Chapter Nine

14 days, 23 hours, 46 minutes

Gretchen tried to stretch her arms above her head but could barely move. Her body felt as if it was suspended in rubber cement. She struggled to open her eyes, but every time she almost did, her body would force them shut.

I hate falling asleep with the light on. Jesus, what kind of bulbs did Jax get from the store. This is a bedroom, not the lighting section at the Home Depot. I can’t even open my eyes. It’s too bright and I’m too tired. She had zero control over her physical self. Her brain screamed to move, but her limbs and face would remain motionless. She lay still and listened instead.

Footsteps shuffled and unfamiliar voices carried. Unpleasant and sterile smells hit her all at once. Muffled conversations became more clear, and finally, cutting through everything, came the one voice Gretchen needed to help direct her.

Jax. Jax is here. I found her.

Gretchen flexed her throat and strained to part her lips. They felt welded shut with dryness. Panic started to set in. She started to breathe heavily. A constant, rapid beeping filled the space around her. She needed to open her eyes, or she felt like they might never open again.

Move, dammit! Open your eyes and find Jax. She’ll make this better. She’ll fix this.

Gretchen shifted her eyes back and forth as quickly as she could, treating them like a windup toy getting ready for release. With every ounce of strength, she broke her lips apart and cracked her eyes open.

“He—” Her throat hurt too much to force a word, but her eyes were finally cooperating. She looked around and saw Jax at the edge of the room. The room wasn’t familiar, but the setting was otherwise unmistakable.

She blinked hard to clear her vision. Jax was talking to another woman wearing a white lab coat, presumably a doctor. Pain radiated from various parts of her body. Although she knew she was in the hospital, she didn’t know why. With a deep breath, she mustered up the energy to make a fist and knock on the bed rail.

All she wanted to do was smile when she saw Jax, but she was still too weak. She grew stronger with each passing second. With each step Jax took toward her bed, Gretchen felt a bit of life seep back into her aching body.

“You’re awake,” Jax said, touching her forehead gently. “You gave us quite a scare.”

Gretchen’s eyes involuntarily closed at the contact. She clung to the image of Jax. She was okay now. The unbearable heat turned into comforting warmth, and drowsiness started to overtake her.

“Gretchen? Can you hear me? It’s me, Dr. Melendez.”

She opened her eyes and vaguely recalled the attractive woman standing over her, shining a light in her eyes. It was uncomfortable and hurt her head. She tried to turn away from it.

“Do you remember me, Gretchen?”

She tried to look at Dr. Melendez again, this time through the dancing spots in her vision. Yes, she did remember her, but she couldn’t say the words no matter how hard she tried. She knew the word. Gretchen even spelled it in her head. But she couldn’t say it. She nodded.