Cutting Loose

by Dash, Jayson

  She felt his tears drops on her face. Weak-voiced, she whispered, “It was my stepsister. She did this.”

  “Why, baby?”

  “She’s lost her mind…” She trailed off, holding her stomach and hoping the pain would end soon. “Brett, I need to tell you something…”

  “Tell me…I’m not leaving your side. We’re going to make it through this together.”

  “I love you, Brett…just thought you should know…” She faded in and out as Brett cried harder. Then everything turned dark and silent.

  Chapter Thirty:

  Lesson Learned

  Sabrina could hear voices. Nothing was clear, just mumbling low tones that weren’t at all familiar to her. Had she died and gone to the afterlife? It sure didn’t feel normal; her stomach didn’t hurt and she couldn’t feel anything.

  She heard the voices again.

  “…She suffered a lot. I don’t know how the hell she made it, but somebody was keeping a close eye on her. Normally when someone gets stabbed repeatedly like that and go into shock they die from either blood loss or infection; this girl here is like a walking miracle...”

  “Yeah, you can say that again. Poor girl. I feel bad for the family, especially the boyfriend. He’s been coming in here every day for the past three weeks now to be by her side. It’s quite remarkable. I hope she pulls through, my daughter loves that magazine.”

  There was a light chuckle.

  “…I wonder if she wakes up if she’ll be able to get me an autographed copy…”

  “You’re crazy…”

  Great. At least she wasn’t dead, which meant she was more than likely in a coma or in a deep sleep that felt really damn good.

  The voices died out and then they were gone. She was alone with nothing but silence. This wasn’t good at all. Shit, how the hell was she supposed to wake up?

  She didn’t know how long it had been, but some moments later she felt a warm, heavy hand caressing her arm, while the other played around her face.

  Her heart had to have skipped a beat when she heard a familiar voice began to speak to her.

  “I’m so sorry I couldn’t get to you in time, baby…this shouldn’t have happened to you.” He paused and continued, “I know you’re still in there, Sabrina. Just please, come back to me, baby. I need you…” she heard him sniffle as he wept to himself.

  She felt her hand go to his soft, tear-soaked lips.

  It hurt her heart so much to hear Brett cry for her so hard. She so badly wished she could come out of her subconscious state and tell him she could hear everything he was saying and that she was never leaving his side again. He was the one she was supposed to be with. He was the one who showed her that life wasn’t all about taking things so serious all the time. He was the one who also showed her how to be loved and love someone back. He showed her a whole new world. A world she once shunned.

  No way was it going to end like this. No. It couldn’t. She had too much she wanted to live for; she was only thirty-one years old and hadn’t even experienced life that much. This was so unfair.

  Was this God’s way of telling her something? Maybe that she fucked up and had to pay the price with her life? But what had she done? Hell, she was the victim. She was the one who got stabbed over and over again by a psycho bitch who was after her, so if anything, she deserved to live…to get a second chance and do things right.

  Think, she told herself. How can I get out of this crap and go back to my normal life? How?

  Concentrate.

  That was a start. She tried told herself to concentrated on just relaxing and trying to wake herself up. It sounded silly to her, almost like she was trying to wake up from a bad dream, and yes, this was a bad dream.

  Wake up! You are not dead!

  ***

  She didn’t know how or what had happened but something changed. She no longer felt the peaceful sleepiness that surrounded her before. She could hear things, even feel the cold room temperature and the pain…hell the pain was dull, but was definitely there.

  She focused on opening her eyes and slowly, they began to reveal a hospital room full of “Get Well” balloons and dozens of colorful flowers everywhere. She was alone and for the first time in a longtime, she was scared out of her mind.

  Then the room door opened and someone came in. They walked over to her bed and gasped. “Sabrina?”

  Her vision started to clear up. She turned her head and saw Brett leaning down over her, his face just inches away from her hers.

  “Brett…” she didn’t even recognize her own voice.

  Brett closed his eyes, kissed her on the cheek and said, “Thank goodness. You came back. I knew you would.”

  The door opened again and Brett turned around and said, “Hey, Doc, she’s awake. Just like I told you she would.”

  “Thank goodness for miracles,” Sabrina heard the doctor say as he rushed over to the side. He pulled out a small light and flashed it into her eyes as gently examined her pupils. He stood up and said, “Miss Evans, do you know where you are?”

  Her head was a little foggy but she could easily recognize a hospital room when she saw one. “The hospital?”

  “Yes. Can you tell me your name?”

  “Sabrina Evans.”

  She could hear the excitement in his voice when he asked, “Can you tell me the last thing you remember?”

  She paused and tried desperately to remember and all she could see were bits and pieces…Camille’s face invaded her thoughts as well as images of herself on the floor nearly bleeding to death…the pain as the knife sliced through her body…

  She closed her eyes, trying to force back the tears as she replied, “I remember getting stabbed…and a lot of blood. And that bitch,” she added in a murmur.

  Brett was on the other side of her gently squeezing her hand. “It’ll be okay, baby.”

  He grabbed her charts from the foot of her bed and starting writing something down. He said, “Miss Evans, in case you’re wondering, you’ve been in a coma for approximately three weeks after you were stabbed several times in the abdomen. Luckily, the assailant didn’t pierce any vital organs and my brother Brett was able to call the paramedics in time to air-lift you here.”

