Imprisoned: An Everyday Heroes World Novel

by Bella Emy

  At the sight of me, my mother rises to her feet. “Oh, thank God!” She comes lunging toward me and throws her arms around me. “I didn’t think you would come.”

  “Of course, I came.”

  Well, I was close to skipping out on the whole thing, but I made it. She doesn’t need to hear that, though.

  “Hey, Mad.” Mason comes up to us and stands next to Mom. Maverick follows suit.

  I was ready to bash their faces in yesterday. I was so mad.

  Mom pulls back and I see her wiping at the corner of her eyes.

  “Have you guys been here long?”

  “All day so far,” Maverick answers.

  Mom nods. “There were some complications when they got started, but they came out around eleven saying they had everything under control. They should be done within the next hour or so.”

  “Good,” I say.

  My mother grabs my hand. “Come, sit down with us. It won’t be much longer now.”

  I follow her and my brothers to the seats. Their belongings are spread out on a vacant chair to their right.

  I sit on the last seat with Mason to my left and Maverick to his left; Mom’s occupying the last seat before the chair with all their things.

  Mason leans closer to me and whispers, “So what finally made you decide to come by?”

  I shrug. “What do you mean?”

  “Come on, Mad. You were ready to pound our faces in yesterday when we told you you should be here. What made you change your mind?”

  Adelyn’s face comes into view. But I can’t tell him that.

  “Nothing,” I respond instead.

  He chuckles. “Right, well, whatever it was, I’m thankful you’re here.”

  “It’s no one,” I say before I can catch myself. Fuck, I hope he doesn’t realize I said that.

  But of course, this little phrase doesn’t slip my brother by.

  “Ah, so there was someone. Well, tell them I said thank you. I’m glad you’re here, and Mom and Mav are, too. And when Pops gets better, and he realizes you were here for him as well, he’ll be happy, too.”

  I’m about to say another smart remark when I see two doctors walking our way.

  “Mrs. Martinelli?”

  The four of us rise the moment those words leave one of the doctor’s lips.

  “Yes?” My mother says, walking toward them, meeting them halfway.

  My heart beats faster in my chest. This is the moment of truth. Either it went well and he’ll be okay, or it didn’t go well and they lost him during the procedure.

  I didn’t realize how much this would affect me until now. For the first time since knowing of my father’s condition, tears begin welling up in my eyes. What if he’s not okay? What if he didn’t make it? How am I going to help Mom and my brothers get through a death in the family?

  Her husband. Our father.

  No, this can’t be happening. I can’t lose him now. Not any time soon. I need more time with him. I need to apologize. I need to tell him I’m sorry for being the disappointment that I am and let him know that I’m going to do better. I need him to know that I will fix things and I won’t be a family failure anymore.

  The same doctor that spoke says, “Your husband is out of surgery. He’s awake, and he’s going to be okay.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Since Pops is lying in recovery and the entire floor is full of intensive care patients, we’re only allowed to go in one by one to see him. That’s fine with me because I don’t know how I’m going to feel when I do finally see him.

  I let Mom and my brothers go in first, procrastinating the inevitable. I want to go in and get this over with, but at the same time, I don’t want to go in yet. My nerves have been forming knots in the pit of my stomach since I decided to show up and now its to the point where I feel like I’m going to puke. But I know I’m not. I’m just anxious. And as I wait in the seat longer and longer, I grow more and more anxious by the minute.

  To think how everyone told me I should come here and see him… Mom, my brothers, Rick, and finally Adelyn. They all said the same thing. I was so against it. I was sure I wouldn’t come in and visit him, but now that I am here, I’m kind of glad I did it.

  The look on Mom’s face when she saw me walking toward her said it all. I know how much this means to her. If only it could mean something to my father. I don’t know that it will, though. I just don’t see how it could if every time he sees me he wished he hadn’t. This won’t make him change his mind. He’s furious with me, irate. I don’t think he’ll ever be able to forgive me.

