Second Chances

by Younker, Tracy

  I find that I keep looking down at her beside me, trying to make sure that she's still breathing. She suddenly seems so much more like the young girl I grew up becoming best friends with. Ever since I've gotten back, I've been astounded by how much she has changed. How much she's grown up. Seeing the way she looked tonight when she walked up to me in that club compared to now is so different. God, I just need to know that she's okay!

  Chapter 30 - Haylee

  I wake up so slowly that I think I might just have dreamt the whole thing. My eyelids are heavy, and it seems as though my left one won't open all the way. There's a burning sensation in my throat, worse than any sore throat I've ever had before. The sensation brings back a sudden memory of not being able to breathe and someone holding me down. . .I jolt awake at that and gasp, which brings tears to my eyes from the searing pain it leaves in my throat.

  There's a hand on my shoulder holding me down, and it causes my heart to kickstart and panic to set in. “It's okay. . .you're okay,” a voice assures me, and I try to get my eyes to focus. I realize I'm in a bed in the hospital as I start to really look around. The hand on my shoulder means me no harm. It's Chase. He's sitting in a chair beside my bed, and he looks so relieved. “Welcome back, Hayles,” he smiles, and I can't help but smile back. I feel discomfort in my lip and jaw when I do so, but it doesn't matter. Chase is here.

  “Good to see you smiling, Haylee,” comes Griff's voice, and I turn my head in the other direction. Griff is standing beside my bed smiling at me. Brynn is just behind him, and she reaches down and gives my hand a squeeze.

  “Where. . .am I?” I'm aware of how hard it is to get sound through my throat and into my mouth to form the words I want to say. I wince at the pain and bring a hand up to my throat.

  Chase takes that hand in his and brings it back down to my side. “Don't try to talk too much. Your esophagus and trachea are swollen, and you need to let them rest. You're in the hospital, but you're gonna be just fine. Your mom is here too, Hayles. She just went down to the bathroom. She should be back any minute.”

  “How. . .long?” I rasp.

  “You only just slept through the night. They really just wanted you to rest and see how you felt when you woke up,” Chase explains. I remember everything that happened the night before all too clearly, and I shiver at the images burned into my memory.

  “Thank . . .you,” I whisper to him, and my eyes fill with tears. He saved me from Parker not a minute too soon. There's so much more I want to say right now, but my emotions swamp me, and he has placed his finger gently over my lips to keep me from talking any more right now. I know that there was a time last night when I thought I'd never see him or any of them again, and that I would never get the chance to tell him how I sorry I am and how much I love him. It's frustrating to know that I've gotten a second chance, but I'm not supposed to talk too much just yet.

  “Haylee!” I hear Mom gasp from the doorway to my room. She is crying as she hurries over to my side. Chase gets up to give her room, but I feel his absence and keep my eyes on him as he stands more toward the foot of the bed. “I'm so glad that you're all right!” Mom sobs and smoothes my hair back from my forehead. My chest hurts to realize how terrified she must have been. She's already lost her husband and for her to have to get a call like the one I imagined about me had to have shaken her to the core.

  “We'll give you a minute,” Brynn says, as she and Griff and Chase start toward the door. I hold my hand up and mouth the word 'wait.'

  “I'll be right outside,” Chase assures me, and I relax as he exits the room. Mom just looks down at me with tears spilling from her eyes. I wonder what I look like right now.

  “I'm. . .so. . . sorry,” I whisper to her. I know that I've made so many mistakes, and she doesn't deserve to suffer because of them.

  “Sweetie, it's okay,” she whispers, and holds my hand while she sits on the edge of the bed with me. “I'm just so glad that you're okay. Anything else doesn't matter.”

  I point to my throat with a questioning glance. Chase said there is swelling, but I wonder if that is it.

  “You're black and blue all over, especially on your throat. That boy tried to strangle you, and he came far too close! You've got some swelling inside your throat and a small fracture of your hyoid bone,”

  I furrow my brow at her. I don't know what that is.

