Kraken by Harley Wylde

Author:Harley Wylde [Wylde, Harley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: BIN 009466-03067
Publisher: Changeling Press LLC
Published: 2020-07-26T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Phoebe

Three days. Three long, miserable days of being scared out of my mind. Kraken hadn’t left my side since I woke up, but I could tell by the look in his eyes, what Pitch had done to me would haunt him. He wouldn’t look at me the same as before. I’d bear scars that would never go away, both on my body and in my mind. I couldn’t bring myself to look in the mirror at the hospital, but at the hotel it wasn’t something I could avoid. They’d only kept me overnight, and only then because they’d wanted to run tests. A large mirror ran the length of the counter in the bathroom. I couldn’t brush my teeth without seeing the stitches in my face, the lines on my chest that spelled out whore.

The worst part was having Kraken see me like this. Every time he looked at me, it would be a reminder of where I’d come from, what Pitch had done to me, and what the club had intended to do. His touch was gentle. He still whispered words of comfort and love, but in my heart, I worried he saw me different now than before. Damaged. Ugly. Someone to be pitied. Even though a plastic surgeon had tried to make the scarring minimal, no one could make it disappear completely. The stitches in my face and chest would dissolve within the next few days, or should according to the doctor. They’d said sometimes it took a little longer.

Standing long enough to wash or use the bathroom exhausted me. I’d heard the doctor tell Kraken I needed more time to heal before going home to Mississippi. I missed my daughter, and yet, I didn’t want her to see me this way. She was so little. Would the cuts on my face scare her? I already knew people would stare if I ever left the hotel room. I’d felt their gazes on me when Kraken had brought me here from the hospital. We couldn’t remain here forever, though, and my stitches could take over a week to dissolve.

The pills I had to take made me drowsy and unlike myself. The doctor had said what he’d given me wouldn’t hurt the baby, if there was one. I hated them, but I didn’t like the pain I felt without them either. Every day, I promised myself I’d stop taking them. Then I’d find myself reaching for the bottle. They didn’t just numb the pain of my wounds, but they helped numb my mind and soul too. I knew it was a slippery slope, a path that would lead to addiction. My daughter deserved better. She needed me to be strong.

“Brought you something,” Kraken said as he entered the hotel room. He set a bag on the bed next to me.

I reached for it, feeling the plastic crinkle under my fingers. I slid the bag closer and reached inside, pulling out two new books, but I’d felt other items. A puzzle book with pencils, scented lotion, and a card.

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