  I know that since he made it through the surgery, he’s going to be okay, but the fact that before all this happened we left off on rocky terms, I don’t feel good about it at all.

  What if he still doesn’t want to talk to me? What if, after all this, he still refuses to see me or accept me as his son?

  He sees me as nothing more than a failure, someone who has scarred the family name. I’m the one who couldn’t control my temper and let my emotions get the best of me, causing the force to send me away. They could’ve sent me to any other neighboring state. But where did they send me? Across the country to the furthest precinct they could find. Of course they said it was because the one in New Jersey currently needed police officers badly. What was I supposed to do? It was either take the job and move on with my life, or decline and lose my badge as a police officer forever. At least this way, I’d have a chance to come back within a few years.

  And I did.

  But now, I’ve lost so much and so many things.

  Okay, maybe just Adelyn, but that’s a lot to lose. But then again, she was never mine to begin with. And my father, he was already pissed at me for getting in trouble way back when.

  “Maddox, it’s your turn,” my mom’s voice rips me out of my thoughts as Maverick makes his way back from my father’s room. She adjusts the sleeves on her shirt, rolling them up halfway.

  I let out a deep breath and prepare myself for what’s to come. How am I going to feel when I see him, and better yet, how is he going to react to me? Is he even going to remember? Maybe the surgery and him being groggy from the anesthesia will cause him to forget certain things.

  My mom reaches me before I rise from my seat. She places a hand on my shoulder. “Maddox, are you ready, sweetie?”

  I run my hands up and down on my thighs, nod, and then stand up. “Yeah. Yeah, I think so.”

  She smiles gently at me. “Okay, good. Just so you know, your father is still out of it from being put to sleep.”

  I nod again. “Okay.”

  “Remember, only a few minutes, okay?” She rolls down the sleeve on her shirt. She’s nervous.

  “Yeah, okay,” I respond. I don’t think I’d be able to handle more than a few minutes in there with him anyway, asleep or not.

  Mom offers me another one of her sweet, genuine smiles that causes me to relax a bit. God bless her.

  “You got this, Mad,” Mason says to me from his seat toward my left.

  Mom reaches up onto her tippy toes and places a soft kiss on my cheek. Whispering into my ear, she says, “You can do this. Thank you so much for being here, my boy. I love you so much.”

  Once she’s pulled away, I walk out of the waiting area and head down the hall toward his room.

  Why does the walk to his room feel eternal? Why with each step closer I take do I feel as though I’m getting further and further away?

  I shake my head, clearing my crazy thoughts. I’m just nervous, I know it. I need to get a grip.

  As I reach the door to his room and look inside, I don’t know what I was expecting. But it sure as hell wasn’t this. Stepping foot inside, I see Pops lying on the hospital bed, with tubes hooked up from a machine inserted into his nose. Yes, I’ve seen enough movies to know I should have expected something like this, but seeing my father so weak when he’s usually the tough guy doesn’t sit right with me.

  He’s so pale and resembles a ghost.
r />   “Pops…” I whisper as I inch my way closer to him. As I reach his bed, I don’t dare touch him, afraid of breaking him or creating more damage. I’m not sure if it’s even at all possible, but knowing me, I wouldn’t doubt it. It seems all I ever do, when it comes to him, is ruin and disappoint, and fuck things up.

  I suck in a deep breath and take a seat in the chair to his left. The beeping of the medical ventilator causes me to snap my gaze over to it and watch the squiggly lines moving up and down in a colorful pattern.

  As long as he doesn’t flatline, he’ll be all right.

  Won’t he?

  I look away. I cannot keep my gaze fixated on the screen for the rest of the time that I’m in here. I need to do what I came to do, and that’s visiting my father.

  “Damn, Pops… where do I even begin?” I scratch my head and wait a moment to see if there’s any change from him.

  But he’s out cold, still feeling the effects of the anesthesia. I wonder how long he’ll be out like this before he’s back to being his grumpy old self again.

