inside, screaming at Mauve to call the police.
“Are you okay, Kait?” she asked, shocked. I reached up and touched the back of my head. Blood covered my fingers. My head throbbed, and I struggled to breathe.
“I-I don’t know.” I stammered. I let her lead me inside. She sat me down on the sofa in the foyer, while one of the other girls got a wet towel for my head. By now, all the girls, and several of the men were huddled in the foyer, trying to see what all the commotion was about. I was more than a little embarrassed.
“Please.” I said to Mauve, my eyes begging. She understood.
“Okay, everyone, give her some space.” She ushered everyone away. A man, dressed in a G-string and a garter belt stepped forward.
“I’m a doctor.” Mauve looked at him dubiously. He blushed, realizing how he must look.
“Okay.” Mauve nodded, gesturing to me. Emily sat down with me and held my hand. I realized I was shaking. I could vaguely make out the flashing lights outside as my head spun. The doctor looked at my head wound, yelling orders at several of the girls who hadn’t scattered away. My vision began to blur.
Barry’s voice boomed through the front door as he filled the police in. Surely things couldn’t get any worse, could they?
I looked up, and into the eyes of Devon, who had just walked through the door. The blood drained from my face.
Things had just gotten much, much worse
Chapter Thirty-One
Devon stopped in his tracks, blinking several times, and he pieced together what was going on.
Finally he got it. I desperately tried to meet his gaze, but he wouldn’t so much as look at me. He asked questions about me, to Mauve and Barry, rather than asking me.
He was acting like I wasn’t even there. Once he had as much of the story as he could get without talking to me, he finally glanced at me. All I saw in his cold dark eyes was disappointment. And shame.
He handed me a blanket. Or rather, he threw a blanket in my general direction.
“Come-on. I need to get you to the hospital.” His words had bite to them. Nobody else seemed to notice his coldness toward me. His partner, an older man, had already left with Charlie.
He helped me to my feet and led me to the ambulance. I shrugged him off, not wanting his hands on me.
“Whatever.” He mumbled, under his breath. Jumping in the back with me, he avoided my gaze. I rolled over and closed my eyes, feeling his gaze burning a hole into my soul.
I wanted to explain, but what was the point?
He wasn’t going to listen, much less accept why I had done what I’d done, that and the fact I was barely conscious.
Pain radiated through my head as the ambulance officer prodded at it, covering it with gauze.
“Ouch!” I gasped, gasping again as pain stabbed through my ribs.
“You’ll need a few stitches there. It’s pretty deep.” He said, taping the gauze in place. The pain intensified under the pressure of the gauze.
I didn’t answer. The worst thing was that I wasn’t ashamed, or embarrassed about what I had done. I had done it for the right reasons, and because of that, Neri would never have to worry about her education. I was embarrassed at the way Devon was ignoring me. I was ashamed for him.
This was how he treated someone he loved? What a joke.
The ride to the hospital was somewhat quiet. I faded in and out of consciousness. Every time I woke up, it took me a few moments to remember what had happened, and where I was. The whole trip I avoided looking at Devon.
Inside I was taken through to emergency. After the doctor stitched my head, I was admitted overnight for observation. My scans had shown slight swelling on my brain, something that needed to be monitored.
Devon had long gone by now.
Though the nurse had ordered me not to get out of bed, I was bursting to use the bathroom. After no answer ringing the bell, I realized it was unplugged. Sighing, I eased myself out of bed. Clutching onto the sides, I gently moved toward the bathroom. My head throbbed. It was the worst pain I’d ever experienced. As the room swayed, I began to lose balance. I felt like I was falling. Falling through the sky, like a leaf that had just broken off a tree. Floating.
Suddenly I felt the strength of being lifted. I