Chapter 45
Ashia
‘Don’t Let Me Go’ - RAIGN
I continue to lay in this damn bed and try to listen to the rain outside. The storm rolled in about twenty minutes ago, and even though I want to soak in the gloomy environment, Serena’s bright voice makes its way through the clouds.
“Aw! Look at this cute little outfit!” Serena turns her phone for me to see, and she’s showing me the fifth pink and blue, paisley-patterned newborn set, that of course, has a bow for her head.
She’s alternating girl clothes and boy clothes, hoping that my reaction will give away the baby’s gender, but I’m not that that dumb.
Daisy growls in the cutest way, and it’s almost as if she’s also sick of Ser’s shit.
I’ll give it to her, though. She’s trying really hard, and all of the outfits are appropriate.
My due date is early February. So, at least all of the outfits she’s picking out have long sleeves, pants, and some have had hats.
All of the girl choices have some frilly thing that either goes in her hair or is probably going to be way too big for her head.
But, of course, this is Ser. Anything remotely adorable, and she’s going to go for it.
Carter walks back in the door, and the look on his face is grim.
I feel like something is going on, but of course, they’re not telling me.
Alex left rather quickly earlier, but now he’s back and acting more paranoid than before.
He keeps pacing by the window, and now that Carter looks like this, I’m starting to worry.
“Ser? Let me talk to you for a second, please,” he asks nicely.
She looks at him with a confused expression, but she stands up regardless of her wariness.
She squeezes my hand before she walks out into the hall with him, and I hate how they shut the door behind them.
Kade is in the corner of the room, typing on his laptop frantically like he has an essay due in twenty minutes, or he has to defuse a bomb.
No one except Serena and I have spoken in the last ten minutes, and it’s starting to be unsettling.
I look over to Alex and gently grasp his arm as he paces by me again. He looks down at me with worried eyes, and that makes a bolt of fear shoot through my arm.
“Alex? What’s going on?” I ask him softly. Kade immediately stops typing, and the room grows even quieter, making goosebumps raise on my arms. Alex covers my hand with his, and while normally, that would be a comforting gesture, right now it feels like a sympathetic touch.
“We’ll talk about it in a minute, Ash. Try not to get too overwhelmed, okay?
” he says softly, and while I want to start asking a bunch of questions, I don’t.
He’s right. I can’t get too stressed out, and if they’re not saying anything yet, it’s for a good reason.
I’ve learned to trust them over the past few months.
So, while it might just kill me to stay in the dark, I believe that it’s for the better.
When I look back at the door, Carter walks inside, but without Ser. Another red flag waves in front of my face, and I start to get even more worried. As if she can sense it, Daisy cuddles closer to my legs and rests her head on my hip, providing me with some comfort.
“Where did Serena go?” I ask, definitely a little more paranoid than before.
“She’s grabbing some things for me. She’ll be back in a few minutes.” Carter gives me a small smile, but I don’t reciprocate it.
“Okay, you guys are really starting to freak me out.”
Alex looks over at Carter, and once he nods his head lightly, Alex runs his hand over his face—like he’s dreading the conversation.
My stomach starts to churn as he pulls a chair closer to the bed.
A thousand thoughts run through my head.
Is Zeke hurt? Did he find something? Did he find Damien?
... Is he dead?... Alex sits softly, like he’s afraid a movement too hectic will startle me, and my grip on his arm only tightens.
“We really need you to stay calm. Okay, Ash?” he says quietly, like he’s addressing a child.
I nod, but I already feel the tears springing to my eyes.
He lays his hand on my arm, and then he clears his throat a little.
“Zeke found Damien.” The world stops turning and I can’t breathe.
My entire body freezes, and as I wait for the worst news of my life, he continues. “He’s alive, but—”
“He is?” I choke up and a sob slips free. My body instantly relaxes, like a thousand pounds was just lifted off my chest. He’s alive? He’s actually alive? This isn’t some cruel joke or some fucking dream? Zeke really found him? He nods and squeezes my arm a little for reassurance.
