Page 9 of Desolation

Drake walks down the hall and stops at a room with the door open. We go through the door and my breath catches in my throat as I look around. This room is beautiful. It has to be the size of the bottom floor of our house. Pale gray carpeting runs throughout the room, looking plush. The bed is a king size canopy with black and red gauzy curtains tied back at the posts.

A couch and a couple of fluffy chairs are off to the side, along with a cabinet that I’m sure holds one of those fancy T.V. ‘s that rise up from inside the cabinet. I also see a sliding door leading to a balcony. Wow, this is a guest room? It’s like its own freaking apartment!

It looks exactly like something I have always dreamed of having.

Drake lays me down on the bed and the doctor rushes over to me. “Hello, Elodie. I’m Dr. Rice. Let’s take a look at you shall we? Then we will leave you alone so you can rest, unless we find any serious issues.”

He’sa smaller man, partially balding, with soft green eyes and wire rimmed glasses. He takes a stethoscope out of his bag and starts checking my vitals. Next is the blood pressure and temp. Then he takes out a small flashlight and checks my eyes, paying special attention to the right side.

He looks like a normal doctor. I don’t know what I really expected. It’s not like he was going to walk in with a cigar in his mouth talking like he’s from old Italy or something. I really must have a concussion, because these thoughts I’m having are wild.

“You definitely have a pretty severe concussion, Elodie. You’ll have to stay awake for the next few hours so we can monitor everything. I do want to check how you walk and move here in a minute. First though, I am going to touch your face. Unfortunately this is going to be very painful. I need to set your nose, but I am also pretty sure that you have an orbital fracture on the right side, so it’s going to be extra painful,” he says gently.

Drake rushes over and takes one of my hands. Reba grabs the other. They both nod at me. “Take a deep breath now,” Dr. Rice says.

I breathe deep and he resets my nose, when he does though, I feel pain all across the right side of my face. Tears instantly start running down my cheeks as I suck in breaths. I am trying to keep my shit together but I am in so much pain right now I can’t.

“Okay, Elodie, I know that was very painful, but when they broke your nose, they hit you so hard that it also broke your eye socket. As of right now, I don’t think it needs surgery. Trust me, I have dealt with these kinds of injuries a lot around here,” he says, looking around the room at the masked men who came to my house, now without the masks. I hear laughter all around theroom. He rolls his eyes and shakes his head at them, returning his attention to me.

“You will need to ice it every couple of hours. I am also going to get you a script for some pain meds as well as a decongestant. You absolutely cannot blow your nose while this is healing. It could make it worse,” he says firmly.

Great, with as much as I’ve already been crying, this is not what I wanted to hear. Nodding at him, I continue listening as he tells me everything he wants me to do. He asks everyone but Reba to step out of the room while he looks at my back and checks my ribs. Everything is bruised, but he doesn’t think any of them are broken. I don’t either. I know what broken ribs feel like.

I’m also not allowed to leave this bed for the next three days minimum. That really puts a damper on my plans to leave here as soon as I can. Reba listens intently too, as if she will be here to nurse me back to health.

Dr. Rice finishes up and lets the men back in, though there are fewer of them this time. Drake rushes back to the chair next to the bed and sits down again. He looks like he was trying to pull his hair out while they waited. His curls are standing on end like he’s beenraking his hands through them repeatedly.

Drake’s father also comes in this time as well. He stands near the wall, hands in his pockets, leaning against the wall like a GQ model. Why are these men all so hot? Is it a mafia prerequisite? Also why am I thinking about Drake’s dad being hot? Though at least I know what Drake will look like when he’s older. Wait, El, you’re getting a little ahead of yourself here. Maybe it’s the concussion.

Watching us, he stays silent for long enough that I start to get nervous. Finally he speaks.

“Elodie, I’m Giovanni, you may call me Gio, all my friends do. I hope that we’ll be friends. I know there are many things that Drake needs to talk to you about, but let me just say this first. One, you are welcome to stay here as long as you need to. Two, I will help you with anything you need, please do not worry about anything. If you need it you will have it. Period. Three, we can make it so you need not worry about your parents, all you have to do is ask.”

Uh, did he just offer to kill my parents?

I must’ve been showing my thoughts on my face because he suddenly started laughing. Holding a hand out in front of him, he says, “No Elodie, I don’t meanthat.Though it would be done if you asked. I mean, we can help you get away from there until you start college. Maybe get an order of protection.”

Shaking my head I think to myself, no, I’m not even staying. In fact, I don’t even know why I’m here in the first place. I could have just gone to Reba’s or I could just still be at home slowly dying on the floor in my bedroom.

“Can I reserve any judgements or decisions for after Drake and I talk? Because honestly, I literally just started talking to him today, so I have a lot of questions,” I say. Gio whips his head around to Drake and groans as he wipes his hand down his face. Reba giggles and then snorts after I cut my eyes toward her.

Reaching over, he slaps Drake on the back of the head. “You really need to get your head out of your ass. Good luck getting yourself out of this.” Laughing, he says, “Absolutely, my dear, just let me know when you’re ready to talk.” Turning, he heads out of the room and the rest of the men follow him until only two men, Drake, Reba, and I are left in the room.

CHAPTER 7

DRAKE

Well, this is gonna be fun. Elodie and Reba are both watching me intently, waiting to see what I have to say. I don’t even know where to start. I say as much out loud. Reba says, “Start at the beginning. All the way back. “

Standing, I start pacing. Elodie is watching me and I realize my pacing is making her have to move her head too much. Pulling the chair out, I turn it to face away from her and straddle it so that the back of the chair is a barrier of sorts. “Do you remembera long time ago in elementary school when I first started going to school here?”

She nods.

“You had dropped your books, well actually someone ran into you and instead of helping you they just kept going,” I said.

“As I recall you never helped me either. Just stood there, staring like I had three heads,” she says wryly.

“Yeah, I’m sorry about that. I sorta fell in love with you at that moment and I was frozen. I’m sorry,” I spit out quickly. Oh shit. Did I just say that?