Chapter Seven
Della
The smell hit me as we walked into the emergency waiting room. I would have backed out if it wasn’t for Finn’s hand in mine. Parker strode through the doors that led to the emergency area. He stopped in front of us, his brows low, his face scowling. “Lan wants to get outta here, even fuckin’ knowing they’ve suggested he stay the night. They’ve patched him up, but the dickhead won’t listen to me, so I’m bringing the car around. Elvis is still in surgery.” He glanced at his watch. “He should be out shortly, and then a doctor was gonna come out to let his family know. Once you’d said the women were coming, I told them Della’s his sister. They’ll talk to her.”
Me? I was Elvis’s sister? I guess it didn’t matter who Parker picked. They needed someone to help, and I was it.
“Right, thanks, brother.” Dallas clasped him on the back, then Parker made his way to the sliding doors, grumbling under his breath about Lan being an idiot.
We took our seats in the waiting area. It wasn’t as busy as I thought it would be. Lissa and Dallas sat opposite me, talking softly. Finn chose to sit in the seat next to me. He glanced down, so I did and noticed my leg bounced up and down. I stopped it, though I hadn’t even realised I’d been doing it.
“You all right?” he asked in a quiet, gruff voice.
“Sure.” I nodded.
“Del?”
“I just, um, hate hospitals.”
“Why?”
“Well, not really hospitals, but doctors… needles.” Jimmy, when he’d had me stripping back in Sydney, used to inject me on some occasions with some concoction, so I was more pliable and wouldn’t fight back.
“You hate needles?” He paused, his teeth grinding together. “That fucker drugged you?” he guessed.
“Sometimes,” I whispered. I hadn’t told Lissa how much he’d done it. I didn’t want her to worry so had fought the withdrawals on my own. That was another reason that after we were safe, I’d been so moody and out of it at times.
“Fuck,” he clipped. “That why you didn’t want to get checked out after?”
“Some of it.” I nodded. “Another part, I didn’t want to be touched.”
Why did I admit that to him?
“You haven’t seen a doctor since before?”
“I know I need to, should have, but… no, I will one day.”
My leg started to bounce again. Finn’s hand came down on it, and I stopped. “Want me to come with you?”
Did I?
“Um, maybe?”
He studied me. “Be back.” Then he got up and went to the nurses’ station. What was he doing? I hoped he was up there to just find out about his brother, but I had a feeling he wasn’t. When the nurse looked over his shoulder at me, I was certain he wasn’t. I almost swallowed my tongue from sucking in a deep breath as fear filled me from my toes to the top of my head.
I watched as the nurse nodded, then disappeared out the back. Standing, I took a step towards the exit.
“Del, where you going?” Lissa asked. I glanced down at her and next she was standing. “What’s wrong?”
“Della,” Finn bit my name out, gaining my attention. I swung my eyes to his as he came up beside me.
“Handle,” Lissa warned.
His eyes were on me, but he said to Lissa, “Go sit back down.”
“I don’t—” she started.
Shifting, his head slightly to the side, he gentled his tone and said, “Please.”
Out the corner of my eyes, I saw her nod and shift off to Dallas. I wanted to reach out and stop her, but then Finn’s gaze came back to mine, and it was warm and caring and captivated me completely. My breath caught. He stepped closer. His hand came up to cup my neck, the other landed on my waist.
“Sweetheart, it’s better to get that shit outta the way.”
“I don’t know if I can,” I muttered, my voice shaking at the end.
“You can. I know it, and I won’t let you do it on your own.”
“Mardella Kent?”
When my name was called, I jumped.
“Do you want me or Melissa in there with you?”
You! my mind screamed.
“Mardella Kent?” was called again. It wasn’t the nurse from the front office. It was a different one, an older one.
“You can do this, darlin’,” Finn reassured. He kissed my forehead, stepped back, and took my hand. I guess I didn’t have to answer who I wanted in there with me—that was if my feet would move—maybe he’d read it on my face.
With a tug of my hand, I stumbled forward. He released my hand and placed his arm around my shoulders.
“Is everything okay?” Lissa asked, standing by Dallas.
“Yep,” Finn answered.
“Della?” she questioned me, ignoring him.
“I…” Glancing from Lissa up to Finn, I then looked back at my friend and nodded. “It’s fine, just a few tests.”
Lissa’s bottom lips trembled. She knew I hadn’t gone to the doctors, and I’d told her I didn’t want anyone touching me. She’d understood, but had been worried about it all along. Her sadness showed with the tears forming in her eyes.
When we reached the nurse, Finn said, “We’re waiting on some news about her brother, so we need to get this done as quickly as possible.”
