Tangled Up In You (A Savioe Family Novel)

by Atkinson, Ginny

  “Are you okay? You look a little green.” He knelt down beside me.

  “Your shirt reeks of her. Whatever it is she wears is making me want to hurl.” I admitted as my stomach slowly settled down.

  He yanked off the shirt and tossed it in the bed of Beau’s truck. “Is that better?”

  Oh yeah. Those abs again. I just stayed there giving him a blatant hungry gaze as I took in that delicious sight. “Do you have to go to work today?” I chewed on my bottom lip.

  He chuckled and pulled me into his arms. “You know I have to. It proves to your dad that I am taking things seriously.” His gave me a gentle kiss before pulling away. My nails lightly scraped down his back bringing out a hiss from his lips. “Behave.”

  I pouted at him. “I don’t want to behave though. Fine, but you are mine on your day off.” I traced his waistband with my fingertips.

  He let out a jagged breath. “I look forward to it.” He glanced down at his phone. “Shit, I have to get going or I’ll be late.” He gave me a quick kiss before opening his saddlebag grabbing his work shirt. He put it on and winked at me before driving off.

  Marie poked her head around the front of the truck. “You okay? It sounded like you two were arguing.”

  “Yeah, Christie is just trying to start some shit.” I walked back over to my car and opened the door to sit down.

  “That cunt!” Marie snarled causing my eyes to widen in shock.

  “Wow. That’s pretty harsh.”

  “Well she is. I mean damn. If she’s doing this now just imagine what crap she’s going to pull after you two marry.” Marie kicked at a loose stone by the car. “Some people just have no standards anymore.”

  She seemed more wound up than usual. I know she had to have more on her mind than just Christie’s BS. “You alright?”

  “Yeah, yeah. I’m fine. Just had a really crappy day today.” She gave me a tight smile that didn’t reach her topaz eyes.

  Beau and Charles climbed into the truck. Beau yelled over to Marie. “Hey you coming or what?”

  “I take it he had a shitty day too?” I asked.

  “He always has a shitty day. It’s when he’s pleasant that I worry. Jess in detention again?” I gave her a look that screamed of course. “Yeah, I know stupid question. I’ll see you in the morning, girl.”

  She hopped in the truck and waved goodbye. I closed my door and turned the radio on. These hour long waits were getting more ridiculous. I wish she would just hurry up and get her Bronco fixed completely so I don’t have to do this anymore.

  The driver door flew open and a beefy hand pulled me out by the back of my neck shoving me face first onto the hood of the car. The familiar scent of cheap body spray assaulted my senses. I slid off the hood and scrambled away from the car landing on my knees a few feet away. I was stunned to see Bus calmly standing beside the car looking smug. He gave me a manic grin that sent chills up my spine when he noticed I recognized him.

  “What do you want?” My voice faltered as my fear started to climb. A drop of sweat beaded down my shoulder blades. A slight twinge of pain shot up from my knee as I shifted my weight. My jeans had a tiny tear where I collided with the asphalt. Every instinct I had screamed at me to move, that I wasn’t safe with him. The wild gleam in his eyes confirmed that. I quickly crab walked backward as he took a menacing step forward.

  “I think you know. I’m tired of waiting for what is mine.” He yanked me up off the ground grabbing both shoulders and squeezed hard enough to make me whimper. “I thought I’d never get you alone. With that damn security guard, that boyfriend of yours and that tattooed grease monkey always by your side. I figured now would be as good time as any. I hope you will enjoy this as much as I know I will.”

  He looked down at me in with those cold calculating eyes. Faint lines marred his once clear caramel skin from his last attempt. His fingers bit into my skin. I tried to jerk away from him, but he held his grip. My mind screamed at me to do something. If I could just try to reason with him, he might let me go. “You need to let me go, Bus. I’m about two seconds from screaming loud enough for someone to hear. I don’t think you’d want to get into trouble now do you?”

