Forget Cinderella (True Loves Fairytale Book 1)

by Tracey Champion

  “Any known allergies, drug or otherwise, we should know about?” I shake my head no. I remember her mentioning milk when we had lunch, and that was it. The nurse that had rushed off, returns with a needle and quickly injects the needle into her arm. I watch as Cara calms down, and her eyes start to close. They sedated her. The nurse then closes a curtain around them. I hate that I can no longer see what is happening.

  The nurse is still standing next to me, asking me questions. The EMT left after he saw things were handed off to the emergency room staff.

  “Does she have any family?” she asks me, and I finally turn and look at her.

  “No, all she has is me,” I say the words before my mind can process them. She has literally had no one, but my sister and me.

  “Okay then. We need you to wait in the waiting room. I promise that someone will come soon to talk to you and let you know her status.” She smiles at me. I thank her and walk to the waiting room.

  When I get there, I see that everyone has shown up. Amber comes up to me and wraps me in a hug. If it were anyone but Amber I would not be accepting. How can I say no to my sister? The hug is quick then she pulls back and hands me my keys and a shirt from my truck because I had wrapped mine around Cara’s hand trying to stop the bleeding.

  Only a few minutes pass before the nurse comes out. She can’t tell us about Cara because she doesn’t have any information.

  She needs us to tell her about Hanna. I give her Hanna’s full name. I also give her the name of her parents and their contact numbers. Ryan speaks over me to the nurse that he has already called Hanna’s parents. I thank Ryan for doing that task for me.

  “Dude, I get it. We all get it. Remember I know what’s been going on these past few months.” Ryan tries to remind me that I told him everything a few months ago when I needed his help.

  Two police officers arrive twenty-five minutes later. They want our story. I know one of the officers, his name is Matt. I take him aside and explain what I know, and I tell him everything because I trust him. I mention to him that it was Travis Gunthrey. He gives me the same shocked look. We both know Travis, and this is not like him.

  As we are talking to the police, I see Judge Winters, Hanna’s dad. Hanna’s mother is at a women’s outing with her friends in Colorado. Ryan explains to her father that Hanna was in shock. He assures him she is okay and walks him to the nurse’s station. Judge Winters looks at me, and nods. I know he’s not mad at me. His daughter is here and unharmed.

  Matt walks over to Judge Winters, and they talk. I hear Matt say that whatever they are talking about will be fine. Knowing the Judge, he must have told Matt that he would bring Hanna to the station after he has seen her. He is a stern man, lives by the law, and follows protocol. He is also very understanding of the work my company does. He’s taken by a nurse to where Hanna is being treated.

  We all sit and wait to hear about Cara. I hate hospital waiting rooms. They’re cold and boring. The clock on the walk ticks, and I want to throw it. Fuck! I can’t just wait here patiently. I have zero patience. Amber tried to offer me coffee, and I look at her like she’s out of her damn, fucking mind. Have you tasted hospital coffee? No, thank you.

  Ryan and Nate both have to stop me from pacing the floor. I’m just pissed the fuck off. I don’t speak to anyone. I have nothing nice to say. Hell, I sound like my damn mother.

  “Jordan, sit the fuck down, man. You’re going to make us all dizzy. We will hear something soon trust me.” Ryan barks the order at me. I look at him and suck in a breath. I go and sit across from him. Man, he’s fucking lucky I don’t deck him.

  “I called others, and they’re looking for Travis.” Nate is trying to distract me.

  If Travis is smart, he’s hiding by now. He’s a fucking dead man.

  “Travis is dead if I can get my hands on him,” I’m looking at my hands when I say it. Again, I take a deep breath. Damn it, how could I have been so blind and stupid. It’s been two hours since we arrived and I’m getting anxious.

  The door to the emergency wing opens, and the nurse that promised to talk to me walks out. I jump to my feet and it visibly scares her by the reaction on her face. She has to be no taller than five feet. I don’t blame her for being scared of me. I stand well over six feet. I try to calm myself so she can speak to me.

