After the Storm(179)

            “Will she recover?” Donovan asked hoarsely. “What did they give her, Maren? I need the truth here. Don’t go easy. I need to know. Did they damage her mind permanently? Will she ever be normal again?”

            “Sit down,” Maren said gently, pulling at Donovan’s arm until he sat in the chair by the bed.

            “They kept her heavily drugged, from what I’ve been able to ascertain, and believe me when I say this was no legitimate medical facility so the records are spotty at best and vague. They gave her psychotropic drugs at regular intervals. Far too regular. Four times daily, and she was already heavily drugged when she arrived. Some medications like Thorazine have a longer half-life, and it could take days to fully rid her body of its effects. If we got lucky and they gave her a drug with a shorter half-life, it’s possible she’ll come around sooner. There’s simply no way to know.”

            She paused as if to let her diagnosis settle in. Then she continued, her eyes filled with sympathy as she stared at Donovan. She reached for his hand, squeezing it, offering comfort.

            “There’s also the factor that she may not want to come back. That maybe she’s retreated to a place where she feels no pain, no betrayal.”

            Donovan flinched, and the blood drained from his face.

            “I don’t say this to hurt you,” she said. “But it has to be acknowledged. She thinks you betrayed her. She thinks that you don’t love her and that your only concern is for Travis and Cammie. In a way, the drugs were probably a blessing to her because it numbed her. She isn’t feeling anything. She doesn’t know anything. She isn’t cognizant of her surroundings and she likely welcomes that. Her mind is protecting her from her hurt and her very real fear of her stepfather and what he’ll eventually do to her.”

            “What can I do?” Donovan asked helplessly.

            Tears burned the edges of his eyes. He blinked and it was like rubbing sand in his eyes. His emotions were raw. His heart was shattered. It was his fault Eve was like this. It was his fault this had happened. If only he’d done things differently. If only he hadn’t been so determined to shield her. He’d made the biggest mistake of his life by not trusting in her. He didn’t deserve her trust because he hadn’t offered it in return. He hadn’t wanted her to know anything of his plans. Stupidly, he’d thought he could fix the problem with her none the wiser and then present her with a fait accompli and they’d live happily ever after.

            He, the smart one, the supposed brains of the entire operation.

            He was the biggest dumbass in the world. He’d been thinking with his heart instead of using his greatest asset. Not his physical strength. Not his training. His intelligence. His mind. And Eve had paid dearly for his fuckup.

            “You can’t torture yourself, Van,” Maren said quietly. “It does neither you nor her any good. You have to be strong for her. You have to make her want to come back. You have to convince her that you love her, that you didn’t betray her. And you have to be patient and wait for as long as it takes for her to want to crawl out of the hole she’s buried herself in. Because there, she’s safe. Nothing can hurt her. But the real world? That can destroy her and she well knows it.”

            “So I just sit here and do nothing,” Donovan said bitterly.

            “No,” Maren refuted. “You talk to her. Surround her with her family. You, Travis, and Cammie. Be persistent. Don’t allow her to crawl back into that shell once the medication starts to wear off and she becomes more aware of her surroundings. Then more than ever is when you have to press. Because when the medication wears off and she doesn’t have that balm, she’ll retreat in other ways. The mind is a very intricate thing and it will go to great lengths to protect itself. If you allow it, she’ll find a way to retreat even without the medication. So you surround her with your love. With Cammie and Travis’s love. Present a united front. Show her that you’re family. The four of you. And don’t treat her gently, Van. I know your instinct will be to baby her. You won’t want to cause her any distress. You’ll back off at the first sign that she’s upset. But you can’t do that. You have to show her tough love and bully her if that’s what it takes.”