by Vicki Green
As she returns to her bag and pulls out the sling, she asks the other paramedic to join her.
She looks at Jesse and then at me. “I’m Morgan and this is Joe. Cassie? Joe is going to get behind you and help you sit up so I can put this sling around you. It will be easier that way, ok?”
I look at Jesse and then back at Joe and Morgan. “Ok.” I look back at Jesse. “But, but, don’t leave me.” He shakes his head. “Never.”
I smile a little. Joe comes over and lifts my upper body enough that he can sit behind me. “Ugh!” I groan.
“Sorry, sorry!” Joe says. Morgan carefully puts my arm in the sling, tightening it so it’s stable.
Morgan takes her right hand and feels on the left side of my head up in my hair. “Ow,” I whimper and move my head slightly. Morgan looks at me with concern. “Sorry, honey. You have a pretty good lump there. When we take you to the hospital they will want to get an X-ray of that. But we will make sure to let them know there is a chance of pregnancy. Just in case.” She smiles. “Anything else hurt?”
Jesse looks at her. “She has a couple of cracked ribs from a week ago, that are still healing.” She looks at Jesse. “Thank you, Jesse. That’s good to know. We will be very careful.”
She looks at Joe and nods. Joe gently gets up and lays me back down. “We will be back in a minute, ok?” Joe says. They leave to go out the front door when an officer comes down the stairs and stops them. “We need another ambulance. Can you call it in?” Morgan nods at him and they leave.
The officer comes over to us. “Ahem. Once you are taken care of at the hospital, I will need to ask you both some questions,” he says gruffly.
Jesse looks at me. “I’ll give you any answers you need but she’s really hurt. Can you wait to ask her tomorrow?” The officer looks down at me. “Well, yeah, I guess I can. I will see you both at the hospital. My men are finishing upstairs. Are you ok with them locking up?” Jesse simply nods.
Soon the paramedics come back into the house pulling a gurney behind them. I look at Jesse and frown. “Don’t leave me,” I whimper. Jesse looks at the gurney and then back at me. “Don’t worry, baby, I am going with you. I will never leave you, I promise,” he whispers by my head.
The paramedic’s carefully pick me up and place me on the gurney securing me with straps. “I am going to start an IV in your right hand, Cassie. Its pain meds to help you, ok?” Joe asks. I nod and he proceeds to set up the IV.
Jesse walks out with us, holding my right hand. I am getting so sleepy that my eyes keep blinking constantly. The last thing I remember is being put in the ambulance and Jesse being by my side.
Chapter twenty-four
“Jesse, Jesse, don’t leave me,” I murmur. My head moves back and forth slowly. I feel a warm hand squeeze mine. “Hmmm” is all that comes out of my mouth. I hear voices but can’t grasp what they are saying. I lose consciousness.
“I can’t. He won’t let me go. I can’t move. Jesse be careful. Don’t get hurt, don’t die. I can’t lose you, not now. I” I am murmuring again. I can’t wake up fully. My eyes are too heavy to open. I fall into the darkness again.
I hear Jesse and Allie talking, but I can’t tell if I am dreaming or awake. I’m still too tired to wake up. It seems lighter, like the sun is shining.
“I’ll tell Ty to go get her some clothes and some for me too,” I hear Jesse say. Allie laughs, “Yeah, good idea since your clothes have blood all over them and it would be nice if you took a shower. How’s your eye. What a shiner!”
Jesse laughs. “Ow! Well, it’s pretty tender. You don’t have to touch it, Allie.”
I drift off again.
I moan turning my head. Damn I have a headache. I open my eyes slowly and blink a few times. Fuck, what is that bright light. I close them again and moan.
“Baby? Cassie, are you awake?” I hear Jesse whisper. He sounds really close, like his mouth is right by my ear. I turn my head slowly towards his voice and open my eyes again. I am frowning and squinting my eyes. He half stands and reaches up and a light goes off. Whew! That’s much better.
