Possessed By You (The Consumed Series Book 3)

by Alicia Marino

  “I saw that on the news. It’s true?”

  “The flatline part, yes. Me magically bringing him back to life, no.”

  She chuckles. “People do love a good love story.”

  “It’s seeming like Benjamin’s going to be here for a while. I want him to be stress-free, Tiffany. I will assist in any way I can to see he recovers fully. So anything you need, errands, or if you need me to messenger contracts or papers to him and back, I will be glad to do so.”

  She nods, smiling. “That is so kind of you. With the VP now in Tokyo and no one in the big offices…” She stops her rambling. “Thank you.”

  “Sure.”

  “How are you feeling? Does it hurt badly?”

  I raise a brow in surprise before I realize she’s staring at the bandage on my forehead. “No, not right now. I’m fine. I’m being released today, but I’m going to be here with Ben, so call me if you need anything.”

  “All right, I should be getting back now, anyway. He had a meeting scheduled at ten.” She touches my hand awkwardly. “What should I tell the crisis team about this? What should they keep out of the news?”

  “Tell them he’s going to be back in a few weeks.” I swallow, finding it physically hard to utter the next words. “Tiffany, I lost the baby in the accident. I need you to keep that from the media for as long as you can.”

  She frowns, blinking in shock. “I’ll tell the team, and they will do everything they can. I promise. I’m so sorry, Darcy. I didn’t know…”

  My throat is closing up. “Call me if you need anything. I’ll get it to Ben.”

  That’s her cue to go, and she takes it.

  It’s good to be alone.

  I don’t have to pretend.

  ***

  “All right, Darcy, sign this and you’re free to go.”

  I take the pen from my doctor’s hand and hastily scribble my name on the dotted line. I’m in jeans and a plain white t-shirt and have a bag of necessities that Dimitri dropped off this morning.

  “Well, since you will be in your husband’s room, I’ll pop over later to see how you’re doing. After a miscarriage, spotting occurs for about a week. Don’t be too alarmed if you see blood unless it’s large amounts. If you do, come back and get checked out immediately.”

  I nod along with what the nurse already told me. I catch sight of Dimitri standing outside the door. “Thank you, Doctor.”

  “My pleasure.”

  Despite the situation, a smile forms on my face as I approach Benjamin’s most trusted employee. “Thank you for the clothes, Dimitri.”

  “Of course, Darcy. I wanted to see if you’d like me to drive you back. I didn’t know whether you were well enough to stay.”

  “I’m staying. I’m going to be here until he’s better.”

  “Good,” he says, nodding with approval. “He’s lucky to have you.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Is there anything you need? Food?”

  “I’m fine, really.”

  “All right. Call me at any time, day or night.” He pats my arm awkwardly before leaving. The moment he’s out of my sight, I walk, faster than I should, toward the critical wing of the hospital. It’s a tiring trek. When I reach his door, which has a fake name on the outside to ensure discretion, I’m scared to death.

  My eyes zone on him in the bed the minute the door is cracked, and my face shatters along with the rest of me. Benjamin is completely still, bruised far worse than I am. It’s apparent he took the real impact of the crash. His arm is in a cast all the way to his knuckles.

  Oh, Ben…

  It takes me a lifetime to reach the edge of the bed, due to the fact that I can’t seem to inch my way forward. I study his wounds, needing to know where he’s hurt.

  The casted arm is daunting. Although many aspects of the collision are hazy, I clearly remember the strength of his arm crashing into my chest to pin me to the seat. We were fighting and he still thought of me before himself. If I hadn’t known the depth of his commitment, I do now.

  He’d die for me.

  I resist running my fingers over his face, scared to harm him. His skin is scattered with gashes and bruises, dark ones that haven’t had the chance to heal yet.

  I drag a seat to the edge of the bed and sit, taking hold of his hand. It’s warm, and I hitch a breath, pushing away the image of the chaotic waiting room, where I held him and he couldn’t respond.

  I squeeze his fingers, silently willing him to wake.

