Chasing Melody

by Erin Cristofoli

  The sound that she unleashed was animalistic and I knew I had to act. I rushed her, grabbing her hand that was holding the gun, pushing as hard as I could. For as sick as she looked, Jessica was strong. We struggled for what seemed like forever. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Big Joe outside of the bus.

  She cried out and yanked on my arm.

  BANG!

  My ears were ringing as I looked at her, an emptiness in her eyes; I felt my body weaken, and I staggered back until I was leaning against the table.

  “Why couldn’t you just give me my kid?” she cried out. Turning, she flew toward the front of the bus. I could hear shouting outside. God, my body was aching, why was it aching? I pressed my hand to my side, looking down. The seconds moved in slow motion as I saw blood on my fingertips.

  A second bang outside shook me. Heavy boots thudded up the stairs.

  “Elle? Oh fuck, Elle!” Big Joe was standing in front of me. I could vaguely hear him talking into his phone, but I couldn’t make out what he was saying when I was finding it so difficult to stay on my feet. I took a step back to lean on the wall and slid heavily to the ground.

  “I need to sit.”

  “You’re going to be okay, Elle, just hang in there.” Big Joe crouched beside me and grabbed a dish towel from the counter behind him, pressing it to my side.

  More footsteps; my eyes were feeling heavy.

  “Jesus Christ! Elle. God, Elle.” Chase was beside me, reaching for my hand. That’s when he saw the blood.

  “Where’s Ivy?” he asked, panic setting into his voice.

  “She’s hiding in her secret spot. Remember I told you about it? Chase, she was so scared. I told her only to come out if she heard your voice.”

  He rushed to his room as I heard the faint sound of sirens.

  “Big Joe?”

  “Yeah, sweets?”

  “Is everyone else okay? I heard another shot.”

  “Don’t worry, we’re all fine.”

  The bus, which once had seemed spacious, suddenly felt as small as a shoebox as police and paramedics filled the space.

  “Ma’am, you need to stay awake for me,” someone said in my face.

  I nodded, but my eyelids were heavy. I was tired. That was until pain shot through me as hands moved me onto a backboard.

  “Sorry, love,” a man with greying hair said, looking down at me. “We’re going to take you to the hospital now, just lie back and we’ll get you out of here.”

  I nodded as they hoisted me up and eased me off of the bus.

  “Elle?” Claire rushed to the side of the stretcher as I was lowered onto it, grabbing my hand for a fleeting moment.

  I was whisked away with the siren blaring. The ride to the hospital was fuzzy, each bump in the road taking the breath out of me. When the ambulance halted with a jolt, I was pulled from the truck and rushed into the emergency room. Florescent lights flickered past overhead.

  More new faces looking down at me; my body aching, fear setting in.

  It was like I wasn’t there. the doctors and nurses working like a well-oiled machine. It should have put me at ease, but it didn’t. My head began to spin.

  “I feel like I am going to be sick,” I mumbled.

  “We’re going to give you some medicine now, Elle, and get you to a CT scan. You’re going to go off to sleep. We’ll take good care of you.”

  Within seconds, a slow crawling feeling spread through my body as the medicine began to work. The last words I heard were a muffled mess. Mmmhrm… surgery… fhrms…let’s move.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Elle

  Where was I? My head felt heavy; my eyelids didn’t want to open. There was an annoying beeping nearby. Why does my body ache so much?

  Slowly, I managed to crack open my eyes just a sliver, the light in the room too bright. With a groan, I raised my hand to block my eyes so I could try again.

  “Elle? Elle, are you awake?”

  It was Chase.

  “Too bright,” I croaked, my mouth feeling like it was stuffed with cotton.

  I heard a chair scrape and the light dimmed, allowing me to open my eyes and take in my surroundings.

  “Where am I?”

  “In the hospital. God, Elle, you really scared us.”

  “Can I have some water?” I tried to sit up a little, wincing as pain stabbed me in the stomach.