As he takes my hand, he starts brushing my hair away from my face. “Cassie, you scared me. I didn’t think you were ever going to open those beautiful eyes of yours.” He gives me that wide gorgeous smile as he continues to stroke my hair.
I smile a little back at him and sigh. “How long have I been asleep? What day is it?” I ask in a croaky voice.
He’s rubbing my hand as leans over and gently kisses my lips. He doesn’t pull back too far from me. “Baby, it’s been three days.” I raise my eye brows. “Wow, really?” He nods.
“Yes, you had a small concussion and have really been out of it. I was so scared, baby,” he says with tears forming in his beautiful eyes.
I turn my hand over and slide my fingers into his. I smile at him. “Your eye looks like it hurts. Are you ok?” I ask him.
He nods. “I’m fine. Don’t you worry about me. I want all your strength to be used in getting better, ok?” He kisses my forehead.
The doctor came in and told us that I could go home but told Jesse if I couldn’t seem to wake up and be coherent then he needed to call an ambulance. He didn’t feel as if Jesse would need to do that, and I just needed plenty of rest. He told me that my arm was definitely pulled out of the socket. He informed me to keep the sling on for about a week and it should heal just fine. He also told me that the MRI they took showed that I didn’t have a concussion, but I still need to be watched.
While we were waiting for the discharge papers, the officer came around and asked all his questions. I asked where the other man, Mick, was and if they had found him somewhere. The officer looked confused. Jesse told me he would tell me everything later, but he wanted me to get some good rest first. I was too tired to argue.
Once we were back at Jesse’s house it was hard to get any rest. I thought hospitals were busy, oh not compared to Jesse’s house. Allie and Tyler were there and even Thomas showed up. They seem to be cleaning and cooking and constantly trying to make me comfortable. I was getting absolutely no rest! But, I was so glad they were there.
For the next week, I got so much rest I was about to bust out of the house. Jesse wouldn’t let me do anything, he barely let me walk. “I can walk, Jesse. Seriously.” I rolled my eyes at him.
Thomas had apologized to me and Jesse before he left but said it was only out of concern. I can tell by the way he talked to us that he thinks we would be better apart from each other. He still acts like I am not good enough for Jesse. Sigh.
We decide to head back to Kansas. I want to see my friends. I have missed them terribly and I know they are worried about me. I called Stella on Jesse’s phone and after she quit screaming at me, we had a really nice long talk. I didn’t go into detail about everything that happened, but she got the jest of it and was just happy I was ok. Jesse and Tyler are loading the SUV with our things while Allie and I are packing a lunch for the trip. It’s hard for me to do some things with one arm.
Tyler is going to fly back to LA with Allie and then they will come to Kansas in another week to visit.
“I think you need a couple of apples,” Allie suggests. “And maybe some grapes. Oh! I got some peanut butter crackers too. Let me get them.” I put my hand on her arm. “Allie? Are you ok? What’s wrong?” I ask.
Allie stops and looks down. “It’s just.” She looks up at me. “I was so worried about you. It took too long to get here to see if you were ok. I don’t want to go back and be that far from you and Jesse. I miss you guys too much,” she sniffs.
I go over and hug her. “I miss you too. More than you’ll ever know. But it will only be a week and you will be with us again. I can’t wait for you to spend a week with us. Maybe we will have found the perfect house by then and you can help me decorate.” I smile at her. She pulls away and holds my hand. “Shopping! Now you’re talking!” She laughs.
Chapter twenty-five
For the first hour of our drive bac
k to Kansas, I slept on and off. We stop for lunch on the side of the road and eat in the car.
“So, what happened to Mick, Jesse? I know it’s something bad. Please tell me,” I beg.
He wipes his mouth with his napkin and takes a drink of water then clears his throat. “Ty found him. About 2 miles from the house, in the trees. Baby, I don’t think…” I interrupt him. “Please I want to know. I have to know, Jesse,” I say firmly.
He turns in his seat and faces me, picking up my hand.
