Cursive - By Phoebe Lane Page 0,49

going to voicemail. He was starting to feel as freaked out as Ellie seemed to be during her call.

He got to the apartment and found the door unlocked. He charged in and found Aislynn passed out on the sofa. She really looked like hell. There was a bloody rag on the floor next to her and another one wrapped around her left hand. There was a half-full bottle of vodka on the coffee table and a shattered glass on the kitchen floor. A dining room chair had been knocked over, and the contents of her purse were spilled all over the floor next to it. A sense of panic overtook him, and he rushed to Aislynn's side.

"Aislynn…Aislynn…" he said, crouching next to her and caressing her face. "Aislynn, please wake up." She started stirring and moaned something unintelligible. "Hey, are you all right? Please, wake up."

"Go away…Christopher," she mumbled, trying to push his hands away from her face. Jace was momentarily stunned and confused, but decided it wasn't the right time to try and figure it out. "Aislynn, it's Jace."

"Jace?" she said, trying to open her eyes. "Jace…my Jace?" she repeated, now startled.

"Shh, I'm here," he said, checking her face, head, and arms for injuries. "What happened? Where are you hurt, babydoc?"

"Where…what's…ouch…" she said, holding her head and wincing the moment she moved her left hand. "What are you doing here?"

"Ellie sent me. She's been calling you all day, and you wouldn't answer. What the hell happened? And where is all this blood coming from?"

"I…Damn it!" she said, trying to sit up on the sofa. "Today is not a good day."

"So I keep hearing," he said softly.

"Ugh, this is not...I'm sorry…you don't need to be here…Go home. I'll be fine," she said.

"Enough, Aislynn. Just…let me help you. What happened?"

"I cut my hand," she said as she unwrapped the towel from her hand.

"Shit! Let me take you to the hospital," he said with concern. "How much did you drink tonight?"

"I'm fine. I just had one drink…I needed to calm down, I guess."

"Did you take anything else? And please, just tell me the truth."

"Wait, what?" she asked, confused at first. Then her face paled and her eyes opened wide, the true meaning of his question finally setting in. "No! I would never do that! What the hell, Jace?" she said angrily, standing up from the sofa and walking away from him.

"I'm sorry, but what am I supposed to think?" he asked, a bit louder than what he intended. "I walk in here, you look like hell, there's blood everywhere, this place is a mess, Ellie is calling me freaking out—"

"Ellie? What did she say?" she asked nervously.

"She's worried about you. Her plane was delayed, and she begged me to come here to check on you. She wouldn't tell me anything else."

Jace felt very frustrated. His lips were pressed tightly and his brows furrowed. It was obvious there was something major going on with her, and even though he knew this wasn't the right time to push her, it hurt him that she was being so inconsiderate of his efforts.

Aislynn's shoulders relaxed and she walked back to where he was standing. "I'm sorry, Jace. I don't do stuff like this…It's really hard for me to have you here, seeing me…like this. I'm a mess, and I don't like…I'm not the damsel in distress type, okay? I don't lose control in front of people."

Jace reached for her hand and pulled her to him, holding her until he felt her relax in his arms. "It takes more strength to let someone help you than to push them away. You taught me that, babydoc. Please learn to follow your own advice," he whispered in her ear.

Aislynn responded by holding him tighter, allowing silent tears to flow. "Let's just get you to the hospital, and we can talk about it when we come back. I'll follow your pace on this, but you have to promise me we'll talk about it, okay?" Aislynn nodded softly.

Jace got her some water and put her in the car. He drove her to the acute care center in silence, hugging her to him the whole way there. The woman at the front desk recognized Aislynn as soon as they walked in the door.

"Ms. Currington, you're back. You left so abruptly. Are you okay?"

"Yeah…I still need my hand to get looked at," Aislynn said somberly.

"Of course. Come right in."

Jace helped her fill out the paperwork, while they waited for the doctor in the