Chapter Twenty-Eight
Aliannah woke the next morning feeling much better than she had in days. Ivan was still sleeping next to her, so she carefully unwrapped herself from him and tip-toed to the bathroom. She was so grateful when the nurse removed the catheter the night before. She would much prefer the painful walk to the bathroom than the indignity of the bag. She lifted up the nightgown to take care of business and gasped. There was a huge line of stitches along her inner thigh.
Viktor would always be a part of her no matter what. She knew that the gash on her thigh had been deeper than any other one he’d given her. The others would heal fine in a few weeks; her thigh would scar for life. She slumped to the floor in silent sobs.
“Ali?... ALI???” Ivan’s panicked voice rang through the walls. Ivan frantically burst through the bathroom door.
“Oh my God, there you are. What’s wrong, darling?” He sat down on the floor beside her and pulled her onto his lap.
“He will never be gone….I will be stuck with him forever…” Aliannah said between sobs. Ivan stroked her hair.
“I….I am….hideous….” she was shaking hard from the crying.
“No darling, you are not. You are strong. You are beautiful. You are a warrior.” Ivan kissed her on the head between each affirmation. “Your scar will not determine who you are, darling. You will always shine bright. I will be by your side every step of the way if you will have me. Ivan held her close.
“Really? You would still want me even though I am not me?” she looked into his eyes.
“Really, darling, the only place I plan on being is by your side.” Ivan kissed her on the lips gently.
He laughed as he pulled away and saw her hand in the air. Her pinkie was raised.
“Yes, I pinkie swear! You girls and your pinkies!” He linked her pinkie with his and kissed her hand.
“Come on, let’s get you back to bed.” He stood up and held out his hand to pull her up. Aliannah took his offer to stand up.
“Eh, Ivan…” He looked at her. “I still have to….” She looked to the floor.
“Oh! Right! Well, I’ll be out here when you are ready.” He left the bathroom and closed the door behind him.
Aliannah let out a long breath before readying herself once more to take care of her needs. This time, she did not look at her leg.
A table filled with breakfast was waiting for her when she came out of the bathroom. It looked amazing. She didn’t even hesitate before diving in. She couldn’t remember the last time she ate. She flopped on the bed with a moan and a groan when she was finished.
“My God, that was the best breakfast I have ever had! But….. I definitely should not have flopped like that…everything hurts!” she laughed. Ivan smiled.
“Stop looking at me like that,” Aliannah ordered.
“Like what, darling?” Ivan teased
“Like a love-sick puppy,” Aliannah covered her face with her hands. Ivan walked over from the table and took her hands down from her face.
“Don’t hide from me, darling. And yes, I am a love-sick puppy for you. I love you, Aliannah.” He tilted her chin up and kissed her softly.
“I don’t expect you to say it back; I only want to hear those words from your lips when you are ready to say them. If that is never, then that is totally fine too,” he kissed her again.
Aliannah wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in it. His smell brought such comfort to her. It was Versace—Eros, her absolute favourite smell; she could never get enough of it. Ivan wrapped his arms around her lower back and held her for as long as she needed it.
There was a gentle knock on the door, and the doctor entered the room.
“Good morning, Miss Aliannah. I'm delighted to see you are up and about,” the doctor said, looking to the table and back at her.
“I see your appetite has returned, and your colouring has greatly improved; how do you feel?” He got out his pen to make notes on her chart.
“I am stiff and in some pain, but honestly, doctor, I would love to just go home to my own bed.” She held Ivan’s hand tightly.
“We can fix you up with a prescription for the pain, and I don’t see why we would need to keep you here any longer. You are free to go as soon as your discharge papers are completed.” The doctor nodded and called in a nurse to finalise the paperwork. Aliannah smiled at Ivan. She was happy to go home.
“Do you want to go to your apartment or mine?” Ivan asked as he wheeled Aliannah to the car Igor had waiting for them.
“Mine, I need home,” Aliannah said, tears were lining her eyes.
“Whatever you need, darling.” Ivan helped her into the car.
Harry held the door open for them when they got to her building.
“Miss Aliannah, I am so glad to see you are doing well.” he smiled at her. He quickly passed them to call the elevator down before they got to it. Ivan nodded his thanks as he helped Aliannah walk across the lobby. The pain became too much, so he scooped her up into his arms and carried her to the elevator and then to her apartment door.
Michelle had given Aliannah’s keys to Ivan during one of her hospital visits, and he had arranged for a cleaner to come in and clean up the Halloween pre-game chaos before Aliannah was released from the hospital. The place was spotless.
“Couch or bed darling?”
“Couch, please.”
Ivan set her down on the couch, wrapped a cosy blanket around her and handed her the TV remote.
“Ice cream?” He looked at her with a raised brow. She nodded. He knew her so well. Ice cream and trashy TV were her comfort things whenever she felt down. He returned with the ice cream and a big spoon and settled on the couch next to her. Aliannah put on some show about DIY projects gone wrong and tried to forget everything from the past few days, even just for a few minutes.