“His is, but I want you to be prepared, Ash. It’s…it’s not good. He’s in a lot of pain, and from what Zeke said, it’s very apparent that he’s been through a lot. Serena is gathering supplies, and hopefully Derek, to help us once Zeke gets him out of there—”
“Out? Out of where? Where is he?” I ask frantically. Alex’s face falls, and he looks back to Carter. I jerk my head in the same direction and meet his heartbroken eyes. “Carter?”
His jaw tightens and he has to swallow before he speaks. There’s a tragic look on his face, like what he’s about to say is going to shock me more than anything else.
“They had him at the old mental hospital off Route 311…” Carter whispers, and I almost think I didn’t hear him. A cloud covers the room, and now, it’s as gloomy here as it is outside right now.
“Wait…what? No. No, that can’t be right.
He could—” The conviction on Carter’s face takes my words from me.
My husband was kept in town this entire time?
He’s been tortured right under our noses, and we didn’t know?
I swallow harshly, trying to suppress another sob.
“He couldn’t have been this close the whole time… ”
“Ash…” Carter sits next to me and lays a hand on my shoulder. “None of us figured it out. There’s still a lot of unanswered questions, but we have him now, and we’re going to make sure he’s okay. That’s what you need to focus on, alright? Let us handle the rest.”
“Well, what’s wrong with him? What is Ser getting supplies for?”
“Zeke obviously doesn’t know the real extent, but he said he’s clearly malnourished and dehydrated.
He looks a little jaundiced, which could be because he hasn’t seen the sun in weeks, and he’ll most likely go through withdrawals…
” Alex reveals. I turn my head back to him, and he looks like he might actually cry.
“The signs of his torture are very clear and severe. You need to prepare yourself before we sneak you out of here.”
“Sneak me out? Wait, why are you sneaking me out? Shouldn’t we bring him here if he’s so bad off?” I ask in a panic, realizing the seriousness of Damien’s condition.
“No,” Carter says definitively. “DeLuca is dead, but Saconne escaped. The hospital isn’t safe enough for either of you, and you need to be with him.
He’s going to need you now more than ever, and we don’t want anyone to know that you’re not here anymore.
So, Kade is helping out on the back end of that, but Ser is taking care of it, too… ”
“What? No. She can’t do all of this. They’ll fire her, or worse!
What if they press charges on her?” I question, not wanting Serena to get in trouble, but I know we don’t have another choice.
If it’s not safe enough to bring him here, then we need to do anything we can for him.
He said that she was hopefully recruiting Derek…
and that means it’s even worse than I thought…
“I’m not going to let anything happen to her, Ash. Ser knows the risks she’s taking. We just need to worry about getting you out of here, and getting you back to D. Okay?” Carter says calmly, and I nod back at him as I wipe the tears from my eyes.
“I’m going to the Attic to hold Satori off.
Knowing him, if he catches wind that we found D, he’ll storm his way into the house.
Once Ser logged into the system, it was easy for me to tamper with the logs.
We’re good to go,” Kade tells us and starts packing up his things.
I nod back at him, and give him a look of silent thanks before he walks out of the room.
A new wave of determination washes over me, and suddenly, I feel stronger than I ever have.
The anticipation of finally having him in my arms again is overwhelming, and I can feel my body start to charge.
Flips and little waves come from my belly, as if the baby knows something big is going down, and I instantly feel the need to get moving.
I fucking hate just sitting in this bed and waiting around.
Now that he’s really coming home, they expect me to just lay here until they tell me it’s time to go?
“When are we going?” I ask and shake out my arms. Carter checks his phone, and then he nods at Alex.
“We’re good to go now.”
“How the hell did Serena get all of that so fast?” he asks Carter with a scrunched face.
“Have you met Serena?” Carter retorts, and Alex tilts his head from side to side.
“That’s a good point. Okay, Ash. Ser is bringing up a wheelchair, and then we’re going to wheel you out to the car, alright?” Alex says softly, and then he grabs my hands to help me sit up.
I start to get dressed, not giving a single damn if they’re standing right here.
We don’t have time to wait around, and I know they’re not staring at me as anything more than Damien’s wife.
The stickers to the EKG machine pull and redden my skin as I yank them off, but I don’t pay it any mind.
I’m set only on one thing, and that’s getting home to Damien.
Nothing is going to tear us apart again.
I don’t care if we both never leave our home after today.