Wicked Love

Chapter 9

I woke up to the beeping of machines and a horrible pain in my stomach and arm. My whole stomach is so sore.

I looked down and saw an IV in my left arm. I looked around and saw I was in a hospital room. I looked to my right and saw Julian asleep in a chair by the bed and everything that happened came rushing back.

I can't be here.

I have to get Irabella. It's dark out now, she's been at daycare all day.

I have to get home and make dad his food or I'm going to get beat even worse.

I try to sit up but lay back down when the pain in my stomach flares up again. I lift the hospital gown I'm wearing up and see bandages wrapped all around my upper torso and a white bandage lower down.

I take the patches that monitor my heartbeat off and the machine flatlines. I pull the IV out of my arm and slowly sit up, trying to block out the pain.

I have to get to Clarabelle and get to the house.

Julian stirs at the sound of the heart monitor going flat. When he sees me sitting up, he jerks from the chair and is at my side in a second.

"What are you doing?" He asks as nurses rush into the room with what looks like a crash cart.

I watch a lot of Grey's Anatomy.

When they see me sitting up, a female nurse comes up and ushers me back into the bed.

"You have to let your ribs heal," She says.

She puts her hands on my shoulders and I flinch away. She looks at me surprised, but before she can say anything, I ask where Irabella is.

"I called Tori from your phone and asked if she could pick her up from the daycare after school," Julian quickly says and I sink into the bed.

She's with Tori. She's safe.

I'd told Julian who Tori was after he started hanging out with me.

"Thank you," I tell him.

The other nurses left and took the crash cart with them. The female nurse was putting my IV back in when the door opened again and a male doctor came in.

"Hi, Mckenzie. It's good to see you awake. My name is Dr. Parker. I was the lead surgeon on your case-"

"Wait, surgeon? I had surgery?" I cut him off.

This is going to set me back so much. I don't have insurance and dad can't know I went to the hospital, I'm going to have to use my own money and surgery costs thousands of dollars.

"Can you take Mr. Reed to the waiting room, please?" Dr. Parker said, addressing the nurse that fixed my IV. "I have a few questions for Ms. Anosova and I think it's best you wait out there."

While I don't want Julian to leave, I have a feeling he's going to be asking me questions I don't want Julian to hear.

Julian looks to me for my response and I nod my head. Before he leaves I ask him where my phone is. I need to call Tori and talk to Irabella.

Dr. Parker answers for him. "Your belongings are in a bag. They were taken off you when you arrived. I'll have a nurse bring it up when we're finished."

"Okay," I answer.

The nurse leads Julian out of the room and Dr. Parker closes the door behind him.

I try not to panic from being in this room with a man I don't know. I must not do a very good job of keeping the stricken expression off my face because he says," It's alright. This is a safe place."