  When he doesn’t, I continue to evaluate his injuries. I uncover him, lifting the gown, knowing the sight of his stomach won’t be an easy one. The place he was impaled is bandaged, but there is blood on the gauze. The area around it is swollen and purple.

  I’m lightheaded just glancing at it, imagining the pain he must have endured. I swipe under my eyes, but the tears keep flowing, my heart heavy for our loss. I press my mouth to his knuckles, trembling.

  “Darcy?”

  I lift my head in surprise. With relief, I scramble out of the seat and onto the bed. His eyes are still shut. I gently drag my hands through his dark tangled waves.

  “I’m here.”

  “Darcy.”

  “Yes, baby. Open your eyes. I’m here.”

  His emerald irises appear through fluttering lashes, forcing a smile onto my face. It takes him a minute to focus directly on me.

  “Is this real?” His voice is so hoarse I can barely understand him.

  I nod, desperately trying to keep my composure. A large part of me wants to cry like a baby. “Yes. Yes, I’m real. This is real.”

  His eyes swell with tears at the realization, his lips trembling. I can’t stop myself. I lean over him and crush my mouth to his, hard enough that he groans, but he doesn’t stop me. I only pull back to apologize, taking the opportunity to do it now when at one point I didn’t think I’d ever be able to again.

  “I’m…I’m so sorry,” I cry. He shakes his head, studying my face. “I didn’t mean what I said. I didn’t mean it.”

  “No, I’m sorry. God, I’m sorry,” he whispers as I wipe the tears from his cheeks.

  “I love you. I love you so much.”

  “I was so scared it was over.” I press my forehead to his, caressing his cheek. “I love you, Darcy, no matter what. I was so horrible to you.”

  I don’t want to think about what we said.

  “Are you hurt? Your head…where are you hurt?” he asks.

  Hearing the door open, I turn, seeing the nurse at the threshold.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I can come back…”

  “No, no, it’s okay.” I swallow, wiping my cheeks, gesturing her in. Benjamin leans back uncomfortably as she walks to his bedside.

  “Mr. Scott, have you realized what’s happened? Do you know where you are?”

  “The hospital.”

  “And clearly, you know who she is?”

  “My wife,” he says, deflating into the pillow. He’s exhausted.

  “Okay, you will be admitted for at least five more days. We’re going to wait it out and see how you respond to meds and some rest.”

  “No, I can’t.” He looks at me. “I have—”

  “I already talked to Tiffany. We’ve worked something out.”

  “I need to work.”

  She scowls. “You need rest, Mr. Scott. You’re not going anywhere.”

  He glares at her as she checks his vitals and injects more pain medication into his IV.

  “On a scale of 1-10, how bad is the pain?”

  When he doesn’t answer, she laughs and glances at me. “You’ve got a stubborn one here, don’t ‘cha?”

  Unable to help myself, I agree with her, which earns me a glare from him, although there is no true malice underneath it. He’s in good spirits, all things considering.

  “Well, you’ve been asleep for a long while so my guess would be you’re going to be very happy when this pain medication kicks in after a few minutes.” She turns to me. “The doctor
told me to check up on you tonight as well. Remember, if you’re spotting, that’s normal. If there’s more, make sure to find me.”

  My eyes dart to Benjamin. I cross my arms over my body, chilled to the bone. “Will do.”

  “I’ll bring you some blankets and pillows. That loveseat reclines.”

  “Thank you.”

  She shuts the door gently, and Benjamin repeats the question he asked before she disturbed us. “How badly were you hurt, Darcy?”

  The fear on his face tells me he already knows. I don’t need to speak to confirm it. I know my loss is etched into my very person right now.

  He takes a moment to focus on the bedding, and I notice his chest extending wider and wider, like he’s unable to catch his breath.

  His eyes, reddened around the edges, pierce me, so much emotion barely held at bay.

  “When?” he asks.

  “In the ambulance.”

  His face contorts, pained. “I tried to—”

  “I know you did. I know you tried to help me.”

