Page 81 of Tear Me Down (Descent to Darkness Trilogy #2)
Chapter thirty-seven
Ashia
A faint beep awakens me, and while I've come to recognize it as a heart monitor, it sounds far away.
Like for a change it isn't mine. I open my eyes as best as I can, and am greeted by gentle white walls.
At least some light filters in through the large windows, and I can tell it's either early morning or late evening.
That horrid room is now nothing but a not-so-distant memory, a nightmare I've only just awoken from, but at least the immediate image of a different surrounding was the first thing I saw.
I clear my dry throat before I look down at my arms, not missing the way my head throbs or how my body aches.
The first thing I instantly notice is the bandages that poke through my hospital gown.
Flashes from my experience play through my mind, and I don't have to look under the fabric to know what was done to me.
Every slice and slash, every harsh grip and slap comes to the forefront of my mind, and I have no trouble recalling the horrors of the past several hours.
Two IVs are taped to my skin, one on each arm, and what appears to be blood and antibiotics are coursing through the lines. Three rings of bruises are etched into each arm from the ropes…
“Hey, you're awake,” Serena whispers to me, drawing my attention away as she grabs my hand.
“Yeah,” I respond with a dry mouth. “Where are we?”
“University Hospital in North Carolina. You're okay. You’re safe now.”
North Carolina? Dranan wasn't kidding when he said he took me out of the state?
I thought for sure he was playing some type of psychological game on me, and it would turn out that we were right outside of town the entire time.
I lay back against the bed and close my eyes, allowing the throbbing pain in my head to settle before I speak again.
“Where’s Damien?”
“He’s right next to you. We knew that if he didn’t wake up beside you, he’d destroy this place.” She huffs a light laugh, but the look on her face is anything but amused.
I look over to the other side of the room to see Damien lying in his own hospital bed, hooked up to the monitor I heard before.
He has an IV and blood bag like I do, but there’s also an oxygen tube hooked up to his nose.
He’s asleep, and alive, thank God, but the monitor is the only reason I know that he is.
His skin looks ghostly pale, and there’s bruising and bandages that cover his chest and arms, causing me to fear the response I’d receive if I asked about the damage below the blanket .
“I know me and him don’t get along or see eye to eye, but there’s no doubt that he loves you. I thought he was a ghost carrying you out of that building from the way he looked.”
Contradicting emotions charge in my chest. Fear and endearment collide and battle it out beneath my skin.
I knew he would come for me, and I knew he would do anything to get me back, but seeing his injuries makes my heart feel heavy.
He looks worse than I do, and I can only imagine what he went through or the pain he must be in.
I finally tear my gaze away to look at her.
“He’s okay?” I ask in quiet voice in hopes to conceal the trembling, and thankfully, she nods.
“Mostly. He was injured pretty badly before we knew you were…” She hesitates.
“Gone. Then he was shot and stabbed rushing into that warehouse.
He lost a lot of blood, and you've both been out for a while,” she admits, and I have to take a moment to absorb what she's saying. Why was he so hurt even before I was gone? All of the obvious damage to his body wasn’t from storming in to save me?
“What happened to him?”
“The meeting they tried to intercept was a trap. There was never any meeting. The moles are dead, and they have been for a while. When Damien and everyone else got to the warehouse, they blew it up.”
My eyes widen, and my heart sinks to the thought that I’ve potentially lost so many people.
Oh no…
“Zeke? Alex?” I ask frantically.
“They’re both okay, and back home. The hospital would only allow one visitor for each of you, so Carter and I stayed, with a little fight from Zeke, of course. He made Carter promise to call him every couple of hours to keep him updated. He’s outside in the hallway talking to him now.”
A part of me is glad that Zeke isn’t here to see me like this.
At least Serena has seen me like this before, and I’m sure Carter saw the same files on me as Damien did.
So, all of this shouldn’t be a surprise to him either.
The last thing either one of us needs is pitiful looks, and I’m sure Zeke would be the first to sling them our way.
“How long was I out?” I deter, trying to change the subject.
“Um, well it’s around five in the morning now, so about fourteen hours,” she says, but shakes her head. “It’s all good, though. You need your rest. You lost a good amount of blood, too.”
