by Robin Nadler
“Please lay with me,” she pressed him.
He kicked his shoes off and got in the bed with her. She put her arms around him and her head on his chest. “You’re going to be okay,” she said softly.
How could he be with someone so giving? How was it she was comforting him? How was it she knew just what he needed? “I love you so much,” he said as he held her.
“I love you, too. Thank you for saving me.”
He knew, in his heart, it was she who had saved him.
Chapter Forty-Nine:
David walked back from the lounge with some coffee. He had been with Lila all night and she had been up coughing a lot, but her fever was down and the meds seemed to be working. She was going to be released later this morning. He rubbed his face as he tried to wake up and he felt sick in the pit of his stomach when he thought about all that had happened. He also worried about Susan and what really happened with her. He made his way into her room and she wasn’t in the bed.
“Lila?” he called out, panic in his voice.
“I’m here,” she said, her voice small and he didn’t see her. He walked farther into the room and saw her sitting on the stool in the corner of the room.
“What happened? Are you okay?” He put his coffee down and rushed to her side.
“I’m okay,” she said and smiled although her tears were evident.
“I beg to differ,” he sat down next to her and brushed her hair behind her ear.
“I’m having some trouble,” she said and wiped her face. Her wrists were bandaged from the tape and she winced at the pain.
“Tell me what’s wrong.”
“I feel like a loser. I don’t like being in a bed. I want to go home and I want to see the babies and I want to lie on the blanket fort with you and just be a loser who is afraid of her bed at home.”
He sighed. “You’re not a loser. You’re my hero.”
She leaned into him and he held her. “I don’t feel like a hero. I feel like I’m losing control. I feel like I may never feel comfortable again.”
He had to tell her about the babies, but he didn’t know how. He stood up and reached for her. “Come here and sit with me,” he led her to the recliner chair and she sat down while he pulled up a chair next to her.
“You will be comfortable again, I know it. We will not let what happened ruin everything that’s good and real in our lives. I don’t care if we have to sleep on the floor for a month until you’re comfortable, but you will get there. We can buy a new bed or a new house, but you will be okay.” He cupped her face in his hands and wiped her tears with his thumbs. “Will you believe that for me?”
She nodded, “I’ll try.”
He sighed. “I need to tell you something.”
She could sense his hesitation. “What is it?”
“When I found they had taken you, your house was messed up. I searched everywhere for you and couldn’t find anything. The police came and I realized the baby tank had been knocked over.”
Her eyes filled again and she grabbed his hand. “Oh David, were they still there?”
“Four of them were dead. They were cold and it looked like they were smushed by the contents of the tank.”
She was quiet for a minute. “I don’t mean to be gross, but did you feel if they were dead? Were their bodies injured?”
He was confused, “No, I don’t think so, but I don’t follow.”
“Reptiles have a defense mechanism in order to protect themselves. If their temperatures dip too low, their bodies shut down, almost like they go into hibernation. I’m not saying that’s what happened, but it’s possible they were just stunned. It’s unlikely because they were so young, but we should warm them up and give them a chance.”
He felt a tiny ray of hope. “I had no idea that was possible.”
“It’s a long shot, but who knows.” She opened her eyes wide. “Adam and Eve? Are they okay?”
He nodded. “Perfectly fine.”
“Good. That’s good,” she sighed. “I want to go home.”
“I’ll go check on your discharge papers.”
******
A couple hours later, Lila and David arrived at her house. He helped her into the house and she froze once inside.
“What is it?”
“Maybe we should stay somewhere else. I don’t know if I can stay here,” she began to cry.
“Come here,” he pulled her to him and held her. “Let’s go sit in the family room and check on everyone. We can grab a bag and go to a hotel.”
She nodded and let him help her into the family room. “Let me see the babies,” she said.
He walked with her to the tank and she reached in and picked up one of them, inspecting it before she put him back and did the same with the others.
“Well?” David asked hopefully.
She shook her head, “Their bodies are crushed.”
He felt his shoulders sag. “Shit.”
“I need to sit down,” she said and walked to the blankets on the floor. She sat and fell into a coughing fit.
David grabbed the inhaler and helped her to calm down and take deep breaths. He sat with her and they both were quiet.
“This sucks,” Lila said.
He smiled. “You are correct.”
“We both make a good living, David, I want to go somewhere and be taken care of. I want us to relax and not worry about anything. I just want to stop thinking about this.”
He nodded. “Do you have a place in mind? It needs to be close because you need to be settled and not moving around.”
