Conflicted

by Heather Dahlgren

  “Thank you.” I walk into the room and see her delicate body lying in the hospital bed. There is only one small light on above her bed, so it’s hard to make out her injuries from this far. She has an IV in her arm, and I can see her hand in the cast. I slowly make my way to her, but she must sense me because she carefully turns her head. As soon as our eyes meet, we both start to cry. I rush over to her and ever so gently put my arms around her. Neither of us says anything for the longest time. We just cry out all of our fears. After what seems like hours, I pull back and carefully wipe her tears away. “How are you feeling?” I can’t keep from touching her to make sure she really is here. I keep rubbing her arms and stroking her hair, trying to avoid causing her any pain.

  “Honestly, I’m in a lot of pain, but nothing compared to how it was during . . .” She breaks down and starts to sob.

  “We don’t need to talk about that right now, sweetheart. All that matters is you are going to be fine.” She nods her head and looks up at me with the saddest green eyes I’ve ever seen.

  “You saved me.” I tilt my head and give her a half-smile. “It was you, wasn’t it? The voice that pulled him off me.” A tear escapes my eye as I nod my head. “Thank you.”

  “Please don’t. I should have been there to protect you. I’m so sorry.” We both have tears rolling down our faces, but we talk right through it.

  “Keith, you couldn’t have known. It was because of my sketches, that’s why he attacked me.” I gently kiss her lips.

  “I know, but don’t you dare let that stop you. The only reason that he was able to even find you was because of Jenson.” I don’t know if it’s too much too fast, but I won’t lie to her.

  “Oh my God. He said something to me in the elevator yesterday that I just blew off about the accident. If he was involved in this, I think he may have been involved in that too.” That fucking son of a bitch. I’m going to fucking kill him. He’s been behind it all. He deserves to rot in jail.

  “Don’t worry, I’m here now, and I don’t intend on leaving. Although I’ll be honest with you. Once you are better, we are all leaving for New York. I’m not waiting any longer. I want you and my family safe. You alright with leaving sooner?”

  “Maybe she should come home with us.” I spin around and see, whom I assume are, her parents. Fuck.

  “Mom? Dad?” They rush over to her, and she begins to cry again. Her mom cries right along with her, but her dad is just whispering gently to them both. I’m starting to feel out of place, it’s a feeling I don’t often have, and I fucking hate it. I don’t know if I stay or give them time alone. Just as I decide to give them some time, I hear Mel calling my name. Instinctively, I rush over, and she gives me a smile just emphasizing the damage to her beautiful face. “Keith, I want to introduce you to my parents. This is my mom, Cindy, and my dad, Jim.” Her mom hugs me.

  “Thank you for saving her.” I feel myself getting emotional again, but clear my throat.

  “Always.” She pulls back and smiles at me.

  “You are just as handsome as Mel said you were.” She giggles when her husband steps in front of her. He isn’t as welcoming as she was, but I’m not going to back down. This is my girl. I stick out my hand to him.

  “Pleased to meet you, sir. I’d much rather it be under different circumstances though.” He sticks out his hand and shakes mine, never taking his eyes off mine.

  “What exactly are your intentions with my daughter?”

  “Dad!” I turn to Mel and see even through the swelling and bruising, the mortification on her face. I give her a wink and turn back to her father.

  “Sir, I am completely in love with your daughter. My intentions are to make her happy and take care of her for the rest of my life.” You can tell he was an amazing undercover agent. He doesn’t even move a muscle in his face, just continues to stare me down.

  “I’d say you’re off to a shitty start.” I feel my blood begin to boil at his accusations.

  “Jim, that’s enough. If it wasn’t for Keith, we may have lost our little girl.” She begins to cry, but neither Jim nor I will break the eye contact to even look her way.

  “With all due respect, sir, I did everything I could to protect your daughter. I wasn’t there when it happened, but when I couldn’t get in touch with her I rushed right over. Not for nothing, sir, but where the hell where you?” I can see the rage in his eyes.

