My heart crashed, and my lungs struggled to breathe. I didn’t know if I wanted to strike her or hug her. All my life, I’d been hidden and taught to stay quiet. Now...the woman who’d ripped me from that threatening silence had just confessed my entire sordid history.
Without asking my goddamn permission.
I gritted my teeth, struggling with my rapidly building rage.
The doctor reclined in his chair, leaving his notepad on his knee as his eyebrows came down, never looking away from me. “Now, that’s quite the claim.”
“He’s been alone for a long time—”
“Gem...” I growled. “Stop it. No more. Not another damn word.”
“He’s a doctor. He won’t hurt—”
“Quiet!”
How dare she give up my tale so quickly?
How fucking dare she share my past with a complete fucking stranger? “Don’t listen to her. I’m not a slave. No one touched me. I’m—”
“I didn’t say you were a slave,” the doctor murmured, his eyes filling with pity.
Fuck him and his pity.
I went to push Gemma off me, ready to punch this bastard in the face, but Gem looped her arm around my neck, wedging her ass deeper onto my thigh again. She swallowed, wariness all over her face. “I’m sorry, Kas. I didn’t mean...” She swallowed again. “I know you’re not used to being so open, but not everyone is your enemy.” Her voice hardened as she looked at the doctor. “I won’t say any more....It’s not my story to tell. But...he has lived on his own for eleven years. I’m guessing he’ll be deficient in vitamins and minerals from years of enduring a basic diet and surviving harsh seasons on his own. It’s probably best he’s evaluated—”
“Goddammit, Gemma!”
“I’m done.” Her head lowered in contrition. “Sorry, my first-aid training kicked in. It’s a relief to share all your symptoms with someone qualified. Someone who can actually help you.”
“I don’t need help.”
“Sounds as if you might.” The doctor inhaled calmly, his gaze locking onto me. “How did you survive this entire time out there, on your own?”
Fuck.
Questions.
So many fucking questions.
He’d ask, and my memories would answer, filling me up with screams, pain, and history. I couldn’t drown beneath the past. I wouldn’t. I had enough shit to endure in this new reality.
My hands fisted harder.
I prepared to go to war.
Gemma tried to defuse me by stroking my cheek.
It helped, but fury still bubbled in my blood.
The doctor noticed.
He coughed and tore his gaze from mine, locking onto Gemma. He chased a different line of questioning. “And that’s how you met? You found the house, and what...became friends?”
“She’s mine, asshole,” I hissed between my teeth.
“Okay, then.” The doctor narrowed his eyes. “You found each other and began a...relationship.”
My own eyes narrowed to slits. “She’s. Mine. That’s the relationship.”
The doctor scribbled something on his annoying notepad-screen.
Gemma shifted uncomfortably on my thigh, her voice slipping back into smooth business. She glossed over our initial few days together and all the shit I’d done to her, even after she’d been stupidly honest with everything else. “I found something online that hinted at a good climb. It’s what I do for work. I make money from posting my climbs online and am always on the lookout for something new. But instead of finding a boulder, I found the house where Kas was living. It’s been a secret since it’s construction.”
“No one else was there?” the doctor asked, scribbling again.
“No. Just him.”
“And you were happy to be found?” The doctor kept his voice deceptively quiet, waiting for me to answer.
Storymaker’s voice echoed in my ears.
Nyx’s screams.
Maliki’s cries.
I shoved it all down. I swallowed hard and tried to get through this. “Yes,” I snapped.
“He welcomed me,” Gem lied. “I’ve stayed with him since summer. Oh, and he broke his arm at the same time he became concussed. It’s, eh...it wasn’t his first concussion.” She winced in my direction. “He had another. It granted amnesia for five years.”
“Gemma,” I hissed. “Stop.”
“I see.” The doctor scribbled some more, privy to my history when he shouldn’t be.
Gemma flinched and caught my narrowed stare. “I’m sorry, I’m done.” She kissed my cheek and turned back to the doctor. “The rest we don’t have to discuss. I only told you this much so you can do a full examination and help him get better. But...” She licked her lips. “You have to understand that he’s been on his own for a very long time.” She lowered her voice. “I’m repeating that part so you have empathy if he struggles with company. He hasn’t had the chance to work through his trauma, let alone the physical condition of a concussion I wasn’t skilled in treating. He needs...space and time and...understanding.”
Goddammit, this woman!
“If you’re so concerned about his condition, then why didn’t you come for help sooner?” the doctor asked sternly. “Multiple concussions of the magnitude you’re describing can come with serious long-term complications.”