“Baby, Ty found him in the trees. He was half buried. He was mutilated.” He shakes his head and I wince. “Ty said he has never seen anything like it before and he has seen a lot.” I start biting my lower lip and tears form. He leans over and pulls me by the neck until our foreheads are touching. “It’s not that I wanted to keep it from you, but I didn’t want you to have that in your head.” He kisses my forehead.
It’s not that I cared for that horrible man, hell I hated him and what he did to me but no one deserves to die that way. No one.
I look at Jesse and shake my head. “I just wanna go home, our home. Take me home, Jesse.” He nods and turns around to start the car. I lean my head against the seat and just stare at him. How did I get so lucky to have such a wonderful Savior? I smile.
Two hours later we drive into the small town I call home. Even after sleeping off and on the whole way here, I am exhausted. We decide to get a hotel room first, get unpacked and rest.
~*~*~*~
Later that evening I start to wake up from a nap on our hotel bed. I feel the bed move and look up to see Jesse hovering over me with a smile on his face. “Well, look who decided to finally wake up,” he says with a playful grin.
I reach up and pull on his arms until he is almost laying on top of me. “Hmmmm, best thing to wake up to your beautiful smiling face,” I say. “Ya know we, um, haven’t, you know, been together since everything happened.” I peck his lips. “I think we are overdue, don’t you?” I peck his lips again in a different spot. “I mean (peck) we wouldn’t (peck) want to get (peck) out of practice.”
He pulls back a little. “There is nothing on this earth I would rather do, but don’t you think you should heal some more? I don’t want to hurt you and have it take longer for you to heal again.”
I giggle. “Jesse, I’m not going to break. The doctor said to wait a week. Wait! Are you scared of me? We’re gonna have sex some time, right?” I start to tickle his sides. He is laughing and squirming on top of me.
“Stop! I am going to fall on you, Cassie! Stop,” he says laughing.
Suddenly, he falls over to my right and rolls over onto his back. I am on top of him in an instant looking down at him my long hair creating a wall around us. We are both breathing heavy and still laughing, looking at each other.
I lean down and smash my lips into his. Our hands are all over each other and we are kissing with fever. He holds me and rolls us over until he is on top of me again. We never break our kissing and we hurriedly undress each other.
I am withering beneath Jesse as he sucks on my right nipple. I reach my arms around his waist and slide them down to his bottom and squeeze. That sets him off and he groans loudly. I can feel the tip of his cock by my opening. If I just move a little more that way he will slide in. I move enough that I can feel him move into me a little. I buck my hips and it slides in more. Apparently he knows what I am trying to do so he helps me out by pushing all the way into me. He pulls his mouth off my nipple and buries his face into my neck.
He begins to suck on my neck as we rock together. He lifts his head and locks lips with mine. I meet him with every move until we are groaning into each other’s mouths. One last push and we are falling together in total bliss.
We lay there holding each other breathing heavy our bodies trembling.
Jesse finally regains himself, gets up and goes into the bathroom. I can hear the water streaming in the sink. He comes back out and cleans both of us. Damn that feels good. I will never get tired of that. I will never get tired of making love with him. God, I love him!
Once he has returned from disposing the wash cloth he gets into the bed and pulls me to his side. I lay in my favorite position, my left arm across his waist and my head on his chest with my left leg over his.
He is playing with my hair and I am rubbing my hand back and forth across his chest. This is the best feeling! This is unbelievable! I am so overflowing with love right now I could explode! I can’t believe after everything I have been through, we have been through, we are here together. I drift off with happy dreams.
Chapter twenty-six
I am so excited to take Jesse to the Café. I can hardly wait. “Hurry, Jesse! I want to get over there! I can’t wait to see everyone and introduce you to them!” I yell. He is taking forever in the bathroom. Oh, my God! What in the hell is he doing in there? I thought girls took the longest time getting ready, Oh, no!
Finally Jesse comes out of the bathroom and looks at me perplexed. “What?”
I roll my eyes. “Seriously?” He walks towards me, “What?” He asks again. Oh. My. God! I just turn around, go get my purse and go to the front door of our room. I open it, look at him and wait, tapping my foot on the floor.
