Chapter 21
Jason
Boom…Boom…Boom
Boom…Boom…Boom…Boom…
“JASON!!! ANSWER YOUR DAMN DOOR!!!!”
“OPEN UP MAN!!!!!”
People yelling and banging on my front door jarred me from the deep sleep I was consumed in on the couch. I jumped to my feet and threw the door open angrily to find Abby and Xavier looking like complete hell standing in front of me.
“Grab some clothes and come on! Hannah’s at the hospital.”
Their words punched me so hard in the gut I almost collapsed. Gripping the doorframe for support I stared at the two of them in completely disbelief.
“Hurry up, Jason! We have got to go now!” Abby smacked my arm.
I took off running down the hallway and into my room to grab whatever shirt and jeans combo I could find and was headed back out the door in no time flat.
Was this a dream? Hannah was at the hospital—alive. I couldn’t believe what Abby and Xavier had just told me. My mind was running a million miles a minute when I realized we were already close to the hospital.
“Did you hear me, Jason?” Xavier’s voice caught me off guard.
“No—sorry. What did you say?”
“They said she is in and out of consciousness due to the medications they have her on. Apparently she was in a state of shock when the woman found her walking down a deserted road back on the outskirts of town.”
My chest felt like it was going to cave in at the thought of Hannah—my Hannah—walking in the dark, traumatized from whatever that crazy fuck had done to her. Then it dawned on me, how did she escape?
“Did they say how she escaped?” my voice came out shaky as we pulled into the emergency room parking lot.
“All they said is she wouldn’t talk to anyone when they got her to wake up.” Abby spoke quietly.
When they got her to wake up…? She must have passed out at some point.
Throwing my door open before Xavier’s truck had come to a complete stop, I ran across the parking lot at full speed. Barreling through the emergency room doors I turned breathlessly into the waiting area and instantly saw Elliot holding Lisa. As soon as they saw me they got to their feet and met me in between the check-in station and the seating area.
“Where is she?! Is she okay?! I’ve got to see her!”
“Jason, calm down. She’s medicated right now until they can make sure that everything is all right. The doctor should be out shortly and then we will be able to take turns going back to see her.” Elliot spoke softly as Abby and Xavier joined our small group.
“I’m kinda surprised that the media isn’t already here,” Abby commented.
“The only reason they aren’t here is because Detective Cooper hasn’t released anything stating that Hannah has been found. He is waiting until the morning so we aren’t bombarded with all that until after the police arrive. They are hoping to get a statement about what happened and as long as she has a clean bill of health we will be taking her home.” Elliot informed us.
We all made our way over into the seating area as the waiting game began.
∙∞∙
The last time I had looked at the clock it was well past eleven at night. With my head resting back on the chair the sound of someone asking for Hannah’s family made me open my eyes.
“Excuse me, are you all Hannah Davis’ family? The doctor asked as quietly as possible.
“Yes, we are her family.” Lisa spoke up as she nudged Elliot awake.
“We have been gradually reducing the sedative we have had Hannah on. Now it’s up to her how long it takes her to wake up. All her scans came back good, although she has a sprained left wrist along with some bruises and bumps. But in all she is in pretty good shape. Because she is a private patient she has been placed in her own room since they moved her from the ER. The police informed us that the media is not supposed to know Hannah is here until they release a statement early in the morning so we are allowing all of you to go back together. Usually this is against hospital policies but in this case we can make an exception.”
After thanking the doctor we all made our way to the elevator. Relief was washing over me. Hannah was okay, minus her sprained wrist; I couldn’t believe I was about to see her again. As much as I never wanted to lose hope, it was always in the back of my mind that she was gone forever. The ding of the elevator let us know that we had arrived on Hannah’s floor. Elliot and Lisa had seen Hannah when they first arrived so they allowed Abby, Xavier, and I to enter the room first.
