by Tania Sparks
I groan. I hurt everywhere. I mumble, “I don’t think so.”
“Shit Trixie, stay still. I don’t want you to move, you might be seriously injured. The police and ambulance are already on their way, they’re just behind us. Hold on sweetheart. Keep your eyes open. Look at me.”
I try to keep my eyes open and to focus on him, but my eyelids are heavy. If I could just sleep the pain that’s surging through every inch of me might stop. I close my eyes.
Caleb yells at me, “No Trixie! Open those god-damned eyes. Look at me sweetheart. I need you to look at me.” I struggle but manage to open my eyes. I try to smile at him but I can’t seem to get my face to work. I hear sirens and see flashing lights. Caleb is pushed out of the way as the paramedics take over.”
A comforting voice says, “It’s okay Miss, you’ll be okay.”
I can hear Caleb yelling and screaming in the background, I hear a strong voice say, “Sir, you have to let go of him. We know that he tried to kidnap this young lady but you need to let the law handle it now. Let us do our job.”
I can hear shuffling and Caleb yelling, “You cock-sucker. If she’s seriously hurt or if she doesn’t make it, I’m gonna fuckin’ kill you. You hear me, kill you!”
The comforting voice speaks again, “Okay Miss, we’re just gonna lift you up and get you in the ambulance. Try to keep those eyes open, stay with us okay?”
I can sense myself being lifted from the car. I think I’m on a stretcher, but it feels like I’m just floating. My eyes are too heavy to keep open so I give in and just close them. Everything goes peacefully quiet and the pain stops.
~~~
I can hear voices somewhere in the background but I can barely make them out. I hear the beep of hospital equipment. But the most overwhelming sensation is that of pain. My head is throbbing and my whole body feels like it’s been run over by a truck. I groan in agony. Suddenly I feel a warm hand clasp over mine and calloused fingers stroke my cheek. I hear Nikki’s voice, “Trixie, can you hear me. Open your eyes darlin’.”
I try to open my eyes but my eyelids just won’t lift. I hear more voices in the room, but then everything falls silent again and I feel the relief of the pain slowly dissipating.
I don’t know how much time has passed between now and the last time I tried to wake up, but it feels like it’s been a while. I hear the voices again but they seem to be a little bit in the distance, perhaps on the other side of the room or outside the door. Unfortunately I also feel the pain again. I struggle but manage to open my eyes slightly. I notice that the room is dimly lit and I can hear that annoying beeping noise. I wish someone would just turn the bloody machine off, the persistent noise is making my head throb. I’m obviously in the hospital and by the way I feel, I’m not in too good shape.
I look across the room and see Nikki standing talking to a doctor. He’s nodding his head and is listening intently. I then notice that my mouth is parched, like dry as a desert parched. I desperately need a drink of water. I try to clear my throat, but don’t manage to make much of a sound, I mumble, “What does a girl have to do to get a drink around here?”
Nikki’s head snaps towards me as he spins around and dashes over to me. He grabs a hold of my hand and kisses me affectionately on my lips. The pressure on my mouth hurts and I grumble, “Fuck, that hurts.”
“Shit, sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just…fuck…I’ve been so worried about you. This may be a stupid question, but how do you feel?”
“Like shit.” I groan.
The doctor walks around to the other side of the bed and holds up a cup close to my mouth. It has straw in it and I secure my lips around it and take a big sip. The cool liquid floods down my throat and it feels so good, I take another large sip. The doctor pulls it away from my lips and tells me, “Just a couple of sips for now. You can have a few more in a couple of minutes. Now let’s get you checked over then we can let the mob of your friends come in. At the moment they’re all crowding our waiting room and scaring the hell out of the other visitors.” The doctor chuckles to himself.
He spends the next twenty minutes thoroughly checking me over. He performs all sorts of tests and prods and pokes me. He tells me that he’ll instruct the nurse to give me some more pain killers.