  “I should never have been so cruel to you. The stress…”

  I shake my head, refusing to let him blame himself for any of this. “It wasn’t your fault.”

  He swallows, looking unnaturally panicked. I’m not used to seeing him at a loss. “Were you in pain?”

  “I didn’t know until I woke up in the hospital.”

  “I’m sorry, Darcy. I know—”

  “Can we not talk about it…for now?” I ask. I’m barely keeping it together, and just minutes into our reunion, I’m not ready to tackle anything that happened before this accident.

  He’s taken aback by my abrupt request, but he agrees.

  “Do you remember the accident?” I approach the side of the bed. He’s obviously still shaken up about the news I just told him because he doesn’t answer me. “Ben?”

  “What? Oh, no. I mean, some parts, yes.”

  “Do you have any questions? The nurse told me a brief version of what witnesses saw.”

  He shakes his head, closing his eyes. The medication is kicking in. “No, I’m not ready to think about that yet.”

  “Get some rest. I’ll be here.”

  “No, go home. You need rest too.”

  “Go to sleep, Benjamin.”

  “Look who’s being stubborn now.”

  We both smile tiredly, and while the medication takes him under, I watch over him, needing to care for him.

  ***

  “Okay, Mrs. Scott, thank you for your statement. When can we expect your husband’s?”

  “He’s asleep right now. Maybe stop by later?”

  The tall, lanky officer nods. “Good day, ma’am.”

  After he leaves, I walk down toward the reception area, seeing Rose, a senior nurse who is always smiling.

  “Hi, Rose. Have the faxes gone through?”

  “Feel free to check.” She gestures behind her.

  I enter her space, walking up to the machine. “Thank you for this. His job is so demanding.”

  “Of course, everyone knows how important he is. That fax machine is barely used. Feel free to use it while you’re here.”

  I pick up the forms Tiffany faxed over that need signatures from Benjamin. There have to be over twenty forms here…Jeez.

  “Thank you, Rose.”

  I head back to his room, knowing he has to be awake by now. It’s been over twelve hours. I find the door already open, a nurse by his bedside. Seeing me, he raises a brow.

  “You said you’d be next to me.”

  I roll my eyes, strolling in. “And how are you today, my love?”

  His quirky, curly haired nurse scoffs. “Cranky.”

  “Is that so?”

  Benjamin smirks at me, dragging a hand through his hair. He still looks like a model, even with the cuts and bruises. The nurse checks his temperature, inspects his wounds, and sets a tray of food down in front of him. He grimaces, staring down at the food in dismay.

  “Eat up,” I say, earning a scowl.

  “I’d like to see you eat this stuff,” he mutters as the nurse shuts the door behind her.

  “I’ve eaten much worse.” I shrug, thinking of the dinners in the prison. “I spoke with Tiffany while you were unconscious. I told her I would help getting information and documents to you since she’s overwhelmed with work. I hope that’s okay.”

  “Documents? Such as?”

  I place the papers into his good hand. He sets the spoon down and scans over them.

  “I know you hurt your writing hand, so I figured I could sign for you while you observe me doing it or sign it with your left hand, I don’t know. I don’t know if that’s what you want to do or if you want to wait, but I asked the head nurse if we could use the floor’s copier and fax machine and she said yes. I figured you didn’t want to get backed up.”

  He sets down the papers, shaking his head in awe. “I can’t believe you thought so much about this…about my company.”

  “It’s not a lot, Benjamin.”

  “To me it is.”

  I smile at that. “Well, I need to take a shower and get another change of clothes before I come back tonight. We need to go through these so I can drop them off to Tiffany.”

  “No, I don’t want you to sleep on that horrible recliner again tonight. You’re supposed to be resting.”

  “I’ll be fine.”

  “I’m not the only one that got hurt in this accident. You need rest, a lot of it. You’re pale. I know your immune system is compromised. Go home and rest. I’ll have Dimitri shuttle these over.”