“I know. I just don’t want to be here right now. I guess it doesn’t matter where we go, but I can’t look at this place. I need to leave.” She stood up and wrapped her arms around her waist.
“Okay. Let’s grab a bag and go,” he felt his heart twist at her fear. He knew just what that was like and he would give anything for her to not feel that torment.
“I’ll have Carrie check on Adam and Eve, unless you think Susan would rather help,” Lila said as she pulled some clothes to pack.
David shook his head. “Carrie will be fine.”
Catching the tone in his voice, Lila looked at him.
“What is it? Is Susan okay?”
He nodded. “She’s fine.”
Lila was confused at his response, but wanted to get out of there. She made a mental note to find out what was going on.
Chapter Fifty:
David and Lila made their way to the suite in the hotel he found outside of town. It was a beautiful hotel with a private suite that wasn’t cheap, but well worth it for Lila’s comfort and recovery. He slid the key in the elevator which gave them access to the area and turned to look at her.
“You doing okay?”
She nodded and leaned against the side of the elevator. “Just tired. My energy is pretty non existent.”
“Well the plan for the rest of the day is for you to rest and let me pamper you,” he grinned and grabbed their bags as the door opened. He walked with her to the door and opened it, following her inside and placing the bags down before helping her to the couch.
”David, this is beautiful,” she said as she looked around the room. There was a whirlpool in the corner by the bathroom area and a large fireplace. There was a separate sleeping area with a table and office set up and a huge king sized bed. There was a walk out balcony overlooking the lake.
“I just want you to recover in peace and quiet. I want the biggest worry you have is what to order from room service. I want you to feel safe,” he sat down next to her and tucked her hair behind her ear.
She felt her eyes fill with gratitude as she looked at him. “I don’t need all of this, I just need you.”
He leaned in and kissed her. “I know, but you deserve it.” He got up to bring their bags in and she leaned back and closed her eyes, exhausted.
David took their bags and walked to the bed. He placed everything down and went to unpack their toiletries.
L
ila slept soundly on the couch until she woke up when the most horrible sound pierced the air. She shot up and heard David screaming as she scrambled to her feet and rushed to him.
“What’s wrong?” She coughed as she stood there.
He was on the bed, holding his chest and pointing at the bag. “Nothing, except for the twelve foot spider that’s in the bag.”
She stifled a smile. “Spider? You screamed over a spider?”
He blushed, “It isn’t just a spider, but a tarantula. I’m not going near that bag. I say we throw it in the fire.”
She shook her head and walked to the bag.
“Lila, don’t; I’m serious. It was huge!”
She put her hand up and grinned. “Let me check before we burn your wardrobe.” She picked up the bag and looked carefully, not a huge fan of spiders herself. She gasped and he grabbed a pillow, holding it in front of his body for protection.
“Kill it,” he said.
She reached into the bag and he thought he might faint.
“It isn’t a spider,” she said as her voice caught in her throat. “It’s little ‘T’.” She turned and held the tiny lizard in her hands.
“What?” David moved to her and saw the tiny lizard in her hands. “How did he get there? Is he even alive?”
She smiled. “He is cold, so we need to warm him up before we know if he will be okay. He is alive, but his body has slowed down.”
“How did he get in my bag?”
“My guess is that when the tank was knocked down, he ran and then tried to hide, so he probably hid in the folded clothes and got cold, so his body slowed. When he was moved around and put in the bag, he warmed up enough to move,” she smiled and placed the baby against her shoulder.
“Little ‘T’?” he grinned and walked closer.
“Looks like he is a fighter,” she beamed as they both looked at the tiny reptile.
“So what do we need to do? He needs to have a place to stay,” David was so happy to see her with the baby.
“Well, she doesn’t need much, just a small enclosure. Do we have any kind of box?”
He looked around and came back with the ice bucket. “This is all I can find. I will go to a store, but in the meantime, will it work?”
Lila went into the bathroom and grabbed a washcloth, folding it and placing it in the bucket. She put the baby in the bucket and looked around for a heat source. “Let’s place it near the lamp and the heat should be enough for now.”
David carefully placed the bucket near the lamp and crossed his arms. “We need to do better.”
She walked up and put her arm around his waist. “What do you mean?”
“Well as his, wait, you said her, is it a girl?”
“Too soon to tell, but I didn’t want to give it a complex,” she grinned.
“Right, so as his/her parents, I feel like we need to make sure he survives. I’ll go out and pick up a few things. What should I get?”