  He shook his head slowly and gave me a predatory grin. “You’ve already caused me trouble. Thanks to you, the boys don’t think I can get shit done anymore. They’ve started to question my points in the book. I can’t have that happen. I really need that money. The coach has been riding my ass more thanks to you distracting me. My grades have been slipping. There is talk of suspending me from the team making me miss out on the scouts seeing me play which would completely fuck up my chances of ever getting into college. So you see, Roxy, ever since you decided to be a little selfish whore and turn your back on what we could have had, my life has gone to shit.”

  Oh my god, he is fucking crazy. During his rant, he let go of me and started stalking around me like a big jungle cat. I was slowly trying to edge away from him careful to keep my movements small enough to escape his attention. I knew that if he got his hands on me again things were going to get unimaginably bad for me.

  “I’m sorry you’re having a rough time with things, Bus. I really am. I just wasn’t interested in you in that way.” My back hit a tree in the middle of the parking lot. God, how am I going to get away from him? I frantically looked left to right in hope of finding a quick exit.

  He lunged at me apparently saying I wasn’t into him was the wrong thing to do. I shrieked and scurried around the tree. Detention! If I could just make it up the steps to the commons, I could get help. I rushed into the prickly bushes surrounding the bus loading area. The small branches scratched and ripped at my clothes as I weaved through the brush. I was trying to keep as much space in between us as I could but he was faster. He tackled me just as I reached the bottom of the steps slamming me into the concrete slabs. My face bounced off the ground and I felt a small pop in my nose followed by a gush of blood streaming down my face. He rolled me over and grabbed me by the throat. I kicked at his legs and scratched at his arms to no avail. He backhanded me across the face splitting my lip and bruising more of my jaw.

  My eyes watered out of pain and fear. I continued to try to claw at him. He tightened his hold around my throat and hit me again. “You think I care how sorry you are? You think I really give a shit. I told you that I would have you one way or another. Now that we are finally alone I am about to get just what I want from you.”

  I needed to get away. He was going to end up killing me. My vision started to waver in and out as my lungs fought for air. His belt buckle dug into my stomach as he tightened his grip on my throat and ripped at my shirt. I managed to get my hands between us and raked my nails down his face. He staggered back just enough for me to scrambled to my feet and try to make a run for it.

  His hand reached out and grabbed the ends of my hair yanking me back into his cruel embrace. His laughter echoed in the empty courtyard as I sobbed in pain. He picked me up in a bear hug and hefted me over to the side of the school building.

  He shoved me face forward against an old AC unit, the ragged metal dug into my stomach. I tried to wriggle and buck him off me but he just pushed me further into it. My arms flailed back against him. With a quick jerk, he grabbed my right arm and yanked it above my head. He had so much pressure on my wrist that it popped like a wishbone. I screamed in pain only to receive a palm in the back of my head slamming my face into the metal. The taste of copper and the pain from my already broken face created a wash of spots in my vision.

  He placed a meaty hand at the nape of my neck to keep me pinned and used his other to try to pull off my skintight jeans. I was crying in earnest because I could do nothing to stop him from violating me. Or so I thought. My free hand brushed against a broken limb from one of the trees blocking us from any passerby. I wrapped my fingers around it and swung it back as hard as I could and impaled it into his thigh. He swore and jerked away from me. I immediately pushed away from the AC unit and ran back in
the courtyard toward the commons. I jerked open the doors dripping blood over the worn out carpet.

  Everyone in the room turned toward the door. The teacher took one look at me and yelled for security. Jess screamed my name and hurried over to me. Drez rushed out of his seat and caught me as I collapsed to the ground. I blinked up at them through the blood spilling over my face and watched everything fade to black.

  Next thing I remembered was being strapped to a stretcher and loaded into the back of an ambulance. Jess yelled to Drez to call the Savioes as she scrambling into the back with me. I grabbed her hand with my good arm and hoarsely asked. “Bus?”

  “The cops have him in the back of another ambulance. Apparently you rammed that piece of wood close to an artery.” She brushed the tears away from her cheeks leaving a trail of smeared mascara.

