“I know you are, Mr. Wallace,” Jenny said, keeping her tone of voice even and light. “But I want to make Mrs. Wallace a little more comfortable, and I need to examine her thoroughly. It would go much faster if you just gave us a little more space. Maybe you could go grab a coffee, perhaps?”
Jacob stared at her for a moment, and I knew he was less than impressed that he, the mighty Jacob Wallace, was being asked to leave the room.
“I’m sure it won’t take long,” I pushed him a little, hoping he would just leave without causing a fuss, but this was Jacob we were talking about, and I knew he didn’t like to be told what to do.
“I will wait outside the door,” he huffed, not taking his eyes from the nurse for a moment. Then he looked at me once more, and his face softened a little before he bent down to kiss me. “I’ll be right back, Sweetheart.”
I smiled at him, but for some reason, deep down inside, I just wanted to cry.
Jacob glanced at the nurse one more time before he picked up his jacket and hurried towards the door.
“I’m sorry about that,” I said, once we were alone. “Jacob isn’t used to being told no.”
“It’s okay, Mrs. Wallace,” she replied with a smile, and she pushed up my sleeve and wrapped a blood pressure cup around my arm. “I’m sure he’s just worried. I’m used to dealing with upset relatives.”
“I guess you are,” I replied and smiled once more as she pumped up the cup around my arm. For a moment, neither of us spoke as she took my blood pressure. “And please, my name is Ally.”
“Well, you were very lucky, Ally,” she said finally as she undid the blood pressure cup. “The doctor was saying that you had to be cut from your car.”
“Are you serious?” I asked, feeling completely stunned by what she’d said.
“That’s what I heard,” she continued as she stuck her electric thermometer in my ear. “The guy that came in with you said that when he got to the car, he was sure you were dead.”
“The guy?” I asked, instantly, my heart began to beat a little faster.
“I think he said he worked for you and your husband,” Jenny replied, giving me a smile. “Jason?”
“Jaxson,” I replied, and once more, the desire to cry was overwhelming. “He…he was there?”
“He was,” she replied, giving me a smile. “He never left your side until your husband arrived early yesterday morning.”
“Yesterday morning?” I asked, surprised by this revelation. “How long was I unconscious?”
“Almost forty-eight hours,” Jenny replied as she picked up my chart and filled it in. “I guess your body just needed a little time to heal.”
“I guess so,” I said, feeling a little overwhelmed as my mind raced. Jaxson had been here with me while I was unconscious. He never left my side, but I couldn’t help but wonder where he was now.
“He’s down in the waiting room,” Jenny said as if she was reading my mind. “Your husband told him he should go home, but he refused to leave. He said he couldn’t until he knew that you were okay.”
“He’s still here?” I asked, and to my horror, tears pooled in my eyes and trickled down my face.
“He is,” she replied, giving me a smile. “Would you like me to go get him for you.”
Before I could reply, Jacob, who had been standing outside the room, watching me closely through the window, came bursting through the door.
“What’s happened?” He demanded, giving me a worried look. “Why are you crying?”
“I’m just being silly,” I assured him before I gave Jenny a pleading look, hoping she wouldn’t say anything about Jaxson. “I just wish I could remember what the hell had happened.”
“I’ll go get your doctor, Ally,” Jenny said, giving me a smile once more before she turned and hurried out of the room.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Jacob asked, and I knew that he was genuinely worried about me. “I hate to see you so upset.”
“I just feel really tired,” I replied, giving him a reassuring smile and the tears continued to fall.
“I thought perhaps you were still mad at me,” he said, sitting down next to me on the edge of the bed.
“Why was I mad at you?” I asked as flashes of him yelling at me crashed into my mind, but I couldn’t remember what he was saying.
“Because I lost my temper,” he said, giving me a sad look as he reached up and softly touched my cheek. “I never meant to hurt you, Ally. That’s the last thing I ever wanted to do. Look at your poor face.”
