Chapter 7 #2
Lily staring down at her hands that were scratched and feeling no pain. Running through the woods, desperate to escape, before falling over a tree root.
Urgh. The outdoors had never liked her.
“You caught up to me in the woods.”
“You should know I have cameras and alarms everywhere,” he said calmly.
“To keep me prisoner?” she snapped.
She was not doing well at pretending to be just give in. Urgh, why was it so hard?
“To keep you safe,” he said.
“I feel like that’s what someone who was keeping me prisoner would say in order to justify their actions.”
“Do you? Eat some more. Then you need to get some more sleep.”
She took another bite and glanced down at her hands. She couldn’t believe that she’d scratched her hands and arms so badly, but his explanation still didn’t explain the small bandage on the inside of her elbow.
“How did I get this?” she asked. Lily pointed at the plaster.
“That’s from having blood taken.”
He said it so matter-of-factly. As if he wasn’t trying to hide it at all.
She stared down at the bandage, her stomach rolling as memories assaulted her.
Waking up to find herself in the clinic, attached to a drip. Or with bandages on her inner elbows.
Why would he need to take blood from her while she was asleep?
She was right not to trust him. No matter what he said, how pretty his words were, he was holding her against her will.
She had to remember that.
But right now, she couldn’t think much beyond the fact that her stomach was about to give out. She jumped off the stool and nearly fell flat on her face as her legs refused to hold her up. He quickly grabbed her.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Sick. I’m gonna be sick.”
Lily held her hand over her mouth as he picked her up and rushed her into a downstairs bathroom. She leaned over the toilet, vomiting up all the dinner she’d just eaten. Which was a real shame, because she had actually enjoyed it. He was a pretty good cook.
Finally, her stomach stopped heaving. He closed the lid, flushing the toilet before lifting her onto the counter by the sink.
Reaching under the sink, he drew out a toothbrush still in its packaging and some toothpaste. He put the toothpaste on the toothbrush, and she took hold of it, brushing her teeth.
“I’ll get you a drink,” he told her before leaving.
She slid off the counter, leaning against it as she stared into the mirror.
God. She was definitely a mess. Her hair was matted, her skin pale, except for the dark marks under her eyes.
It didn’t make any sense why he would want her. Harvey was gorgeous. He could have anyone.
Surely, he’d want someone who was as beautiful as he was.
Who wasn’t a complete nutjob.
Who wasn’t ill.
He returned quickly with a bottle of water which she took from him, gulping it down.
“You shouldn’t have gotten off the counter by yourself,” he scolded.
“I’m fine.”
“No, Lily. Unfortunately, I don’t think you are, but we’re going to ensure that you’re better than fine. What happened? Was it the thought of the needle? You don’t like needles?”
Harvey turned her to face him and grasped hold of her chin, so she had no choice but to look up at him.
“No, I don’t like needles.” It was the truth, just not the full truth. It wasn’t just the needle. “But what I really don’t like is that someone took blood from me without my permission while I was unconscious.”
He eyed her for a long moment. “I think it’s more than a dislike. Most people don’t vomit because they dislike something.”
She tried to glance away, but he wouldn’t allow it.
“Most people wouldn’t kidnap someone, then take their blood.”
“No, they wouldn’t. But I’m not most people. And my doctor took the blood. You’d fallen into a deep sleep, and I couldn’t wake you up. She took some blood to check up on you.”
“Right.”
Keep your cool, Lily. You have to keep calm if you’re going to get out of here.
“I understand why you’re upset,” he said, surprising her.
“You do?”
“Yes, although that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t do the same thing again. But I will try not to.”
“You understand why that was wrong. Right, Harvey?” she asked.
“I get why you think it was wrong. But I did what I had to in order to keep you safe and healthy. We’ll soon know if anything comes back from your blood test results, if there’s something we need to do. And that’s more important than anything else.”
Right. He was saying that he understood it was wrong, but he wasn’t apologizing because he thought the ends justified the means. She wasn’t certain she agreed, but she was so tired. She just didn’t have it in her to argue anymore.
“And do I get to know the results?”
“Of course. But I want you to tell me why you had such an extreme reaction. Does this have anything to do with why you were so upset upstairs?”
Shit, he was too perceptive.
“I thought it was because you’d woken up in a strange place with no idea how you’d gotten there. But is it because you woke up to find that you had bandages that you couldn’t remember getting?”
“I think it’s fair to say it was both, and I don’t feel like talking anymore.”
To her shock, he just nodded and picked her up, carrying her out of the bathroom.
“I’ll take you back upstairs to bed,” he said. “And I’ll get you some dry toast to help settle your stomach.”
She didn’t think it would work, but again, she wasn’t in the mood to argue.
Lily was completely done.