Chapter Seven
Master
TALEAH IS STILL in the hospital. She’s been here for a week and a half so far.
I’ve overheard the nurses and her doctor talking and have learned she has no memory of what happened to her.
Part of me is happy she doesn’t have to live with the knowledge of her attack.
I’ve watched the video from her security footage and it was brutal.
TJ gave no fucks when he attacked her before stealing a ton of money from the safe and register.
He spit on her before rushing out of Fantasy Realm.
A truly disgusting piece of shit. Count is the only other person who watched the video because he refused to let me see it alone.
I’m sure there was a conversation between the guys before it happened, but I’ll never know because everyone in the club is there to offer their silent support regardless of how much they know about the situation.
Count is the only one who knows what Taleah means to me and how much this is killing me.
I’m at the hospital every single day. I remain in the shadows when my sister or Taleah’s parents are out of her room.
It doesn’t happen very often, but if she has to go for tests or walks with the physical therapist, I hide myself so the Prospect is the only person Taleah knows is there.
I’m not sure how much she understands about the situation with the Prospect guarding her room, but I’m not about to leave her vulnerable to another attack from TJ.
So, I sit in the waiting room for hours every single day and listen as the staff discusses her case because it gives me the knowledge I’m desperate for.
The only time I ever allow myself to see her is late at night when I can’t sleep and eventually make my way back to the hospital because it’s close to her and the only time I’ll be able to see her without anyone saying a word to me.
I never go in her room, but I look through the window as she sleeps and has nightmares.
Every instinct demands I go in to protect her, but I keep myself locked in place as her parents give her the comfort she deserves to have.
TJ has already tried to get in the hospital twice since Taleah was brought in.
He definitely knows how to play the sad boyfriend act.
I watched on as he pretended he didn’t understand why he wasn’t allowed in her room or even on the floor she’s currently being kept on.
It’s a locked ward I made sure she was transferred to after his first attempt to visit her.
Both times I happened to be walking in and witnessed the entire exchange.
He has a lot of balls trying to get close to her after what he did.
The only reason I haven’t beaten the fuck out of him so far is because he deserves to be locked in a cell to rot for the rest of his life.
I’ll still get my hands on him, but I won’t kill him.
He’ll suffer more in prison. Death for him is way too easy after everything he’s done to Taleah.
I’ll make sure he suffers in prison for the rest of his life.
He’ll be begging for a death that won’t ever come.
Today, Taleah’s having a good day. Her pain levels have been kept at a bare minimum and she’s finally starting to remember pieces of the day she was attacked.
I hate that for her, but if she remembers, she won’t take the pathetic little bitch back.
Taleah won’t stand for a man putting his hands on her in violence.
It’s the one thing she’s said countless times when we were growing up.
Elara and her used to discuss it because one of our classmates was in an abusive relationship.
Honestly, Taleah doesn’t realize how abusive TJ has been toward her because until the attack it was never physical.
Abuse isn’t always physical and she just didn’t allow herself to believe that’s what was happening to her.
“The girl who was attacked is going home tomorrow. She’s ready to leave and her parents are going to take her home with them,” one of the nurses says as they walk out of Taleah’s room.
“Dr. Keen wants her discharge papers prepared today because she’ll need to have physical therapy for her arm and to rebuild the strength in her legs.
The bruising has caused her to have trouble walking because of the injuries inflicted.
It’s already helping, but she’ll need more if she wants to fully recover.
I’m going to work on that while we wait for her latest bloodwork to come back. ”
“Okay. I’m going to head down for coffee. I’ll bring you one back,” the second nurse says as she passes me where I sit in the waiting room.
No one says a word to me. They haven’t since the first day when I refused to leave and told them security wouldn’t make me move because I don’t trust them enough to leave them with Taleah.
Knowing her situation even a little bit quickly made them stop trying to force me away from the only girl I’ve ever loved.
“What are you doing out here, Son?” Mr. .Winslow asks, sitting down next to me with a cup of coffee in hand.
“I don’t deserve to be in there with Taleah.
It’s bad enough she knows I’m the one who brought her here the day of her attack.
Elara told her when she was still in the emergency room.
Please don’t tell her I’m still out here,” I return without taking my eyes from Taleah’s door. “How’s she really doin’?”
“Better. The nightmares are horrible, but she’s managed to piece together most of what happened to her that day.
She’s cried for what happened to her and is trying to move on.
I personally believe she needs to see a therapist like Dr. Keen suggested, but she says she’s thinking about it.
Her voice is slowly coming back but it might not ever be normal again.
The bruising to her vocal chords was extensive.
Taleah doesn’t talk very often because it still hurts and exhausts her.
She’s got her notebook and writes most everything down for Elara and us.
Saves her voice for the nurses and Dr. Keen.
The bruises have turned a nasty shade of black and the cuts are slowly healing.
Her pain level is slowly fading as well,” Mr. Winslow informs me as rage simmers throughout my body in a slow burn like I’ve never experienced before.
“If she decides to see a therapist, I can help her out with that,” I say as Mr. Winslow stands from his seat and looks down at me.
“I’ll keep that in mind. She’ll be going home with us tomorrow.
We don’t want her going back to the house until she can get in there and see how much damage TJ’s actually done to the place.
Plus, they still haven’t caught him and we refuse to leave her alone so he can get to her again,” he states before walking down the hall and disappearing into his daughter’s room once again.
Evan, one of our Prospects, is currently on Taleah’s door.
He’s quiet and rarely speaks unless one of us asks him a direct question.
Evan does his job, no matter what task we give him, and doesn’t hesitate to step up when he sees something that needs to be done.
I’ve seen him playing with the kids if the adults are busy, cleaning when the Feral Girls are too lazy to get off their asses, and making sure the bar runs smoothly.
He keeps his eyes and hands to himself and always goes home when he can instead of staying in the clubhouse.
I think he has a girl outside and is trying to figure out how to merge his worlds into one.
It will either work out for him or it won’t.
Since none of us know what his situation is, I can’t speak on whether his girl will survive our lifestyle.
What I like about him guarding Taleah is that he makes the nurse wait until he reads her credentials before allowing her to enter the room.
Her physical therapist didn’t have a name tag on her first day working with Taleah and Evan refused to let her enter the room.
It caused a scene but Dr. Keen understood and assured him the therapist was legit and would wear her name tag moving forward.
I think she fully grasped the situation once she got her first look at Taleah and realized it was a domestic violence situation.
No one questions him and always makes sure he can see a name tag when they get close to the door of Taleah’s room.
Especially during shift change when things are chaotic and people can slip in unnoticed.
“Still hidin’ out here instead of goin’ in to see your girl?” Count asks, taking the seat Mr. Winslow vacated a few minutes ago.
“Don’t deserve to be in there with her, Count. Told you this more than once,” I state, sitting back in the chair and locking my hands behind my head. My entire body is sore as fuck from sitting in these chairs over the last week and a half.
“You do deserve to be in there, Master. You saved her fuckin’ life and I know she wants to thank you.
Even if I don’t personally know Taleah, she’d want to thank you if she’s as sweet as you say she is,” he says, something I’ve heard more than once from him.
It’s an argument he won’t ever win but we have them every time he shows up to keep me company and make sure I remain in check. “How’s she doin’ today?”