12. Chapter Eleven
CHAPTER ELEVEN
MARGERY
M argery groaned as she slowly started to wake up. What happened? Why was her head pounding so much? Her body ached even as she lay still.
Wait .
She was lying down.
Why was she lying down? Why was her body aching? Why did she feel like she got run over by a train several times?
“Don’t move,” someone said.
Her whole body tensed painfully. Who was that?
“Shh, you’re okay.”
His voice was getting closer. Where was she? Who was that? Why was she lying down? So many questions were running through her already aching head.
“No,” she mumbled.
Margery moved her arm but whimpered in pain as her whole body protested.
“Open your eyes for me. Everything is okay. You’re okay and alive,” the man whispered.
Slowly, she opened them and flinched as the light assaulted her eyes. Shit. That was bright.
“I’m sorry. Open them a bit at a time. Can’t do anything about the light, I’m afraid. Got no blinds for the windows.”
What did he think she was doing? She had opened them slowly and was still assaulted by the light. Could he not put a towel up to block out the sun?
Margery blinked several times and pushed through the pain. Probably not the best idea since her head was already killing her.
“Good girl. I’m Max.”
“What happened?” she whispered.
“You are one very lucky lady. If I hadn’t been outside on the road fixing something, I wouldn’t have heard you crash or get to you in time.”
Her eyes went wide as she stared at him. Everything came back to her. The crash. Running away from Ethan. Shit. Her mind must have been playing tricks on her because Ethan couldn’t have been raised from the dead.
But he grabbed her.
Held her.
Ran his hands through her hair.
Talked to her.
Everything made it so real. Had she taken something to make her hallucinate, and she didn’t know?
“You’re okay. No panicking. I got you out of your car and brought you into my house. You hit your head pretty hard.”
She stared at him, not fully processing his words. How did he expect her not to panic? He didn’t know what she had done. Ethan was back to life. It looked like he had aged just like she had over the years.
How could that be?
“Mind telling me why you were driving in the rain? Heavy rain you shouldn’t be driving in?”
She opened her mouth and quickly closed it again. Would he believe her? Or would he tell her ’she was crazy and needed to be seen by a specialist? What if he thought it was because she hit her head so hard?
“No lying,” he said. “I don’t like liars. Ex-wife was one.”
She felt for him. Her dad had been a lying bastard and had left when she was young. She didn’t wish that on anyone. Margery knew that sometimes there were lies that were okay. Ones where a person was trying to be polite and not cause any harm.
Yeah, she had told a few of those herself.
This probably wasn’t one of those instances, but part of her believed it should be. What if Ethan came and hurt him? She needed to leave before any of that could happen.
“I was running from somebody,” her breathing picked up as she spoke those words.
Not something she wanted to really admit, but if she said she needed to leave, he would ask why. Might as well give him a little bit of the information so it was easier for her to get away. Though, she didn’t know how fast she would be with how much her body ached.
Max’s eyes went wide. “You were? ”
Margery nodded and immediately groaned in pain. She shouldn’t move any part of her body unless she wanted to be in absolute agony.
“No moving. Words only,” he scolded her. “I don’t know a lot, but I’m pretty sure you have a concussion. Which means no fast movements, no bright lights, lots of liquid, and rest.”
Margery wanted to snort when he said no light. How was that going to work when he didn’t even have curtains? He wasn’t making much sense.
“I really do need to go,” she said, trying to push herself up.
But Max was quick and put his hand on the top of her chest to hold her down. She glared at him, not liking what he was doing. He had no reason to keep her there.
“You aren’t going anywhere. You most definitely have a concussion, and you shouldn’t be doing strenuous things. You need to stay here, especially since the storm hasn’t quite passed. It’s still raining, and it’s not safe,” he advised.
Margery looked toward the window and realized that even though it was sunny, it was still raining. How had she missed the sound of rain hammering on the roof? Probably because she was too focused on the man who saved her and the possibility of Ethan finding her here.
“How long have I been here?” she asked, the panic in her voice showing.
“A couple of hours. The sun started to peek up twenty minutes ago.”
