“No, Mason, I want to know and I want the truth. How many times?”
He sits on the edge of the bed, never losing eye contact with me.
“I left once the other day to get my phone charger, shower, and eat.”
He wipes my tears again, but they refuse to stop trickling down my face.
He says, “I went down to the locker room in the hospital and showered and changed my clothes one other time when you were in ICU. I know where you’re heading with this and you’re wasting your sweet time. I am not leaving you alone here. Do you hear me? I’m not leaving you.”
“Mason, listen to me. My life was a mess before I met you, and it is more of a mess now.” I look away from him, willing my voice not to crack. “This is my problem, and I think we need to call it quits.” I look back at him; my tears are freely flowing. “I’m stuck here and I’m going to be totally useless for months. There’s no chance of this relationship building or going anywhere. You need to go, and we need to just end it now.”
“Is that what you want? For me to walk out that door and forget all about you?”
I cry harder, and through quivering lips I say, “Yes, it’s what I want.”
“I’m not convinced. Beauty, what’s really wrong? Please don’t cry,” he says while wiping the steady stream of tears with a tissue.
“Mason, you deserve more. Please move on and find someone more suitable for you, someone who isn’t a train wreck.” I look at him and add, “Go home and count your blessings this didn’t go any further.”
I wipe my tears and nose with the sheets and say, “I’m sorry. I know that’s gross, but I don’t have any tissues.”
I laugh a nervous laugh.
Mason hands me a tissue and is also laughing. He pulls the bedside table closer to me so it’s within my reach. I take the cranberry juice from the table and take a big gulp. Mason leans up and tucks some loose hair behind my ear before caressing my cheek. He takes the juice from me and places it back on the table.
“Better?” he asks.
“Better.”
“Angel, I want you to look at me and listen to me.”
He takes my hand in his.
“I know you have a lot on your mind, and I know you have been through more shit in your lifetime than one person deserves.”
He strokes my fingers with his.
“I am here for you, and I am not leaving you. I have never been more certain of anything in my life as I am this: whatever road you are traveling down or whatever mountain you are climbing, I want to be right there with you.”
He shifts on the bed.
“This right here,” he waves his hand, “is temporary, and I’m going to be here with you.”
“Mason?” I start to say, but he interrupts me.
“Angel, you’re not listening to me. This is going to end exactly the way I want it to, with you and me together. It’s not up for discussion. You can fight me, but your energy would be better spent on healing and getting well.”
He leans into me until we are nose to nose.
“I love you,” he says so matter of factly, just like he has said it to me many times before. He puts his hand around the nape of my neck and touches me gently.
“I love you, too.”
I close my eyes and kiss him. I feel so much relief from his words. My heart swells with love for this man. I haven’t known him very long, but I feel so connected to him.
He pulls away from me and asks, “You love me?” He is smiling his dimple smile.
“I love you,” I say with a grin that matches his.
The nurse comes into the room with a tray of food.
“I have breakfast for Miss Daisy Grey.”
“Who?” I ask.
“Right here is fine,” Mason clears the table to make room for the breakfast tray. “Thank you.”
“Miss Grey, will you need help with your tray this morning?”
“I’m sorry. Who?”
“No, she’s fine, I’ll help Daisy with her breakfast this morning, thank you.” Mason winks at me, and my heart skips a beat.
The nurse turns to leave and I look at Mason, “Who in the hell is Miss Daisy Grey?”
I’m laughing, and it causes my ribs to hurt.
“Your doctor moved you into another room last night and wanted you to have an alias. Raùl came up with Daisy, since you love daisies and I came up with Grey, since you love that Grey guy.”
“So my new name is Driving Miss Daisy Grey?”
“That is exactly what Raúl called you last night.”
“I’m sure it is. It was my mother’s favorite movie: Driving Miss Daisy.”
Raúl and Maria walk into the room carrying two large bags of food and four to-go cups of coffee.