That information sends a wave of concern through my body, and images of the pregnancy test flash through my mind.
“Have they, um…” I swallow harshly, afraid of the answer she might give me as tears prick my eyes. “Said anything about… ”
“The baby is fine.” She grabs my hand, and her eyes tear up as well. “It’s okay, Momma.” A tear falls down my cheek, and I wipe it away with my other hand, feeling the relief roll over me in waves.
“Did they tell you for sure or…”
“Sort of, we found the test in your bathroom. After the explosion, Carter and I went to the house to get you. That’s when we realized what happened.
” She runs her thumb along the outside of my hand, providing me with a sweet gesture of comfort.
“I did a brief scan on the way here, and then they looked more in-depth once we arrived. They said they’d bring an ultrasound machine in here when you both woke up to do another check, but that everything was okay. ”
I nod my head at her and look back at Damien, watching as his chest rises and falls in shallow movements.
“Does he know?”
“Yeah. I told him when we had to let him know you were missing, and I’m sure you can imagine how that went.
” She tightens her hold on my hand a little and continues.
“Girl, I’m not going to lie, I was thoroughly impressed with him.
He acted like nothing was hurting him until he found you.
We were in our fake-ass ambulance on the way over here, he made sure that you both were alive, and then he passed the fuck out.
I thought he died at first.” She releases another stressed chuckle and shakes her head.
“He’s been asleep ever since. He fought through hell to get to you. ”
Of course he did. I know he did. The depth of Damien’s love for me doesn’t have limits, and just from the looks of him, he endured hours of pain like it was nothing.
Well, the physical pain, I should say. His mind was already plagued by guilt and ideas of being a failure.
I can only imagine the self-deprecating thoughts that ran wild, and how he’s continuously degraded himself since the scene at the warehouse.
I close my eyes and try to relax for a moment, but I'm only met with images of Dranan. Flashes of bright lights and red smears fill my mind, and I open my eyes again. The sight of ceiling tiles versus the image of the warehouse walls are a reminder that it’s over.
Taking a deep breath in, I will myself to push the thoughts away, desperate not to remain haunted by yet another attack.
Serena lets go of my hand, but only so she can scoot her chair closer and pick it back up.
“I heard what all happened through that live feed.” She speaks again, sending a flash of ice through my nerves. “You know what that piece of shit said isn’t true, right? Damien loves you. Nothing that happened will change that.”
She heard what happened? Who else witnessed my torture? My humiliating undoing? My fiancé, my best friend, and God knows who else had to watch? A ripple of anxiety skitters down my spine, and I snap back at her before she can say much else, not wanting to discuss it right now.
“I know that. It’s just going to take time.” I take another breath and compose myself. Her audible swallowing follows soon after, and I make the terrible decision to look back over to her .
“Ash…” She blinks more tears away. “You know, you don’t have to be so strong this time…”
“Ser,” I snap, almost raising my voice and causing my throat to ache—another reminder of my pain.
Hopefully the look in my eyes conveys my need for her to stop while she’s ahead, before she cracks a dam that can’t be rebuilt.
She nods her head once, clearly understanding without words, and thankfully she changes course.
“I made sure the plastic surgeon did all of your stitches. He said they should heal nicely, but that there would be some minimal scaring on a few of them.” As I nod back to silently thank her and let her know I understand, the door opens and shuts quietly, then the curtain glides to the side easily as Carter walks through.
He meets my eyes, and his face softens, morphing into a look that almost resembles pity.
A part of me instantly hates him for it.
“Hey, Ash. How are you feeling?” He walks up to me and squeezes my other hand in a friendly gesture.
“Weak, I guess, is a good way to put it,” I answer honestly.
“Yeah, they said you'd feel lethargic for a couple of days. Your wounds are mostly shallow, so you didn’t lose that much blood, but due to your… condition, it’s going to hit you a little harder,” He says awkwardly, and I can’t help but giggle quietly.
“My condition?”
He chuckles nervously and scratches the back of his head.
“Your, uh, pregnancy.” He grins. “Congrats.”
I force half a smile at him as he sits down a few feet away from Serena. She glances at him, almost with a longing stare, before she turns her attention back to me.