy to heal his body, and that it's likely overwhelmed by the sudden change in his health. Something like that. Jeff didn't understand medical terminology, so he couldn't explain it to me very well..

I reached up, gently pushing some hair off his forehead. I was lying on his right side, and softly traced over the "Mary" tattoo on his arm. He'd spent so much time staring at me, that I never felt comfortable looking at him. But, he's unconscious. So, what's the harm?

I sighed. "I'm sorry." I murmured, resting my head against his shoulder..

I laid there for a little while, knowing that if I went back to my room, the therapist might still be there, trying to force me to talk.. After 20 minutes, I felt my exhaustion catching up to me, as it did when I wasn't keeping myself busy. I could barely stay awake now. I shut my eyes, finally letting myself fall asleep....

** Jeffrey's POV **

I got back to the hospital at around 9:30AM. The press were still surrounding the doors, shouting questions at me. I sighed, ignoring them and going inside, glad they weren't allowed to follow me in...

I decided to go by Brynn's room first, knowing she's actually awake, while Harry is still in some type of coma..

Her bed was empty, and I walked in, checking the bathroom. I went back out to the nurse's station, seeing the one that speaks some English. "Hey, where'd she go?" I asked, motioning to Brynn's room. "She should be in there. Dr. Armel is meeting with her soon." She stated. "Ok.. Well, she's not there." I said. "I didn't see her go anywhere. I delivered her breakfast, then went into that room there to check on another patient. I've been out here ever since." She commented. I sighed.

"Okay. You know she's a flight risk, right? Someone's supposed to be watching her 24/7 to make sure she doesn't try and leave again." I explained. She nodded, thinking about what I'd said.

As I said before, she speaks some english, but it's still not her first language, so she can be a little slow with understanding it.

A doctor came around the corner. Thankfully, it was the one that spoke good English. "Oh, good you're here. She's gone." I said, walking over to him. "Brynn? Where'd she go?" He asked, going and checking the room. "I don't know. The nurse said she hasn't seen her." I replied, going and looking in the room again. "Ok. Ok, that's alright. I'm sure she's around here somewhere. Maybe she just went to visit Harry." He suggested. I turned around, looking at him. "I don't know.. She doesn't really like him." I replied, unsure.

But, it was worth a shot to look. He followed me down the hallway, and I quietly opened the door. I relaxed, and he pushed the door open a little more so he could see into the room.

Brynn was asleep next to him, her arms both wrapped around his right arm, her head next to his shoulder.. I motioned for him to go back out of the room, and silently shut the door back behind us..

"Well, there you go. It's also about time she slept." He said. I ran a hand through my hair, and saw Anne coming down the hall. "Hey, how's he doing?" She asked. "Good. Still sleeping. Vitals were steady overnight." The doctor stated.

"Oh, right. Brynn's in there right now." I said. "Oh. Ok.. Is she um.. Is she doing better?" She questioned. "So far, yes. There's a lot we don't know about her, so some surprises came up yesterday. But we've learned a little from those." He replied. She slowly nodded, thinking. "What were those surprises?" She asked. He looked at me, then back to her.

"Just some stuff that we think may have happened in her past." He answered. "Like.. What?" She asked, motioning for him to continue..

"Well, we don't know anything for sure. It was really just a theory I had based on things I've seen in past cases." He elaborated. He hesitated a moment. "I believe that yesterday, we somehow triggered some sort of post-trauma reaction.. I think at some point in her life, Brynn was likely abused by someone. Physically. I can't be certain of that, though. Which is why I was having her meet with our therapist.. But, she clearly didn't want to do that, 'cause she disappeared and ended up in there." He explained to her.

"I see.. So, she's sitting in there with him? I did want to have another conversation with her at some point.." She said. "Oh. Well, I'd give it some time. She's in a somewhat fragile space right now. It's just best to be careful." The doctor replied.

"Oh. Ok. So.. I can go in there, right?" She asked. "I wouldn't.. It's.." I trailed off, not being able to think of an excuse. She seemed slightly confused, and opened the door. The motion somehow didn't wake Brynn, who hadn't moved. She glanced over her shoulder at us, before stepping back out and quietly shutting the door..

"You could've told me that."