The moment he said that everything that had happened over the last couple of days came screaming back into my head. The fight I had with Jacob, him hitting me, the vodka and sleeping pills, and finally, Jaxson finding me. I remembered everything.
Instinctively, I pulled back from Jacob’s touch as a look of panic filled his face.
“I should have never left you as I did,” he said reached out once more, but this time he grabbed my hands, holding them like they were the only thing that was stopping him from spinning out of control. “And I shouldn’t have lost my temper and put my hands on you. I will never forgive myself for that. When you wouldn’t accept my call, I knew you were still upset with me.”
“Upset?” I replied, recalling all the vile, horrible things he’d said to me the night in our room. “Jacob, the things you said to me…”
“I know,” he cried as I looked deep into his eyes, and all I could see was fear staring back at me. It was something I’d never seen in him before. “Believe me, Ally, I’m not proud of the way I acted. I hate myself for what I’ve put you through. Then when Jaxson called and said you’d been in an accident; I was so afraid I would never get a chance to tell you just how truly sorry I am.”
I stared at him as he continued to grovel, but I didn’t say a word. I just sat there, watching him fall apart, and all I could think about was Jaxson, and the fact he had to call Jacob and tell him I was hurt. I wondered what he must have felt making that call? What was going through his mind when he watched me being cut out of the car?
I wondered what he was thinking right at that moment. I wish I knew. I wish I could talk to him alone. Tell him that I was sorry for leaving as I did; sorry for scaring him as I had.
But then I remembered the conversation I heard before I ran out of the house the night that I crashed the car. I remembered the things that Jaxson had said to the detective, and once more, my heart broke. It didn’t matter how I felt about him. He didn’t want me.
I never felt more alone than I did, right at that very moment.
“Ally,” Jacob said, pulling me from my thoughts, and I realised that he’d said something, but I had no clue what that something was. I turned to look at him, and I was surprised to see tears dancing in his eyes. “Please. I swear to God, I will never hurt you like that again. I will never lay another finger on you. I will spend every day, for the rest of my life making this up to you. Just give me a chance.”
I stared at him once more, having no clue what I should say to him right at that moment. I didn’t know that I wanted to give him a chance. I didn’t know if I could ever trust him as I had.
I opened my mouth to speak, but suddenly the door opened, and Jenny returned with a man I assumed was my doctor. Jacob released my hands and stood up from the bed, turning quickly to face the doctor.
I quickly released a long breath, relieved to have a few more moments to collect my thoughts before I had to give Jacob an answer because deep down, I didn’t know what that answer would be.
“Good morning, Alexandra,” the doctor said as he walked toward my bed, giving me a warm smile. “I’m Doctor Reed, and I was the neurologist that treated you when you came into the emergency room. You got quite a bump to the head, but thankfully there was no major damage. Jenny said you’re having trouble remembering things.”
“Somethings, yes,” I replied, giving him a smile. “I don’t recall the accident at all. Other things are just flashes in my head, like pictures
that are all jumbled up.”
“That’s very normal,” the doctor reassured me. “And the truth is, you might never recall the accident. Some people don’t, while others remember every single detail. No one knows why this happens, but it’s nothing for you to be worried about. Everything will settle in time.”
“But she’s going to be okay?” Jacob asked, and I could hear the genuine concern in his voice.
“She will probably have a pounding headache for a few more days,” Doctor Reed replied, turning to look at Jacob. “But that will pass, as will the cuts and bruises. She will be back to herself in no time.”
“So, I can take her home?” Jacob asked hopefully before he glanced at me, and I knew he was unsure if going home was something I wanted to do.
“I think maybe we will keep her here one more night,” the doctor replied before he turned to me once more. “Just to be on the safe side. Then tomorrow, I’m sure there is no reason why you can’t go home.”
“Thank you,” I replied, giving the doctor a grateful smile.