  I chuckle to myself thinking about the crab he’s been around me the last couple of times I’ve seen him, and then after a moment stop. I shake my head. “Who would have thought this is what it would have taken to get me to talk to you. I’m sorry, Pops.”

  I lay my head down in shame, realizing that I almost didn’t come in to see him because of the stupid arguments we’ve had. Even if he’s upset with me to where he doesn’t want to be around me, I’m glad everyone pushed me to be here for him. Because what if he hadn’t made it? What if things would have gone differently and I never would have gotten the chance to say I was sorry? I know none of this applies to anything right now because he made it out okay, but still.

  I was hard-headed. I was stupid, and I let my pride get the best of me.

  I take in another deep breath. “Look, I know things between us haven’t been the greatest lately. I know you’re upset with me for taking things overboard and letting my temper get the best of me, so much so that I had to be sent away. But I never meant for things to get so out of control that you would be disappointed in me.”

  Pausing, I look over to the window, noticing that a gentle rain begins to fall. Maybe I’ll take a run in it after I leave here. Anything to get my mind off of things.

  I look down at my watch and realize ten minutes have already passed. I need to hurry before the nurse on watch kicks me out of the room.

  I stand up from my seat and walk over to the bed. I hesitate for only a moment before continuing with what I want to say. “I know the Martinelli name stands for good. You used to serve and protect back in your day before you got injured. I’ll make it up to you, Pops. I promise. You won’t be ashamed of me anymore.”

  As I go to push away from the bed and leave the room, my father’s hand grips mine gently and catches me off guard.

  “Pops?”

  His eyes slowly squint open. “I… was never… ashamed of you… son.”

  His words are chopped and labored, but I can make them out all the same. I squeeze his hand gently in return and smile.

  And as he slowly closes his eyes once more and drifts back off to sleep, I whisper the words, “I love you, Pops,” and make my way out of the room and back toward the lobby.

  Chapter Twenty

  “That was big of you, Mad. I have to say, I’m glad you went.” Rick pulls his seatbelt and snaps it into place as we begin our day patrolling the streets.

  I pull out from the parking spot and get onto the main road. “It’s been about a week, but I’ve been stopping by each day after work. I have to keep an eye on Mom and make sure she’s good, too.”

  “Hey, that’s great. I’m glad you guys could put it all behind you.”

  “Yeah, I guess.” I see a sign for Wake ‘N Shake, the best breakfast spot in the area, and decide to take the next turn. I have my coffee that I brought from home, but I’m kind of hungry. “Want to grab a bite? I notice you didn’t bring your goodie bag from home.”

  Rick chuckles. “Yeah, Addy’s been kind of busy with preparations for the upcoming day. She’s been getting to bed super late, and she’s barely making it out the door in time for work.”

  The mention of her name brings back memories of the last time I saw her. She spent the night at my house. Granted, nothing happened. I was too drunk and out of it anyway, and nothing would because she’s an engaged woman. To my best friend.

  But damn, the way she looked and the way she smelled. I suddenly have a hankering for a cinnamon donut. Or a cinnamon latte.

  Or, for fuck’s sake, Adelyn dipped in honey with cinnamon swirled and sprinkled all over her naked body…

  “Is that a yes?” Rick’s voice brings me out of my musings.

  “Huh?” I ask, unaware of what his question to me was.

  He lets out a laugh. “Damn bro, by the way your lips slowly curled into a smile, I thought the answer was yes.”

  I think hard, but I have no idea what he’s talking about. I was too deep in my thoughts of Adelyn, too fixated on my uber fantasy of her to hear anything that had come out of Rick’s mouth. I really need to catch a grip though and stop all my thoughts of her. Ever since that night, it’s gotten so much worse. Is it possible that she honestly didn’t tell Rick? And if there was nothing to it and nothing inappropriate happened, then why did she keep it from him? Why didn’t she say anything about it to him? Would it have ticked him off? Would he have thought we were hiding something?