  “Listen, you little shit. If I had known my little girl was in trouble, nothing would have stopped me from rushing to help her.” I raise my eyebrows.

  “Exactly, sir. Had I known, I would have been there a hell of a lot sooner.” He looks at me with a bit of respect now.

  “You’ve made your point.” He looks at his wife and daughter before looking back at me. “You better take care of my daughter, because I know how to get rid of you and make it look like an accident.” I hear Mel and Cindy giggle, but I have no doubt that is a serious threat.

  “You have my word.” He gives me a shake of his head and finally slaps me on the back.

  “I hear you are an officer for the NYPD, impressive. We’ll have to talk shop sometime.”

  “I look forward to it.”

  After a bit of time, I excuse myself, not only to give them time together, but also to find my mom and sisters. I need to tell them what’s going on. I go back to the waiting room and find Karen asleep on my mom’s shoulder while she and Connie talk quietly. I walk over to them with a small smile on my face. Connie jumps up, and I wrap her in a hug. “She’s awake. Her parents are with her right now.” I sit down next to my mom, and she smiles at me.

  “Keith, I’ve never in my life seen you so tortured, and I hope to never see it again. You will make that girl one hell of a husband.” I chuckle and shake my head.

  “Thanks, Mom, but let’s take this one step at a time. I don’t think either of us is ready to walk down the aisle just yet, but I do know that she will be the one that eventually walks down to me.”

  Connie decided that she was not waiting any longer and went to force her way into Mel’s room, so my mom and I have been sitting with a still sleeping Karen.

  “Mom, why don’t you take Karen home? There is nothing else any of us can do tonight.” She looks at Karen then back at me.

  “Alright, I think I might do that. Connie drove herself anyway. I assume you won’t be coming home tonight?” I grab her hand and squeeze.

  “Not a chance in hell.” She laughs and nudges Karen.

  “That’s what I thought. Hey, Keith, I’m going to be totally honest with you. You’ve taught me a lot of things in life, but tonight was the biggest lesson of all. I’m determined to live my life only surrounded by people who love me as much as I love them. It breaks my heart to think that if something like this happened to me, your father wouldn’t be sitting here waiting on me. He’d be out drinking, and for the first time in my life, I’m okay with that. The love that you have for Mel, that is what we all deserve, even an old lady like me.” I can’t believe she just said that, but holy shit, it makes me so happy. Finally, after all this time, she sees her true worth.

  “Mom, I couldn’t agree more. You deserve so much more. Now go home, get some sleep, and start packing because we are leaving as soon as possible.” Karen sits up and wipes her mouth.

  “How is she?” My mom tells her everything, and she jumps up to hug me. “I’m so relieved. You know, big brother, seeing you with Mel makes me realize just how much Doug means to me. I need to go home and call him to make sure he knows.” I smile and squeeze her.

  “I’m happy for you, Karen, but you know if he breaks your heart, I’ll fucking kill him.” We both laugh when she pulls away.

  “Keith?” I look up at Connie who I didn’t even notice come back in the room. “Mel’s parents left for the night, and she’s asking for you. Are you going to be alright here by yourself?” I stand up and grab the three of them in a group hug.

  “I’m not alone, I’ve got my girl.”

&nbs
p; I make my way back up to Mel’s room, and she is sleeping when I walk in. I take that time to just look at her. Even with the swelling, bruising, and cuts she is still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. I pull up a chair and reach for her hand. “Never did I think that I would find my true love, the other half of my heart, here at home. I left New York so conflicted about so many things, and I came here thinking I needed to help my family, to save them. But it didn’t happen that way. You helped me; you saved me Mel. I will spend the rest of my life making sure to do the same for you, I promise you that.” I kiss her hand over and over again and sit there for hours watching her sleep.

  I wake up to a whispering voice. I snap my head up and see a nurse talking quietly to Mel. “I’m sorry. I guess I wasn’t quiet enough.” I realize I am still holding Mel’s hand and clear my throat.