The doctor also tells me that I’ve been extremely lucky. Lucky my ass! If this is lucky then I’d hate to see unlucky! But apparently I’ve got no broken bones, I haven’t needed any sort of surgery and I’ve only been unconscious for a few hours and they think that was probably due to the drugged coffee I’d consumed. So I suppose in a way I was lucky. He assures me that there are no lasting effects, only lot of cuts and bruises from the car crash. He also tells me that my throbbing head ache is as a result of the drugs rather than the knocks I took to my head. He jokes that I have a skull as hard as a helmet.
As soon as the doctor leaves the room it’s flooded with my friends. Eve comes running over to me and hugs me, squeezing me just a little too tight. I cringe and moan, “Ouch!”
“Shit sorry, I’m just so happy to see you’re awake.”
Each of the Oblivion guys takes their turn at giving me a gentle hug and affectionate kisses on my bruised cheek. I suddenly realize that I can’t see Caleb. I panic as I frantically search the throng of people to try and see him, “Where’s Caleb?”
I hear a voice rumble from the back, “I’m here baby girl.” The guys all step to the side and I see a very sad looking Caleb slouching in the doorway.
I smile warmly. I had started to panic thinking that something had happened to him in the mayhem of the car crash. “What are you doing way over there, come and give me a hug!”
Caleb slowly walks over to me. He leans down and wraps his arms gently around my shoulders. He kisses me on my forehead. “I’m so sorry.” He looks genuinely distraught.
I’m confused. “What are you sorry for?” I ask.
“I was supposed to be taking care of you, keeping you safe. We knew that there was some psycho stalking you and I neglected to do what I was supposed to. I should never have let you go outside by yourself. I should have known better, and if I hadn’t been chasing you in the car so aggressively, you may not have crashed. Honestly, if something more serious had happened to you I’d never have forgiven myself.”
I protest, “Caleb, that’s ridiculous. I was the one that went outside by myself. It’s me that should have known better and the crash had nothing to do with anything you were doing. It was me that grabbed the steering wheel and made the car swerve across the road and hit the curb. You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for.”
Nikki pipes up, “We’ve been trying to tell him that for the past few hours, but he’s a stubborn bastard.”
“Yes he is.” I chuckle, “But he’s the best stubborn bastard that a girl could ask for as a friend.” I hug him some more and Caleb holds me in his arms, his lips resting on my forehead.
Nikki pats Caleb on the shoulder and smiles warmly at him, “Thanks again man, you probably saved my girl here from fuck-knows-what. That nutcase could have done anything to her.”
Caleb continues to hug me and snuggles in even closer.
Nikki pats him on the shoulder again, his smile not quite as warm as before.
Caleb continues to hug me, but I can feel his lips grinning against my skin.
Nikki pats him on the shoulder again. “Come on man, let go of my girl.”
Caleb chuckles and stands up, giving me one last kiss on the forehead before he steps away. Nikki quickly steps in and gives me a hug and a gentle kiss on my lips, just to make sure that everyone knows I’m his. I snicker and shake my head. Even in this situation the two most important men in my life are possessive and competitive.
A nurse comes in and pushes through the throng of people surrounding my bed. She gives me some pain killers and a glass of water. She turns to everyone and says, “This young lady needs some rest. It’s probably a good idea if you all leave so she can get some sleep. You can come bac
k later this evening.” She pushes her way back through the throng of people and leaves the room.
Everyone says their goodbyes and promises to come back later. Nikki plonks himself down in the reclining chair that’s next to my bed. I suggest, “Why don’t you go home and get some sleep?”
“Nah, I’d rather be here,” he states simply as he flips the footrest up, leans back and closes his eyes. I decide that a little sleep is a brilliant idea and I close my eyes too.
Suddenly I realize that I don’t know where Adam is. I sit up quickly, cringing at the pain that shoots through my body at my sudden movement. Nikki’s up in shot as he darts to my bedside, “You okay?” he gasps.
“What happened to Adam, did they get him?”
Nikki sighs, “Yeah they got him. The police had to drag Caleb off him before he killed that mother-fucker. But yeah, the police have him in custody.”