That math didn’t add up. A couple of hours would have put them in the middle of the night .
“Lie,” she called out.
“Some people’s definition of a couple of hours is different. Some people think it’s two, and for some people, it can range for up to eight hours.”
If she had known it wouldn’t hurt her head, she would have rolled her eyes. Eight hours was more like several hours.
“I do really need to go. I don’t care that it’s raining. I can walk in the rain. Would probably feel good.”
“And you’ll get sick. Not happening. You’re already hurt; it’s not happening.”
She clenched her jaw. If she was going by his definition of a couple of hours, it had to be closer to eight. Which meant Ethan could be anywhere. He could be right outside, but they would have no clue.
If Ethan was actually alive and her stalker, he was very good at it. He knew how not to be seen and how to get into houses without anybody noticing.
“I don’t think you understand,” she argued as she slapped his hand off her chest. She needed to sit up so he knew she meant business.
Max stepped back, and she clenched her jaw as she raised herself to a seating positon. It was worse than she thought, the ache and pain of her body.
“What don’t I understand? I understand that you’re hurt and need to take it easy. I understand that you’re probably scared because you don’t know where you are. I can understand those things, but what I can’t understand is you risking your health by walking outside. Wait a couple of hours, and you can get to wherever you want, or I can drop you off when the rain stops.”
“You really don’t understand. He could be anywhere. He could be right outside the door, and we wouldn’t know,” she worried.
For some reason, that got through to Max because his whole body tensed and his eyes narrowed.
“Are you in trouble? Are you running from law enforcement?” he asked.
“I’m not running from law enforcement. I told you I was running away from somebody.”
“Thought that was just something to use as an excuse.”
“Why would I lie? You told me not to.”
Max was making no sense. He told her not to lie, and yet he figured she had. Okay, anybody in their right mind probably would have lied. She probably should have made it sound more believable. He obviously didn’t believe her the first time.
“I have a stalker. I’m pretty sure it’s somebody I thought was dead, which makes it a lot worse,” she explained.
“And he followed you to the cabin you were staying at?”
Her eyes went wide. How did he know she was staying at the cabin?
“I’m the neighbor who lives a mile away. You have my phone number on the fridge.”
“Oh. Sorry. I’m just a little paranoid right now, but I did have your number on the fridge. I’m not really sure.”
Her head was hurting so badly that she didn’t want to think anymore. All she wanted was to relax and not worry about anything, but that couldn’t happen. Not until this whole stalker situation was handled .
But nobody seemed to believe her. The police officer hadn’t, and now she felt like Max wasn’t either.
“Well, if this is true, I can keep you safe. I’ve had training, you don’t have to worry about it,” he finally spoke.
She raised her hand. “You don’t understand. I need to leave. He broke into my house without me knowing and left a present. He’s dangerous.”
If this was Ethan, what had happened to her sweet, loving boyfriend? She remembered how soft he was with her and how caring. His words last night were caring; he wanted to take care of her, but his actions weren’t.
What happened to Ethan? Why was he this way? Was everything okay? How was he alive?
Margery started to massage her temples and hoped that the aching would go away. She needed to stop thinking so hard about everything. Although it probably wouldn’t happen, she needed to relax, but she knew that wasn’t going to happen. Not when she was in a cabin with someone she didn’t know, and especially not when she knew Ethan was still out there.
“I’m going to make you some food and give you some medicine,” Max said kindly.
“Are you really going to ignore what I just said? He’s dangerous.”
“Yes, I am because I was in the military and have been trained for things like this. We’re safe. I have guns in every room, so you don’t have to worry.”
But that just didn’t sit well with Margery. How did he expect her to be calm when he didn’t know who Ethan was? Margery didn’t even know if she knew who he was anymore .
“Do you have a weapon on you?” she queried.
“No. I don’t need to carry a gun on me at all times if I have one in every room. We’re going to be fine. You aren’t leaving since you’re hurt. You’re going to be getting the rest you need. I don’t want to hear anything else.”
Margery sighed as he walked away. She just had a bad feeling that she couldn’t shake.