  “That’s alright; I need to be awake to check on my girl anyway.” Mel turns her head and smiles at me. “How are you feeling?” The nurse injects a shot into her IV and turns her back to us.

  “Sore, but hopefully, not for long.” The nurse laughs and pushes the cart out of the room. “You should go back to sleep. Once this shot starts working, it will knock me out.” I stand, kiss her lips, and stare into her medicated eyes.

  “Not going to happen. I’ll get plenty of sleep when you are out of here and in my arms.” She shakes her head but never breaks eye contact.

  “I love you so much, Keith. I thought for sure that I was going to die, and I just kept thinking I felt cheated because I didn’t want to leave you.” A tear rolls down her cheek, and I kiss it away.

  “Don’t, sweetheart. I love you too. You don’t need to replay it.”

  “Yes, I do. I need to. I’ve never been so scared. He kept telling me over and over that I deserved it, and after a while, I wanted to die because the pain was too much. I didn’t want to feel anything anymore. I knew having my name in the paper was a bad thing, but I didn’t think it would cost me my life. It did though. I don’t know if I can do it anymore. I’m scared.” She is almost sobbing at this point, and I hug her close to me.

  “I will support you with any decision you make, but let’s not make any now. Let’s get you healed. I promise you, I will never let anything like that happen to you again. If I’m not home with you in New York, I’ll have someone there. I’ll make you feel safe again.”

  “How did I get so lucky?” I feel a tear escape my eye.

  “You’ve got it all wrong. I’m the lucky one.”

  I’ve been in the hospital for a few days now, but tomorrow, I’m finally going home. Keith hasn’t left my side at all. I finally got him to go home and shower when I told him he stunk. Even then, he made sure to have Connie sit with me. My parents left yesterday and promised to visit once I was settled in New York. My mom loved Keith right away, and my dad took a bit, but he finally came around. That’s my dad though; no one is good enough for his little girl. I know down the road he and Keith will get along great, and that in itself makes me smile.

  I just sent Keith to get me something to eat because this hospital food is shit. My hand is still in a cast, which they say will probably be on for a few weeks. My ribs hurt like a bitch, so I’m still taking pain medicine, but they are making me take it as a pill now, so I can continue it when I leave. It’s not as good as the shot, but it is better than nothing. The swelling in my face has gone down almost completely, but the bruising and cuts are still there. I can deal with the pain, but I don’t like to look at myself like that. The first time I went into the bathroom and saw myself, I cried for a good half hour. Keith, of course, held me and helped me through it, telling me how beautiful I am, regardless.

  “Miss Thompson?” I snap out of my thoughts and look up to see a detective and two police officers.

  “Yes.” They come in and stand in front of me.

  “My name is Detective Jones, and this is Sergeant Smith and Captain Banks. We have been the leads in your case. I’d like a few minutes of your time, if that is alright.” Relive the most horrible thing that has ever happened to me, yes, please, I look forward to it. I don’t say that though, and I just nod my head. “You know we have the man who attacked you in custody. He’s been charged with attempted manslaughter, breaking and entering, and felony charges for taking payment for the act. He was very cooperative, especially after your boyfriend shot him in the leg and threatened his life.” I look at them with wide eyes. I had no idea Keith shot him. “He told us that a colleague of yours, Sam Jenson, was the mastermind behind it all. I’ll admit, when we heard the name, we knew it would be a hard case because of his father; however, we finally arrested him this morning. His father was hiding him, so we knew if we told him he’d be arrested, he would give him up. He goes in front of a judge in the morning. I just wanted to let you know that we got him, so you don’t need to worry when you go home. Although with that boyfriend of yours, I’m sure you aren’t.” He smiles at me, but I’m trying to process everything he just told me. It’s all so overwhelming.

  “Why? I want to know why he did this to me?” Right then, Keith walks in the room and rushes over to me.

  “What’s going on?” He drops the food on my bed and grabs my hand. The detective introduces himself again and fills him in on what he just told me. “Good. He better not get out, because I will make good on my threat.” The detective nods his head, and I wonder what the hell that means. My anger is starting to consume me the more they talk. Jenson was always a fucking prick, but I didn’t think he was capable of something like this. I just want to know why. That’s all I want to know. It’s boiling up inside of me, the pain, the fear, the anger.