“Buenos días señorita Daisy. Te trajimos comida de verdad, espero tengas hambre.” [“Good morning, Miss Daisy. We brought you real food. Hope you are hungry.”]
“First Mason, now you. There’ll be no Driving Miss Daisy jokes or 50 Shades of Grey jokes.”
“Ok, ok, not today — how about tomorrow?” Uncle Raúl jokes.
“No, not tomorrow either, promise me.”
I look at Mason and then at Uncle Raúl.
“Ok, no jokes today,” Mason and Raúl both agree.
Uncle Raúl says, “At least we didn’t choose to name you Dorian Gray, after the Oscar Wilde character who stays forever young while a painted portrait of him grows older and older.”
Everyone laughs.
“See, it could have been worse,” Aunt Maria says.
She walks over and hugs me.
“How are you feeling, Pumpkin?” she asks while sitting next to me.
“Sore, but much better. I just want to get the surgery over with and move on already.”
Raúl speaks up, “Your doctor called, and wanted to meet us here. He said he will be here at 8:30. Mason, I sent you a text but you didn’t respond.”
“I’m sorry, I had my phone off last night. I didn’t want it to disturb Angel.”
“Should we eat?” Maria asks while standing.
Just then the surgeon walks into the room and says, “Good morning, everyone. I’m Dr. Jaxson Stevens. How are you feeling, Miss Grey?” His brows are furrowed while he double-checks his chart.
“I’m fine, Dr. Stevens, and please don’t ask — sick family joke.”
“An alias, I see now.”
He laughs as he reads over a note in the chart.
“What brings you in today? I thought I wouldn’t see you until Monday.”
“Have you eaten anything yet today?”
“No, not yet. We are just getting ready to have breakfast.”
Mason interjects, “What’s up? Surgery is scheduled for Monday, right?”
“It is; however, we have a cancellation. We can do the surgery today at 11, if you want to get it out of the way.”
I look at Mason, nodding my head, then at Uncle Raúl and Aunt Maria.
“Then I won’t have to be in here over the weekend for nothing.”
“Well, if we didn’t do the surgery today, I wouldn’t say you being in here over the weekend was for nothing. But it would speed things up for you by a few days,” the Dr. says smiling.
“Is she strong enough?” Raúl asks, concerned.
“She is. I already spoke with Dr. Collins, and he is all for it because she is doing very well. Do you need a few minutes to talk it over?”
“Yes, please, just for a moment,” Aunt Maria says.
“I’ll leave you alone and will return shortly. Don’t eat or drink anything until I get back, in case you decide on having it today.”
The doctor walks out the room, and all eyes are on me.
“How are you feeling, Angel?” Maria asks, “Are you up to such a big surgery after everything you have been through?”
I start pleading with everyone: “I want to get this over with, so I — I mean so we — can move on with our lives.”
I look over and smile at Mas
on who is already smiling at me. I point out, “If I wasn’t well enough, they wouldn’t have put the offer out there to do the surgery early.”
“How do you feel, Beauty, honestly?”
I lick my dry lips and say, “Honestly, I feel scared and exhausted and I hurt. I would rather do this now than to wait another three days. I am sick and tired of waiting and lying around.”
“Mi niña, solo queremos asegurarnos de que te sientes bien para eso.” [“Pumpkin, we want to make sure you are up to it.”]
“I understand, Uncle Raúl, and I appreciate it, but I am fine. Please see it my way. I really want to do this today.”
Dr. Stevens walks back into the room and asks, “Have you decided anything yet?”
I look at Mason and he nods, giving me his approval. I look at my Aunt and Uncle and they also nod slightly.
“I’m ready, whenever you are. I do have a few questions, first.”
“That’s understandable, go ahead.”
I clear my throat, “How long will the surgery take and what kind of recovery time am I looking at?”
