Page 79 of Death, Interrupted
“Yes, they’re already on the way. If you could, we ask you to talk to them. Ms. Ellis won’t have the strength to listen and answer all the questions they’ll have.”
“I’ll talk to them,” I assured her with a nod. “Thank you, doctor.”
She gave me a soft smile, then motioned for me to enter the room Sumner was in.
When I stepped in, my heart clenched at the sight of her. She had her eyes open, wide and alert as they met mine. There was a white bandage wrapped around her nose and two dark bruises on her cheekbones. There was another wound on her jaw, and her bottom lip was swollen.
I’m going to kill that motherfucker.
I tried to stay strong for her because she didn’t need anything else to worry about. She was in pain and deeply hurt. I needed to be strong for her.
“Hey,” I said quietly as I moved closer to the bed. My hands were shaking, so I pressed them against my jeans until they stilled. “I’m so goddamn sorry—”
“Stop,” she croaked out, her voice broken and small.
I didn’t take another step forward. She looked scared, which I understood completely after what happened out on the road, but what made my heart ache was the way she was looking at me. She was scared ofme.
Her bottom lip started to quiver, and she shifted on the bed to get as much distance between us as she possibly could. “Get away from me,” she whispered, tugging the blanket covering her legs higher.
“Sumner, it’s me…”
“Go away!” Her voice was louder now, and her eyes full of terror.
Fuck…
“Okay, okay.” I lifted my hands in defense and took a couple of steps back to give her space. “It’s just me.”
“No! You’re the monster!”
Every word stabbed me right in the chest, and that expression of hers only added to the pain.
“Sumner,” I whispered, desperate to go and hold her, and tell her that everything would get better soon. “It’s Sly. Don’t you remember me?”
Maybe that concussion of hers had led to temporary memory loss, or she was mentally so unstable, that she truly didn’t recognize me. Either way, I needed to give her space and be patient.
She’d come back to me. She had to.
“Sumner,” I tried again, but she started screaming, and her screams were loud enough to get nurses to come running.
“What is going on in here?” one of them said, immediately walking over to Sumner to calm her down.
“Sir, please step out of the room,” the other said, staring me down but keeping her voice steady. “Sir, now, please.”
“But I’m not—”
“She’s suffered a bad head injury. Getting all worked up doesn’t do her any good. She needs to rest. Please leave the room.”
I kept my eyes on Sumner and watched as tears rolled down her cheeks, with that horrified look still on her face. She wasn’t looking at me. She thought I did this to her. She thought I was Joey.
“Sir,” the nurse said again, holding out her hand toward the door.
“Yeah.” I ran a hand through my hair and kept my voice low. “I’m not going anywhere, Sumner. I’ll be right outside.” The words were a promise I meant to keep.
As soon as I stepped into the hallway two policeofficers were waiting. One took a step forward and asked, “Are you Mr. Webb?”
I nodded. “That’s me.”
The officer on the right glanced me up and down while the other got a clipboard ready.