Page 19 of Unwell

‘It doesn’t give you the right to push me over your desk and use me.’

The laugh Robert gave made my insides shrivel.

‘Pretty sure the way you came on my cock says otherwise.’

I turned my back to him, bile rising in my throat.

But as much as Robert sickened me, the fact that Ginny was watching was what tipped me over the edge and made me hate myself.

The memory of Ginny’s hurt-filled eyes burned into me.

All too knowing.

ELEVEN

GINNY

My stash of ribbons was gone.

Panic made my lungs burn as I tore through the room, upending the thin mattress and tearing open the pillow.

Nothing.

Theyhadto be somewhere.

The meagre contents of my nightstand were scattered across the floor, yet not a ribbon to be seen.

‘Where are they?’ My voice shook as I searched again through the few items I had. A picture of Mama and Pops, a strand-filled hairbrush and a few pieces of bric-a-brac.

When my area came up empty, I moved on to theother beds in the room, upending each mattress and hunting through every nook and cranny I could find.

My pulse quickened with each moment I went without them. My ribbons. Ineededthem.

‘They were here,’ I whispered. ‘I kept them right here.’

Nurse Nancy appeared at the ward door, and I threw myself toward her, stumbling at her feet and gripping the bottom of her dress.

‘They’re gone,’ I said, tears painting my cheeks.

Her cheeks flushed pink, and she barely met my eyes as I searched her face.

‘What happened?’ she asked, gently unhooking my fingers from her skirts and stepping into the room.

‘They’re gone,’ I blubbed. ‘Someone’s taken them.’

‘What’s gone, Ginny?’

‘My pink ribbons. Mama’s ribbons.’ Panic wrapped my throat tight. ‘I need them.’

Nancy set about righting the room, lifting thin mattresses back into place and bending to scoop up fallen items.

‘They can’t have gone far. I’ll help you look.’

‘I need them,’ I pleaded.

My breath came in stuttered gasps as I pressed my hands over my stomach, grounding myself in the life I held there.

My baby.