  Chase pressed a hand gently on my shoulder. “Just rest. You’ve been through a lot. I’m going to make sure you take it easy until you are completely healed.”

  Healed? Taking a sip of water, I began to recall fragments of a bad dream I had been having. But those fragments seemed too real, too vivid. As my senses began to come back to me, an image of Jessica’s face came to mind. I reached to my side where I’d been hit. Pain spread through my stomach from the pressure of my hand.

  “Ivy!” I gasped as the fear of what had happened came rushing back as if I had been hit by an elephant.

  “Baby, please relax. Ivy is just fine – thanks to you.”

  A nurse entered the room. “Ah, Ms. Halloway, I’m glad to see that you’re awake. How do you feel?”

  “I don’t know. Fine, I guess. Sore.”

  “That’s to be expected,” she said. “But your vitals look good. I’ll get the doctor in to see you shortly.”

  Once she’d left, I turned back to Chase, the fuzziness in my brain having cleared.

  “Do you remember what happened?” he asked.

  I nodded. “I remember Jessica. God, Chase, I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t let her have Ivy. She is okay?”

  He placed a hand over my shaking one. “Yes, I promise. Once the doctor says you can have more visitors, you can see her.”

  He was silent for a while, sliding his fingers to interlock with mine.

  “Chase…”

  “I could have lost you,” he murmured, cutting me off.

  My heart pretty near burst from my chest.

  “I’m fine,” I tried to reassure him.

  “You were shot because of me.”

  “Uh, no. I was shot because of Jessica. Chase,” I hesitated, “was she caught?”

  He looked up at me, his eyes showing me a deep, soul reaching sorrow.

  “They found her,” he said.

  “There is more you aren’t telling me.”

  “We don’t have to do this now, Elle.”

  “Is there going to be a better time?”

  He sighed with a shake of his head. “She shot at Big Joe before she escaped and made a run for it. Local officers tracked her down to a scummy little shit hole of a motel. They found her in one of the rooms, dead. They think it was an overdose.”

  “I’m so sorry.” What else could I say?

  “I wish things hadn’t gone so badly for her, I do. But in the end, she made the choice to stay on that path and, in doing so, she not only injured you, but she could have killed Ivy. I can’t help feeling a lack of compassion for her or how it ended.”

  The doctor entered the room with a sharp knock on the door. Checking out my vitals as the nurse had done, he moved down to the bandaging on my side.

  “Elle, I’m Dr. Young. You were incredibly lucky. The bullet hit the edge of your liver, so we had to go in and put a stop to the bleeding, but considering nothing else was damaged, I would say it could have been a whole lot worse. The wound is looking good. I think you should stick around here a little longer and then maybe we can look at discharging you tomorrow afternoon. But that being said, I am giving strict orders to be on bed rest to give your body a chance to heal.”

  “I’ll make sure of that,” Chase stated confidently.

  “Good man. All right, I’ll check in on you again in the morning, but if you need anything, just buzz the nurses’ station.”

  “Thank you, I will,” I affirmed.

  Once we were alone again, I knew some things needed to be said.

  “I want to apologize to you.”

  His eyebrows pulled
together, confused.

  “You have nothing to apologize for.”

  “Yeah, I do. I hurt you.” I held up my hand to stop him from interrupting. “You and I, we were something. You are such an incredible guy, Chase, but you are also a rock star and I’m just me. It didn’t make sense for you to want to be with me.

  “But falling for you was easy, so easy. All of those moments where I watched you with Ivy, I fell further. And that was even before we gave in to our desires. By then, there was no going back, no matter how much I wanted to try and pretend that it meant nothing.

  “And then the news of us broke and I felt violated. I’ve never felt like that before and it scared me. I can’t imagine having to deal with that daily, like you have. Ultimately, I let my fear of the media, of the fame, and of the unknown push me away from you. You deserved better than that.