I relax my body and lie back down. “Sorry to have alarmed you,” I whisper.
“That’s okay.” He settles himself down on his chair and flicks his footrest back up. We both close our eyes again when Nikki mutters, “Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, your Mom and Dad are on a plane and are on their way.”
“Great,” I mutter sarcastically.
Chapter 22
I wake to hear whispering in my room. I force my eyes open to see Mama and Daddy standing in the corner of the room talking to Nikki. They realize I’m waking up and quickly walk over to my bedside.
My Mama holds my hand and candidly says, “I’m so sorry Trixie. I didn’t realize that Adam was such a nutcase. And to think I gave him so much opportunity at the law firm. He seemed to genuinely care about you, but now I realize he’s a complete psycho. Don’t worry sweetie, he’ll get every punishment that can possibly be inflicted on him under the law. Me and your Daddy will make sure of that.”
Daddy adds, “And I’m sorry too. We had no idea…”
I interrupt them, “Look it’s okay Mama, Daddy. Adam is a complete and utter psycho, but right now I really just need to rest, talk to my family and friends, and perhaps have a drink of water…”
“Of course!” Mama gushes as she quickly walks to the bedside table and pours me a glass of water.
Nikki politely nudges his way in so he’s standing close to my head. He places both hands on either side of my face, “How ya feeling? Did you have a restful sleep?”
I consider my answer for a few seconds before I answer, “I’m actually feeling reasonably well, all things considered. Those pain killers must be working and the sleep certainly helped. In fact, I feel fine.”
Nikki asks, “You well enough for the others to come and say hi again?”
“Yeah, that would be great,” I reply.
Nikki leaves the room and a few short minutes later the room is jam-packed with all my favorite people. They fuss over me, making me feel even better with all the warmth and love they smother me with. We all spend a long time chatting and socializing animatedly. Mama and Daddy excuse themselves and head back to the hotel. Now they can see I’m well they’ll fly back home tonight. I have no doubt that they’ll ensure Adam is punished severely, especially with all their legal contacts and connections.
The guys all start talking excitedly about their upcoming tour. They’re talking about all the places they’re scheduled to play and they tell some really interesting stories about what antics they’ve got up to on previous times they’ve visited Europe.
It’s great to see them so happy and enthusiastic to be going. I’ll miss Nikki so much and I quietly wonder if our relationship is going to be able to withstand the rigors of him being on the road.
Nikki spots the sadness on my face and whispers in my ear, “Don’t worry, we’ll figure out a way of seeing each other. Even if I have to fly you out every week. If that’s what it takes, then that’s what we’ll do.”
I fake a smile, pat his hand and mumble, “I know. We’ll figure something out.”
Nikki sadly smiles back at me. He must be worried too about what the separation will mean for our relationship. Six months is a really long time. I know I won’t be able to visit as much as we would want, I have commitments back here in LA. It’s gonna be difficult, to say the very least. Is it even practical to think we can make it work? Once he’s out on the road, performing and partying, I’m sure he’s not going to want to sit quietly back in his hotel room texting or phoning me while everyone else is out drinking and celebrating. And if he does go out, he’s going to have girls throwing themselves at him constantly. It’s what he’s used to, it’s the life he lives. Is it even realistic for me to think he’ll stay faithful while he’s away? More importantly, is it even fair for me to ask him to do that? I don’t know. I have a lot of thinking to do.
I’ve obviously been sulking and not taking part in the animated conversations that have been taking place. Nikki interprets my quietness as me being tired and starts to let people know they should get going so I can get some rest. Coincidentally at the same time a nurse comes strolling into the room and announces, “Righto folks, visiting hours are due to finish in five minutes. Only Nikki here can stay, the rest of you will have to get going.”
The guys all start talking about what time they’ll come back in the morning. The nurse interrupts and advises them that I’m likely to be released in the morning. She tells them to phone in first and maybe they can visit me at home instead of crowding up their hospital.
