He’d tried to warn me. And I was too foolish to listen. “Yeah. You did try to warn me.”
“This is so fucked up.” He sighed. “I’m so sorry he did this to you.”
“What did he do to you?”
There was a long stretch of silence. “It’s not important, Brooklyn.”
It was to me. I reached up and touched his face in the darkness.
He cringed.
“Turn the light on.”
“It’s late,” he said. “How about you try to get some rest?”
“I can’t possibly sleep right now. Please, just tell me why he hurt you. It’s not like me being in danger this time was in any way your fault. It was his.”
“Mr. Pruitt is coming down here tomorrow. He can answer all of your questions.”
“Down here? Where are we?”
“Tomorrow, kid.”
I slowly exhaled. It was nice to have a familiar face, even if I couldn’t actually see him. But he was being purposely evasive right now. “But…”
“All you need to know is that you’re safe here. No one knows we’re here except for the nurses, Mr. Pruitt, and me.”
“What about Matt?” I immediately regretted asking the question. I felt Miller’s arm tense around me.
“Try to get some rest, okay?” He moved to get off my bed.
“Wait.” I caught his arm. “Please don’t go. I won’t ask any more questions. Just…please stay the night.” It was a selfish thing to ask. Miller was already hurt. And if my dad caught him in here sleeping on my bed? I didn’t know what my crazy father would do.
But it didn’t seem like Miller cared, because he lay back down.
We were both quiet for a moment.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “About what my father did to you.”
“You don’t have to apologize for his actions. You’re not him.”
I swallowed hard.
“Does it still hurt?” he asked.
I was barely paying attention. I was focused on the fact that he just said I wasn’t like my father. I’d been desperate to hear those words ever since Matt said the opposite. I slid closer to him on the bed. For a second I paused, waiting to see what he would do. But he didn’t try to leave again. He just lay there. So I moved closer again and rested my head on his chest.
His heartbeat was so steady. And soothing. I closed my eyes.
Miller reached down and lightly touched my stomach. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“You didn’t answer any of mine either.”
He laughed. “Please. Put my mind at ease.”
“It doesn’t hurt as much when you’re here.” And that included my heart. When I was alone in this room all I could think about was it breaking in two. But when Miller was holding me? It was a lot easier to feel whole again.
“You’re going to be the death of me, Brooklyn.” His hand moved to my back, holding me closer to him.
I knew that meant that he cared. But I hated the phrase. I’d already experienced enough death. Miller saying it gave me a new goal though. I wasn’t just going to get out of here. I was going to get Miller out of here too. He said that there was no way out of my dad’s business. But I’d find a way. I owed him at least that. And thinking about saving him instead of myself made me feel a little stronger. Or maybe it was just his arms around me that gave me hope.
Chapter 8
Saturday
This morning the nurse told me that it was Saturday. I’d been here for over a week. My dad had left me here alone to…what? Give me a chance to get over the fact that he was a kidney thief? Spoiler alert…it wasn’t working. If anything, that just pissed me off even more. I was never going to get over this. He’d pretended to care about me for months just so he could get an organ. He could not speak to me for the rest of my life and it wouldn’t be long enough. Honestly, I was hoping that was his plan. He’d gotten what he needed from me. So now he could just let me go. He would come today and say goodbye. Cast me away for good. Unless he needed another organ.
I couldn’t wait to get out of here. Today he’d come and I’d tell him I was fine. That we were all good. No hard feelings. But it was time to part ways. I’d be professional and composed about it. I just wanted to put this all behind me.
The door opened. I sat up in bed to greet my dad but…it was just the nurse again.
She looked at my untouched food and sighed. “I’m going to have to suggest to your father that we send you to a rehab facility next.”
“What? Why?” I didn’t want to go from one prison to the next.
“You have anorexic tendencies.”
Anorexic tendencies? That was a weird way to put the fact that I was too thoroughly depressed to find food appetizing. “I’m just depressed that my dad stole my kidney.”
“Well, we can get a psychologist to come in and speak with you then. There’s pills for such things.”
The last thing I wanted was to take prescription pills I didn’t need. I wouldn’t put it past my father to meddle with them and try to kill me or something. “I’m fine.”
“Then eat.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Well, then I have no choice but to put your IV back in. You’re going to starve to death at this rate.”
I grabbed my wrist. It hurt from the two times I’d ripped the IV out. And I freaking hated being attached to an IV. It made me feel like I was on a leash. I picked up the spoon and ate a few bites of applesauce to appease her.
“Good girl.”
Bite me. “When is my dad getting here?”
She stared at me. “Who told you that your father was coming here?”
Crap. I wasn’t trying to get Miller in trouble. “I just figured if he refused to take my calls it was because he wanted to plead his case for harvesting organs in person.”
She glared at me. “Your father is paying an arm and a leg for you to be here. You should at least be grateful for his generosity.”
Excuse me? She couldn’t be serious. There was something wrong with this lady’s head. “I wouldn’t need him to be paying for any of this if he hadn’t stolen my kidney. If anyone is generous it’s me.” And honestly I was a little concerned about my missing kidney. If my dad had kidney issues, it might be hereditary or something. I might need an extra kidney a few years down the road and I wouldn’t freaking have an extra one now. Asshole.
She just shook her head.
“So when is he coming?”
“He’s a very busy man.” She lifted up my untouched tray from breakfast. “Now finish eating your lunch.”
Did that mean he wasn’t coming at all? What the hell? But before I could ask, she hurried out of the room. I was starting to hate that woman more than I hated my father. And that was really saying something.
I stared at the ceiling and tried to practice what I’d say to my father if he did end up coming today. Or if I ever saw him again. I needed to remember to stay calm and composed even though I could feel rage pulsing through my veins. It was easy to stay calm though. Because my anger eventually boiled over to sadness. An endless loop of anger and despair.