Survival, стр. 134
“Oh, good.” The nurse turned to me with asmile. “Sorry I had to wake you, but it’s time for you to eat againsince you didn’t eat much yesterday.”
I wasn’t even close to hungry. Just tired,groggy, and achy as hell. I wanted to go back to sleep, especiallysince I was sure Darren’s stupid ass would be visiting me today.Ginsby checked my monitor and myvitals before placing the smoothie cup into the holder by my face. I took a few sips here and there,tasting pomegranate, cherries, and raspberries … and fuck if itwasn’t amazing.
“On a scale of one to ten, how bad is thepain today?” Ginsby suddenly askedme.
I brought my left hand up, exposed fivefingers, and then flashed her two more. I surprisingly didn’t feelas much pain today as I had yesterday. It must have just been theinitial shock of things.
“Okay,” she said, nodding as she pressed afew buttons on my monitor. “We’ll up your pain meds just a littlebit.”
She then returned to the fridge and broughtback another bottle of water, cracked it open, topped it with abendy straw and placed it in the other holder. I took a few sips ofthat, ignoring the pain in my jaw from the suction.
“I’ve been informed to tell you that Mr.Davis will be here to see you within the hour. He landed on theisland late last night, but you were asleep then.”
Like that’d stop him.
I was sure Darren had already visited melast night; I just wasn’t awake to know it and thank God for that. If I saw him a hundred yearsfrom now, it’d still be too soon. The nurse then grabbed a smalltablet and set it on the table beside my bed.
“If you need to tell me anything specific,you can use this. There are also several apps on there for games,movies, and reading. No web browsing, though, I’m afraid.”
Of course, not.
“Is there anything else you need right now?”she asked me.
Oh, the things I needed right now …
The list was way too long and impossible toaccomplish, so I gave her a small shake of my head and shenodded.
“Okay. Just push this button if anythingchanges, okay?” she said, pointing to the small red buttonon the left side of my bed. Inodded at her and she went on herway, picking up a book on thetable and sitting down to read.
For the next thirty-five minutes, I laidthere, absolutely bored out of my mind and completely disinterestedin the tablet. I didn’t feel like playing a game, watching a movie,or reading. I wanted my body to heal so I could get the fuck out ofhere. Sid came by for a few minutes to check on me, but he didn’thave anything useful to say. Just that I needed to rest andcooperate.
I spent quite some time analyzing my roomand the world outside of the windows. I could hear birds; theysounded different, but I liked it. I could hear the ocean, so itdidn’t sound like we were too far from the beach, but that wasliterally all I could hear. No cars, no horns, no people, justnothing. I had been isolated all over again.
A few minutes later, I heard the door to myleft open, and I closed my eyes in anguish knowing it was Darren. Icould feel him before he even opened the door, my body so well-tuned to his dominatingpresence.
“Out,” I heard him say, and the mere soundof his voice brought tremors to my skin.
The guard and the nurse both immediatelystood and left the room without a word, leaving me alone with him.I kept my head turned away from him as I focused on the sunlightoutside the window, but the slow rhythmic sound of his footstepsagainst the tiled floor made it hard to ignore.
He stopped at the left side of my bed, and Itensed from how close he was. He then leaned down and took the sideof my still bruised face in his hand, rubbing his thumb along mycheek before placing a soft kiss on my temple. A wave of emotioncame over me as I cringed into myself, two single tears fallingdown my face. Fear, rage, and pure unadulterated hatred all washedover me like a tidal wave and I instantly wished I was dead.
“How’s my princess?” Darren asked with thatsnide attitude of his. Yeah, he was considering this some personalvictory. Fuck him.
I didn’t respond, just curled my lips indisgust while his thumbs gently wiped away my tears. He rose upthen and walked toward the window, his hands resting behind his back. I glanced at him from thecorner of my eye. He was in another suit of course; black jacket,black pants, white dress shirt, and black tie, clean-shaven, andhair styled to perfection.
Just go …
He sighed heavily and finally spoke.
“I expect you to cooperate with Sid and hisstaff to ensure your recovery. We will not leave the island untilI’m satisfied with your progression. So in essence, I’m giving yousome control of when we return home. It’s all up to you.”
Oh, how sweet of him.
Darren then turned away from the window toaddress me, his hands remaining behind his back as he glared at mefrom across the room.
“I hope by now you realize escaping is notan option, and something you will never want to consider again. AsI’ve said before, things can always get worse, and as of now, theywill be.”
I was already aware things were going to getworse. I had calculated that long ago, but I was worried as to howbad he would make them.
“You will not take a single breath withoutmy knowledge of it. You will not move or speak unless grantedpermission by me. All of your “freedoms” have been revoked and youcan consider the luxury of privacy nonexistent. From now on, youwill have twenty-four-hoursupervision with several bodyguards, and you will not take a single step withoutmy say-so first. Not until you can be trusted—if ever.”
Darren then headed over to my bedside andpulled a folded piece of paper from his jacket pocket. He unfoldedit