  “Hi, I have information on your girl.” I fucking swear my heart swells when she says my girl. I like thinking of Cara as mine it helps me to relax more.

  “Her left eye is swollen and badly bruised, but no bones are broken on her face. They will have to put a lot of stitches in her fingers. Right now, they are setting her wrist that has a minor fracture. The x-ray showed that the fracture was done in a twisting motion. After they set her wrist, we will stitch up her fingers. Other than a few bruises on her side and left arm she should be fine,” the nurse says and smiles at me.

  “Thank you. When can I see her?” I want to see her now. I want to be there when she opens her eyes.

  “You can see her once they move her up to a room. She is sedated. She might be asleep for a while longer. We had to give her another shot to calm her again when she woke up on the way to X-ray. Shouldn’t be too much longer. Since it’s late, normally they won’t allow visitors that aren’t family. You said that she has no one. I will see what I can do to allow you to stay.”

  I thank her again. I’m glad that she is willing to see if I can stay. Thirty minutes later Ryan offers to stay at the hospital with me for now. Jessica and Nate have already left. I told them I would text them if anything changes.

  Amber has decided to stay until Ryan leaves. I asked her to get some of Cara’s things for me and to bring them here. I love my sister. Sometimes you would think we have this unspoken language between us. Amber just looks at me, and smiles.

  “Anything else you want me to do big brother?” Yeah, there is. I tell her to get anything Cara might need for a few days. I want her to stay at my place when she gets out because if Travis is as big of an idiot as I think he is he’s going to come looking for her.

  Amber smiles and tells me she will take care of everything. Amber explains to me about Cara’s landlord and how she feels Cara’s no longer safe there. She had offered to let Cara move in with her. Cara told my sister no, she needs to be able to handle things on her own. If on her own means a piece of shit apartment, then fuck no, that’s not going to work. I disliked my trip there.

  I cannot allow her to stay there, not when we have Travis running loose. Ryan calls in again while we are waiting. He tells me that the other men I have on staff are tracing Travis’s whereabouts. The IT guys have already started to remove his clearance from our system.

  “We will find him. There is no place he can hide where we cannot find the fucker. You and I know Travis, he is bound to fuck up,” Ryan tries to reassure me. I just want him found, now. I want to get my fucking hands on the piece of shit.

  I’m still trying to figure out how I had missed something was strange with him. I have known him for almost a decade. He has been working with me for the last five years. Fuck, I hate knowing that he got past me.

  Another hour passes before the nurse comes back. She tells me they have moved Cara to a room for the night. I catch the slight flirtation in the nurse’s voice as she offers to walk with me to Cara’s room. Both Ryan and Amber leave. I tell them I will text them, my sister just rolls her eyes at me. Amber says she will be back in the morning with things for Cara.

  I follow behind the nurse. I can see that she is trying to go unnoticed as she checks me out. A few months ago, I might have indulged her. Before meeting Cara, I would take it as a compliment, now I find it annoying. Shit, I want to ask her to stop, but that’s not polite. She decides to break the silence between us as we continue walking. She tells me that Cara needed twenty-four stitches in her fingers.

  I’m shocked to hear she needed so many stitches. The nurse explains she is a nurse practitioner and that she requested to do the stitches. She tells me th
at she learned from her father who’s a plastic surgeon. She explains that she tried her best to piece the area together. The skin on the two fingers was badly damaged. It had been removed and the tissue was gouged deeply. She says there will be nice scarring, but that she took her time to try and keep it minimal. I thank her for taking care of Cara. She smiles and says she was glad to help.

  When we get to her room, I see she has an IV in her right arm and is still asleep. There is a chair in the corner, and I’m told I can move it next to the bed. She tells me the name of the nurse and doctor who will check in on her. I thank the nurse without even looking and move the chair next to Cara.

  My eyes scan her entire body. They have the fingers unwrapped, and I can see the damage. Normally something like this would not bother me, but seeing her hurt makes me feel sick. I can tell from what the nurse had told me that her fingers were in bad shape. My body just twists in knots, and I know that’s from the guilt. I have had enough time to solve the job I was working on, and I failed.

