Chapter 26 Slob
SLOB
“Has anyone been to visit minus the lawyer?” I asked the on-duty officer just outside the hospital door. The previous male officer was replaced due to an unfortunate stabbing. ‘That bitch is insane’ he screamed, throwing his badge on the captain’s desk like he was throwing it all away.
“No one, the lawyer left about twenty minutes ago though,” she replied.
“Thanks, take a break, I’ll handle it from here,” I conveyed, and she took off down the hall to the break room.
I tapped on the door before opening it. There wasn’t much to the small room, the hospital staff moved Mia into after her initial exam, discarded by the door was a lunch tray, untouched by the looks of it but put down in haste, the contexts scattered and I grabbed a pudding cup off it.
Stashing it in my pocket for later. Mia was asleep, a fry on her stomach and a mostly eaten burger gripped in her hands, mustard leaked out onto the hospital gown. Talk about a food coma.
I stepped on something soft as I entered, looking down to see a pair of socks.
Great, the most beautiful woman I have ever had the pleasure of being with, and she’s a slob.
I mean the enemy part — I could deal with it.
She just needed some persuasion. But this was disgusting.
I frowned, looking at several medical items moved further from the bed; it was like putting things out of reach for a toddler.
Further into the room I stepped, and approached the bed frame, she snored.
It wasn’t an obnoxious sound but a cute, light tune.
I gently unlocked the cuff from her hand, noticing the irritation and bloodstains where she had tried numerous times to get out.
A frown crossed my face. She must hate being chained down.
I knew that feeling all too well. Dr. Wellington would be taking the catheter out soon, anyway.
I couldn’t keep her restricted to a bed anymore, but I couldn’t believe I was letting a known killer free.
I mean, we’ve all had a murder spree at one point, but she just happened to be caught.
I grabbed the fry off her and placed it back with the rest of the uneaten ones.
When I went to pull the burger from her grip, she growled at me.
Her eyes flew open, a brief fear encased them before she yanked herself upright.
“What do you want?” spite rose in Mia’s question.
You. I thought. The handcuffs landed with a thud on the hospital tray in front of her, and she looked at her wrist in confusion.
“Do you always live like — ” I gestured towards the state of the room, the urge to tidy it getting the better of me.
“I haven’t had a solid meal in two weeks, chained to a bed and forced to entertain myself with what was available, you try it and you’ll get the same results I am sure,” she huffed, stretched her arms above her head and cracked her neck.
“Point taken,” I stood there unsure of what to say as all trains of thought left the station. Fuck, why was I so awkward when it came to Mia?
Mia swung her feet off the side of the bed, fiddled with the tie holding the catheter bag to the end of the bed and started to yank the IV out when I stopped her.
“Don’t,” my voice sounded stronger as I held her wrist away from the IV.
“Don’t free myself from the IV that will be infected if left in another few hours? Hate to break it to you but this sucker hasn’t been changed in three days, and they blew it. Unless you want your only chance at Midas dying of sepsis?” her eyebrow quirked.
“I–uh” I stammered, dropping her arm, and she returned her attention to the IV.
Mia tugged the IV out of her arm. There was a trickle of blood as she stood searching the cabinets for gauze. Her ass hung out of the gown, and I groaned as she reached towards a top shelf, having located the gauze. I leaned over her to grab them for her, and she glared annoyingly back.
“Thanks,” she muttered, turning back around, and I caught sight of the scars poking out the tops of the gowns.
Gauze in hand, she padded the wound where the IV had been and held pressure.
I burned with curiosity and rage about the scars across her back.
It wasn’t that I hadn’t seen them before because I saw the word carved into her flesh the night I arrested her, but I had somehow packed that away until now.
My face paled as the image of that night came into view, WHORE carved into her backside from her shoulder to her waist, each letter jagged and misshapen accompanied by the jagged circle, two horizontal lines split the upper half of the circle, a vertical line further sectioning it.
Obsidian’s mark but the ‘s’ in the corner was out of place.
I didn’t like it. As if she did notice the heated stare on her back, Mia faced me once again.
“I don’t want your pity, so you might as well fuck off. ”
A confused expression wove across my face, and rage simmered beneath the surface.
Who did that to her? She plopped back on the bed and flicked through the TV channels on the remote, oblivious to my mental crisis or without care, I wasn’t sure which, but the scars would not leave my mind’s eye.
Why did I care who did it to her? She’s not mine; she’s a fucking criminal.
A murderer and she has lied every step of the way.
This train of thought increased my need to throw her in a cell and call it a day, but nagged by my own conscience, that would never be the case.
She would go free, because someone so captivating and daring didn’t belong in a cage.
“If you are going to think that hard, do it somewhere else. You look constipated and it ruins the sexy cop vibes,” Mia deadpanned. Pointedly fixing the expression on my face, I saw her shoulders shake with a silent snicker.
“You know I can’t let you go anywhere without a psych exam right?” I came around to stand in front of the TV, looking down at her.
“Yes, let’s set the date, how’s Friday? I would prefer to be either committed or released on a weekend anyways,” She glanced down at her hands, counting the days on her fingers.
“That easy huh? Not at all concerned?” Bewildered by her calm manner, I looked at her sideways.
“Yep, although I am sure Scott would appreciate a heads up, he’ll want to be a witness in case of any mistreatment or malpractice.
Yes I am consenting just give me the paperwork or whatever else is needed and I will sign it.
Oh and I wouldn’t mention the IV to anyone else, it would not look good on your lady doctor’s rap sheet,” she smiled sweetly, and I just stared.
“Well chop, chop mister, we are wasting daylight, and I want to watch,” she shooed me towards the door, done with the conversation.
I pulled open the door, and her voice called out once more in a manufactured cheery tone, “Oh just a heads up, Midas will be released on bail, I expect as early as Wednesday.”
I stopped turning back towards her. “why tell me that?”
“Because someone should at least know before it’s too late,” her eyes were glossy like she didn’t quite understand what she was saying, and when I tried to reply, she had already immersed herself in the TV once again.