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.“What were you thinking, Charlotte? Why would you go out onto the freeway? On your own?”“Just…for a drive,” she answered, trying to hide the pain as he continued to squeeze her hand painfully.“Thought you’d go and see your parents, did you?” His voice was low and dangerous.She knew how angry he was, she could hear it in his undertones.“I don’t know,” she responded, her terror spiked when he'd spoken of her parents.Her responses were all short, tense and guarded.It had been so long since Logan and she'd had any semblance of a normal conversation, she'd almost forgotten how.Since her last escape attempt, they'd been nothing but strangers in the home they shared.He spoke to her as if she were his slave, rather than wife or even a human being.He'd merely bark orders at her.Recently, he'd become so enraged at every little thing.It seemed as though everything and nothing would trigger his temper.It had been impossible to speak to him rationally.That was what had finally tipped her over the edge, despite all of his threats and warnings, into leaving him.He'd been erratic, insane and brutal.It had been intolerable to bear.She wouldn’t even attempt to speak rationally to him now.He was beyond that point.Sadly, insanity and paranoia were taking their toll on him.She was on eggshells trapped within in a minefield.He was a virtual bomb that could explode at any moment.So, there they were, in her hospital room.He was squeezing and hurting her hand as they carried on their fake, awkward conversation.All of this had been taking place in front of Dr.Devlin.Finally, apparently frustrated by the audience in the room throughout his visit, Logan snapped he was going to get them both coffee and he'd be back soon.She breathed a visible sigh of relief the very moment he left the room and tried to soothe her hurting hand.Dr.Devlin was watching her, with a small frown across his brow.“Are you alright?” he asked her gently.“Yeah.Yeah, I’m fine,” came her immediate, defensive reaction.“You don’t have to pretend anymore,” he smiled.“I can see you’re scared of him.”“What?” she said, showing just a glimpse of fear through her surprise.Oh my God! Was I that obvious? Should I admit it or try and cover it up?So used to hiding from the truth, she opted for the latter.It was the more comfortable option for her.The truth was extremely stressful for her to admit.“No, I’m not.Don’t be ridiculous,” she lied.“I’ve seen it before,” he sighed.“Many times before—way too many times.You’d be surprised, actually.It’s nothing to be ashamed of, truly.”“I’m not…” She trailed off, her blush, giving her lie away.“Hey…hey, don’t worry,” he said full of sympathy and kindness.He came towards her and sat down in the chair that Logan had previously occupied, taking her hand for a brief moment and giving it a gentle squeeze before letting it go.“You don’t have anything to be scared about here, not with me around.He’s not going to hurt you while you're here,” he promised.Dr.Devlin looked at her face for a moment as she looked back at him silently.He sighed, leaned back and stood up.“I’m assuming that bruise on your cheek came from him,” he said quietly.Once again, she didn’t respond and averted her gaze, which spoke volumes.She didn’t have the energy to continue to lie or argue back.She was too physically drained from the accident, as well as too emotionally drained from Logan’s tense visit and the thought that he'd be back any minute.“We’ll…um…we’ll probably need to keep you in the hospital for a few more days,” the doctor began, carefully.She could read something else in his eyes, and she remembered the brief spark of attraction she'd felt for him during their first meeting.She also remembered fantasizing about him way after the time they'd met.“We need to do some more tests.That type of thing.It would give you time to…make arrangements,” he offered tentatively.“Perhaps I can contact your parents if…if they’re still around,” he suggested.She bit her lip and nodded.She knew what he was doing.He was buying her more safe time; keeping her in the hospital, so she didn’t have to go home with Logan.She wondered how often he’d done that before, how many other battered and abused women he’d had to deal with.Charlotte felt another flush of shame.Never had she dreamed she’d be a victim of domestic abuse.She'd always thought she was a strong, independent woman who never even needed a man in her life, that’s what she’d always told herself.Now look at her.“My wife had been in a relationship a bit like that once,” he explained.“Before she met me.He was emotionally controlling, manipulative and he did hurt her physically a couple of times.She told me about it but…it’s easy to spot from the outside if you know the signs.I saw it in him immediately."He asked you where you found the keys, what you were doing in the car.Completely bizarre and unrelated questions for any normal relationship, I can assure you.He never asked you how you were feeling.That said so much.” He looked at her pointedly.Charlotte processed what he'd said and swallowed her disappointment.Wife…of course, Dr.Devlin had a wife.He was incredibly handsome, intelligent and kind.She was naïve to have thought he wouldn’t be married or in a relationship.She was about to ask him more about his wife's abusive relationship when the door opened and Logan returned, with coffee.“I was just explaining to your wife, Mr.Tyler,” Dr.Devlin began.“That we’ll need to keep her here for a few more days, to run some more tests.It's standard procedure.”He used that same phrase again.He probably used it a lot, she thought.It's a useful phrase.“It’s nothing to be worried about,” Dr.Devlin told him, as if Logan was concerned about her well-being rather, than exacting revenge and controlling her every move.“How long?” Logan asked gruffly.“I’m not sure yet, but…we’ll see.We’ll keep you informed.Somebody will be in touch when she’s ready to go home.For now though, I think it’s time that your wife had some rest, she’s still quite weak from the shock of the accident.”“Right,” said Logan, clearly not happy at being dismissed.He placed Charlotte’s coffee down on the bedside table.“I’ll be back tomorrow to see you,” he said, with a cold gaze that held a warning.His words sounded more like a threat than a statement.Logan's rage and frustration poured off of him in waves, making Charlotte and Dr.Devlin tense.She didn’t want Logan to come back tomorrow, or any time.She wondered whether there was any way Dr.Devlin could stop him.He was extremely sensitive and supportive of her needs, she was sure of it.He seemed easy enough to trust and confide in, maybe.Charlotte had never spoken to anyone about the full extent of the abuse she'd suffered, not Bethany or her parents.She'd certainly never spoken to a stranger about it.The idea horrified her but also sounded appealing at the same time.There was something so sincere, good and trustworthy about Dr.Devlin.If he really did have a wife, who'd been through the same thing, then that might be a good place to start, surely.He seemed to understand at a deep level—possibly even more than Charlotte did.Again, she felt relieved as soon as Logan was out of the room.She turned to the doctor with a small smile on her face.“Thank you,” she managed.“Really, it’s no problem,” he shrugged.“Like I'd said before, my wife… She’s dead now, may she rest in peace.She went through it all, so…I know the score.”“I’m so sorry to hear about your wife,” she said quietly.Charlotte actually was genuinely sorry, but she also felt her interest in the doctor spark back to life again.He smiled and lowered his eyes for a moment.“Thanks.It’s…fine.She had cancer.It was a long battle and she fought it hard, but…it took her life in the end [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]