“No.”
“We’re not negotiating this, Darcy. You are being stubborn, and it’s clearly doing you no favors. Now, if you get any worse, go to the hospital, all right? If not, I’ll check on you in the morning.”
I hear an uncomfortable grunt next to me. Dimitri has a phone in his hand and is extending it to me.
Great.
I take it, preparing myself. “Hello?”
“Dimitri just told me what happened…Christ, Darcy! You said you felt fine!”
“I did. Benjamin, it’s okay, I—”
“I managed to get the doctor to agree to release me tomorrow.”
“You don’t need to do that, honestly.”
“Yes, I do. You’re obviously incapable of taking care of yourself.”
I narrow my eyes, surprised by his hostility. “You’re being a jerk.”
“Well, I’m worried sick. My wife has refused to give a shit about herself.”
“You’re blowing this out of proportion,” I huff as the throbbing in my brain intensifies, plummeting my mood considerably.
“Well, stop hiding things from me and I will be able to calm down. Hearing my security found my wife naked on our bedroom floor, completely unconscious, has me just a little stressed out.”
“I’m getting off the phone now.” Dimitri’s eyes widen when I end the call, making me re-think my decision to hang up on my irritable husband, but after the days I’ve had, and the lengths I’ve gone to fake being happy, I’m in no mood for a lecture.
The phone rings almost instantly, and Dimitri bristles with worry.
“I’m not talking to him while he’s like this, Dimitri. Please tell him I’m going to sleep.”
“Darcy—”
“Please tell him.”
He answers the phone, his voice lowering as he exits the room, shutting the door. Under doctor’s orders, I eat and endure the aspect of sitting still in my own thoughts.
***
I don’t even remember falling asleep. The sky is black, lacking any visible stars. I gawk, amazed I slept the entire day. Sitting up, I reach for the glass of water by my bed, draining it in one gulp. My body is drenched, my bones weak.
There’s a note on the nightstand.
He’s called three times. Have pity on him. He’s calm but worried.
Dimitri
I lift the new phone Dimitri’s replaced after mine was destroyed in the accident and dial Benjamin’s number. It goes straight to voicemail.
“Hi, I’ve been asleep. Dimitri said you’d called quite a bit, so here I am, calling you…um, call me back.”
I hang up and push onto my hands to sit upright.
“Oh no, you don’t!” Doris is at the entrance to the bedroom. She’s holding a magazine, but she drops it onto the desk and makes her way over to me. “You’re not supposed to be out of bed.”
She fixes the pillows, pushing me back against them, and I groan. “Please, I feel gross.”