  “I’m in love with you, Chase. I don’t know if this even matters now. I’ve made my bed and I will lie in it, but I love you and I love Ivy. I’d thought about walking away from you both, but it tore at my heart. I don’t know if I could do it. Anyway, I thought the least I could do is tell you how I feel.”

  I let out a long breath. At least I had said what needed to be said. I would have to be satisfied no matter what happened next. My stomach was doing somersaults something awful as I waited for Chase to say something, anything. A slow sexy smile spread across his lips.

  “You love me, huh?”

  “Yup.”

  “That’s good. Because I love you too, and I’m not going to let you slip through my grasp again.”

  He leaned in, but I pushed a hand to his chest.

  “Firstly, there is a lot more that we need to discuss.”

  “The only thing that is going to matter from now on is how we are doing. I can’t make any promises with the media, but I’ll always keep you safe. What’s the second thing?”

  “Uh, no kissing.”

  He leaned back, with his eyebrows raised. “What do you mean I can’t kiss you. You just told me that you loved me.”

  “I want to freshen up first. Am I even allowed out of this bed?”

  Chase pressed the call button for the nurse.

  “How can I help you, Elle?” she asked kindly.

  “Am I allowed to get moving?”

  “You aren’t allowed to run any marathons today,” she joked, “but I’ll help get you to the bathroom, no problem.”

  With the help of both the nurse and Chase, I got to my feet with only mild discomfort and shuffled my way to the adjoining bathroom.

  “Can she have visitors?” Chase asked.

  “Yes, that shouldn’t be a problem, Mr. Brighton.”

  “Great, thank you. Elle, honey, I’m going to step out for just a minute and send Claire a text to bring you some necessities when she comes. She has been blowing up my phone every hour for an update on how you are doing.”

  I couldn’t do much, but being up, even though I was still feeling a little funky, helped.

  I was back sitting on the edge of the hospital bed when there was a light knock on the door. Claire came bustling in with a large bag on her arm.

  “Hey,” I greeted her happily.

  Her eyes immediately teared up. “Oh my god, Elle, I was so worried.”

  “Don’t cry, please. I’m okay.”

  She sniffled but pulled herself together. “Chase told me you needed some stuff.”

  “I need a toothbrush and a little help getting back to the bathroom.”

  She hesitated. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “I’m not going to break, come on.” We entered the bathroom and she pulled out my toothpaste and brush from her bag and a paper cup from the dispenser on the wall, filling it with water. When I was finished, she pulled out a brush.

  “If you’re okay to stay there for a minute or two longer, I can brush your hair for you.”

  I nodded, leaning my hands up on the counter for support.

  “Thank you, that would be nice.”

  Growing up, there was nothing I loved more than when my mom would brush my hair at bedtime. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the little tingle that spread across my head with each stroke.

  “You’re a hero, Elle. You saved Ivy from danger,” Claire murmured.

  “No, I’m not. Any of you would have done the same for her.”

  “Maybe so. Okay, I think that will do it. Time to get you back in bed. I have a housecoat that you can put over that god-awful gown so that everyone who is waiting outside can come in and see you.”

  Brant, Ewan, and Stixx pushed through the door a few minutes later, looking nervous. Big Joe was next. My eyes welled up at the sight of him. Everyone looked scared to touch me, but not Joe. No. He leaned in and gave me a big, but gentle, hug.

  “You saved me,” I whispered into his ear. “Thank you.”

  “Always,” he murmured back.

  “Joe, what do you think you are doing manhandling my woman?”

  All eyes flicked between Chase and me.

  “You’d better not be fucking kidding,” Stixx stated. “All of your songs you’ve written lately are great and all, but they’re fucking depressing, man. I like your songs better when you’re happy.”

  He laughed as he stepped further into the room. Behind him was the best sight I had seen in a long time.

  “Ivy?” I said.

  She peeked around Chase’s legs.

  “Come here, sweetheart.”

