by Kylie Walker
I have spent most of my week at the hospital with Derek. Jake picks me up every morning and we ride in together. After he has his visit, I go in for mine. I’ve started taking books I found in the apartment and reading to him. The staff at the hospital takes really good care of him, but I think they could see that the nervous energy was killing me so a few days ago they began teaching me how to help with his bed baths and dressing changes.
The physical therapist taught me how to do his range of motion exercises and while I do all of that, I talk to him. I don’t know if what they say is true and that a person with a coma can hear everything that is said...but just in case he can, I don’t want him just lying there with no stimulation. It helps me too. I feel like I’m still sharing things with him and it makes the time pass quicker. I want the time to pass because the doctor says that by Monday...which is only two days away, they will start trying to wake him up. I’m living for the day when I see those beautiful blue eyes open and look at me. Hopefully soon I’ll have that entry to make.
Jake called up from the door when he got there. Chloe put her journal away and as she was walking out of the apartment a picture of Sarah caught her eye. It seemed like her sister was looking at her in that one. Chloe smiled back at the photo and said, “Wish me luck.”
Chloe and Jake drove out to Albany in mostly silence. Jake seemed a little subdued, but Chloe didn’t want to pry into his thoughts. They weren’t that close yet. She just assumed he was thinking about Derek...he was what was always on her mind. Chloe did appreciate the time to get her thoughts in order and the moral support that Jake was providing by going with her. When they drove into the driveway of the home, Jake turned off the car and looked at her.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
She forced a smile. “Yeah, I think so.”
“You want to know something?”
“What?”
“I’m proud of my little brother.”
Chloe was confused. She knew that. She smiled again and said, “Yeah, me too.”
“I mean, I’m proud of him for having what I would have to say is really good judgment when it comes to women. I’m impressed with you, Chloe. I’m sorry if I was kind of a dick to you at first. It’s a protective mechanism that you’re just automatically instilled with when you become an older sibling. You’ve been to hell and back more than once and you’ve come out the other side of it stronger and more capable than most people are on any given day. Derek is lucky to have you and I’m proud to call you a part of our family.”
Chloe had tears in her eyes. “Thank you. I think you have that wrong though. I’m the one who is lucky. I’m lucky to have him, and lucky to have you all...”
“Let’s leave it at we’re lucky to have each other,” he said.
Chloe looked up then and saw Samantha and Trevor waiting for them at the door. She smiled at Jake once more and they both stepped out of the car. She took about three steps and stopped. The hairs on the back of her neck were standing on end. She had that feeling of being watched again. She glanced around and saw nothing but the beautiful, green grounds and flowers that surrounded the house. Maybe it was her imagination. Maybe she was just feeling spooked because she hadn’t been back here since the night of the accident.
Maybe, Jesse was watching.
“You okay?” Jake asked when he realized she stopped. Chloe saw Samantha coming towards them. The last thing she wanted to do was worry her even more. She was sure when she left, Jesse would too. She had no doubts he’d been following her all along.
“I’m good,” she said.
Suddenly she was in the arms of her mother and then her father. She couldn’t believe how good it felt considering she’d never been an overly affectionate person.
“It’s so good to see you,” Trevor told her, “How are you holding up?”
Chloe laughed. “I keep telling you that’s my line. You were the one in an accident.”
He waved a palm at her. “I’m a tough old bird,” he said, and then he turned to Jake. “Jake, how about you? How are you and your father holding up?” Trevor’s eyes held genuine concern.
“We’re all hanging in there, Trevor,” Jake told him. “None of us have any doubt that Derek can pull through this though. He’s tough.”
Samantha hooked her arms through one of Jake’s and one of Chloe’s and walked them towards the house. “We don’t have any doubts either,” she said. “Now come on inside... both of you.
Once they were inside Samantha ushered them into the dining room where she had a spread of homemade soup and fresh baked bread, pasta salad, green salad, cold cuts and cheeses and all of the trimmings.
“Wow, you’ve out done yourself again, Samantha,” Chloe told her.
She smiled happily. “It’s only soup and sandwiches, Chloe. If I had known you were both coming sooner, I would have made you a decent meal.”
“Samantha, I think the last time I had a meal as decent as this was the last time I was here,” Jake said.
Chloe had been thinking the same thing...except the last time she’d been here had been that awful day Derek and Trevor were in the accident.
Samantha smiled again. “Thank you, Jake. You always were a sweet-talker.” She finally took her seat at the table and as they ate, they talked about Derek.
“So Samantha tells me you said they’re going to try and wake Derek up this coming week?”
“We’re keeping our fingers crossed,” Chloe said. “Barring any set-backs, that’s the plan.”
“The healing must be going well then?”
“Yes. They say his vital signs are all strong and the swelling has gone down considerably, so they’re really optimistic. His brain waves look good on the EEG too.”
“I’m so happy,” Samantha said. Chloe saw her shiver. “We’ve been so worried.”
“I’m happy too,” Trevor said. “It was so hard waking up in that hospital and remembering the accident and not being able to see Derek.”
“I’m so sorry that you had to go through that, Trevor.” Chloe said.
