Chapter Nineteen
Scarlett
The pain slams into me all at once. There’s no slow descent into the agony—one moment, the drugs the doc gave me are working like a charm, and my arm only throbs with discomfort.
A single heartbeat later, the pain becomes insurmountable.
Absolutely intolerable. It feels like somebody’s holding a torch to my arm, burning a path through my skin, blood vessels, veins, and even bones.
With tears burning in my eyes, I manage to force myself out of the bed, even though my entire body aches and I’m limping a bit.
I burst out of the bedroom, panting, my hand hovering over the bandage covering my opposite arm.
I hear Lucifer let out a meow from somewhere in the apartment—a moment later, he appears in the hallway.
He trots up to me and stands on his hindlegs, bracing his front paws on my leg and releasing an almost mournful meow.
I don’t have the bandwidth to pet him or give him attention. The pain is eating me up alive, and while I’m not normally an advocate for pain meds or sedatives, I feel like I’ll die if I don’t get them.
I let out a low groan as another wave of sheer agony makes my vision briefly go black, and then start stumbling down the hallway, desperately searching for an exit. I need to get to the medical wing and beg for something to help abate the pain.
I hear a vaguely familiar beep before the front door opens and closes.
The first tear rolls down my cheek, and Luci releases a particularly loud yowl…
almost as if he’s trying to bring attention to me.
I know it’s Monster who entered; I doubt anyone else has access to get into the apartment…
save for Cain. But Monster assured me that he’d changed the apartment codes and upgraded the biometrics scanner to ensure that Cain’s arrival wouldn’t be a repeat occurrence.
I sag against the wall as I hear footsteps treading closer to me. Luci releases a louder, more urgent meow.
“Scarlett, what happened?” Monster’s voice is edged with faint panic, and he rushes forward. “Fuck, did someone come? What—”
“The burn,” I wheeze, shaking my head. “I… I can’t…
” I release a low groan of agony, tears spilling freely from my eyes.
I’ve felt a lot of pain in my life, but even getting stabbed wasn’t anything like this.
It seems like I’m destined to constantly get introduced to a new world of pain at this horrific fortress.
“Oh, baby,” Monster says softly. “The meds wore off?” he wraps an arm around my waist and draws me into him, carefully avoiding my bad arm. “I thought it was only second-degree?”
“Most of it—” my words are cut off with a sob. “Most of it is, but right in the middle… third-degree.”
“Fuck.” Monster picks me up in his arms. “Sorry, Flower, but we’re going back to medical. Looks like the incompetent doctors neglected to give me the full scope of the situation… and didn’t give me any fucking meds for you.” He sounds personally aggrieved, as if he was the one who got hurt.
I squeeze my eyes shut and try to breathe through the pain, but it’s impossible. It doesn’t abate or soften, and I don’t grow used to it; it just keeps becoming more and more intense, until I’m afraid I’ll vomit.
I hear the sound of a door opening, and then an aggrieved meow. “Not you, demon,” Monster mutters. “You can stay here—don’t claw my fucking couch!”
“Please let him come,” I whisper. “He… he helps. He knows how to help when I’m in pain.” Granted, it’s usually emotional pain that Luci helps me through, but his presence is an automatic comfort.
Monster sighs. “Alright. Just breathe, Scarlett. We’ll get you the good shit in a minute.”
The trip down to the second-floor medical wing feels like it takes an eternity rather than mere minutes. By the time we get there, I’m close to heaving. Thank God I haven’t eaten anything since this morning…
“Get me Ross right now,” Monster’s voice booms out.
“He’s sleeping,” someone answers quickly.
I hear footsteps, and then, there’s a touch on my shoulder.
I shrink back into Monster’s chest. I don’t feel like a human right now; I feel like an animal who’s been hit by a car and is lying in a dying heap on the side of the road. “I can take care of her.”
“Get me whatever will make her pain go away immediately, and wake Ross up. I don’t give a shit if he’s sleeping.”
Movement follows, and then I’m being lowered onto a hospital bed.
I instinctually clutch onto Monster’s shirt.
I need contact and support right now, even if it’s coming from the cruelest person in my life.
The agony is too much. I can take on a lot on my own, but this… this is really pushing my limits.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he says soothingly. He presses a kiss to my forehead. “I’m right here, Flower. It’ll get better soon, I swear.”
