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“More like flash backs. I’ll try again after a nap.” I frowned as I laid back, closed my eyes and welcomed the privacy sleep would hopefully bring me. I fell asleep to the sound of the fan and the coolness of the room. I slept for a few hours and woke up to my stomach growling. I heard Katherine laugh.
“How about I go fix us some sandwiches. Is there anything you don’t like?” she asked me.
“I’ll eat whatever. Thanks.” I told her as she went to the kitchen. I saw her e-reader by the chair and suddenly wished I had my things from my dorm. I didn’t even have my phone because they tossed it. Katherine came in a few minutes later with a tray and two plates. There were sandwiches, some chipsand cut up apples with grapes. She also had two glasses of iced tea. “That looks yummy.”
Katherine put the tray on the moving table and sat by me to eat. She looked thoughtful. We ate in silence, mostly because I didn’t know what to say and I was hungry. When I had cleaned my plate, I sat back and rubbed my stomach.
“I wish I had my phone or my stuff from my dorm. I’m going crazy laying around and sleeping. I’m going to get behind on my schoolwork and I’m almost done.” I moaned out loud. Katherine picked up her phone, sent a message and then smiled at me. “What’s that look for?”
“It so happens that your brother collected your things from the dorm and also arranged for you to finish your classes online. He explained that you had been kidnapped and injured to the Dean and your professors, they all agreed to allow you to do that and take your final exams locally with a proctor.” She told me before getting up to open the door. My brother came in with a bag in his hand and a box.
“Hey sis, I know Doc wants to keep an eye on you for a bit longer but since you’re awake and alert now I brought your laptop. I was also able to recover your phone and some other personal items I thought you might want while you’re here.” Austin sat down on the end of the bed and looked so sad. I was mean to him when they brought me home. I didn’t really blame him but at the time I guess I needed to lash out and he was a safe target.
I reached over, taking his hand and pulled him to me for a hug. “I’m so sorry if I made you feel like I blamed you. I was scared, hurt and angry. It wasn’t your fault and it had nothing to do with the club. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I’m just lucky you found me before they sold me.” I mumbled into his chest as he held me close.
“I’m so damned sorry that happened to you. I promise, I did not disclose those details to anyone at your school. Just that you were taken and hurt. I should have insisted that you go to school here in town, but you worked so hard for those scholarships, and I was so damn proud of you.” He was still holding me, so I leaned back a bit.
“Thank you for getting my things and making arrangements for me not to get behind. This will keep my mind occupied while my body heals. Will you pull out my laptop and plug it in for me please?” I asked my brother as I looked at my phone. I turned it on and saw messages from my roommate. I sent her a message letting her know that I would be fine and that I wasn’t coming back to school. I told her that my part of the dorm was paid for the semester so she should have the place to herself. I put the phone back down and looked at my brother.
“I’m so glad you’re speaking to me. I missed you so much. Your room at our place is ready whenever you decide you want to come home.” He said as he ran his hand over his head. “I’ll be at work tomorrow, I’m only a phone call away if you need anything.”
“I know and I love you so much. I’m glad to be home, I just wish it had been on my own terms.” I whispered as tears ran down my cheeks. “I think I’d like to be alone for awhile if you both don’t mind. I know Doc didn’t want me to be here alone, but maybe at least I could be alone in the room for a while.”
“Sure, I can go read in the living room.” Katherine said as she left the room. Austin hugged me one more time and kissed the top of my head like he did when I was little.
“I’ll see you later.” He smiled at me and closed the door behind him. I leaned back and closed my eyes. I knew I needed to check on my assignments, but I just didn’t have it in me at the moment. I pushed the tray with my laptop off the bed to the side and fell asleep.
3
Doc
I did my rounds when I got to the hospital and then went to take a nap in one of the on-call rooms. It was quiet and dark, exactly what I needed. I woke up to my phone vibrating against my side. Looking at the time, I saw that I had slept for over six hours. It was seven in the evening. Shit!! I needed to get back home and check on Dawn. The message was from Katherine.
I got up and slipped my shoes back on and listened to the voicemail. I could hear Dawn screaming in the background as Katherine left the message.
“Doc, she fell asleep after lunch and then just sat up in bed and started screaming and thrashing around. I’m trying to calm her down, but I can’t seem to pull her out of it.”
I drove straight home and walked in the house to find Katherine rubbing Dawn’s hand and Dawn curled up in a fetal position whimpering. She was looking at nothing. Lost in her nightmare and memories.
“I’ve got this, you can go home. I’ll call you later.” I told her as I sat beside Dawn on the bed. When she walked out, I scooped Dawn up and sat back against the headboard with her curled into my lap and sang to her. I sang anything that came to mind as I gently rocked her and rubbed her back. I knew she would hate to know Kat had seen her like this. Dawn was very proud and hated showing weakness. This whole nightmare had shaken her to the core. I noticed she had a death grip on my shirt and was quiet now. I gently laid her back against the pillow and went to the bathroom for a washcloth to wipe her face off. As I came back into the room she tracked my movements.
“I’m sorry.” She whispered. I was surprised by the apology. “I’m so embarrassed.”
“You have nothing to apologize for. You have been through a horrible trauma, and you are reacting as expected. I’d like to have you speak to a trauma counselor soon. I think you would benefit from it a lot.” I suggested as I wiped her face. “When was the last time you ate something?”
“I got sick after breakfast, but Katherine fixed me a sandwich after.” She said as her stomach growled. “I didn’t feel sick to my stomach so much as the flashbacks made me nauseous. I could eat.”
“I could too, why don’t I go make us some stir-fry. I have some chicken, broccoli and zucchini. Will that be, okay?” I asked her. She nodded and gave me a small smile. “I’m going to shower since I just came from the hospital and then I’ll fix dinner. Should only take about thirty minutes for both.”
“I’ll look at some of my schoolwork and check my emails while you do that. Austin brought my stuff since he wasn’t sure how long I would be here.” She slid the tray over and opened it. I guess I needed to figure that out as well. I left her to do her schoolwork while I went to shower.
Standing in the shower I thought about how I had been sleeping in the room with her and how comfortable she was with me. I knew Gears didn’t like it and was just chomping at the bit to take his baby sister home with him. I understood that and I didn’t want him to think I was going to take advantage of her. Fuck, he should know me better than that anyway. I guess considering the way she has been clinging to me I can understand the suspicion. I washed off quickly and then slipped on some sweatpants and a tank before heading to the kitchen to prepare dinner.
I had always enjoyed cooking since it relaxed me, and I liked to keep busy. I tried to eat as healthily as I could since I didn’t always have time to work out as much as I’d like to. Being part of a motorcycle club had never been in my plans growing up, but after serving with a few of the guys and then being discharged for a bum knee, I needed something to keep me going. I started working at the hospital and the guys would call on me to patch them up after missions. Axle and Undertaker came to me and asked if I would be interested in pledging. They said the club could use a doctor on missions and they already thought highly of me. I still had to go through the process of being a prospect and earning my patch. After that, the rest is history. I have been a member for the last eight years and I loved the brotherhood as well as the family atmosphere we had here. Plenty of the guys were a bit rough around the edges but we didn’t hurt women or children. We also did a bunch of charity runs throughout the year. All in all, I have had a good life since I was medically discharged from active service.
When dinner was ready, I decided to see if Dawn would prefer to eat at the table and get out of the room for a bit. I walked in to see her working on her laptop. She looked so cute biting her lip and a little line on her forehead as she concentrated on whatshe was doing. I hated to interrupt her, but she needed to eat. I cleared my throat, and she looked up at me.
“Did you need something?” she asked me as I stood at the door watching her.