  Ivy tiptoed towards the bed and Chase lifted her carefully until she was sitting beside me.

  “Ewlle, are you okay?” she whispered.

  “I am. I have a bit of a sore tummy right now, but do you know what I could really use?”

  “What?”

  “A hug from you always makes me feel better.”

  She smiled brightly, leaning in to hug me.

  “Are you going to come back to the bus soon?”

  I wasn’t sure how to answer her. I looked up at Chase and he leaned in and kissed me. It was too short, but sweet and full of promise.

  “Actually, Ivy, we’re going to go home for little bit.”

  “What?” I sat up a little straighter and winced, leaning back onto the bed. “Why would you do that?”

  Chase pulled up a chair and took my hand. “The tour bus is no place for you to be during your recovery. Seeing as though I’m not leaving your side until you are up and a hundred percent healthy again, going home felt like the best option.”

  “Don’t be silly, you still have tour dates. Wait, don’t you have a show tonight?”

  “It’s been postponed.”

  “Chase…”

  “Our family rallies around each other, and you’re part of that. There will be more shows,” Brant said.

  Claire put a hand on my shoulder. “There was quite a bit of media coverage considering what happened. We put out a statement this morning that all of the remaining shows will be rescheduled. The feedback on social media has been amazing, with fans sending messages of love and support for you.”

  I had to take a minute to collect my thoughts, feeling overwhelmed with all of the news that had just been delivered.

  “I think maybe we should get going and let Elle rest up,” Joe suggested from the far corner of the room.

  They each took turns giving me a hug, and Ivy especially took time to wrap her arms around my neck.

  “You’ll see her tomorrow, lovebug,” Chase said trying to get her to loosen her grip.

  “Do you promise?” she asked.

  “Of course. Elle just needs to rest now. You can come back again tomorrow. Now off you go with Claire.

  “Aren’t you going to go too?” I asked him.

  “No, I told you I am not going anywhere.”

  “You need sleep too. You should be with Ivy.”

  As our friends left the room, Chase sat down on the bed beside me. “Once you get out of here tomorrow, I’ll worry about sleep.”

  “Well, I have a possible solution,�
�� I suggested.

  “Oh yeah?” He smirked.

  “This hospital bed is pretty big. If I were to shift over just a little bit, I bet that there would be plenty of room for the both of us.”

  “Mmm, I do like the idea of that,” he admitted.

  Carefully, I moved myself over. Chase slipped his shoes to the floor and leaned back on the bed beside me, holding my hand into his lap.

  When the nurse came back in to check on me, Chase had dozed off.

  “Elle, he really shouldn’t…”

  “I know,” I stopped her. “But I’d rather he be beside me. Please, don’t wake him.”

  She nodded with a knowing smile.

  “Okay, but I am supposed to give you some medicine now.”

  The nurse administered the meds then quietly slipped out the door. Before I drifted off to sleep myself, I watched Chase. I’d missed being so close to him, and I promised myself then and there that I would do anything in my power to try and be strong enough for him to put up with whatever obstacles we would face because I needed him, and I think he needed me too. And that was a pretty wonderful feeling.

  Epilogue

  Elle

  After I was discharged from the hospital, Chase had spent the entire trip home taking care of me, and strictly enforcing bed rest. He’d brought me to his home, which he had made clear that from that point forward it was to be ours. Maybe it was a little fast, but after everything we had been through, it didn’t make much sense for us to waste any more time. Even though I had recovered pretty quickly, we’d stayed locked away for the most part, spending the last of the fall and the winter curled up together.

  Ivy had been amazing, agreeing immediately that I should live with them because we were a family. One night, as I was putting her to bed, she’d asked me if I was going to be her mommy. I answered her honestly that I didn’t know, but that I loved her no matter what.

  My favourite part about all of the down time, aside from being together, was the fact that Chase had been writing a lot of new music, and, in my opinion, it was some of his very best work. I couldn’t wait for the album to come out.