  “WHY?” I scream at the top of my lungs and begin to cry. “Why?” I whisper when they all look at me, and Keith wraps me in his comforting arms.

  “Miss Thompson, I wish I had an answer for you. I don’t know why. He lawyered up and hasn’t said a word since he was arrested. As soon as we know something, we will be in contact.” That’s not what I want to hear. That’s a bullshit answer. How the fuck is that supposed to help me? I don’t bother saying anything, and I just cry into Keith’s chest, even after I hear them all leave the room.

  “It’s alright. I’ve got you. Let it out, sweetheart.” He is stroking my hair and kissing my head over and over. It is so comforting.

  “I need to know why, Keith. That’s all I want to know.” After I have no more tears left, I pull back and look at him.

  “I don’t have the answers, but I can give you my opinion.” I nod my head. “Jenson wanted you, and you didn’t return those feelings. He dealt with it until I came into the picture. When he saw you with me, he knew he didn’t stand a chance. He would have done anything to make you his. He wanted to make us both suffer, and when he found out that guy wanted to hurt you, he found his way. He is going to pay for what he did, I promise you that.” A few more tears escape, and he wipes them away.

  “That’s fucked up, but it may be true. How long before we can leave for New York? I don’t want to stay here.” He kisses my lips and sits in a chair next to me, but not before handing me my hamburger. He’s always making sure I eat. I love him for it.

  “I’ve had my mom and sisters packing non-stop the last few days. I even made them follow the list I found on your nightstand.” I giggle, but I’m so grateful. I need my stuff done in a certain order. “My mom has court tomorrow, and then I’m breaking you out of the joint. I figure, if you are up for it, we can head to New York Monday or Tuesday.” I break out in the biggest smile I can remember.

  “That soon? What about your mom’s house? What about mine and Connie’s?” He laughs and takes a bite of his own burger before pointing to mine. I take a bite and moan because it tastes so good. He snaps his head to me, and I wink at him. I may be in pain, but he still has a way of making my body tingle.

  “Mel, once you are healed, I’ll make you moan.” He gives me that sexy wink, and for the first time in days, I feel my pussy clench. “As for my mom’s house, she
already had an offer, which I told her to take. Connie talked to your landlord, and he said you guys just need to pay your security deposit and next month’s rent, and you are free to go. Connie took care of all of that, so it’s all good. After everything is packed, we can go.” My excitement is obvious when I let out a squeal.

  “I want to make sure my face looks alright before we go. I don’t want your friends to see me like this.” I know that sounds conceited, but I don’t want my first impression to be like this.

  “Mel, listen to me. They wouldn’t care if you had a horn coming out of your damn forehead. They will love you because I love you. That’s how we work. Who the hell am I kidding, they will love you, regardless. You and the girls will be the best of friends before you know it, I guarantee it.” Well, when he puts it like that, it sounds so amazing. I’d still like to look halfway decent though.

  The rest of the day flies by. The doctor came in for a final check and said I’m good to go home tomorrow. He said it could take a couple of weeks for my ribs to heal completely, but pain will lessen with time. I need to get in touch with a doctor for my hand, and I figure I’ll do that once we get to New York. I’ll just have all my medical information faxed over. Keith asked if I could be released after court, but the doctor didn’t seem too thrilled about it. We decided he will pick me up on the way to court. I’m actually happy about that because I wanted to be there for all of them, like they’ve been here for me.

  Now, I am lying in bed trying to fall asleep, but it’s hard. I want to get out of here, but I’m nervous. I want to move to New York, but I’m nervous. The only thing that doesn’t make me nervous is being with Keith. He truly is my other half. “Can’t sleep?” I look over at him texting away on his phone.

  “No.” I slowly rise from my bed and smile at him. “Who are you texting?” He gets a big smile on his face, and I know it’s his friends.