  The left side of her face is swollen. For some reason, the bruising looks worse now than when she looked at me. I can’t tell with all the swelling if she will be able open that eye. Fuck me. Why? Why her?

  I finally sit down. I know a nurse has been in the room to check the IV bag. She tells me that she is adding something to the fluids to help with the swelling. All I have to do now is just sit and wait for her to wake up.

  I don’t know how long it has been when someone knocks on the door. I turn around to see Judge Winters and Hanna. She looks at me, and I can tell by the look on her face and the way she is standing that she’s either sorry or terrified of me.

  “We came to see her. I wanted to thank her for saving my daughter.” I apologize to him for not knowing the problem was Travis and he tells me not to worry. We both thought we could trust Travis. Hanna just stands there staring at me, then glances to Cara.

  “Jordan…Dad said I need to tell you what happened before I tell anyone else.” I nod my head and she begins to tell me. Judge Winters walks around me to see Cara better.

  “No, this can’t be. Hanna, what is her name?” I turn to hear the shock in Judge Winter’s voice.

  “Cara… Cara Hanson, Daddy.” For the first time ever I think I hear him swear. He still looks shocked as he pulls his phone out.

  “Mason, we have a problem. No, Hanna is fine. The other girl involved is Cara. Yes, your daughter Cara. Mason you are going to have to tell her now.” I stopped listening. “Your daughter, Cara.” Those three words are repeating over and over in my head. Cara mentioned she has no clue about her dad. How in the hell is Mason Winters her father?

  Mason’s a big time lawyer. He owns law firms all over the place. He’s also married with two children older than Cara. I’m confused in light of this new information.

  Judge Winters finishes the phone call and turns to me. I know I must look puzzled, but what do I say. Cara explained that before her mother died, she only heard stories about her dad. She never mentioned his name because I guess her mother never told her.

  “Hanna, please explain to Jordan what happened earlier today. I need to talk to the nurse. Jordan, has anyone asked you yet to fill out any paperwork?” I am still trying to piece this shit together. I take a deep breath. I can tell he wants to say more to me.

  “No sir, they said they will wait until she wakes up. I didn’t have her medical information.” I tell him what I told the nurse that had come in asking. I felt bad that I was unable to answer her questions. Judge Winters walks over to me and asks to speak to me in private.

  “Okay, I will fill out any paperwork needed. I’ll also make sure that her billing is handled and that she receives the best care. Jordan, until Mason is ready to talk to her, you can’t tell her. Do you understand? I know you overheard me speaking to my brother on the phone. You just tell her I took care of her hospital stay because she protected my daughter. My brother Mason is her father. I think he might want to go through you when he is ready to see her if you’re okay with liaising.” I just nod at him. Even I can’t wrap my mind around this. Holy shit! That makes him her Uncle…and Hanna. I sit down.

  Hanna follows me from where she was standing and looks down at Cara. I can’t miss the tears that fall. I know I should comfort her, but she lost that privilege months ago. Another nurse comes in with a chair. Hanna thanks her and sits down. She tells me exactly what happened. She was kissing Travis when Cara interrupted. I should be mad at this information, but I’m not.

  “I didn’t mean to get caught with him, Jordan,” she says as her voice cracks.

  “You made me that promise Hanna. If I was going to protect you, you had to follow my rules.” However, she never listened to me.

  “I know, but he kissed me and then Cara came out of nowhere. She started calling me out on cheating. I didn’t know what to say, then Travis began yelling at her.” I run my hand through my hair.

  “First, I’m confused. What was Travis yelling? And Hanna you don’t seem to understand, I tried to give Cara my attention, I tried to tell her about you, and she wanted nothing to with me. I’m deeply moved by Cara’s conviction to honor our relationship when there wasn’t one. You cheated on me, and here I can’t move on because the one woman who instantly meant something to me would rather show you the respect you don’t deserve than let me try to date her.”