  “I'd never heard of it before either,” she smiles. “It's just a small bone at the upper part of your throat. They took x-rays last night, and it's a very small fracture, so they said we didn't need to worry about it impeding your swallowing or breathing in any way. The muscles and ligaments are all swollen around there too. It will take a few days for all the swelling to go down, and then everything should be back to normal. You are so lucky, Haylee. So lucky that Chase found you when he did.” She is crying again, and I hate that I am putting her through this. It is my fault after all. I wasn't supposed to be in that club. I shouldn't have been dressed the way that I was.

  “Your friends all stayed here the whole night, Haylee. You gave us all a good scare. I had no idea how serious your relationship with Chase is,” she says slowly. I begin to worry about where she's going with this. “He saved your life last night and drove you here all by himself. He wouldn't leave your side willingly. It is very clear that he's in love with you.”

  My eyes fill with tears now. Chase has done so much for me even after the horrible way I'd treated him last night. “You're lucky to have him, Haylee,” she says as she stands and presses a kiss to my forehead. “I'll let someone else come talk to you but I won't be far.”

  I mouth the words 'I love you' to her and I watch as the door closes behind her. Chase comes in immediately and smiles that heart-melting smile that I love so much as he walks over and sits down on the edge of the bed beside me.

  “I don't want you to have to talk, so I'll try to stick to yes or no questions,” he tells me as he takes my hand. His fingers start tracing lines across the back of my hand, and it feels so nice. “Are you in any pain?”

  I swallow and can't help but wince. I nod my head and point with my finger to my throat. He nods as though he expected that.

  “Anywhere else?” I have to stop and think about that for a minute. Yes, there is discomfort in a couple of places like my lip, the back of my head, my wrists, my thighs but it is nothing like the burning in my throat. I shake my head and look down at my wrists for the first time. There are purple bruises encircling each of them and I remember Parker's grasp on my arms. “The doctor will be in any minute to check on you. God, Hayles, I was so scared. . .” His voice trails off as he leans his head down near my arm. I can hear that he is crying, and it tears me up inside.

  “I'm. . .sorry. . .” I try to tell him but my voice is a shell of what it should be. “I. . .”

  “Shh, it's okay. You don't have to talk. You don't have to say anything, Haylee. I know. I'm so sorry about everything too.” He stands up then and reaches his arms very carefully around my shoulders and I wrap my arms around his waist. I'm so relieved to be able to hold him. I'm swimming in the warmth and scent of him when the doctor comes strolling into the room. Chase stands up and steps back so that the doctor can talk with me.

  He explains everything that they checked out and x-rayed, since I'd been unconscious by the time Chase had gotten me here. Mostly it was physical and mental exhaustion that pulled me under. I cringe when he explains that they did a rape kit on me just to be sure, and the results are as I knew they would be: Parker did not rape me. Only because Chase got to me in time. I see Chase out of the corner of my eye while the doctor explains this. He's pacing with his hand on the back of his neck. This has to be so hard for him. I'm glad to hear that the doctor will be releasing me later today and that I just need to get plenty of rest at home.

  When the doctor finally leaves, I hold my hand out for Chase to return, and he seems a bit more pained as he does so. I mouth, 'I want you to help me up' to him and 'I want to see.' He nods r
eluctantly and helps me pull the sheets back. I'm wearing one of those scratchy, faded, unflattering hospital gowns and I sigh at that as he helps me sit up. I'm sore everywhere, but nothing that I can't handle.

  “Let's go slow,” he says quietly as he slips an arm behind my back as I push my body up onto my legs. I'm weak and shaky, but other than that, I can walk just fine. He holds onto me as we walk into the tiny bathroom that's part of my room. “Everything looks worse than it is, okay?” he says before he reaches out and flicks the light switch on.