  She had a confused look on her face. Then Brett said, “Yeah, he’s my brother, well one of them. He’s been taking good care of you.”

  “How cute,” she teased as she stared at the both of them and saw the resemblance they shared. “So when can I leave?”

  “Hold your horses, Miss Evans,” the doctor said calmly. “Your wounds are still healing and it is best that you stay here for observations until you gain some of your strength back.”

  “And how long will that take?”

  “Since you’re healthy, I’ll say about four weeks or more, depending on your body.”

  “Wait. Four weeks? I can’t stay in here that long. I have to get back to—”

  “The magazine,” Brett said, finishing her sentence for her.

  “Yeah, the magazine,” Sabrina said, a little taken aback.

  The doctor smiled. “Don’t worry; you can resume your work after you have gotten better. Besides, I’m sure you could use the vocation.”

  She was about to speak but the knock on the door changed her mind.

  The doctor went over to the door.

  “If you’re with press, you’re not getting in here so you might as well turn around now.”

  Brett asked, “Do they ever give up?”

  “Apparently not,” said the doctor. “They’ve been using every tactic possible to try to get a snapshot or something but the security we have is too smart.” He gave Sabrina a reassuring smile and said, “Well, I’ll leave you two alone. I’ll be back in a little while to check on you again.” He gave Brett a pat on the shoulder before he turned and exited the room.

  “Wow,” said Sabrina. “This is just great.”

  “What is?”

  “Everything that’s happened. I can’t believe I chea
ted death.”

  Brett laughed. “Yeah, well, like I told you before, I’m your guardian angel. You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

  She smiled. “That’s good to know.”

  He bent close to her and said, “I’ve missed you so much. I almost thought I lost you…when I saw all that blood, I don’t know what stopped me from falling apart.”

  Sabrina held his hand as she looked into his eyes and said, “I’m glad you didn’t. And I’m sure that evil bitch will get what’s coming to her.”

  Brett’s eyes lowered as he said, “Actually, she already did.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, the night she tried to kill you, she tried to run away from the cops and ended up in the street, where she was struck and killed by a car.”

  Sabrina didn’t know whether she should cry for the fact that justice had been served or for the fact that her mother and Sean were probably all broken up over Camille’s death. And a small part of her wanted to feel sorry for her, but another part was glad she was gone.

  She could only imagine the field day the press was having with the bizarre story. But she didn’t care about that. She was alive and nothing else mattered.

  She looked into Brett’s green-eyed gaze and said, “That night, I meant what I said. I love you, Brett.”

  Through tear-rimmed eyes, Brett said, “I know you do, baby.” He kissed her softly. He pulled back and said, “Um, while you were, um, out of it I kind of did something crazy.” A mischievous grin spread across his handsome face.

  Sabrina tried to move but decided against the idea. Her eyes found Brett’s as she asked, “What did you do?”

  He smiled and said, “I think you’ll like it. Your friends thought it was a brilliant idea too.”

  She raised her eyebrows in disbelief. “You talked to my friends? On your own? Okay, this is getting interesting by the second.”

  He laughed and said, “You know how I told you on our first date that like to be a rebel?”

  “Yeah…”

  “Well, I had to rebel against you.”

  She closed her eyes and tried to remember any kind of conversation she had recently that would require Brett going against something they disagreed on and Larissa. It hit her like a brick to the face. After what seemed like forever, it hit her like a brick and she said, “As much as it scares me, I know that I won’t be in this alone. So I don’t see why the hell not.”

  Brett’s smile widened. “So we’re going to do it?”

  “The thought alone freaks me out. But I think I’m ready.” Ready to settle down; ready to change her last name and ready to be a wife.

  “Are you sure, sure?”

  “Yes.”

  “Like one hundred percent sure?”

  “You should stop before I come to my senses.”

  He laughed and said, “Well, in that case,” as he bent down. “Let me distract you some more.” His lips locked his lips locked with hers for a hungry kiss.

  Sabrina wrapped her arms around him and held on for dear life. He was the man she knew without a doubt that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Throughout all the bullshit, all the struggles over the past month, being with Brett was easy. It was exactly what she needed.

  THE END

  Acknowledgements

  This novel couldn’t have been possible without my support system. Thank you to my parents of course, and my brother who kept asking when I was going to get published. Well bros, mission accomplished!

  Much appreciation to my rock and best friend Darling “Darlene” Daven for all the edits and constant speeches to keep me writing when at times I just wanted to give up and sulk about how hard writing is. Thank you for never turning me away as much as I talked your ears off about my struggles. You’re the best!

  I’d also like to thank Maria Martin for her rooting as well. Big hugs to Savanah Schofield, Ashley Christey, DeDaryl Stringfield and so many more it’ll take a whole book to name you all. Trust me, if I missed you I’ll get you in the next one!

  Lastly thank you to the reader who took a chance on me, an unknown author, when you could have easily looked me over. If you enjoyed this book, stay tuned for my next project!

  About the Author

  Jayson Dash was born and raised in Florida, though he’s been known to hop around from place to place. He graduated high school some time ago, didn’t go to college, although he did try out the military for a bit. When he isn’t watching TV or a horror movie, he can be found on his blog, Twitter or Facebook account. Check him out online:

  Blog: http://jaysondash.blogspot.com/

  Twitter: @JaysonDash

  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jayson-Dash/183498555162775

  Goodreads: JaysonDash