  The EMT in the back with us poked and prodded at my wrist and face. “Looks like your wrist is broke and your nose. You have a nasty gash on your forehead. That may need staples.” He continued to press down on different parts of my body. When he got to my stomach, I screamed. He moved the remnants of my shirt out of the way and inhaled quickly, grabbing gauze and other medical supplies. “You have a deep cut on your stomach. Hey Jacob speed up a bit she’s bleeding more than we thought.”

  I rasped out. “Baby.”

  “Drez is getting in touch with Luke now. I’m sure he will show up when we get to the hospital.” Jess tried to reassure me, her bottom lip trembling as she tried to control a fresh batch of tears from falling.

  I shook my head frantically causing the back of the ambulance to spin and squeezed her hand. “My baby.”

  The EMT’s head popped up and asked. “You are pregnant?” I nodded my head slowly to keep my sight from spinning. “I’ll make sure to tell the ER doctor that when we get there.”

  *****

  Chapter Eighteen

  Pain. That’s all I felt now was a constant pain. I’m not talking stub your toe or hit your funny bone pain. This was all consuming never-ending pain. Not an inch of me escaped it. I tried to open my eyes. Why can’t I open them? My throat was scratchy and felt swollen. I tried to move my hands to touch it but they wouldn’t respond.

  “…a broken nose, wrist and a few ribs were bruised. It was a bit touch and go in the operating room. She had severe internal bleeding from the fragment of metal that broke off in her abdomen, but her vitals are good. When was her last tetanus shot?” A man with a thick Indian accent explained.

  “She’s allergic to them. Why is she still unconscious?” My mother breathlessly asked.

  “Mrs. Saintshill, once the anesthesia completely wears off she should wake then. Just give it some time.”

  “And the baby?” My father quietly asked.

  “There were no signs of her ever being pregnant.” Paper rustled as a pen scratched across it filling the silence. What? I was never pregnant? Then why did the test show that I was. He continued. “If you used an over the counter test it can sometimes show up as a false positive. It is always best to go to a doctor after you take one to confirm the results with a blood test. When she wakes call for the nurse.”

  The door shut. So it was a faulty test that said I was pregnant. I know it’s bad of me but after hearing that I felt a sense of relief. I was no longer a statistic. I had my life back. There was no need to rush things in my relationship anymore. I tried once more to move my hand to my belly but it didn’t respond.

  A knock on the door sounded. The shuffle of footsteps sounded as someone else entered. A calloused hand rested on my arm. Luke. I felt a faint touch of lips to my forehead. “How is she?” His voice sounded hoarse and choppy.

  “The doctor says she’s fine. Once all the drugs burn out of her system she’ll be back to her old self. Luke, you need to sit down the doctor told us something else.” My father ordered. I heard the sound of a chair scraping across the floor closer to the bed. He threaded his fingers through mine. “He said that she had a false positive with the pregnancy test.”

  His hand squeezed mine gently. “What does that mean, Daniel?”

  “She’d not pregnant. Never was.” My mom’s voice cracked.

  *****

  Next time I woke up, I heard someone softly sob beside the bed. The calloused palm of Luke’s was still in mine. I tried to squeeze it but my body refused to obey me. “I still want her in my life, Jamie. Just because she is not going to have my baby doesn’t mean I want to stop being with her. This just means we get to have more time to grow up and be kids before we start having them.”

  The sobbing stopped and I heard my father tearfully say. “That is perhaps the most mature thing I have heard you say.”

  Wait my father was crying? I have never seen or heard him cry before.

  *****

  The faint tickling of his stubble scraped the back of my hand as he clutched my fingers. “Chèr, please come back ta me. Gawd, please just wake up. I love you.” He sounded so lost and scared.

  “You know I love that accent.” My voice sounded so gravely like that animated woman in the movie about that rabbit. I opened my eyes in a squint as I took in my surroundings. He looked like hell. His clothes were rumpled; hair sticking up and he had bags under his eyes. He was so startled when I spoke he dropped my hand and leaned over me.

  “Love, say someting else tell me I didn’ jus’ imagine dat?” His hand gently touched my hair, as he looked so concerned.

  “You didn’t just imagine that.” I tried to smile but my face hurt.

