Trent as he rakes his hands through his hair.
“At first, it was to monitor you after you tried to kill yourself. Even though I wanted to be by your side the entire time, there was no way Tina was going to let me. When I first found a pulse after you tried to kill yourself, I picked you up and cradled you in my arms, until she came in and saw me on the floor. When I told her we needed to get you some help, she wanted me to just finish you off. I threatened to fucking kill her if she didn’t get someone to help you.”
A shadow crosses his face.
“I don’t know if she was stunned that I had finally manned up to her or if she finally realized that I truly cared about you. I have watched you for so long now. I knew your daily routine, right down to the exact time you would leave for work, to what day you would go to the grocery store. I know everything about you. And after being with you, touching you, all the while in my mind I truly wished you were really mine. The thought of being without you destroyed me. That’s why I installed them. It was my way of being close to you.”
There’s a long pause as he searches my expression. I sit there in a daze of confusion. I don’t remember any of this. What I do know is that his confession is disturbing. Deep down, a part of me is essentially relieved knowing he has been keeping an eye on me. But seriously, his obsession with me has to stop.
Suddenly, Trent’s voice breaks into my thoughts with another revelation.
“She called Caleb.”
I nearly fall out of my seat in shock.
“Caleb? As in her ex-husband, Caleb?” I ask incredulously, my voice rising in spite of my determination to keep my composure.
Trent grabs my hand and leads me out into the hallway, softly closing the door behind me.
“You need to calm down before you wake her up.”
I jerk my hand out of his.
“Since when do you care if she wakes up or not?”
“Clove, just shut your mouth and listen to me. Jesus! You are so stubborn.”
“Fine. Continue.”
I want this over with as soon as possible, so I can get back in there and process all of this.
“To answer your question, yes, Caleb, her ex. He’s a doctor. He’s the one who saved your life, helped us stabilize you, and brought you here.”
I start to pace the hallway back and forth a few times. Finally, I stop a few feet away from him and rest my back up against the wall opposite him.
“So, tell me. How does Caleb play into all of this?”
I wait for his answer, losing my patience rapidly.
“Well, like I said, he’s a doctor. A doctor who doesn’t like to keep his dick in his pants, apparently. Tina threatened to expose him and all of his infidelities if he didn’t cooperate with her. He’s a very prestigious surgeon. He values his career. He went along with everything she wanted.” He shrugs.
“Jesus Christ.” I rub my temples, feeling a severe headache forming.
“He’s the one who gave you all the drugs to keep me incoherent during my pregnancy, isn’t he? Oh, my God. Journey! Did those drugs do anything to her? Oh, God, no. Please, God, no.”
I begin to cry, my legs giving out as I slump down to the floor.
“What the fuck?” Trent is right in front of me, his hands stroking my clammy arms.
“Do you know what drugs he gave me?” I plead, panic-stricken.
“I don’t.”
“Journey!” is all I manage to get out of my mouth before he has me cradled in his arms.
“Look at me, please?”
I really don’t want to have him holding me and consoling me, but he’s all I have right now, so I take comfort in his arms and look into his wet eyes. He’s crying too; but why?
“Clove, listen to me. He promised that whatever he was giving you for both your pain and your memory was not going to harm her. The minute we found out you were pregnant, she made him promise. I know you don’t believe a word I’m saying, but I truly believe both of them. I may be a lot of things, but this I can promise you, a baby killer I am not. If at any time I thought they were doing anything to harm you or Journey while she was growing inside of