We’re all surprised that I’ll be released so soon, but as most of my injuries are just cuts and bruises, the only reason they’re keeping me in overnight is to make sure there’s no lingering effects from the drugs I was given. Everyone says their goodbyes and we arrange to call them once I’m released and settled back in at home.
Finally me and Nikki are alone again. He goes to settle into the chair so we can get some sleep. I raise my eyebrows at him in question. I lift up the side of the blanket and encourage him to climb on up with me. He grins and without question, stands up, removes his jeans and t-shirt and jumps up into the bed with me. We snuggle together and quickly fall asleep.
~~~
We open our eyes to find a very angry looking nurse standing next to the bed with a disapproving look on her face and her fists firmly planted on her hips. She’s a younger nurse than the one that normally looks after me and she looks very formal, like she plays by all the rules. She doesn’t look very impressed that Nikki’s in my bed with me.
Nikki looks at her and grins cheekily. I smirk. Any telling off we get was well worth it to have Nikki’s warm body next to mine all night.
“Out you get Mister,” she chimes angrily.
I giggle, “Are you sure you want him to do that?”
“Yes. Out. Now,” she demands.
Nikki confidently throws the blanket off and slides his legs off the side of the bed. The nurse’s jaw drops and she turns bright red as she realizes Nikki is completely naked. He never sleeps in his clothes and last night was no exception.
“Oh my!” she chimes as she quickly turns her back to give Nikki some privacy to get dressed. Nikki unashamedly takes his time putting his clothes back on and then chirpily lets her know, “All clear now sweetheart.” He flops himself down in the armchair with a massive grin on his face.
The nurse turns back around and walks hesitantly to the end of my bed and picks up my medical chart. She marks a few things down and then takes my blood pressure and checks a few other vitals. The whole time she completely avoids any eye contact with Nikki and does her best to pretend he’s not even in the room. After checking my information she quickly starts to exit the room, her cheeks are still blushing bright red. On her way out she turns around and says, “All looking good…I mean your charts…I mean…Trixie, you’re okay to go home. I’ll get the doctor to confirm my recommendation and you should be able to be out of here by ten.”
The nurse finally leaves and I burst into laughter. Nikki looks rather smug with himself and the effect he’s had on the poor nurse.
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I grin, “You’re a right rascal, that poor nurse got the shock of her life when you got out my bed naked.”
Nikki shrugs his shoulders, his eyes twinkling with mischief. I sit up and slide my legs over the side of the bed. I ease myself off and my feet land on the cold linoleum floor. Nikki’s there in an instant, holding my arm and making sure that I’m okay.
I stretch my arms. It feels good to be out of bed and I definitely feel ready to be going home.
~~~
I was released from the hospital and we’re now at Nikki’s place. He insisted that I come here rather than go back to my own apartment, which is totally fine by me. I love it at his place. Although it’s large, it feels very warm and welcoming. It feels like home. It helps that I’m surrounded by everything that personifies Nikki. It’s easy to see that the place is lived in by my rock star. There are guitars scattered haphazardly around the place and various awards hanging on the walls showing off Oblivion’s many accolades. Nikki’s popped out to get some supplies and even though he’s not here, the place still feels like him.
I’m snuggled up in his large king size bed. I actually feel fine now but Nikki has insisted that I rest and recuperate as per the doctor’s instructions. After about half an hour Nikki comes back home. I hear him place some bags in the kitchen and then he comes into the bedroom. He asks, “You hungry? Ready for some lunch?”
“Yeah, I’m starving,” I reply. I go to get up but Nikki stops me.
“Nah uh, you stay in bed. I’ll bring the food to you.”
I frown at him, “I’m okay to sit in the kitchen, I don’t need to eat in bed you know.”
“Just indulge me beautiful.” He smiles warmly and leaves the bedroom to go and prepare the food.
Within a few minutes he’s come back with a large tray covered in delicious food. He places it down on the bed and asks, “Mind if I join you?”
“Of course I don’t,” I reply as I lift the blanket to encourage him to get in with me.
Nikki smirks and starts to remove his clothes. I raise my eyebrows and grin back at him.