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My breathing is stunted, haggard. Zeke grips my arm, pulling it back around him so I can’t dig at my skin anymore, but I squirm against him because I just need it to be gone.
“Stop, it’s ok,” he whispers. His breath fluttering across my ear as he pulls me impossibly close. “It’s ok just stay still. No one is going to take you, I promise. Just let him take it out.”
Pinching my eyes closed, I breathe heavily, burying my face in the crook of Zeke’s neck. Nodding my head, I give them permission to move forward. I’m so worked up, I almost don’t feel it when the doctor slices my skin open. He moves so quickly that by the time my body registers the pain, he’s suturing my neck closed.
“You’re doing so good Cole.” Zeke reassures me as he rubs his cheek against my hair.
“All done, son,” the doctor says, and even though he just helped me, I’m terrified to open my eyes.
“Smash it,” Zeke commands. I hear a small crunch come from behind me and Zeke finally exhales.
“Hey, are you ok?”
“I… Can he take off the coat?” I manage to choke out.
“You heard him.”
“Absolutely, of course. All gone, it’s off now.”
Pulling slightly away from Zeke, I lift my head and turn to my side to face the doctor, wincing through the pain.
“Can we go home yet?” Zeke asks.
“Yes. I just wanted to explain to you both what I just explained to your friends. Cole,” the doctor's eyes meet mine, “there’s no way around it, your wounds are going to scar. I’m so sorry. The good news is, the infection is clearing up nicely. I’m comfortable taking you off of the intravenous drip now and sending you home with oral antibiotics though, but you have to take it easy. Ok?”
“He will,” Zeke chirps.
“Okay then,” the doctor pulls a bottle of pills, and a business card from his bag and hands them to Zeke, “Twice a day with food. Call me if you have any questions.”
“Got it,” Zeke snatches both from his hands. “Now leave.”
Chapter forty-two
Zeke
“You can hate me all you want, Zeke. I wouldn’t blame you. I did what I did, but I won’t say that I regret it because it was the only way that Amelia and Charles would agree to help us.”
“No, that’s a cop out! You could have saved her. We could have fucking left with her. You already had us! Fuck them!” I’m screaming at Riot right now, and I can’t even find it within myself to care. I love him, I love him so goddamn much, but he knew how much it meant to me that I find Ellie, and he left her in that fucking hell. She’ll die in there.
Where was his love for me when he made this decision?
“You don’t understand Zeke -”
“She doesn’t want to leave,” Hannah’s voice interrupts and I whirl around to see her standing in the hallway, just outside the living room.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“No Zeke, I do. You don’t know what you’re talking about. You were with her for what? A couple of years? I’m the one who rescued her from that hell when she was kidnapped. I’m the one who trained her when she came here. For years and years she trained…”
“I’m not listening to this bullshit!”
“Damnit Zeke!” Hannah shouts so loud I swear the sconces on the walls vibrate. “You don’t want to listen to me? Maybe you’ll listen to her!”
Storming toward me, she swipes her phone screen several times and then slams the device against my chest.
“See what she has to say.”
Trembling, I hold the phone against my chest as Hannah pulls her hand away. Dropping into the nearest chair, I turn the phone sideways and press the play button that fills the center of the screen. When I see those big, beautiful, amber eyes, everything stops. My heartbeat stills inside of my chest, and the whole world falls quiet.