The Underworld

chapter twenty seven

I woke up today, wishing I hadn't.

The anesthesia had worn off and I was once again in pain. The nurses came shortly after I called them. My leg was still far from healing completely so I had to use a tray to urinate in. The nurses stood near me, checking my vitals and changing my IV and blood bags as well as giving me anesthesia.

I was thankful to all the health professionals who had to deal with these kinds of situations. I had never felt more useless and weak than embarrassed, especially for something so necessary for humans.

When I finished, the nurses cleaned me and handed me a toothbrush and paste. I washed my mouth, spitting the paste and water they handed me into a plastic cup. The metallic taste in my mouth had left and was replaced with mint.

"If you need anything else just press the button," one of them said before they both grabbed their things and left. I turned my body to the side and reached for the blue folder laying on the table beside my bed. I grabbed the photo inside, ignoring the other documents in there and placed the folder back. My index finger traced the bean sized body.

I'll kill Louis for you—us. We'd be better off that way.

I stared at it for who knows how long, no particular thought in mind before I placed the image back in the folder and went back to sleep.

• • •

The sound of shuffling clothes woke me up. My eyes snapped open as I quickly sat upright. I groaned at the pain that shot up my leg. I fucking hated this.

"Lay back down," he placed a hand on my shoulder. "It's just me."

I allowed Markus to push me back against the bed.

My left hand crossed over my chest and landed on his hand. "You're here," I smiled. I quickly realized that that was probably a bad idea. My brows furrowed. What if Anna came in and saw him? Did she send him here to watch me? I skimmed his attire to see he was in his usual black suit. "Did Annabeth send you?"

"I came by to check on you because I wanted to," he answered. The hand on my shoulder moved to my left cheek. His thumb grazed my skin.

"Are you supposed to be somewhere?" I gestured at his suit by giving it another sweep with my eyes.

"A few of us are posted within and around the building. No one will think anything other than me doing my job for being here."

"But what—" Markus cut me off by bringing our lips together. Immediately, I gripped the hem of his suit jacket, bringing him as close to me as possible. The hand on my cheek moved to the back of my head. He dug his fingers in my blonde locks. The other laid against the head of the bed.

"I look like a mess don't I?" I bit the inside of my cheek. A few days ago, Anna allowed me to see myself with her using the camera of her phone.

My hair was the most greasy and knotted it had ever been in my life. The bruises I had had mostly gone away. Those that were left remained a yellowish color. Anna brought me a brush to which I was able to untangle my hair after yanking all my roots. The bottle of perfume got rid of the smell the wipes left on my body and the smell of hospital disinfectants. My nails had grown a few inches to which I'd snipped them short.

I once again had become thinner. The time I spent in and out, reliving on IV for nutrients, my body was slowly eating itself. Even after I started eating again, I hadn't gained half the weight I lost. Then again, hospital food wasn't much of a meal.

"You look better than I thought you would," he said. "When I heard something happened to you, I thought of every possible thing he could've done to you." Markus frowned and closed his eyes briefly. He leaned forward and placed a kiss on my forehead. My heart swelled with warmth.

"Will I ever see you in anything other than a suit?" I raised a brow. The corners of my lips quirked up.

Markus cracked a grin and shrugged, "maybe." The grin fell just as fast as it came. We remained in silence that I knew meant he wanted to say more.

After a few moments, he asked, "what did he do?"

"He almost killed me," I said. I took a heavy breath. "He hit me, threw me down on the floor, and then chocked me." I looked at my palms. "I thought he was going to kill me." My hands balled into fists. "I don't remember anything after that. I just know because it was what the doctor said." I exhaled. As I spoke, there were no tears. The pain was there, but my blood boiled. "While I was unconscious, he raped me. He managed to break my leg and cut through so much skin I would've died from blood loss if no one came to help me."

When I dug my hands into my hair, that was when my eyes stung. A frustrated groan morphed into a sob. "They said I'd heal. They said I would be able to walk again, but I'd have a limp. He almost killed me. He almost killed m—" He almost killed the baby.

I cut myself off when Markus pulled my hands from my hair and wrapped his arms around me. I cried into him until I had no more tears to shed. Markus muttered things in Spanish that I didn't understand and could barely hear. He sounded sure of himself when he said them. "Te prometo que lo voy a matar."

When I pulled away, I asked him what some of the things he said meant. He kissed my forehead once again and said, "don't worry about it."

"When do you have to head back?" I changed the subject.

"In a bit," he checked his silver wrist watch. "I'll stay with you till you fall asleep."

I pouted, "and what if I want to talk to you in the meantime?"

The corners of his lips slightly raised, "I'll be back again. I promise. What I want is for you to rest." He ran a hand over my blanketed thigh that didn't have the cast beneath it. "Do you need anything?"

I shook my head, "I'm fine."

Markus stayed with me as I fell asleep. He made sure to ask all kinds of questions about how comfortable I was and whether I needed anything. He would switch between running his thumb over my thigh, hand, and cheek. I fell asleep feeling safe. I had no nightmares nor any discomforts during my sleep.

I woke up later in the night. Annabeth slept in the couch beside my bed. Her arm was draped over her eyes. She only had a blanket over her that was about to fall to the ground and a pillow to cushion the discomfort of the arm of the couch underneath her head.

Markus was long gone. I didn't know whether he was still at work or somewhere else.

I stayed silent and quietly pulled out the picture from the folder. I don't know how long I stared at it. I don't remember how long I stayed awake before falling asleep once again with the picture still in my hands. What I did remember was the promise I made myself.

I will end you Louis.

____

Thoughts?

Most times books skip the important role health professionals play when the characters end up in dangerous situations that leave them in hospitals, or what really happens when a character ends up at a hospital. I know most times we want to skip those parts, but I hope my book shows what really happens in many different situations so that you're able to relate to and/or feel as if you're living the experience itself and better understand the characters.

Thank you for reading ❤️