The door opened and my Elle stood there, looking so frail and thin. Her cheeks looked hollow, her skin pale, and her eyes dulled.
“She was slightly dehydrated, but the IV has helped with that. She still needs to take in a good amount of fluids in the next few days. I hope I can count on you to make sure she gets what she needs.”
I nodded.
The nurse insisted on helping Elle to the bed, but I stayed close to her side. As soon as Elle was back on the bed, the nurse inserted the needle into the IV. “Now, this will make you drowsy, so I’ll make sure the doctor waits a good two hours before coming by to check on you.”
“Thank you,” I said. “For everything.”
She gave Elle’s arm a pat and mine a squeeze. “Listen, I don’t get involved in my patients’ business, but whatever happened, I hope you tell the police. It’s noted in your chart that your statement was vague upon arrival and that you postponed questioning until tomorrow. Please go down there and do it. I’d hate for this to happen to anyone else.”
I looked at the nurse. “You don’t have to worry about that. I’ll be escorting her personally.”
She glanced back down. “Oh, okay. It states here a Mr. O’Shea would be doing so.”
“His mistake,” I noted, and I couldn’t help but wonder what his involvement was.
The nurse left and when I swung my eyes back to Elle, that’s when I noticed the bruises on her legs and couldn’t hold back my loud gasp.
“Logan,” Elle whispered.
I looked at her face.
“I’m okay, really I am.”
“I love you,” I said, and had to fend off the tears that I felt welling in my eyes. I’d never cried in my life, but looking at her bruised and battered was going to break me.
She reached for me. “I love you, too,” she whispered, and then pressed her lips to mine.
It was something I had wanted to do but wasn’t sure I should. Her lips looked so battered and bruised. The thought of why they might be turned my stomach and I couldn’t ask, not yet.
She flinched at the contact and I kissed my own fingers and gently placed them on her lips. “This is me, kissing you.”
Tears welled in her eyes again, and she kissed her own fingers and placed them on my lips. After a few moments, she took my face in her hands. “You don’t look so great.”
I had to laugh at that. “Yeah, I’ve had a rough night.”
Moving faster than she should, she wrapped her arms around me, and I let her hold me for a long, long time. I held her too and in her arms I gained strength. She brought it to me. I knew then we had a lot to discuss. When I finally let go of her, I cleared my throat and pulled a chair up so I could swing the food tray around to feed her.
She put her hand out. “I can do it.”
I smiled at her. “I want to. And while I feed you, I want you to talk to me. Tell me everything and anything you can remember. Then I’m going to help you take a shower. And after that I want you to get some rest. Once you’re discharged we are going to go down and talk to Blanchet. This is much bigger than me and Miles, and I think it’s time we let the authorities handle it.”
“Are you sure?”
“I am.”
The sun slammed through the window and she squinted.
“Here, I’ll shut the blinds.”
She shook her head and reached for the sunglasses that were hanging from my long-sleeved T-shirt. “I want to feel the sun on me. It feels so good. I was cold for so long.”
That fucking lump was back in my throat and my hands were shaking as I tried to feed her the chicken broth.
She opened her mouth and accepted the spoonful. She swallowed slowly.
As I went to give her another, I said, “Listen, before you start, I need to tell you something.”
Fear riveted her and her entire body went rigid. She stopped me from giving her another spoonful by taking hold of my hand. “What is it? It’s not Clementine, is it?”
“No,” I said immediately.
She relaxed.
“I went to see Michael. He didn’t believe me that you were missing, so I told him I was talking to you on the phone when you were abducted. I didn’t tell him anything else about us, but I’m sure he can figure it out.”
She took her hand away and indicated I could continue.
That was a good sign.
I scooped another spoonful.
After she swallowed it, she said, “I think you are right. It’s time to come clean about everything. Michael loves Clementine and I know even if he’s angry with me, he’ll do what’s best for her. In the end, he will.”
I wasn’t sure if she was trying to convince me or herself, but I agreed with her.
She ate everything on her plate and told me what she remembered, which wasn’t much. I helped her shower and then put her back into bed. She didn’t have any clean clothes, so a clean hospital gown had to do for now. Once she fell asleep, I’d slip out and head to the lobby. Miles was downstairs and I needed to fill him in. And I was also certain he wouldn’t mind heading back to Boston to grab a few things—including one very important thing.
“Lay with me,” she whispered.