“Surgery will take about three hours and recovery time may take up to a year to get full use of your leg. We need to go in and set the femur with pins and a rod to stabilize the bone. If we operate today, you can go home, assuming everything goes well, on Monday. Our concern once we operate will be circulation to your extremities and infection. You will no longer need to be in traction. You’ll have a wound at the surgery site, then once that heals, you’ll be in a full leg cast for a while. The femur is a very large bone and will take some time to heal. You still have a ways to go, but you are making great progress. Since your right arm is also in a cast, you’ll have to use a wheelchair to get around in. Then when the cast comes off your arm, you’ll use crutches. You don’t need to be in traction once we put the pins and rods in.”
I look at my Aunt and Uncle and say, “I haven’t thought much about recovery — how long are you both staying? You need to be back to work, right?”
I lay my head down and look at the ceiling.
“Beauty, we have it all figured out,” Mason said. “You’ll be staying at the beach house with me.”
I lift my head to look at him. “Mason, look?”
“Angel, it’s already been decided. Easy way or the hard way. I already told you how this will end. How quickly do you want to put this behind you so we can move forward?”
“Fine, but I’m going to be a pain in your butt — I’m warning you now.”
“Good, I’m counting on it,” he says, winking at me.
“Fine, I’ll need tampons and feminine wash.”
“Slender or super?”
“No, no, no,” Raúl says, cupping his hands over his ears. “Enough of that kind of talk.”
The doctor laughs.
“Maria and I will be here another week,” Uncle Raúl finally says while removing his hands from his ears.
“Looks like we’ll be prepping you for surgery then,” the doctor says, looking from me to Mason.
“The sooner the better — I want to get this over with.”
“Ok, I’ll send my nurse in and get the IV started again. No eating or drinking, and I’ll see you soon.”
“Thank you,” I say, looking back at the ceiling. A year to be back to normal. I wasn’t counting on that. Jim has certainly succeeded in hurting me. If he can’t have me, no one can.
“Angel, you don’t have anything to worry about,” Mason says to me. “I know what you’re thinking, and it will be all right.”
Mason searches both my eyes with compassion in his.
“Vincent is installing a privacy fence and security gate at the beach house and the furniture will be delivered on Monday. We are going to find Jim, and he will pay for what he did to you. He won’t have another chance to hurt you.”
The nurse enters the room and starts prepping me for surgery. Mason and Uncle Raùl watches from the sidelines while texting someone. My Aunt is sitting next to me and holding my fingers that are peeking out from the cast on my right arm.
Once everything is done, we wait until they come to wheel me down to surgery.
Mason jokes about us being roommates and Raúl and Maria go along with it. Sara, Donovan, Brea, Vincent, Madison, Bruce, Lilly, Josephine, and Carl all show up before I go into surgery. I am so excited about everyone being here. They talk about having beach parties and sleepovers at Mason’s while I’m there. Sara, Brea, and Madison talk about decorating the house in pinks and florals. Josephine and Lilly talk about meals they can make and freeze that will be easy for Mason to heat up, and they talk about splitting up the days of the week to cook hot meals for Mason and me. Josephine adds that Carl’s sisters can help. Mason and me — I like the way that sounds. We really are a couple. I look around the room. Mason is talking to Bruce, my Uncle, Carl, Donovan, and Vincent although his eyes are focused on mine. He winks at me and I feel like some giddy schoolgirl.
The doctor comes into the room and tells us it’s time. Everyone walks over to me, kisses me and tells me it will be all right. I want to cry, I have been an emotional wreck lately. Mason is last to say his goodbyes, and I can’t hold it in any longer. I start to cry, and Mason leans toward me and whispers in the shell of my ear, “I love you, Beauty, and I will be right here when you get done. The only thing that will separate us is a wall.”
He backs up and kisses me sweetly on my lips.
“I love you, too,” I say softly so only he can hear me.
Mason
I run my hands through my hair before pouring another cup of coffee. Vincent got the gate and fence we wanted for the beach house from a local retailer, and he and his crew will work through the weekend to install them. George Walters and Frank Medley are out working on finding Jim. Once he is locked up, I will finally be able to rest. Mom and Madison left to get food for everyone.