He reached over and took her hand and squeezed it. “It’s not your fault dear. I’m so sorry that you have to go through this so soon in your relationship.”
Chloe was about to begin telling them about Jesse and that it was her fault when Jake said, “Trevor, what exactly do you remember about the accident? If you don’t mind talking about it.”
“It comes to me in pieces. I remember seeing lights coming at us on our side of the road. Derek was calm and I think he was looking for a turn-out when all of a sudden he said that the brakes wouldn’t work. That was when I could tell that he was suddenly afraid. We were going downhill. There was nothing he could do. I looked down and he had his foot on the brake, holding it all the way down. It wasn’t even slowing us down. He even tried the emergency brake, but to no avail either.” Poor Trevor looked like just thinking about it again was causing him a lot of anxiety. Chloe hated seeing him relive it.
“You don’t have to talk about it,” Chloe told him.
He reached over and patted her hand softly. He was so gentle with her, such a contrast to what she was used to.
“It’s okay. I spoke to the police about it yesterday and the insurance company the day before,” he said. “I want to make sure that everyone knows this wasn’t Derek’s fault. He was driving at or below the speed limit. There was something not right with the brakes. He did all he could to keep from hitting that other car and hurting someone else.”
Jake and Chloe looked at each other.
“What?” Samantha said, noticing the look.
“When we finish with lunch, there’s something I have to talk to you both about,” Chloe told her.
Samantha looked worried but before she said anything else Trevor said, “This soup is delicious.” Samantha smiled at her husband and the rest of the meal was spent in silence. Jake looked almost distraught. Chloe thought it was likely that he was re-living the terror his brother must have felt. That w
as what was in her heart too. How frightening it had to be for him and Trevor both. It made her sick to her stomach to imagine it. She couldn’t eat any more. She suddenly felt nauseous and that old familiar anger at Jesse was once again settling in her core. It burnt like hot coals in her chest and sometimes she thought herself capable of killing him with her bare hands for all he had done.
They went out on the back patio after lunch on Samantha’s suggestion, to talk. It was a beautiful day and Chloe hated ruining it by talking of Jesse...but it was necessary. She inhaled the air that smelled like Jasmine and let it out slowly. Then she said began speaking.
“Derek and I planned on talking to you about this over the weekend before the accident happened. It’s really hard for me to talk about, so forgive me in advance if I’m not saying it right...”
“Chloe you don’t have to feel obligated to tell us anything,” Trevor said.
She smiled at him. They were both such wonderful people that her needs were already more important to them than their own.
“I need to tell you this, Trevor. I hope that you will still feel the same about me after I do...”
“Oh now you’re just talking crazy,” Samantha said. “Chloe we have loved you since the day you were born and you weren’t even here with us. Nothing you can say will change that, even a little bit.”
Chloe felt the tears coming again. This was a whole new world to her. She took a deep breath and said, “When I graduated from high school I got a scholarship to N.Y.U. It was supposed to be my ticket out of the house of horrors I was living in. It paid for school, books, supplies, things like that. There wasn’t enough to pay for housing though, so I was living at home the first year and working and trying to save some money. During that time, I met a young man. He was a law student and he was handsome and personable and he pursued me like I had never been pursued before. He took me places and brought me flowers. He just did everything right. He told me he loved me and wanted me out of that house, so I moved in with him. The first six months were like a dream...”
Trevor and Samantha listened quietly. Their faces reflected the horror they felt as Chloe talked. About the time Chloe got to the part just before Jesse tried to kill her, Samantha had a silent tear rolling down her face. Chloe felt physical pain in her heart for making her mother cry. Trevor’s face quickly shifted from pain to naked rage when Chloe began describing the night that had almost ended her life. Jake sat silently as well. Chloe couldn’t see his face because he sat behind her but she could hear the sound of him breathing more quickly the more she talked. Jake knew the basics of what happened between her and Jesse, but this was the first time that he’d heard the whole story.
“He was madder than I’d ever seen him that night. He was really drunk and the beating was different...even more violent than usual. When he started telling me that he was going to kill me...I could see in his eyes that it wasn’t just a scare tactic. He’d told me that before, but that night he actually planned on killing me. I never really figured out how he thought he was going to get away with it. Maybe he was just too far gone in his head at that point to care, or maybe he had a plan for that too. The fact that he was so drunk may have played a factor in me still being alive. His motor skills were greatly affected and at one point when he had ahold of my hair...”
Samantha winced. Chloe once again felt like she’d been kicked in the stomach. “He was trying to reach for a knife and he wasn’t able to hold onto my hair as tightly. I pulled out of his grasp and I ran into the bathroom. I had my phone in my pocket. I called my friend Chantelle and asked her to call the police. Jesse broke the door open and pulled me out. He grabbed the knife and as we were struggling I picked up a nail file and stabbed him in the arm with it. All that did was enrage him further. He was crazy strong when he was angry. That's when he cut me with the knife.”
That was when Jake spoke up. “He did more than cut her. I’ve seen the trial transcripts.” Chloe looked at him curiously. He hadn’t told her that he’d looked at the transcripts. “He also stabbed her and made that cut with every intention of killing her. If the police hadn’t gotten there when they did, she would be dead.”