“So, take things easy, Alexandra,” the doctor cautioned me, then smiled once more before he turned and walked out through the door.
“Ally, sweetheart,” Jacob said, sitting down on the side of the bed once more. “Please tell me that you forgive me. Tell me that you want to come home with me.”
“Jacob…” I said, having no clue what my response was going to be, but once more, before I could get the words out, the door opened, and my parents, followed by Teddy, came rushing into the room.
“Mom, Dad!” I exclaimed, stunned to see them both standing there. “What are you guys doing here?”
“Of course, we would be here, Sweetie,” Mom said, hurrying towards the bed, kissing my forehead once she reached me. “When Jacob called and said you’d been in an accident, your father and I drove straight here.”
“I’m so sorry for worrying you,” I said, hating that I had given my parents such a scare because I was stupid and driving when I really shouldn’t have been.
“You have nothing to be sorry for,” Dad said as he too leaned forward and kissed me. “The police said the other driver ran a red light. There was nothing you could do.”
“So…so, this wasn’t my fault?” I asked, giving them a relieved look.
“Why would you even think that, Sweetheart?” My mom said, hugging me once more. “But none of that matters now. All that matters are you’re safe, and you’re going to be okay.”
I closed my eyes as I allowed myself to melt into my mother’s embrace, as I fought the overwhelming desire I had to cry at that very moment.
I was okay. I was surrounded by people who loved me and would have laid down their own lives to keep me safe, but the only thing I could think about; the only thing that mattered to me right at that moment was Jaxson.
Why hadn’t he come to see me too? Why wasn’t he here? How was I ever going to get passed these feelings that I had for him in my head and my heart? Why did I want him so damn much?
I pinched my eyes closed tighter and finally allowed the tears I had been trying to fight back, to fall.
Chapter 16
Ally
“Welcome home, Sweetheart,” Jacob said, glancing over as we came to a stop outside our front door. He turned off the engine before he turned in his seat to face me. “Are you feeling okay?”
“Yes,” I replied, giving him a smile that I didn’t feel. The truth was, this house was the last place I wanted to be, but where else could I go without causing a huge fuss. So, I decided to smile and suck it up like I always did. “Of course.”
“Your mother insisted on cooking lunch,” Jacob continued with a smile, and I knew he was trying his best to make me happy. I also knew that having my folks here in the house was most likely driving him crazy, but he was acting like the dutiful husband and son-in-law. “My parents would have been here too, but they are still in the Far East.”
“I’m sure,” I replied, smiling once more, but I knew that he was just saying what he thought I wanted to hear. Jacob’s parents weren’t exactly the doting kind. Jacob had been living alone since he left for college. Not that they didn’t care about Jacob, they did, sometimes too much, but always about the wrong thing. Jacob had been raised with one goal in mind; he was going to be someone important, and if his mother had her way, he would be the most important someone there was. He would one day be the president of the United States.
“You’ve been awfully quiet since we left the hospital,” Jacob continued as he reached over and softly touched my face where he had hit me and released a sad sigh. “You’re still mad at me, aren’t you?”
“I’m not anything,” I shrugged, knowing that wasn’t strictly true, but what was going on inside my head was not something I could ever talk to Jacob about. I gave him a smile before I added. “Well, I’m tired, and my head hurts, but that’s about it.”
“You would tell me if there was something on your mind?” He asked, giving me a worried look.
“Of course,” I lied once more. Jacob was the last person I could talk to about how I was feeling. In fact, there was no one I could turn to and tell them just how unhappy I truly was.
The last twenty-four hours had all been such a blur of people and faces that I didn’t know if I was coming or going. Even Travis stopped by my room to check in on me, which I was so grateful for.
The only person who didn’t turn up was the one person I had wanted to see more than anything.
Jaxson.
I’d wanted to ask Jacob where he was, but I knew that the moment I mentioned him, Jacob would see straight through me. He would know I had feelings for Jaxson, and everything would fall apart.
