Private Affair (The Private Series) Read Free

at the round table and Gwen went off to grab some coffee. We all figured it’s almost morning anyways…
    We all waited in the room and then Dr. Parkers found out that we were all up and here, and she made an early stop in at six a.m. She gave us the rundown again and Jack asked his medical related questions and concerns. Then the topic I was dreading coming up, recovery. Will she have to go into a facility or rehab?
    “We will get into all of that after she wakes up and we have the hospitals psychologist perform a few tests and talk to Caroline.” Dr. Parkers tells us.
    We hear stirring coming from Caroline’s bed and we look over to see her trying to wake up. Ben is the first at her side and takes his sister’s hand. “Caroline, its Ben we are all here.” He assures her.
    Her eyes slowly open and she tries to lift her other arm, the injured one. She cries out when she tries to close her hand. “Hey, hey, easy you’re pretty banged up and plugged in here sis. Just try to lay still.”
    “That’s right baby girl, try to be still and rest.” Jack tells her.
    She licks her dry lips and tries to speak, but her throat it’s too dry to get out anything other than a whisper. “Where am I?” She asks Ben.
    “You are in the hospital Caroline. Do you remember what happened?” He asks her. Ben moves a chair over using his foot so he can sit by his little sister side.
    She closes her eyes and nods.
    “Why?” Ben asks.
    Tears start to fill her eyes and she bites down on her lip. She obviously needs a little more time to talk about this, so I persuade Ben to give his father and Gwen a few moments with her and to go get some more coffee with me at the hospitals coffee bar.
    He reluctantly agrees to come with me.
    Walking through the halls of the hospital I notice the abundance of Christmas decorations. Any other day I would light up at the sight, but this is hardly the place I or anyone else would want to take joy. Sure, if you’re having a baby, but something like this? No way.
    We get to the hospital café hand in hand when I see a six-foot decorated tree. I stop at the sight of it and Ben attempts to keep walking forward, when he is halted to a stop. “Tess?”
    I draw my eyes from the twinkling sight, “Hmm?”
    He joins me at my side and looks at the tree and he shakes his head, “hard to believe we were coming to the city to spend a happy Christmas with my sister. Here we are at her bed side and to think Christmas in just two short days … I thought she was happy, why did she do it?”
    “Ben, you need to give her time to talk about it, you can’t expect her to just tell you everything that she has been keeping inside for God knows how long. If she couldn’t do it all this time, what makes you think it will be easy for her to do it right now?”
    “Because, she needs help, help that I should have been able to give her or offer her, so it wouldn’t go this far! I have been there for her from the beginning. Taking care of her and her not coming to me at all kills me Tess.” He sounds pissed and devastated all at once.
    “I know, but you need to be easy with her right now. She knows that we all know what she did and what she has been doing, now it’s up to her to open up … and to whom.” I tell him.
    We find a small sofa and sit to enjoy or coffee before going back up. I play around with how to tell him what I need to in my head. I haven’t told anyone this ever. No one.
    “Ben…” I stop and bite my lip.
    “Yes babe?” He tucks a piece of hair behind my ear and I rest my hand into his palm.
    I take in a calming breath, “I know what Caroline is going through.”
    Studying me for a moment he asks, “What do you mean?”
    “I was a cutter in high school, even more so after nearly being attacked.”
    His eyes widen and he pulls away briefly and then takes my hand. I go on, “I never went as far as Caroline did, but I don’t think she meant to go so far. It’s always a risk. But I had no