“4mg of morphine,” the doctor says. “Sorry, sweetheart, it’s going to be a prick.
” He rubs something cold and wet over my shoulder, right above the burn, and the touch somehow exasperates my pain.
I let out a yelp when I feel a needle sink into my skin, and then cool liquid disperses through my veins.
“You’ll feel it in a minute. Take nice, long deep breaths. ”
“Go fuck yourself,” I wheeze. I might feel like I’m dying, but I don’t appreciate his patronizing tone—or his assumption that I have any control over my body and breathing.
Monster chuckles. A brush of fur along my leg tells me that Luci’s joined me on the bed. I manage to pry my eyes open… and that’s when I realize I’m still fisting Monster’s shirt as if it’s a lifeline. I release him abruptly, then release a cry when the sharp movement ignites a new round of pain.
“Alright,” Monster says, rounding the bed and taking a seat on the bed beside me.
“It’s okay, Scarlett. You’re alright. I’ve got you.
” He wraps an arm around my waist again, and this time, I let him.
Worse, I burrow into him again, much to the confusion of Luci—who looks between the two of us like he can’t decide whether Monster’s an enemy or a friend.
Right now, I’m not sure which he is, either. When I’m better, he’ll go straight back to being an enemy… but in this moment, I need him. As much as I hate to admit it… I need him.
As the seconds trickle by, melting into minutes, the pain does start to abate. It flees in slow waves, until I’m back to only feeling an uncomfortable but bearable throb over the burn. Thank God.
The world grows a bit fuzzy around the edges, and a pleasant lightness takes place in my chest. I grimace at the manufactured sensation. I know it’s not real, but even so… it’s nice not to feel temporarily crushed beneath the weight of my circumstances. I relax into Monster with a sigh.
“Better?” he asks quietly.
“Better,” I murmur sleepily. “That really sucked.”
“I'm sorry I wasn’t there,” he murmurs. “My meeting… ran long.” I look up at him, then cringe when I see a blooming bruise on the side of his jaw. Damn, it looks painful. There’s blood on his shirt—not his, I don’t think—and a tear at his collar.
“What happened?” I ask.
His jaw tightens. “We’ll talk about it later, Flower.”
I open my lips to ask, demand more information… only to seal them closed once again. I don’t have the standing to ask questions; I’m the one who’s usually forced through torturous sexual means to answer them.
Monster sighs when Luci crawls up my legs and settles himself on my lap, resting his head on my chest. I think he’s listening to my heartbeat—he does that sometimes. He’s done it ever since he was a starving, half-alive kitten. I’m pretty sure he imprinted on me.
“I think he might be warming up to me,” Monster comments. As if my cat can understand him, Luci lifts his head, throws Greyson a cursory hiss, and then lowers his head once again. “Never mind,” Monster adds on with a chuckle. He tilts his head to the side. “Does he only hate me, or is it everyone?”
“Mostly everyone,” I reply, scratching Luci behind his ears. He lets out a purr of contentment and snuggles closer to me, eyes blinking shut. “He was in bad shape when I found him, and I think he was abused by a man, so he has an extra special hatred for men.”
“He seems to like Max,” Monster replies, something sharp in his tone. My stomach twists as I glance at him.
“Max mentioned having a dog earlier,” I murmur. “One that gets along with Luci. That might be why my cat accepts Max.”
“So you two did a lot of talking this morning, hmm?” Monster’s voice is progressively growing more and more testy. “What exactly did you talk about?”
I suddenly feel like I’m back on the field, with a plane dropping bombs flying overhead.
One wrong step will mean getting blown up, so I have to choose my words carefully.
Monster’s obviously unhappy that I have any sort of relationship with anyone who isn’t him.
It’s completely within his power to command Max to never speak to me again, which would, strangely, hurt.
I like Max. I don’t think he’s a good man, but he is a decent one.
“Plants,” I reply quietly. “Animals. He suggested very strongly I give you a shot. It wasn’t anything to write home about.”
Monster relaxes a little at hearing that Max is his advocate, but not entirely. “And… what are your sentiments regarding actually putting a little effort into us?”
“Remember when I poisoned you? I’d rather do that again before giving into you.” As soon as the words, I lift a hand to cover my mouth. The drugs are making me loopy, and loosening my tongue in a way that could come back around to bite me in the ass.