  “He was...” Hanna paused for a second acting embarrassed to tell me what happened.

  “Hanna!” I bark not meaning too.

  “He called her a bitch. She kept questioning me and then they fought. I’m sorry Jordan…he scared me, and I didn’t do anything to help her.” She tells me breathlessly as tears drop to her cheeks.

  I knew when I broke up with her that she continued to see Travis. I no longer cared. She agreed and was supposed to make sure no one else knew she was seeing him. The first week after the breakup I was pissed off at her. Then she became a job. I let her continue to tell me what happened. Hanna says that Travis tried to force her into his truck, and that’s when Cara tried to stop him by running into him.

  “Jordan, I’m sorry.” I look up at her in shock.

  “Sorry? Now you’re sorry? Hanna, this wouldn’t have happened if you didn’t cheat on me and hadn’t gotten involved with Travis in the first place. But that’s where we are Hanna. You made your choice.” I pinch the bridge of my nose.

  “I know, I can’t explain why I cheated. Cara questioned me on it and I couldn’t even answer her and she still protected me from Travis.”

  Cara attacking Travis surprises me. She comes off very sweet and kind and even though Hanna is telling me what took place I can’t picture Cara doing those things. I turn to look at Cara still sleeping, and I can see the evidence on her body of what happened.

  When Hanna finishes telling me everything, she looks over at Cara. She tells me how sorry she is for being stupid and I don’t want to hear it. I tell her it’s okay, but I don’t comfort her. I understand that she wants me now more than ever. I know that if I do comfort her it might lead her to belie I still have feelings for her.

  I don’t have the feelings Hanna might be expecting. Those feelings died when I found out she was fucking Travis. I have not saved them and hoped that with her being my job, we could move on and restart our relationship. I never wanted to fix us. She made her choice. She chose the man she really wanted, a man that I want to pound into the ground right now. I don’t get up and go to her. The only woman in months who has made me feel anything, other than my family, is lying in the hospital bed in front of me.

  I tell both Judge Winters and Hanna goodbye. He mentioned that all of Cara’s paperwork and hospital bills have been taken care of when he returns to the room. She has nothing to worry about other than getting well. He tells me that I should get a call from him or Mason about Cara. I mention to him that it’s best that happens sooner rather than later.

  When they leave, Hanna starts crying. I still say nothing to her. Judge Winters kn
ows how angry I was at her. I’m glad Judge Winters understands. I was not happy when he offered me the job, and I explained to him at the time why his daughter and I had just broken up.

  Today has been a long-ass, fucking day. I take Cara’s right hand in mine and rest my head next to her. I know I want to be here when she wakes up. For the life of me, my entire body is drained, and I close my eyes for just a moment.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Cara

  I can hear a beeping noise. I have no idea what’s making the noise, and I want it to stop. I try to open my eyes and struggle. My left eye won’t open, but I manage to force it a little. I think my eye might have sleep crusted in it. I can see that I’m in what looks like the hospital, and panic runs through me. I don’t want to be here.

  I try to move, but I can’t. The pain in my left arm is excruciating. My right arm is warm and all tingly, like it has fallen asleep. My fingers seem to be holding someone. I turn my head slightly to see Jordan is holding my hand. He looks like he’s fast asleep.

  “Jordan,” I say softly, trying to wake him.

  His grip on my hand is light. The fact that it’s starting to fall asleep is what woke me. I remove my hand and lightly touch his face. He moves, and I touch him again. He immediately sits up, eyes glued on me and smiles.

  “Jordan, I want to get up.”

  “Let me get your nurse.” I am surprised when he leans forward and kisses me on the forehead. I’m grateful that Jordan was here when I woke up. I’m already starting to feel uncomfortable about being in the hospital.

  I cannot see who he is talking to, but I can hear that he is telling them that I woke up.

  Jordan walks back in and grabs a cup with the straw that is sitting beside the bed. I just stare at him. He looks like a mess. He looks tired, and his eyes are a little pink. Why would he look worried?