Page 95 of Hunted

I nod, the pieces clicking in place. He’s probably right. I glance back down at her and take a deep breath. It’s clear she needs to do a lot of healing, more so than we thought. I probably should have pushed her to see a therapist already, but sometimes she seems to be doing so well, and I don’t want to bring it up and upset her.

My phone buzzes and I pull it out. “The doctor is here,” I inform the others as I stand. “Maybe throw some clothes on yourselves,” I point out, noting they’re all still in boxers.

I stop at my room to grab a pair of sweatpants and as I step out, Arnold is coming up the stairs with the doctor in tow.

I reach out and shake her hand. “Thanks for coming, Dr. Reynolds.”

“Of course, what seems to be the problem?”

Arnold takes that as his queue and retreats downstairs as I lead the doctor into the room, where the guys are thankfully dressed in t-shirts and sweatpants. Darla still lays unconscious, her head in Bower’s lap.

“She woke up bleeding and freaked out. We think it’s her period but… We’re not sure she’s had one in a very long time. She also mentioned having a miscarriage, years ago.”

She nods along as she takes in Darla’s state and the blood on the bed.

She reaches forward and checks her pulse. “Can you move her over to this side of the bed?” she asks, pointing to a spot closer to her. Bower and West gently move her over and the doc moves to the end of the bed inspecting the bloody spot where they moved her from.

“How long has it been since you first noticed the blood?”

“About thirty-five minutes,” I tell her.

She nods. “It doesn’t look like her body is in distress. You’re probably right and it’s just her period, especially considering the small amount of blood and its consistency. I can’t perform a physical inspection of her while she’s unconscious, as I don’t think she’s in any danger of bleeding out.”

“What should we do?” King asks, looking lost as he stares at Darla.

“Keep her comfortable. If you can clean her up a bit, that will probably help her stay calm when she wakes up. I’d like to do a full panel on her,but we need to do it at my office where I have all the equipment. Can you bring her in at nine?”

“Today? Yes,” I tell her, already knowing that Darla isn't going to want to go.

“Okay, until then, just try to keep her calm and perhaps get her some supplies, yes?” She raises an eyebrow at me, and I nod. “Good, I’ll see you in…” She lifts her wrist and looks at her watch, checking the time. “About five hours. I’ll see myself out.”

Knowing Arnold is probably waiting by the stairs, I let her go and turn back to the others.

“Why don’t we get her cleaned up and change the bedding before she wakes up?” King suggests, and we all move into action. “I’m gonna call Hazel, maybe she can recommend what stuff we should get her.”

“It’s four o’clock in the morning,” I remind him.

He just shrugs. “She’ll answer.”

“I’ll do the bedding if you two want to take her into the bathroom and get her clean?” I offer. West scoops her up and Bower leads them into the bathroom.

I strip the bed and throw the dirty sheets in the hall, grabbing new ones from the linen closet. I’m glad we bought several spare sets, although it wasn’t blood I thought we’d be cleaning from them.

Just as I finish remaking the bed, Bower walks in carrying Darla, West hot on his heels. I pull the blanket back and West lays a couple of towels down.

“Good thinking,” I say, realizing she would just stain the sheets again if we didn’t put anything under her.

As Bower sets her down her eyes slowly open.

“W-What’s going on?” she asks, seeing the three of us hovering over her.

I sit down at her side and grab her hand. “Everything’s alright, you just got your period. But you’re all cleaned up now.”

She frowns at me, like she doesn’t understand what I’m saying, then her eyebrows raise and her face pales.

“Shit,” Bower mumbles as he kneels on the floor and strokes her hair back from her face. I squeeze her hand between mine and try to keep my voice calm.

“It’s okay, Darla.”