  I pull into Wake ‘N Shake’s lot and get in the drive thru line. “I guess I was just thinking about cinnamon donuts and a cinnamon latte,” I answer, hoping he doesn’t realize I was thinking of other things. Or people.

  Person.

  One particular person.

  “You’re getting a latte?” He raises an eyebrow.

  I shrug. “Yeah, I want a cinnamon latte.”

  He chuckles. “Yeah, and a cinnamon donut, I heard all that. I’m just asking because you have a full cup of coffee sitting to your right.”

  My eyes dart over and land on my mug in the cup holder of the car. Fuck.

  Rick laughs again. “Dude, I don’t care if you don’t drink the coffee you brought from home. If you want a latte from Wake’s, you get a latte from Wake’s. End of discussion.”

  I chuckle, but my nerves tighten into a knot at the pit of my stomach. I don’t like how I haven’t been able to get Adelyn out of my mind, even more so lately. This is wrong. All types of wrong. I need to figure out a way to shift my desire over to someone new.

  Maybe that’s the problem. Maybe I need to meet a girl here in town and shift all my lust toward her.

  But I’m in love with Adelyn. How can someone else ever make me forget about her?

  “Look, man. I just think it’s funny you’re getting a crazy craving for cinnamon because lately, Addy’s been the same. She’s got this cinnamon scented shampoo that she’s been using lately.”

  Ah, so that’s what that cinnamon smell on her was… I have always loved her strawberry scented shampoo, but this cinnamon one now might just be my favorite. Something about it is so magnetic, causing it to pull me to her.

  Rick continues. “You’d think it’s nasty, but it smells really good.”

  Nasty? I don’t think so… it’s fucking sexy as hell.

  He closes his eyes and lets out a sigh. “She’s just amazing.”

  Yeah, don’t I know it.

  We finally make it to the front of the line at the drive thru and I order two cinnamon donuts as well as the cinnamon latte. I could have passed on the latte, but since I made such a big deal about it to Rick, I sort of feel forced. He orders an everything bagel toasted with cream cheese and a hazelnut coffee. Once we get our order, we sit in the parking lot and enjoy it. It’s a quiet morning, and we might as well take it while we can. In an instant, all that can change. I know that from experience and refuse to take it for granted.

  “Can you believe we’re just about a month away from
the big day?” Rick finally says after we’ve been sitting in silence for the past ten minutes.

  I don’t mind the silence. As a matter of fact, lately I prefer it. I know many people get nervous when they can’t fill the silent void with meaningless conversation, but I don’t mind. Plus, Rick and I have been friends long enough that it doesn’t bother me one bit.

  But he had to bring up his wedding day with Adelyn. Damn.

  “Yeah. Time is really flying,” I respond and then sip on my latte. I see him nodding from the corner of my eye.

  “It is. I remember everything like it was yesterday. How we turned to one another when we were the only two left…”

  He means how they made out, literally, at my expense…

  “Yeah…” is all I manage to say.

  Rick chuckles and stares out the side of his window. Maybe next time I’ll ask him if he wants to drive so I can stare out of the window and imagine I’m elsewhere.

  Because listening to him speak about the way he and Adelyn fell for one another is not the way I want to spend my morning.

  “It’s amazing, really. Things just fell into place, and the fact that you don’t mind us being together and are happy for us really means a lot to me, bro. You’re a great friend, Mad. I can’t imagine a better best man.”

  I swallow hard. Yeah, I can imagine someone better. I’m definitely not the right person for this job.

  Maybe now is a good time to tell him he might want to reconsider. Maybe now, before it’s too late, I should let him know I may not be the best fit for the position.

  Because I’m in love with his fiancée. I’m in love with her and I’ve been in love with her for a very long time. I’ve just been too hard-headed to realize it until it was too late.

  I suck in a breath and decide it’s now or never. If he throws me out of this car and drives off while he leaves me bleeding in the middle of the street, can I then say I blame him? How would I feel about the whole thing if the tables were turned, and he was sitting in my shoes?