I couldn’t sleep.
Instead, I stayed awake at her side, trying to not lose my mind. All I could see, though, was red. My fury was beginning to take over. Shit would get bad if I let go.
I exhaled, my legs bouncing. Nausea twisting deep in my guts had me fisting my hair.
The thought that someone had forced my girl. . . robbed her. . . terrified her. . . hurt her.
My body trembled, the tears rolling down my cheeks.
I didn’t fucking cry. That wasn’t who I was, but the image in my head wouldn’t stop playing on repeat. It brought with it an influx of ugly fucking memories from my childhood in the underground.
My specter didn’t deserve this shit. She was all that was good in this fucked up world.
I was just about to tear my hair out and go on a killing spree, vowing to gut every motherfucker in this place until I found one who bled the truth for me, when a hand grasped mine.
I snapped my attention to Sirena, whose colorful eyes peered at me through dark lashes.
“Specter,” I whispered, my voice laced with emotion. I grasped her hand back and brought it to my lips, where I pressed a fierce kiss to it. “Oh, god, Sirena. I-I—”
Tears trailed gently down her cheeks, further breaking my heart.
“Fuck, what can I do? I tried to find the rabbit, baby. I-it was Bryce, right?”
She let out a tiny whimper and shook her head.
“I saw you with the rabbit in the clearing. I followed you,” I said thickly. “I knew. . . Fuck. I don’t know what I knew, just that you met this fucker in the woods. And he hurt you. Bryce was behind the mask. We found him in the woods—”
More tears streamed down her face, and she shook her head slightly.
“No? It wasn’t him?” My heart fell. “Then who did this? Who hurt you, Sirena?”
She trembled and squeezed her eyelids closed.
“Fuck, baby. You need to tell me. We can take care of him so he doesn’t hurt you again.”
“C-Cady. W-want C-Cady.”
I stiffened. We hadn’t told Cady what happened.
“She doesn’t know,” I said gently. “We didn’t tell her. Your parents don’t even know. We want to handle this.”
She let out a soft cry, crushing the broken pieces of me further.
“S-Seth,” she whispered. “P-please.”
I studied her for a moment before nodding. If she wanted Asylum, I’d make it happen. In that moment, it was anything and everything for her.
“OK. I’ll get Seth. Anything you want,” I said.
“H-home,” she choked out.
“OK, baby. We can go home. I’ll have Doc come in and check you out, and then we’ll go, OK?”
She closed her eyes and went silent, her body still trembling. Her lip had started to bleed again. Doc said it looked like she’d been bitten. The fury that radiated through my body at that was enough to drive me to the edge of my sanity alone.
The rest shoved me off the ledge of it and left me tumbling into the abyss of crazy.
I kissed her hand once more before getting to my feet and poking my head out.
“Get Doc O’Brien,” I said to one of the wards.
He nodded and left. Doc O’Brien was the only one I trusted here. I had no idea if he was in my father’s pocket, but based on his fairly newcomer status, I felt confident my old man hadn’t sunk his claws into him too deeply. Yet.
I returned to my seat and held her hand again. Moments later, O’Brien came into the room.
He was young. Maybe early thirties. Dark hair. Dark eyes. A kind smile. Maybe that’s what made me think he wasn’t part of the shit my father had going on here.
“Mr. Church,” he greeted me, going to Sirena’s side and peering down at her. “Sirena. How are you today?”
She said nothing, as was her fashion. He didn’t seem concerned with that.
“She wants to go home,” I said as he checked her over.
“I think she should remain here for another night or two, just to be safe—”
“I don’t want Sully or my father finding out,” I said. “You know that.”
He sighed, a frown on his face as he stared down at her. “I understand. It’s just. . . they’re probably going to find out. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but they will. People here talk. You know that.”
“And when they do, she’ll be home safely with me.” I locked eyes with him. “She can’t stay here. You know what happens here.”
He cleared his throat. “I’ve heard rumors. I’m not privy to it all. I don’t have that insider track, I suppose.”
“Believe me when I say you don’t want it.”
He nodded and went quiet again for a moment. “Let’s talk in the hall, OK?”
I glanced at Sirena, who stared at the wall with no emotion on her face.
Fuck, baby. Don’t retreat into your mind. Please. Stay.
“I’ll be right back,” I murmured, leaning down and placing a kiss on her forehead. She didn’t acknowledge me, which only raised the alarms in my head.
Quickly, I followed O’Brien out into the hall.
“You understand she’s badly injured, right? She has substantial wounds, both physical and mental—”
“I know,” I whispered. “I just want her home with me where she’s safe. She’s just not safe here. As long as she’s stabilized—”
“It’s been two days.” He sighed. “Her wounds will need a lot of care. If I release her and something happens, an infection sets in or she regresses—”
“I will make sure she’s cared for,” I said fiercely.
He studied me. “Tell you what. I’ll give her some time off from school. I’ll call it a mental health break. You take care of her. If anything at all changes, you make sure you call me. I’ll put my personal number on her discharge papers. I’ll give her meds for her pain and some for her anxiety since once all this settles in, I’m sure it’ll be hard on her. If you need anything, call me.”
“Fuck. Thank you,” I said, shaking his hand and meaning it.
“Of course. I’ll have Brenda get her meds and paperwork together. Just don’t hesitate to reach out. My first goal is getting people better.”
“What’s your second goal?”
He gave me a sad smile. “Making sure they stay that way. Go to her. I’ll have someone I trust come in and help move her home.”
“Thank you.”
He nodded. “Be safe, Dante. Lots of monsters hiding in this place.” And with that, he left me.
Don’t I fucking know it.
I returned to her room and sat in the chair beside her bed. She continued to stare at the ceiling, her tears now dry on her face.
“We’re getting you out of here,” I said. “You’ll stay home with me. Does that sound OK, baby?”
She said nothing, but I didn’t really expect her to. Instead, she squeezed my hand lightly and hummed that damn song I’d heard her hum before.
It was better than nothing.
