I Can't Own You? (BOOK 1)

44 (NEW)

JAMES

I wait for the doctor to enter the room. I pressed the call button on the bed remote to speed up this process. That was ten minutes ago. I remove the white sheet from my body and stand, going off balance and having to steady myself on the bed rails. My dizzy eyes go to a window...my destination. I stumble to it, wavering side to side, holding walls to keep standing. The room spins before me.

Come on, you pussy!

I march to the window, ignoring my fragile state of mind, unlocking it and raising it up. I slowly insert my legs oddly through the window and contort my body to somewhat sit on the windowsill.

The surface of it is snowy and icy. I feel wetness seep through the thin gown I have on. Fuck. I see snow below. I'm on the third floor. Come the hell on, where the fuck is the doctor?!

I shiver a bit from the chill outside...growing impatient. I wonder if Syd has told Karen the details. if only I had my phone on me so I could call. I hear the doorknob turn. Instantly, I push my body out of the window a bit. Feeling gravity weigh on my torso and legs.

"NOOO!!!" A woman yells, then footsteps as she runs to me.

I attempt to slide out more, but I'm pulled back inside. My arms are tugged roughly...and without a struggle. Adrenaline must have kicked in because this bitch's strength is like the hulk. I fall backward onto the floor, crushing the nurse under my weight. She gives out a sharp grunt of pain.

"I need help in here!! Security!!!" I start squirming around to try and get back to the window, I claw at the floor, pushing myself across it like a slug: heaving and grunting. A few pairs of feet work into the room. I feel multiple, strong hands grip at my arms. "He's trying to jump out of the window!"

I'm manhandled by two security guards who throw me back onto the bed. One of them takes handcuffs from their belt loop and clips one end to my hand and the other to the bed. "Just let me kill myself..." I say in a faraway voice, acting out of my damn mind.

"Keep an eye on him, he's unstable." The doctor reports, unnerved.

SYDNEY

I sit in the hallway, watching a doctor rush from the boss's room. I've spoken with Karen; she has the script down. Hopefully, she follows it. I spy on the two guards in the room. If I wanted, I could take them out, but the boss wants things to play out exactly as planned.

I focus my attention to Anna, who is napping in the chair beside me. Oblivious to what is happening in a room just before her. But I'm not. An earpiece clipped around my earlobe, relays Karen's conversation with the detectives.

"He's been pretty depressed."

"How did he get the antidote so quickly?" A critical detective asks.

I press a button on the side of the earpiece. "He must have not wanted to go through with it. I guess that's where the antidote came from. Maybe he just wanted attention." I say, and hear Karen repeat the exact sentence, word for word.

"Usually, poison is a threat to someone from a foe or pissed off lover, not a way of attempted suicide."

"I understand your logic, but who knows the mind when it's wrapped with dark thoughts?"

"So..." A lighter voiced detective adds. "You're telling us that this was a cry for help?"

There's a long pause. I look down the hall, feeling my heart rate pick up. Come on, Karen, say something. Too much time passes without a response. "Cry," I instruct through my ear device. Like the drop of a hat, I hear shaky sobs and sniffling. Good girl. Karen milks it, hyperventilating. I hear her nails frantically tap on a table. "I-" My voice begins, only to be cut short.

"I don't know how to help him!" She breaks down. She remembered.

Just then, a door bangs open on the other end. I sit back in my chair, knowing that the cat is in the bag. The detectives have no leads, and how could they doubt that this isn't a mental breakdown? "Mrs. Tillman, please come with me, there's an emergency!" The frantic doctor yells.

"What's the matter?" Karen's voice goes hoarse. Give her a fucking Oscar.

"Am I allowed to disclose information to these gentlemen?" The doctor asks respectfully.

"Yes, that is fine."

A brief silence fills the feed as I listen in, I look down at my sleek shoes, then back at Anna's tiny, cute face in a state of restfulness.

"Your husband has just attempted to jump out of a window...saying: just let me kill myself." There is sadness and awkwardness in her tone. "Please come with me."

A chair pushes back, no soon after, two more chairs follow suit. "We're sorry, Mrs. Tillman, you have our condolences." One of the detectives mumbles regretfully.

JAMES

I jiggle the handcuff that locks me to the bed. Hurry up! This is fucking silly. I eye the window on the door, seeing the back of one of the security guards. I hate being desperate....oh Karen, just wait until we get home. Fucking stupid bitch! I have no clue how any of my business deals are going right now. If the Dons are asking or poking around, or if they're leaving me alone. Or if Ryan is okay.

The kid took a liking to me...despite being a highly irritating teen, I liked him. I wanted a son, but Karen ended up cheating. I haven't been able to enter her since...to go where another man had gone...where another man had taken my wedding vows right out of her.

I hear the door open. Finally! Karen runs to me, her blonde hair messy. She fake kisses my head and squeezes my hands on hers. I let it slide for the sake of getting out of this hell hole. Otherwise, she wasn't allowed to touch me. "My love, why would you try to do that?! Why?!" Karen screams, selling the act.

I glare at her, not hiding my real distaste. "You know what you did!" My voice hits hard, making her physically retreat.

The doctor observes us, then clears her throat. "Your husband has been placed under a 72-hour hold as protocol for cases such as this. After that time is up, I suggest an institution..."

"NO!" My wife argues loudly. "He'll just be doped up and neglected if he goes to one of those places."

"I can understand that, might I recommend..." The doctor eyes me thoughtfully. "Therapy or medication as the route to recovery. I'll gather information packets to better assist this process. Please, excuse me."

When the door closes. My gaze glares at Karen with a deadly message, feeling so bittersweet at the plan being successful. "If I wasn't handcuffed right now!!" I threat through my teeth. "Three days...your little judgment call has me here for...." I bellow off, not finishing the sentence due to so much friction within. My face reddens, my fist ball up so tight that my nails dig into the skin, my eyes darken. "Go home."