"I'm calling every favor I'm owed. Rob will not get away with this. He won't."
He sounds so sincere, so broken, but still, I'm hesitant to believe him. I mean, he lied about Rob stopping by, how do I know he isn’t lying to me now as well?
"Why do they think you're my husband?"
He offers a sheepish smile. "Only immediate family can come back here."
I try to nod, but the motion makes my head swim. "Do you want some more water?"
"Sure."
He crosses the room, and picks up my cup, guiding the straw to my lips. "I know you don't believe me, but I love you, and I'm gonna fix this."
He truly is distraught looking, with his rumpled clothes, pale face, and tired eyes. My heart wants so badly to believe him, but my brain knows I'm not ready to make those kinds of decisions.
I swallow and turn my head, looking away from him. A lone tear falls as I ask, "Why is it every time you try to fix things, they seem to get worse?”
I can tell Sterling wants to say something, to defend himself, to plead his case. The pulsing of his clenched jaw is a dead giveaway. But he doesn’t. Instead, he retreats back to his chair beside my bed.
The silence between us is thick and awkward, but before either of us can make a move, there’s a knock.
“Come in,” I say, bringing a hand to my throat; even speaking hurts.
"Mrs. Price, it's so nice to see you awake and alert. How are you feeling?"
"Like I tried to die."
The doctor hums thoughtfully under her breath. "Indeed you did." She checks something on the stationary computer in the corner of the room before coming to stand beside my bed. "Is this the first time you've tried to take your own life?"
"Yes."
"Do you regularly have suicidal thoughts?" The weight of her words and their implication are almost too much for me to bear. If Sterling wouldn't have found me, I really might have died. The thought is as sobering as it is terrifying.
Still, it feels so weird to talk about this in front of Sterling, but they all think he's my husband, so of course, no one bats an eye.
"I've, um... I've thought about it before, but this was the first time I've ever tried anything."
"I see. Your husband told me a little bit about your past and the abuse you suffered. Given your circumstances, we're going to place you on a seventy-two-hour hold."
Shame and regret and a little bit of panic race through me as my eyes move from the doctor to Sterling. "You talked to people about me?"
"Your husband wanted to make sure you received the best care possible. Now you can enter the hold on your own volition or I can mandate it. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
I nod.
"The choice is yours."
"Not much of a choice," I muse. "Go to the psych ward by choice or go by force."
She offers a sympathetic smile.
"It's fine."
"So, you're agreeing to go?"
I lift one shoulder in a half-shrug. "Sure."
"Now, I have to ask, do you still feel like harming yourself, Mrs. Price?"
"No. No, I just want to sleep."
She nods thoughtfully. "I'll get the ball rolling on that and we'll get you moved shortly. If you need anything at all, just press the call button and until then enjoy some time with your husband."
It's on the tip of my tongue to shout that he's not my husband, but I don't have the energy to fight this or anything else. Hell, I barely have the energy to keep my eyes open.
"You all ready to head home, honey?" Kelsey, my favorite nurse, asks.
"As ready as I'll ever be."
She smiles warmly. "That's the right attitude to have! The paperwork's all signed, we're just waiting on your ride." She checks her watch. "That husband of yours should up any second."
I lift my lips in some semblance of a smile at the mention of my husband. I've had a lot of time over the last three days to think—and talk—about everything that happened.
I see some things a little more clearly, but I have questions about a lot of things, too.
But... I'm fairly certain that Sterling wasn't involved. Sure, he's not perfect, but I don't believe he was plotting against me either.
I'm actually of the belief that someone set him up. And I know that someone is Rob.
All the way down to the deepest depths of my soul, I know it.
If nothing else, I guess Sterling and I