Stand-In Heiress's Last Sunflower Blooms in Graveyards - Chapter 11: Chapter 11
You are reading Stand-In Heiress's Last Sunflower Blooms in Graveyards, Chapter 11: Chapter 11. Read more chapters of Stand-In Heiress's Last Sunflower Blooms in Graveyards.
Jayden's voice caught in his throat.
After a long silence, the nurse wheeled in her cart and Jayden gave me another morphine drip.
He forced a smile: "You're in my house now. Can't have my favorite patient suffering, can we?"
The nurse changed my sheets, then Jayden got called away on rounds.
When Rachel came back, she had suitcases full of clothes and toiletries.
"I'm not going anywhere," she announced. "I'm staying right here with you."
She brought warm washcloths to help clean me up.
"Sky, when I was coming back I saw Timothy passed out on that uncomfortable bench outside. He looked like absolute shit."
I paused, then shrugged: "That's his choice."
After getting cleaned up, I turned on "Selena + Chef" on my tablet. Watching people cook food I'd never be able to eat again.
That's when Timothy knocked and stumbled in, looking completely wrecked.
"Skylar, no more disappearing acts. I'm taking leave from the precinct. I'm staying with you until..." He couldn't finish the sentence.
Before I could tell him not to, he'd already turned and walked out.
Rachel was quiet for the longest time. Finally, she ran her fingers through what was left of my hair:
"Sky, you're gonna beat this, okay? And when you do, I'm taking you to get the spiciest fucking Mexican fried chicken in the city. Remember how you used to obsess over that place near campus? We'll get extra jalapeños, make your eyes water."
I knew I was never eating spicy chicken again. I was never eating anything again.
But I smiled anyway: "Deal."
I'd barely made it through thirty minutes of the show when I finally started getting drowsy.
Then Katherine appeared in my doorway holding a fruit basket, her eyes red and swollen from crying.
Rachel took one look at her and completely lost it. She grabbed the fruit basket and hurled it into the hallway:
"Katherine! What the fuck is wrong with you and your mother? How much more do you want to torture her?"
"Look at her! She's literally dying! Where exactly do you think she's gonna run off to? Just leave her the hell alone!"
Katherine stood there like a deer in headlights, just repeating: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
I finally managed to convince Rachel to give us some space.
Katherine perched on the edge of my bed, guilt radiating off her in waves.
"Skylar, I had no idea Timothy was your ex. I'm so fucking sorry."
I was quiet for a moment: "You didn't do anything wrong."
Katherine let out a bitter laugh: "Do you want to know why Timothy started dating me?"
She didn't wait for an answer:
"Timothy and I met seven years ago, back when you guys were still together. My birth mom got me hooked on drugs, then sold me to a club to pay off her debts. When I came to, the room smelled like... God, there were used condoms all over the floor..."
Tears started streaming down her face.
"I don't even know how many men were in that room..."
"I wanted to die. That was the only way out I could see. But when I climbed up on that roof, Timothy was there. He grabbed me and wouldn't let go, even when I was fighting him so hard we were both about to fall."
"But he held on. He told me that no matter how fucked up things get, you have to keep fighting. Because if you're breathing, there's still hope."
Something twisted in my chest, sharp and brutal.
My voice came out like sandpaper: "Katherine... I'm so sorry."
All of that horror—that should have been my life. I should have been the one going through hell while she lived in luxury.
The day Timothy came home with those scratches on his arms, I was the one who bandaged him up. I never asked what happened.
Katherine shrugged, but her fingernails were digging crescent moons into her palms.
"Ancient history. But Timothy was the first person who looked at me and didn't see damaged goods."
"When my real parents found me and brought me home, I was so excited to tell him. You know what he said?"
After a long silence, the nurse wheeled in her cart and Jayden gave me another morphine drip.
He forced a smile: "You're in my house now. Can't have my favorite patient suffering, can we?"
The nurse changed my sheets, then Jayden got called away on rounds.
When Rachel came back, she had suitcases full of clothes and toiletries.
"I'm not going anywhere," she announced. "I'm staying right here with you."
She brought warm washcloths to help clean me up.
"Sky, when I was coming back I saw Timothy passed out on that uncomfortable bench outside. He looked like absolute shit."
I paused, then shrugged: "That's his choice."
After getting cleaned up, I turned on "Selena + Chef" on my tablet. Watching people cook food I'd never be able to eat again.
That's when Timothy knocked and stumbled in, looking completely wrecked.
"Skylar, no more disappearing acts. I'm taking leave from the precinct. I'm staying with you until..." He couldn't finish the sentence.
Before I could tell him not to, he'd already turned and walked out.
Rachel was quiet for the longest time. Finally, she ran her fingers through what was left of my hair:
"Sky, you're gonna beat this, okay? And when you do, I'm taking you to get the spiciest fucking Mexican fried chicken in the city. Remember how you used to obsess over that place near campus? We'll get extra jalapeños, make your eyes water."
I knew I was never eating spicy chicken again. I was never eating anything again.
But I smiled anyway: "Deal."
I'd barely made it through thirty minutes of the show when I finally started getting drowsy.
Then Katherine appeared in my doorway holding a fruit basket, her eyes red and swollen from crying.
Rachel took one look at her and completely lost it. She grabbed the fruit basket and hurled it into the hallway:
"Katherine! What the fuck is wrong with you and your mother? How much more do you want to torture her?"
"Look at her! She's literally dying! Where exactly do you think she's gonna run off to? Just leave her the hell alone!"
Katherine stood there like a deer in headlights, just repeating: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
I finally managed to convince Rachel to give us some space.
Katherine perched on the edge of my bed, guilt radiating off her in waves.
"Skylar, I had no idea Timothy was your ex. I'm so fucking sorry."
I was quiet for a moment: "You didn't do anything wrong."
Katherine let out a bitter laugh: "Do you want to know why Timothy started dating me?"
She didn't wait for an answer:
"Timothy and I met seven years ago, back when you guys were still together. My birth mom got me hooked on drugs, then sold me to a club to pay off her debts. When I came to, the room smelled like... God, there were used condoms all over the floor..."
Tears started streaming down her face.
"I don't even know how many men were in that room..."
"I wanted to die. That was the only way out I could see. But when I climbed up on that roof, Timothy was there. He grabbed me and wouldn't let go, even when I was fighting him so hard we were both about to fall."
"But he held on. He told me that no matter how fucked up things get, you have to keep fighting. Because if you're breathing, there's still hope."
Something twisted in my chest, sharp and brutal.
My voice came out like sandpaper: "Katherine... I'm so sorry."
All of that horror—that should have been my life. I should have been the one going through hell while she lived in luxury.
The day Timothy came home with those scratches on his arms, I was the one who bandaged him up. I never asked what happened.
Katherine shrugged, but her fingernails were digging crescent moons into her palms.
"Ancient history. But Timothy was the first person who looked at me and didn't see damaged goods."
"When my real parents found me and brought me home, I was so excited to tell him. You know what he said?"
End of Stand-In Heiress's Last Sunflower Blooms in Graveyards Chapter 11. Continue reading Chapter 12 or return to Stand-In Heiress's Last Sunflower Blooms in Graveyards book page.