  I gasp and the sensation burns bitterly in my throat as I look at my reflection. It's a good thing he's holding onto me because I probably would have collapsed onto the floor. I look like I've been the loser in a boxing match. My left eye is black and blue and swollen so that I am seeing through a small slit. There are large purple and blue bruises along my arms and legs, especially around my wrists. The worst though is my throat. It's dark purple and feels warm to me. As I step closer, biting on my bottom lip, I can see the impressions of Parker's fingers on either side of my throat. I close my eyes and fight back the tears. When I open them again, I notice tiny red splotches all around my eyes and cheeks, at least on the parts that aren't so dark with bruises.

  I lift my hand up to my face to see if I can feel the red spots raised up at all, but I can't. I've never seen anything like it before and I glance at Chase's reflection beside me with a question in my eyes.

  “It's called petechiae. It's tiny hemorrhages close to the surface of the skin and it's common if you're choked.” His voice is so quiet, and I can hear the pain in his tone. He looks down at the floor and I know it must be so hard for him to see me like this.

  I turn around, and he helps me back to the bed. “None of it is permanent, Hayles. All of this will go away,” referring to the marks I just saw in the mirror. I'm not bothered so much by what I look like, but more by the fact that someone I called a friend did all of this to me.

  “How did you. . .find me?” I ask him with almost no sound as he pulls the sheets back up around me. Parker dragged me into some deserted storage room in the back of the club. I had been so sure that no one would even know where to look for me.

  I feel the bed move a bit as he sits down beside me again. He takes my hand in both of his and begins stroking his thumb along my skin again. It's so comforting just knowing that he's here. That I can reach out and touch him. “We all noticed that you'd been gone for a few minutes, and Max remembered seeing you and Parker talking on the dance floor.”

  I look absently at the overbleached sheets covering my legs and try to think back as I listen to his low, melodic voice explain. “We started to look around. I even walked down and checked Griff's truck to see if you'd gone out there. I didn't think you would just leave without telling someone. Haylee, I'm so sorry that I just walked away from you on that dance floor. If I hadn't. . .” I shake my head try to let him know that it isn't his fault at all. I deserved being left there after what I did. He clears his throat before he continues. “I even checked the bathrooms myself when I started to really get worried. No one saw you anywhere around the club and no one had seen Parker since he was with you last either. I looked out back and then I just started opening random doors in that hallway. When I opened that one, I heard you crying out and begging him to stop. I've never been so insanely pissed off before when I saw him pinning you down, his hand on your throat like that. I grabbed him by the back of his shirt and literally just lifted him off of you by it. I knocked him the hell out and it killed me inside to see you like you were,” he pauses, blinking his eyes and clenching his teeth at the memory. “You were bleeding and disoriented on the cold floor. I had no idea how badly you were hurt or if he had. . .I just had to get you out of there.” He's choked up now and hearing the pain in his voice makes me hurt for him.

  I squeeze his hands in mine. “He didn't hurt me like that. . .because of you. I'm so sorry. . .for earlier.” I force the words up and out of my throat and fight against the pain.

  He is shaking his head. “I understand why you did what you did, and I was going to tell you that I didn't blame you as soon as I found you. I just did not expect what I found.“

  “I. . . believe. . .you.” It hurts my throat to talk, but I need to tell him these words. “About. . .everything.” I use my hand to motion around trying to illustrate that I mean about everything that has happened since he's been back, and that I believe him when he told me that he hadn't known Lexi was here either time, and that the baggie in his glovebox isn't his. “I wanted. . .to tell you. . .last night. . .before. . .”

  He has tears in his eyes as he puts his finger against my lips again. “Thank you,” he whispers his understanding. He doesn't want me to try and talk anymore. My eyes are getting heavy again already. I tug on his hands until he understands the meaning of what I want. His lips curve up at one side as he carfully climbs up onto the bed with me. He's so cautious of my injuries as he lays down beside me and puts his arms gently around me. I smile and close my eyes as I snuggle in closely against his side and let my head rest on his shoulder. I'm warm and safe, cocooned in the familiar smell of him, his clothes, his body.

  When I wake again, I'm cold and I realize it is because Chase is gone. I panic for a moment until I look over and find Brynn sitting beside my bed. She smiles at me, but her happiness seems forced. Is something wrong?