  He gave me his dimpled smile and caressed my cheek. “Gawd, love, ya had me so worried. I tought dat ya’d never wake up.”

  “How long was I out?” I opened my eyes fully. The room was bathed in the faint flickering light from the TV. I tried to sit up but stopped suddenly when a sharp pain from my stomach made me gasp.

  “Shh. Stay still. Ya’ve been out fo’ tirty six hours.” He kissed my forehead and sat back down at the chair by my side.

  I glanced over at the window and noticed that it was dark out. “What time is it?”

  He kissed my knuckles. “It’s almost five in da mornin’, chèr.” He looked so tired.

  “When was the last time you slept?” I asked as a wave of pain hit me. He noticed my grimace and frowned.

  “Been grabbin’ a few winks here and dere, love. Don’ worry ‘bout it. Are ya in pain now?” He didn’t wait for me to answer and pressed the call button for the nurse on the side of my bed. A woman in her mid-twenties walked in the room. Her brown hair was pulled back into a high ponytail. The scrubs she wore had uber religious images on them. She had on a cross necklace that matched her wedding ring that she absentmindedly twisted with her thumb. Despite her flaunting her religious views and obvious marital status, she still eye fucked Luke and he was blissfully unaware of it.

  “You called, honey?”

  “She jus’ woke up and I tink she’s in some pain.” He took a step back from the bed as she made her way to me.

  “Welcome back, Ms. Saintshill. You’ve had a lot of people worried about you. Why your brother here hasn’t left your side since he arrived.” She checked the machines I was hooked up to and the IV drip.

  “I’m her fiancé.” Luke corrected as he walked over to the other side of my bed.

  Her nose curled up a bit as her demeanor abruptly changed. “Oh. You know visiting hours were over at seven and do not start again until noon. I’ll be back in a bit with something for the pain.”

  *****

  The next few days were a blur. I had people I barely knew coming to visit me bringing flowers and balloons wishing me well. A couple detectives came in and questioned me on what had happened. Bus was charged with attempted murder, aggravated battery and attempted rape. He was in a room at the hospital under constant police supervision. Apparently, the wood I stabbed him with nicked his femoral artery and caused some damage to the muscles.

  I made Luke go home to get some sleep, get a change of clothes, and to take a shower. Eva promi
sed to keep him there for a few hours. No one has mentioned anything about the false pregnancy yet. They have just been skirting the issue.

  A knock sounded on the door followed by a harried looking Jess popping her head in. She smiled at me and walked in with Drez in tow. “You look like shit.” She tearfully joked and gave me a gentle hug.

  “I don’t doubt it. No one is willing to show me a mirror.”

  “So how long are you going to laze about in here?” She sat at the foot of the bed and frowned at me. I knew what she was thinking. She had avoided hospitals ever since her mother died. Tears gathered in her eyes briefly, before she blinked them away.

  “I don’t know. I kinda like people bringing me things.” I looked over at Drez. He stood against the wall with his hands in his pockets. His hair was its usual messy self. He had on the same black t-shirt and dark jeans that he normally wears. “Hey.”

  He pursed his lips before pushing off the wall and walked over to the chair by the bed. “You gave us a good scare there, little bit.”

  I gave him a weak smile as my mom entered the room with an arm full of fresh clothing. “Hey Roxy, got some good news. They are cutting you free as soon as the paperwork is finalized. Oh, hi Jess. Who’s your friend?”

  “Mom this is Drez. He helped me out the other day. Drez this is my mother Jamie.”

  She raised her eyebrows in approval and extended her hand. “Where do you find these guys, Roxanne? He’s cuter than your Luke.”

  Drez’s cheeks flushed in a faint blush as he shook her hand. “Pleasure to meet you, ma’am.”

  “Oh and he’s got an accent too. If you weren’t so hung up on the other one I’d say take this one for a test drive.” She released his hand and set my clothes next to Jess on the bed.

  “Mom!” I dropped my head back on the pillow and sighed. She walked over to the window and moved the blinds letting the afternoon night in. “You know I am completely happy with what I have.”