“I’ll try. But only if I can have my angel with me at the time.” He looked over at Lily, who was asleep in the corner chair.
“It’s not something we generally do,” she started, “patient confidentiality and all.”
“That’s my one condition. She is by my side.” She sat with him through all of the days he refused to talk or communicate in anyway. She made him feel safer, more relaxed.
The doctor rolled her eyes behind her rimless glasses. “If it will get you talking, I’ll make an exception this one time.” He’d refused to talk for so long, there must be a reason he’s talking now, and if this nurse that visited him had anything to do with it, so be it. Maybe she’d be a key to his recovery. “I’ll make an appointment on my schedule for this time tomorrow. I’ll remove the other restraint, but if there’s any notation that you’ve gotten aggressive or are a danger to yourself…”
“I’m not going to hurt anyone,” he sighed, “including myself.”
Lily stirred and saw Phoenix sitting up in bed, watching her. He was sitting up! “Your restraints are off.”
He gave a small smile. “I feel almost human.”
“That’s wonderful.”
“I have to ask you something. I told the doctor I’d talk to her tomorrow. Will you go with me?”
“Oh, they won’t let me...it’s a patient-”
He interrupted. “It’s already been approved. I didn’t think to ask you first. I shouldn’t have just assumed you’d be okay with it.”
“Why do you want me there?” Lily questioned, watching him. He’d grown more comfortable around her.
“I don’t know. I just feel better when you’re near me.”
Lily smiled. “Good.”
She might be a worthless piece of trash at home, but right here, sitting in the corner of Phoenix’s room, she was a healing soul helping a wounded man find his path. Everything felt right in the world when she sat beside his hospital bed. She belonged here, belonged to him. Her husband might have thought he owned her, but he didn’t. She belonged to Phoenix, heart and soul.
When Lily didn’t show up the next day, he knew something was wrong.
Chapter 8 Lily
Sure, he’d pushed her before, but he’d never actually hit her. When he cracked her across the face and drug her across the room by her hair, she knew she had to get out, and fast. He found her pay stub, and the hours she’d been out of the house weren’t matching up. She should have had more overtime. He should have looked sooner.
She’d learn her lesson. He knew she was scheduled for two days off, so he’d make sure she stayed home. Shoving her in the guest bedroom, he padlocked the door and left her to think about what she did. She wouldn’t lie to him again, the conniving bitch.
Her cries for help were left unanswered. And living on a wooded lot on four acres, nobody heard her screams or pleas. She spent the first hour sobbing on the bed. The next hour, she realized she could break a window and climb out. She’d have to jump from the second floor, but the guest room was near the front porch. There would be a small roof she could try to land on. It was pitched, and she might roll off of it, but the state of frenzy her husband was in, she wasn’t so sure he wouldn’t come back in and do something much worse.
She looked at what she’d have to do to get out. It was scarier than she pictured. There was a tree, but it was too far to jump to, and the roof was steeper from this angle looking out. Lily’s heart raced knowing her choices were few and far between.
If she stayed, her husband might get even more violent and either end her life or tear her to pieces. He might beat or rape her. She honestly didn’t know what he was capable of at this point. She just knew she feared for her life. She needed to escape, and the sooner, the better.
Ice ran through her veins when she saw him outside, looking up at her through the window. He had a ladder...and boards. He was going to cover her only exit. While he was outside, she ran for the door and shook it as hard as she could, terror plunging through her. This wasn’t an accident. He had plans. She wasn’t going to be going anywhere if he had it his way. The fact that he was coming to board up the windows gave her chills.
Chapter 9 Phoenix
She never showed up. Phoenix refused to talk to the doctor. How could he talk about himself when he knew something was wrong? His instincts spoke to him, his senses were heightened, and yet there was nothing he could do.
Maybe she got called into work. Maybe he was over reacting. Maybe she decided she’d gotten in too deep. Maybe she was ill. Looking over at the empty chair, he felt an empty pit in his stomach. He’d wait for Lily; she’d be here. She was always here, either before or after work, and she said she’d be here for the appointment today. But she wasn’t. Something was wrong.