Chloe looked at the tortured faces of her parents and the ache in her chest began to throb. They were such a shining example of what parents were supposed to be and it was still very surreal to her. She hated being the source of their heartache. It was as if a black mist settled down over them all and the bright day was suddenly dark and foreboding.
No one said anything for several minutes and then suddenly Samantha got up and went to Chloe. She knelt down next to the chair where Chloe sat and took her into her arms without saying a word. They just sat there like that for a long time, holding each other. Chloe was the first to pull away. She reached out and wiped a tear off of her mother’s face.
“I’m so sorry,” she said.
“Please don’t be sorry. That makes it so much worse. The thought of you feeling like you have to apologize for that...that...”
“Monster,” Trevor finished for her.
“Thank you for being so understanding and compassionate about everything. There’s more though...” This was the part that Chloe hated to admit...that inadvertently she was responsible for the accident.
Trevor looked like he might be sick. Chloe started thinking that maybe it was too much for them to absorb all at once, but Samantha pulled back and said, “Go on, honey.”
She glanced at Jake again. He looked almost as nauseated as Trevor did. “Jesse got two years in prison...”
“For attempted murder? What the hell kind of justice is that?” Trevor’s voice rose in tempo and he slammed his hand down on the table next to him.
Jake took that one. “Jesse’s last name is Donovan.”
Trevor didn’t look like he got it at first, but all of a sudden the realization crossed his face. “Oh my God! He’s Vince Donovan’s son? The District Attorney of New York city?”
“Yes.”
Trevor’s rage turned into something even more dangerous looking as he stood up out of his seat. He began pacing the room with his fists opening and closing and the vein in his neck pulsing visibly. “So because he is the son of the D.A. he was given a lighter sentence? How long ago was this?”
“He was sentenced two years ago,” Chloe said. “He got out last month.”
“Oh my God!” Samantha covered her mouth with her hand. She was beginning to piece it together...at least some of it. “Has he bothered you, Chloe?”
“He is stalking her,” Jake said, not waiting for Chloe to answer. “That’s why she’s never alone. Derek was having security watch her around the clock before the accident...everywhere except when they came here. He felt safe here...but what Chloe is trying to tell you and having a hard time doing is that we think he may be responsible for tampering with Derek’s car.”
Silence fell across the room and all Chloe could hear was the ticking of the grandfather clock and the rush of blood through her own ears. Trevor suddenly turned towards Chloe and said, “You thought that we’d blame you for this?”
“I feel so bad for bringing him into your lives...all of your lives,” she said. She felt her own tears rolling down her cheeks now. She hated bringing so much drama into the lives of these wonderful people.
Trevor came over and took her hands. He lifted her up and pulled her into his warm chest. She could feel the beat of his heart and the steady rise and fall of his breath against the side of her face. She felt so close to him already. There really must be some kind of magnetic draw when it came to genetics. He lifted his hand and stroked it down her hair and said, “I’m going to do whatever it takes to make sure that no one ever hurts you again.”
Chapter 6
Jesse pulled Kelly into a deep kiss. He felt her bare breasts against his chest and felt her nipples harden. For a fraction of a second he wished that he didn’t have to kill her. But it was only a second and then it was gone. Then he was rock hard, thinking about what he wa
s going to get to do. She’s so stupid. She thought that all she had to do was strip down and parade her naked, hideously scarred body in front of him and he would spare her life. This was the moment he lived for. This was the moment that he was going to live off of for the rest of his life.
He let her keep her tits pressed up against him as he caressed her shoulders.
“Jesse, I missed you, baby. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry for everything!” She whispered the words against his ear just like she always did.
She was always sorry.
She was just so pathetically stupid that most of the time he couldn’t help but forgive her. The vibrations of her voice sent an involuntary shiver down his spine. He hadn’t had sex with a woman in a long time. Not since the last time he had Kelly...right before he was arrested like a common criminal...because of her. The things he’d been forced to do in prison didn’t count as sex. As far as he was concerned they were all but forgotten...except for when it came to Kelly’s scorecard. Each time he’d endured it was another strike against her.
He smiled as he let his hands work their way inward so his thumbs met in the center of her throat. Her eyes widened and she began to choke as he squeezed. She reached up and grabbed his hands with hers. He smiled again, squeezed tighter and brought his knee up...driving it into the soft flesh of her belly.
She instinctively dropped her hands and tried to double over. The motion of her neck only caused her to fall deeper into his grip. She started gasping and wheezing and raised her hands back up, trying to claw at his hands to get him to let go. She was tougher than she used to be...she lasted longer than she used to when he choked her out. Back then he would do sexual things to her until she woke up though...this time he intended for her to have a new scar each time she woke up...until she couldn’t stand it a moment longer.
He reluctantly let go of her neck while she was still breathing. He laid her out on the bed and pulled out his knife. He found the scar that ran down her side. He traced it first with his finger. Then he pressed the edge of the blade to the top of it and began to apply pressure. Just as the first drip of blood began to ooze through the open skin...Jesse woke up from his dream.