“Of course.” The nurse nodded and then led us through the doors and to a hospital bed in its own bay. “Just sit on the bed, and a doctor will be with you shortly. It’s lucky it’s a slow afternoon, or else we wouldn’t have been able to do this.” With that, she spun towards the exit, stepped out, and pulled the curtain across.
Finn grabbed my waist and hoisted me up onto the bed, my breath escaping me in a gasp. He moved between my legs, tilting my face up with a finger under my chin. “You’ve got this.”
I nodded. Not sure I believed him.
“You do, sweetheart, and I’m right here with you. Just a few blood tests, that’s all it is.”
My body jolted when the curtain was abruptly pulled back, and a woman in her fifties entered. She looked up from her clipboard and smiled.
“Mardella Kent?”
“Y-yes.”
“I’m Dr Anders. You want to get some blood work done, all STDs and such?”
When I didn’t say anything, Finn moved to my side. Gripping my hand in his, he answered, “Yeah, all of them. Look, she hates needles, so you gotta go easy on her.”
God, he was amazing. We were just lucky to get a female doctor, though. If it had been a man, I didn’t think I’d still be sitting on the bed.
“Not to worry.” She smiled warmly. “Before we get started, is there a chance you could be pregnant?”
“No, I… no.”
Dr Anders hummed under her breath. “You don’t seem so sure. When was the last time you’ve had your monthly?”
Shit. It’d been a very long time.
“She went through some trauma about four months ago.”
“What type of trauma?”
I couldn’t find my voice to answer and I didn’t want to anyway.
“Rape,” Finn clipped low.
The doctor’s eyes flicked from Finn to me, and back again to Finn, more precisely to our hands.
“I think it’s best if you step out—”
“No!” I cried. “Please, he can stay. I didn’t see anyone after it. I didn’t want anyone to touch me, but I’d like to get those tests done, please.”
She sighed. “Okay, dear. How about we do a pregnancy test just in case?”
“But they never, I was… and they never….”
“It’s okay,” she soothed. “Were you on the pill back then?” I nodded. “Are you now?”
“No, not for a long time.”
“Would you like to start up again?”
Did I? “Sure, why not.”
“I’d still like to do a pregnancy test.”
Sighing, I nodded. “Okay.”
“I’ll be right back.” She left to get whatever she needed. Leaning back, I closed my eyes, resting my head against the wall. I was grateful for Finn organising it. If I’d made an appointment, I probably would have backed out and never really gotten around to do it.
Squeezing his hand, I muttered, “Thank you,” then opened my eyes to see he was already looking at me.
He tugged me forward and then stepped between my legs again. My heart raced as he placed his hands on my waist and dragged my body closer to his. His intense eyes stared down at me, so I looked at his lips, which was the wrong move because I wanted them on me.
How weird was that? Sitting on a hospital bed, waiting for needles to be jabbed into me and to pee on a stick, yet all I could think about was having Finn’s mouth on mine.
“Sweetheart.” His voice was low and grumbly. I lifted my gaze to his. “The way you’re looking at my mouth makes me think you want a taste of me.” I bit my bottom lip. His eyes flicked down and then back up. He smirked, his hands digging into my hips. “You wanna taste of me, baby?” Opening my mouth to answer, I quickly snapped it closed again when nothing came out. Licking my dry lips, I glanced down to his still smirking mouth and back up, then to the side letting out a breath. A hand of his left my hip and threaded into my hair where he used it to guide my head back so he had my eyes. “Gonna give you a taste.”
“Finn,” I whispered. “We’re in a hospital room.”
“See that wasn’t a no, and I don’t give a fuck where we are. If you want somethin’ from me, you’re gonna get it.” He leaned in slowly, his eyes flicking all over my face, maybe waiting for me to say no or for some type of reaction, but all I could do was sit still and breathe heavily.
His mouth pressed against mine, even when he still held my gaze. Then I felt his tongue slide out and lick over my lips. A gasp escaped me, and I slammed my eyes closed, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him into me as I touched my tongue to his. He groaned against my mouth, his grip on me tightening.
It was a kiss to remember.
A kiss that would play over and over in my mind along with the night we’d had together.
When a throat cleared, Finn grumbled against my mouth, and I found myself smiling. He pecked my lips once more before moving away, and to my horror, he adjusted himself right in front of the doctor. Of course I blushed, and the good doctor did the same.
His chuckle was sexy and rough. He moved back to my side, but not before tucking my hair behind my ear.
In that moment and from then on, I didn’t care if my head was mixed up with my feelings for Finn. My heart knew I was in love with him.