While I was in the hospital, every time the door opened to my room, I would hold my breath, waiting for Jaxson to come by, and each time my heart broke a little more when it wasn’t him.
The truth was, I just didn’t get it. I thought of what he had said to me in my room the day after he’d save my life. What he’d said to me in his apartment as we’d cleaned the brushes. I knew he had feelings for me, but I also knew that being the man he was, he would never act on those feelings. But I thought, no matter what, he was my friend. I didn’t understand what had happened to make him stay away as he had.
“We should get you inside,” Jacob said, pulling me back from my thoughts once more. “Your parents will be waiting for us.”
“Okay,” I said, forcing another smile as I unfastened my seatbelt. Before I could climb out of the car, Jacob was around at my door, opening it for me, then reaching out his hand to me, helping me from the car. I couldn’t remember the last time Jacob had been so attentive.
As I climbed out, the front door opened, and I half expected my mother or father to come bursting out through the door, but it wasn’t either of them. Instead, Jaxson stepped out through the door, stopping dead in his tracks, the moment he saw Jacob and I standing there.
His eyes met mine for a brief moment, but he quickly turned away, focusing on Jacob.
“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice sounding almost strange. “I didn’t hear the car pulling up.”
“Look, who’s home!” Jacob exclaimed, but I could hear an edge in his voice too. Almost like he knew something, I just didn’t know what that something was.
“Welcome home, Ally,” Jaxson said, glancing at me once more before giving me a weak smile. “You look so much better than the last time I saw you. You gave us all quite a scare.”
“Thanks,” I said, but a knot of grief formed in my throat, almost choking me. I quickly dropped my gaze from his, knowing if I looked at him any longer, I would cry.
“Detective Monroe was here earlier,” Jaxson continued, once more focusing on Jacob. “He said that the driver of the car checked out.”
“The driver?” I asked, looking from Jaxson to Jacob. “What does it mean, he checked out.”
“The detective was concerned that maybe the accident wasn’t actually an accident,” Jacob said,
looking almost amused. “He thought the driver might have hit you deliberately. That it might have been something to do with those photos.”
“And is it?” I asked, turning to Jaxson once more.
“No,” Jaxson replied, shaking his head as he allowed his eyes to meet mine once more. “The guy had an alibi for two of the nights that the photos were taken. He was out of town at the time so that it couldn’t have been him.”
“I see,” I said, but before I could question him further, the door opened behind him once more, and my parents came hurrying, rushing down the steps.
“I thought I heard voices,” my mother said, hurrying towards me and quickly pulling me into her arms. “Welcome home, Sweetheart.”
“Thanks, Mom,” I said as I sunk into her embrace, and instantly hot tears burned my eyes.
“I’ve made your favourite for lunch,” she continued, hugging me tightly, I could barely breathe. “Mushroom risotto served with salad and fries.”
I smiled to myself at what she said. When I was little, I loved risotto served with fries, something my mother always made for me whenever I was feeling a little sad. Jacob could never understand why I would insist on having fries with it. He didn’t like me to eat fries, period. He was all about healthy eating and exercise.
“Appearance is everything!” He would always say, so whenever I ordered fries, he would always give me a disapproving look, and mutter some comment about ending up fat under his breath.
“Sounds perfect,” I said as I pulled back from my mother, giving her a grateful smile.
She turned to lead me into the house, followed closely by my father, then Jacob. But Jaxson made no effort to follow us in. Instead, he turned and continued down the driveway toward the side of the house.
“Are you going to join us, Jaxson?” My mother called out as she stopped at the door, stopping Jaxson in his tracks too.
“No, thank you, Mrs. Banks,” he said as he glanced at me briefly before he returned his focus to my mother. “I think this is a family occasion, and I’m not family.”
“But you’re more than welcome,” my father said, speaking to Jaxson in a tone of voice I’d never heard him speaking to Jacob in. I could tell instantly that my father liked Jaxson.
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