He laughs. He laughs? Really? He comes over to me and grabs ahold of my shoulders. “Baby, calm down. They’re your friends. You can relax.” Then he kisses me.
We walk into the Café, hand in hand. Wait! What in the hell is that smell? I cover my mouth with my hand and run to the bathroom which is way across the room. Oh, my God! I am not going to make it! I push open the door so hard it hits the wall behind it and I run into the nearest stall, slamming the door open. I barely bend over the toilet and throw up everything I think I have ever eaten in my life!
I hear someone running into the bathroom. “Cassie? Cassie, are you ok pumpkin?” Oh, my God, that’s Stella. How embarrassing. Stella is the sweetest woman you will ever meet. Almost too sweet. She is in her mid-fifties with a blonde bob and makeup that is caked on her face. But she would give you her right arm if it helped you in any way.
I stand up, shakily, and go to the sink. As I run the water, I splash some on my face and look up into the mirror. Wow! I look horrible. I am pale and have circles under my eyes. Lovely. My stomach is really queasy but more stable, I think.
I turn around and Stella grabs me into a huge hug. “Oh my pumpkin. I can’t believe you’re back. I was so worried about you,” she says smashing me into her chest.
“Um, Stella, Stella,” I choke out, “can’t breathe.” She pulls away at arm’s length. “Oh, sorry pumpkin. You know how excited I get.” Do. I. Ever!
I take a few deep breaths and hear someone running, coming closer, really fast! Jesse comes sliding in the door, skidding to a stop before he rams into the wall.
“Jesse! This is the women’s bathroom! What are you doing in here?” I yell.
“Oh, sorry. I wanted to make sure you’re ok,” he says panting. He is bent over with his hands on his knees looking up at me. “I couldn’t wait any longer. I had to check.”
Stella puts her arm around my shoulder. “She’ll be just fine, um, Jesse?” She asks. Jesse nods as he tries to get his breathing under control.
Stella clears her throat. “Well, I’ll bring her out in just a few minutes, ok?” She says sweetly. Jesse looks at me. I nod and half smile as I shrug my shoulders. Jesse stands up. “Ok, I’ll, uh, see you in a few minutes, right?”
Stella lets go of me and ushers Jesse out of the bathroom. “Yes, yes, she’ll be out in a few, bye!” She waves her arms and shoos him.
She closes the door, turns around and leans her back against the door. “Now pumpkin. What the hell is going on with you?” Oh, my!
I look down at my hands that I am wringing. “I don’t know exactly. Well, not really. I mean, I’m not sure, um.” Stella walks over to me and lifts my chin with her hand.
“Pumpkin, look at me. You know you can tell me anything.” I move my eyes up
to meet hers and I start crying. She holds me and we stand there for a long time.
“I don’t know Stella. The last couple of days my stomach has just been in knots. I mean, I know that I’ve been under so much stress so that’s not unusual, right? But, I just have a funny feeling and I’m scared.” I say my chin quivering.
Stella let’s go of her hold on me and takes my hand and pats it. “Ok, so what are you afraid of, hon?” She asks.
I look around a bit and back to her eyes. “Promise you won’t say anything to anyone? I mean it Stella, not to anyone!”
She crosses her heart with her other hand. “I swear pumpkin.”
I look down and whisper, “I think I might be pregnant and I’m not sure who the father is.”
Stella takes a step back. “You, what?” She yells.
“Shhhh. Oh, my God! Be quiet,” I say looking around as if there was anyone else in this tiny bathroom with us. Stella now has her hand over her heart and is breathing heavy like she’s about to have a heart attack.
“Oh, my God Stella. It’s a long story! I can’t go into all of it right now.” I proceed to tell her enough that she would understand why I was so upset. “So, you see? It really could be either one of them and I have no idea how to tell who the father is.”
Stella backs up to the stall behind her and leans on the stall wall. She starts fanning herself with her hand.
Stella looks at me. “Well, there’s only three things to do right now. Go out there and act like everything is ok, get you some saltines and I need a very big drink. A very, very big drink.”