Mila
“This is ridiculous,” I tell the doctor again on the third day. “I surely don’t need his permission.”
I’ve been pacing the waiting room, day and night, and my husband refuses to allow me into his room. Gabe and Maddy have been with me for support, but I am crushed by the fact that Pax doesn’t want to see me.
“He has given strict instructions that no one is allowed into his room,” the doctor replies and he doesn’t like it either. I can tell. “It’s common with people who have been in captivity, even if it has only been ten days. He doesn’t want you to see him in this state. He’s not himself.”
“Has he come through the physical withdrawals?” I ask hesitantly. I hate the thought of Pax being in pain. The doctor nods.
“He’s through the worst of it. It will probably continue for up to a week, but the worst of it is past. The recovery process is mostly mental from here. He’ll have to learn to resist the urges to use. It’s a process.”
I am stunned. My husband. My beautiful, strong husband, is lying in a hospital bed, addicted to drugs.
That’s what that monster did to him.
My blood boils and I hope they manage to tie this to Leroy. So far, the detectives say that it looks like Natasha orchestrated it on her own. I know that’s impossible. Leroy Ellison is behind this. He was just smart enough to hide it.
“Will you please tell him that I’m waiting here until he sees me? Tell him that I’m sleeping in the waiting room, and I’m not going anywhere.”
The doctor hesitates, then nods. “I’ll tell him. In the meantime, we do have counselors here. People you can talk to about your own ordeal.”
“I’m fine,” I assure him. “Maybe later. Right now, all I can concentrate on is my husband.”
Zuzu is safe. I had smelled her hair and hugged her for an hour straight. I didn’t want to let go of her, and I don’t want her out of my sight even now. But I also don’t want her here in this hospital. So she’s at the hotel pool with Maddy and Gabe. I’ll return to see her tonight, to eat dinner with her and hold her and smell her, before I come back to spend the night here.
Pax has to understand how important this is.
I have to show him.
I take my seat again.
I wait.
And wait.
And wait.
In the evening, Maddy and Gabe bring Zuzu to me, because I’d lost track of time. I’m still in a daze, and they know it.
Zuzu bounds into my arms, and she brings the sunshine with her.
“Mommy!” she cries, and she hugs me. “I missed you. Is daddy awake?”
We keep telling her that he is sleeping, and that’s why she can’t see him. We don’t know what else to do.
“You just missed him, sweetheart,” I tell her. “He misses you, too.”
She nods her head, very confident of her father’s love for her. “I drew him a picture.”
I take it from her, and it is a family portrait. Me, Pax and Zuzu in the middle. She is holding a flower.
“He’ll love it,” she’ll tells me seriously. I nod, and my eyes are filled with tears.
“He definitely will,” I answer. “Can you go back to the hotel with aunt Maddy and uncle Gabe? Mommy wants to wait here for daddy to wake up again.”
“Yes, Mommy,” she says seriously. “Aunt Maddy is going to paint my nails.”
I smile and Maddy hugs me. “It’s all going to be fine,” she tells me. “It is.”