The Heartthrob's Dark Obsession Part 2

Chapter 24

Chapter 24:

"So, Ms. Fintan, what color cast would you like?" asked Dr. Nessbaum.

"Purple?"

"Ooo, I'm all out of purple. I've got pink, yellow, green, blue-"

"I guess blue," said Nori. Theo had indeed broken her arm. It had been throbbing in pain the entire night. She tried to beg him to take her to the Emergency Room, promising she would be good. But he made her wait until morning.

"So how long will it take to heal?" asked Theo. The black dye in his hair was finally starting to grow out. She hoped that people would begin to notice the identity hidden beneath the contact lenses, false accent, and different hair. But she wouldn't hold her breath.

"Six to eight weeks. So we should schedule another X-Ray." He walked to a calendar on his wall and flipped through the pages. "Let's go for Valentine's Day." Her birthday.

"Could we go with the day before?" asked Theo. "The 13th. I had something planned for Valentine's Day."

"Sure. The 13th of February it is," said Dr. Nessbaum. He quickly wrote something in a book next to the calendar and went back to what he was doing.

Nori needed to ask the not so good doctor a question at the behest of Amy.

The doctor gathered all the materials to cast her broken arm. He positioned her in front of him and started by measuring a piece of fabric and cutting it. He slid it onto the arm. It looked like a thin sock with finger holes.

"Theo?" asked Nori, softly.

"Yes, darling."

"Could you please get me some ice water?"

"Of course, little one."

"I have filtered water down in the kitchen, Theo. Use a glass cup, it's easier to sanitize."

Theo nodded at the doctor and stood up. He left the room and Nori waited until the clacking of his shoes could no longer be heard.

"Doctor, I really need your help," begged Nori.

"I already told you, I'm not going to assist you in escaping."

"Not with that," sighed Nori. "It's about Theo's schizophrenia."

"What about it? Is he hallucinating, talking to himself? As far as I can tell his condition is decently under control."

"When I was first taken he would have full on conversations with himself. He knew what he had done was wrong but was insistent that he had to do it. He's not doing that now. He's aware that kidnapping is wrong and he hasn't tried to justify it or anything..."

"Honoria, what's your point?"

"He's unstable. And I'm afraid. He was medicated in St. Argus's and Amy thinks he got an injection of some kind. But it's going to wear off. Is there any way you can give him more?"

"Maybe, but clearly it didn't help when he was in the hospital. Or else..." He trailed off. Nori knew what he meant. Or else Theo wouldn't have broken out to kidnap her.

"There's lots of types of medication. I'm sure something has to help. Please. It doesn't need to be perfect. I just need him to think before he goes and breaks my arm or hits me so hard my stitches rip. Please."

"I'd have to order the medication through back channels. If the police have any brains they'll be looking for orders of that kind of medicine to find him. I have an idea, but it won't be fast and I can't guarantee it will work."

"Thank you, doctor."

"You're lucky I like you, Honoria."

If this was luck, then Nori wondered what was the opposite.

"I also had one more request."

"Honoria..."

"Before you say no, just hear me out. Amy's life is being waisted in captivity. She's got a real knack for being a nurse."

"She did a great job stitching your abdomen yesterday."

"Exactly. And she deserves a chance to learn and help people," said Nori.

"Theo's never gonna go for what you're suggesting," said Dr. Nessbaum.

"But Amy could learn here with you. Maybe someday she could take over what you're doing or assist you or even just learn enough to help me more."

"Look, I can either help Amy or I can help you get him medication. I can't do both or I could risk losing the trust of a client. I'll give you until I remove your cast to figure it out."

She had six weeks. She had till the day before her birthday to decide what was more important. By then Theo could be totally off his rocker. Or maybe he would be manageable. He was just as violent now as he had been the first time.

Theo's footsteps interrupted her thoughts. As he walked into the room the tension in the air was as thick as pea soup.

"Here you go, darling." He handed her a glass of ice water. Nori weakly smiled at him and took a slow sip.

****

Nori was back home. Home...was that what she was calling her prison now?

She collapsed onto the bed. The doctor was almost and hour and a half away from Theo. He lived in upstate New York and she was in western Massachusetts.

Theo came into the room with a black Sharpie.

"May I sign your cast darling?" Were they in elementary school?

"I guess." He pulled her in close as he wrote his name.

How many times had she dreamed of getting his signature and showing it off on the fan pages. It was hard to believe how many fan pages still existed for him after what he'd done. So many women doubted Nori's story. But she didn't care.

"I'm so sorry you got hurt, little one," he whispered. He was the one who hurt her. She wanted to shout at him. But she didn't, she couldn't. She was numb.

She looked up into his gorgeous eyes and she froze. In that moment his eyes could do as good a job at keeping her captive as all the locks on the room.

For the first time he looked genuinely remorseful. And as he leaned in to kiss her she didn't pull away. In fact she was drawn towards him. Her heart skipped a beat and she quickly broke away.

"I think I'm going to rest," mumbled Nori.

"I love you, darling."

"I love you, too." Her words were meaningless. She was repulsed with herself. How could she?

Theo started walking away and she laid on the bed.

"Wait," said Nori.

"Yes, darling?"

"Maybe you could rest with me?" She was feeling touch starved. She missed just being held by Derek with no I'll intentions, no assaults. She just needed to be cuddled. And the only people who could help were Theo and Amy, and currently Amy was cleaning the basement.

"I'd love to," said Theo, a huge smile on his face. He changed into some pajama pants and crawled into the bed next to Nori.

As he pulled her body into his strong chest she cursed herself for how comfortable she felt. She buried her face into him and closed her eyes. As he stroked her back she drifted off into a deep sleep.