Angel has been in surgery just over an hour.
Brea walks over and refills her coffee cup.
“Vincent told me her ex showed up here last night.”
‘He did. I walked out of the restroom, and he was standing next to her.”
“I hope you beat the crap out of him.”
I flex my hand again and notice a little more swelling and some light bruising.
“We fought out in the hallway and then he took off running down the stairwell.”
“Did you run after the little bitch?”
Laughing at her description of him, I say, “I did, but he got away. Please, Brea, I don’t want you to worry about this stuff; we’ll get him and he’ll get what he deserves.”
“I know you will, but look what he has done to her. I’m afraid for her and for you. Someone like that will go to great lengths to finish what they have started. All you guys need to be very careful.”
Vincent stands next to Brea and wraps his arms around her and says, “Cupcake, don’t worry; we have it under control.”
Brea snaps, “Well, if I see that little bitch first, he’s all mine.”
“He’s mine, too,” Sara says firmly. “I hate nothing more than a man who beats on women.”
“A man? You can’t call him a man — he is nothing less than a…”
“Don’t say it, Brea. We’ll get him. Just focus on getting better,” Vincent says.
“I didn’t realize you were sick,” I say, looking at Brea.
“It’s nothing, just a stomach bug.”
Bruce, Carl, and Donovan walk over and join us when they hear Brea.
“Brea and Sara, we don’t want you girls worrying about Jim. Angel’s going to need all the help she can get the next few months,” Bruce says.
“We know she will, and we’ll be there for her, but it’s so frustrating knowing he did this to her and he is still out there,” Brea says, wiping the tears from her eyes.
“He walked into the hospital and right into her room — what and who is going to stop him the next time? You have to know he isn’t going to stop and lay low. I b
et anything he’s planning his next move. We’re scared of what he’ll do to her,” Sara says. She is crying while she turns to hug Donovan, who is right behind her pulling her into his chest.
Raúl interjects, “He won’t get a second chance, trust me. We have our guys on him, and I have complete faith they will locate him. We have made the necessary security changes at the hospital to prevent any further problems, and Mason is turning his beach house into Fort Knox.”
The girls laugh at his statement, and he winks at me to let me know that was his intent. Good job, Raúl.
Brea excuses herself, holding her stomach en-route to the bathroom. Sara follows behind her.
“Is she all right?” I ask Vincent. “She didn’t seem sick to me.”
“She’ll be fine, just some mild nausea.”
Mom and Madison show up with sacks of food. Mom clears off the coffee table and lays everything on it. They brought everything from biscuits and gravy to eggs and bacon. I didn’t realize how hungry I was until now.
Brea and Sara return from the restroom, and we all gather around the table and fill our plates with food. I ask Brea if she is ok as she loads her plate up with pancakes.
“I’m fine — it comes and goes,” she smiles at me to let me know she really is fine.
“Ok, as long as you’re sure. I have to clean out my locker today, and I can give you a quick checkup if you want. My medical bag is downstairs in my locker.”
“Mason, thank you, but you have other things to worry about. It’s just a bug.”
The surgeon comes into the room and updates us on Angel’s condition. She is out of surgery and is doing fine. The bone was pretty damaged, but they were able to correctly place the pins and rods needed to stabilize it. Once the surgical site heals, then they will be able to cast her leg.
Raúl and Maria go back and see Angel first. I help everyone with cleanup. Mom and Madison head home and finish shopping online for office supplies for my private practice. I ask Sara and Brea if they can get with Maria and go to Angel’s and get some of her personal items she’ll need and some other items she’ll want. Donovan and Vincent leave; Donovan is helping Vincent today at the beach house. Carl and Josephine also leave and tell me they will be back later. They also tell me to kiss Angel for them.
Starting Over Trilogy Boxset Page 21