  “Where's. . .Chase?. . .How long. . .was I. . .asleep?” I rasp out and try to pull myself up into a sitting position. Brynn pushes a button on the side of the bed and it creaks to life, lifting behind me so that I'm sitting up.

  “Chase just stepped out a couple minutes ago to grab something to eat. You were asleep for about two hours and he got some sleep along with you. Lucky bastard. None of us slept last night,” she explains. “How ya feelin'?”

  I raise my hand to my throat tenderly. “Still. . .sore,” I reply, my words more of a whisper already. Each time I swallow it feels like tiny nails are sliding down my esophagus.

  “The doctor said to expect that for a few days. He's going to send you home with some good pain pills,” she pauses and narrows her eyes at me. “You really scared the shit out us. I'm really sorry about what happened to you.”

  I sigh and look out the window. I feel terrible about the things I have put everyone through. Especially since Brynn is now forced to recall the time that she was actually raped.

  “I brought you some clothes to change into. Your mom and my mom have been working on paperwork to get you released for the last two hours. Seriously, how many documents do you need to sign to get out of this place?” she jokes as she holds up a bag with my clothes in it. “Do you need any help?”

  I shake my head and pull myself up out of the bed. I'm still a little shaky and weak, but I can certainly get myself dressed. I leave the bathroom door cracked open though just in case. I look down into the bag, nervous for a moment about what she might have brought me to wear. I'm in luck though; it's my grey velour pants and hoodie. Nice and comfy and enough material to cover most of my bruises.

  “So there are two police officers that want to talk to you before you leave,” Brynn says to me through the bathroom door. “They were here shortly after Chase brought you in. We answered questions as best we could, but we didn't know all the details so they want to talk you.” I cringe when I slide the gown off. More bruises are hidden beneath it. I look like a Dalmatian dog gone all wrong. “There's a hair brush and toothbrush in there for you too.”

  I zip up the hoodie, thankful to cover up some of the bruises. Then I comb my hair and brush my teeth. I feel so much more like a human being as I walk back out and sit down on the bed.

  “Thank you,” I mouth to Brynn.

  She just shrugs. “So, Parker Allen. . .I've gotta admit I was shocked.”

  “Me too,” I sigh softly. “I wish. . .I hadn't. . .worn. . .what I did,” I whisper and Brynn jumps to her feet, startling me. I look up at her, my eyes wide.

  “Don't you dare bl
ame yourself! You are not responsible for what he did in any way!” I realize that she is telling me what she'd had to learn the hard way. “No matter what you dress like, or do, that does not give any guy the right to do what Parker did!” I understand what she's saying, but I can't help but look back and wish that I could have changed just one thing to prevent this from ever happening.

  “What happened. . .to Parker. . .after?” I ask, and she sits back down in the chair again. I imagine it hit her really hard last night when she found out what happened to me. She had been through something even worse and I couldn't even begin to imagine, nor do I want to.

  “The police found him still lying unconscious in that room where Chase had knocked him the fuck out. He's being held right now while they wait for your statement, I guess,” she tells me, and a sickening feeling rolls through my stomach. What will happen to Parker now? He has made a huge mistake while under the influence, but should it cost him for the rest of his life? “I'm gonna go let the police know you're ready so that when the paperwork is finally done, we can get the heck outta here.”

  I sit back against the upright part of the bed after she leaves and pull my knees up to my chest. The movement and position make me aware of a few more sore areas. The door to my room opens and Chase and Mom come in smiling at me, closely followed by two policemen in uniform.

  “Sweetie, they know you're having difficulty talking, so they're gonna try to keep the questions brief,” Mom replies as she and Chase stand on either side of the bed. The officers stand at the foot of the bed and introduce themselves. They ask a bunch of questions about my and Parker's relationship and what happened last night. I find myself crying a little as I describe Parker grabbing me and pinning me against the wall, then dragging me into the room and the things he said to me. It's hard to talk about it in front of Mom and Chase because I know it's hurting them to hear it as well. I'm still glad that they are here with me though.