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“No.”
She peers into my eyes briefly before murmuring as she writes, “Pupils are normal.”
Setting the clipboard and pen aside on the small table, she retrieves the blood pressure cuff and fastens it around my arm. Once she takes my vitals and records them, she gathers up the tray of items I’ve come to dread.
Her cheerful voice is like nails on a chalkboard, her smile overly bright. I wish Lara were still here, because she never made me feel awkward. “Let’s get you relaxed so we can start on your treatment.”
Forcing myself to take steady breaths, I focus on the vent in the ceiling as Tabitha practically singsongs, “Just a little pinch, Mackenzie…”
My body jerks in alarm, but not violently enough to dislodge the start of the IV.
“A little warmth in your veins now…” I close my eyes, willing calmness to take over.
Everything goes dark.
39
MAC
My mind feels as though it’s been stretched across a jagged cliff and now it’s being ripped into two parts.
A part of me logically knows that my disjointed memory is manifesting differently, but it doesn’t make it any less traumatic.
Debilitating fear has my heart thundering so loudly it’s nearly deafening to my ears while I struggle to free myself from the restraints.
I can’t see anything, and the darkness makes everything that much more terrifying. I try to scream, but nothing emerges from my lips.
“Stop resisting.”
Ohgodno. Terror seeps into the marrow of my bones, because I know that voice. It’s the man who hurt me, over and over.
I twist and buck my body wildly, trying to free my bound arms and legs, but when I fail, panic has my lungs burning from my hyperventilating breaths.
That voice murmurs in my ear, malevolence oozing from each word. “Stop. Resisting. You belong to me.” His voice hardens to steel. “Stop resisting.”
No! Never! I scream internally, vowing to never let him win.
“Stop! Mackenzie!” Another male voice speaks with urgency that draws me from the previous scene. “Look at me, Mackenzie. Come on. Open your eyes.”
It takes great effort to pry my eyelids open, and the instant my gaze collides with Dr. Phillips’, I’m doused with palpable relief.
A fraction of tenseness leaves his features, and he offers me a faint smile. “There you are. Welcome back.” His eyes dart to where Tabitha stands on my opposite side before returning to me. “What’s your name?”
“Mackenzie Ford.”
“Do you remember who I am?”
“Dr. Phillips.”
Relief spreads across his face, and he pats the top of my hand. “Good.”
“What happened?” I glance down to find that I’ve been restrained again. A blood pressure cuff is wrapped around my arm, automatically inflating to take my reading. A fingertip pulse oximeter is affixed to one index finger.
A severe crease forms between Dr. Phillips’ brows. “You did well under the heavier sedation until the very end. Then, it seems, you had a violent episode. You were thrashing so much that Tabitha and I restrained you to protect you from injuring yourself.”
I suck in a ragged breath and flex my fingers and wiggle my feet. “Can you undo the restraints, please?” I don’t give a shit how desperate my voice sounds. I need out of these goddamn restraints.
Dr. Phillips and Tabitha exchange a look before he nods and offers, “Of course.”