She grabbed a pad of paper and wrote down a few things. “This will be fine. Hurry back, though,” she walked to sit down.
He knew she didn’t want to be alone, so he nodded. “I’ll be right back.”
He left and she lay down on the couch, hugging the pillow to her and trying to rest.
******
About an hour later, they sat back on the couch and looked at the tiny home they made for little T. David had found a small fish tank and they made a makeshift lid for it. They placed a towel inside and Lila had ordered a fruit and vegetable plate for them to eat and cut up a tiny piece of the food and placed it in the tank. David had also bought 3 tiny crickets and they placed them in the tank with T.
“He should eat,” David said.
“Give him time,” she grinned.
“You know what this means,” he said as he pulled her legs onto his lap.
She rested her back against the pillows and smiled as he pulled her socks off. “What does it mean?”
“Well, I think it means we have hope. We’ve been through this shitty ordeal and we are both dealing with the aftermath. There are issues we need to deal with and we will deal with them, but this little dude right here means there is hope we will get through it. He is a gift,” he looked at Lila and smiled as she was asleep. “Just like you.”
Chapter Fifty-One:
Lila opened her eyes and saw David sprawled on the smaller couch; his long frame scrunched in what she knew had to be a terribly uncomfortable position. She sat up and felt her own aching joints and realized she had to learn to be comfortable in a bed again.
She made her way to the bed area and peered into the little tank, smiling at Little T who was basking in the warmth of the light. So much had happened in such a short time and she had a hard time wrapping her mind around everything. Walking back into the main area of the room, she saw David sit up and smile at her.
“How do you feel?”
“I’m okay, better I think. How about you? I can imagine your body doesn’t appreciate being in that position. You should have laid in the bed.”
“I’m fine. How about something to eat?” He stood up and walked to the fridge in the room.
“Sure,” she stretched and sat down by the fireplace. “Should I start a fire?”
“Sure,” he called to her as he got some food. She turned the fireplace on and placed a blanket on the floor. He walked over and joined her and put her antibiotic down.
“Thank you,” she grinned. “You are the best nurse I’ve had.”
He chuckled. “Well I have ulterior motives.”
“Is that right?” She raised her eyebrows.
“Yup,” he handed her a cheese sandwich. “I figure if I’m good at what I do, you’ll be more inclined to give me a reward.”
She smiled. “What sort of reward?”
“Maybe a soak in the whirlpool?”
“I think that might be arranged.” She put her food down and took a drink of water. “Will you be honest with me about something?”
Surprised, he put his food down. “I’m always honest with you, you know that, don’t you?”
“Yes, I wasn’t implying you weren’t, but I want to make sure you feel comfortable telling me things, even if they aren’t pleasant.”
“Okay, but I’m pretty sure we’ve moved past the unpleasant issues where I’m concerned.” He could see she was serious so he paused. “What’s going on?”
“Something happened with Susan. Can you tell me what it was?”
He paled. “I don’t know what to tell.”
She moved closer to him. “David, since I’ve met you, you have only told me how important Susan is to you and how she is like your second mother. When I first met you, she protected you like a mother would and it is clearly evident just how important you are to her. She helped me as well and now it’s clear something happened and you’re uncomfortable with her helping us. Please talk to me. What happened?”
He ran his hand through his hair. “She told me that she might be responsible for Paul getting to us. She said she had spoken to him before he took us the first time and she didn’t know who he was. She divulged info about us and it might have given him an ‘in’ or something.”
Lila shrugged. “It doesn’t sound like that’s much to go on. Maybe she just feels badly about what happened and knows she spoke to him. What am I missing?”
He wiped his face. “Nothing, I guess. I just feel like there was more to her fears. She was the only one who knew the extent of what happened with June and she was the one who told me June was Paul’s sister. I hate thinking anything like this, but I’m not sure who we can trust.”
“Okay, let’s not worry about it right now. We are both safe and together and Paul and June are dead. I think after a few days, we should talk to Susan and get this out in the open. I think it might just be a miscommunication. I don’t think she’s a bad person at all. Will you talk to her?”
He nodded. “If you come with me.”
“I’m not letting you out o
f my sight,” she smiled and raised her eyebrows. “So about that reward.”
He grinned. “Whirlpool?”
“Yes please.”
He stood up and went to fill the tub with lukewarm water. He watched her stand up and glance to the bedroom, frowning at the bed. He knew their next obstacle was the bed, but he was going to help her with that.