  “No, I want to help, Ben. I don’t need to sit down.”

  He huffs, pressing his lips together disapprovingly. “You’re not thinking about yourself.”

  “I don’t need to anymore.”

  I catch my breath, stunned by my own outburst. My chest twists, squeezing my heart painfully. Benjamin’s face is pale, his gaze intense.

  “Please don’t ever say that again,” he whispers. I hold my head, berating myself for saying anything out loud.

  “Benjamin, I’m not ready to talk about this,” I say, my throat constricting at the thought. I glance at him when I receive no answer, finding his attention is set on the wall. It’s a while before he speaks.

  “I want to take care of you, Darcy, and I can’t in this godforsaken bed. So, please, can you try to take care of yourself?”

  He looks at me, pleadingly. I’m so madly in love with this man that a simple look from him can cause me to fold. But this—the loss of our child—and the words he said moments before I lost her, are powerful and have sunken deep, despite my desire to move past it all.

  He didn’t want the baby. It was the last thing he said before we were hit.

  And as much guilt I’ve laid onto myself for the events of that day, those words are still linked to my brain. To hear him ask me to take care of myself, knowing he has no idea what this feels like, causes my blood to boil.

  “Please come here,” he says softly. I cross the room and take a seat by his legs. He lifts my chin to force my gaze to his face.

  I feel my face contort, unmasking my pain for a brief moment. “I can’t sleep in that apartment alone…I can’t. I don’t want to be alone right now.”

  “You’re not alone, Darce.”

  “I want to go back when you do.”

  He sighs heavily. “Will you at least spend the nights at Doris’s? I know she’ll say yes, and at least you’ll be on a bed.”

  “Can you stop trying to get rid of me?” I scoff, which makes him chuckle.

  “That’s the last thing I’m trying to do. I’m trying to keep you healthy. Lord knows you won’t do it on your own.”

  I point at the first piece of paper.

  “You are honestly the most stubborn woman,” he grumbles, with no choice but to lift the document.

  “Get used to it.”

  He smirks. “I don’t think that’s possible.”

  ***

  A ge
ntle hand glides over my hair, stroking it softly, and that is how I come to consciousness. Opening my eyes, I realize where I am. After a quick shower and a shuttle to Scott Industries, where I dropped off an assortment of signed documents, I came back to find Benjamin asleep. I lift my head off my arms, realizing I passed out. He’s watching me with a calm expression. I lean into his caress when his fingers nudge my cheek.

  “How are you doing?” he asks. “Honestly?”

  I don’t know what to say. I don’t know how to say it. My emotions are so fluctuating. One moment, I’m angry. The next, despairing.

  “Talk to me. Please, Darcy. I feel like we need to talk about this.”

  “I don’t know what to say,” I utter lamely. “I just wish it hadn’t happened, you know? I-I felt her, or him, whatever they were. I didn’t know about it for long, but I felt like something was growing in me. I feel empty now.”

  “When I was in that car and I could barely see straight, I kept thinking about it…about the baby. I don’t know why, but I didn’t want it to hurt. It’s ridiculous considering how I acted from the moment I found out.”

  He leans his head back, squeezing the bridge of his nose with his unharmed hand. “I’m ashamed of myself. I think about what I said, how much of it I didn’t mean, and I want to be sick. If I hadn’t stormed out of there, we wouldn’t have been on the road. None of this would have happened.”

  “Stop. We could have handled things very differently, Benjamin, but the miscarriage was because we were in a car accident. None of that blame falls upon you.”

  I’m trying to make him feel better. I doubt I succeed, because just as he wishes to blame himself, I’m doing the exact same thing, wondering if it was my body that gave out or the stress of our fight that did it. I’ll never know, so it’s easier to blame the accident.

  “You died in front of me, did you know that?” I whisper, wanting to change the subject. His gaze softens when I take his hand. “I did this…and there was nothing. You were gone.”

  “The nurse told me. She said my heart started again when you touched me.”

  “Nurses are romantics.”