Page 199 of Broken Daddy

It looked . . . terrible.

A small sob escaped her and she wanted to look away but she forced herself to stare at herself. The stitching on her cheek had mostly dissolved, leaving a bright red scar against her pale skin. It was shocking.

Why had she thought it wouldn’t look this bad? Of course it would. She’d had a knife slashed through her cheek.

Devi could feel her breath coming faster.

These panic attacks had become an almost daily occurrence in the nine days since she’d been hurt.

At least she’d kept the last few from Hayes. That was an accomplishment considering he was pretty much always here. But he’d left to pick up some packages. Probably more stuff for her.

As soon as he left, she’d gotten up to look at her cheek.

He’s not going to be happy.

Well, she wasn’t happy.

Her cheek looked awful. She looked awful. Why wasn’t she feeling any better?

She’d only been here four nights and it just . . . it didn’t feel right. She loved the cabin. It felt so safe and cozy. Like something out of a dream.

Yet she couldn’t get past the feeling that any time now Hayes was going to realize she was more trouble than she was worth and tell her to leave.

The last thing she wanted to do was be a burden. He’d spent all of his time taking care of her. And that couldn’t continue on. It wasn’t fair to him. Or feasible financially.

Yet, what was she going to do when he went back to work? How long did she get to stay here?

How long until everything fell apart?

Feeling her airways tighten, she sat on the floor and leaned back against the bathroom wall, ignoring the pain that shot through her arm. She’d overworked it this morning doing exercises while Hayes took a shower.

Leighton wouldn’t be happy if he found out. Her new physical therapist was a good-looking guy.

Hayes hadn’t been happy that he was her physical therapist, but he seemed like he was good at his job.

She leaned her head forward as black dots started darting in her vision.

Breathe in. One. Two. Hold. One. Two. Out. One. Two.

She could hear his voice in her head. Steady and reassuring. But for some reason she just couldn’t get her panic under control.

Come on, calm down.

If he comes back and finds you, he won’t ever leave you on your own again.

In. Out. Hold. In. Out. Hold.

The room started spinning. She was going to pass out.

Suddenly, she could sense him. Then he was in front of her. She opened her eyes, staring up at him, but it was like she was in a bubble where nothing could reach her. She could see his lips moving, but she had no clue what he was saying.

To her shock, he lifted her, putting her on his lap, and holding her tight. And it was like that bubble popped and everything came rushing back to her.

“Come on, baby. Listen to me. Can you hear me?” he asked frantically.

She nodded. She could hear him.

“Fuck. Thank fuck.” He placed his hand on her chest. “You have to take a breath. I need you to listen. Follow my breaths.” Grabbing her good hand, he placed it on his chest. “Breathe in.” He took in a breath and she felt it against her hand. She followed him.