The silence of the room sent chills down my spine. The only sound was the beeping from the monitors and the lights were low so when she woke up they wouldn’t bother her eyes. I stayed back as Abby and Xavier made their way up to her bed. Tears were falling freely down Abby’s face and I’m almost positive Xavier shed a few himself. Watching Abby holding Hannah’s hand made me realize how very real this was. She was alive and here in this hospital room.
A few minutes passed before Abby and Xavier sat down on the window seat to the right of Hannah’s bed. Slowly I walked up on the other side of her bed and sat in the chair that was placed there. Her face had a bruise running across her cheek and her wrist was bandaged, along with a bandage on her leg. Tears pricked at my eyes as I laced my fingers through Hannah’s. The others in the room didn’t matter to me, I began speaking softly to Hannah as I sat there holding onto her hand.
“Hey, beautiful…I cannot believe you are here, right in front of me,” I placed a kiss on her hand, “I have spent many sleepless nights wishing I could find you so I could tell you that I love you once more. From this day forward, I will remind you how much I love you because losing you again—is not an option for me. Now I just need you to open those breathtaking eyes of yours and I will be one happy man.” I finished talking as I placed another kiss on her hand.
A strong hand on my shoulder caused me to turn around. Elliot was standing there with the look of pure happiness on his face.
“Thank you for loving our daughter. She couldn’t have a better man in her life, Jason.” He patted me on the back as he followed Lisa out of the room.
“We are going to head home for a bit to freshen up. When we got the call we had been at the gym and didn’t have time to shower. Do you need anything?” Xavier asked as he draped his arm around Abby’s shoulder.
“No, thanks, everything I need is right here in this hospital room.” I replied without taking my eyes off Hannah. Xavier patted me on the back as Abby told me they would see me in a bit.
Laying my head down on the side of Hannah’s hospital bed I let my eyes rest. The beeping became soothing after a while and I felt myself starting to drift off to sleep when I felt Hannah’s hand twitch. Snapping my head up, I watched as her eyes fluttered open. I stood up and leaned slightly over her bed so she could see me.
“Hey, you…” I spoke softly.
“Hey…”she croaked out.
I picked up the pitcher of water from the bedside table, poured some in the plastic cup and held the straw to her mouth so she could drink. When she was done she smiled weakly up at me. That smile caused my heart to thump rapidly inside my chest. No matter what shape Hannah was in she was it for me and my heart constantly reminded me of that.
“I need to go get your parents from the nurses’ station.”
“Okay.”
I stepped out the door and held onto it until it closed quietly. Elliot and Lisa were standing at the desk talking to a couple of nurses when I approached.
“Hannah’s awake. She just woke up a couple minutes ago and I helped her drink a little water.”
Relief flashed across both their faces as we hurried back down the hall and into Hannah’s room.
“Oh, baby girl…” Lisa cried as the tears began falling down her face. Hannah opened her arms as her mother embraced her tightly. The two of them continued to cry as they held onto one another as Elliot join in on the family hug.
I stepped into the ha
ll to give them some privacy and dialed Abby’s number.
“We are about to pull into the parking lot, is everything okay?”
“Yeah, things are great, Hannah’s awake!”
“Omigod, are you serious?! Is she okay?!”
“She seems good—talking and drinking some water.”
“I can’t wait to see her! We’ll be up in a sec.”
“All right, bye.”
Walking back into the room I noticed things seemed a bit tense. Elliot was pacing the floor, Lisa was nervously playing with her hands while sitting in the window seat, and Hannah looked pissed off. This cannot be good…
“Hannah, honey, I’m so sorry that this happened to you. We should have been informed about Matthew’s release from the institution back when it happened,” Elliot’s voice was shaky from unshed tears.
“Matthew was sick…There was still a part deep down inside of him that was the boy that I grew up with, the boy that loved me fiercely. Watching him kill himself right in front of me—that—that will stay with me forever…He didn’t deserve to go through what he went through and I refuse to hold him accountable for what happened. Everyone abandoned him, including me. It wasn’t his fault…it wasn’t his fault…” Hannah was crying so hard she was gasping for air in between sobs.
Matthew killed himself…Holy shit…This situation is fucked up more than I can imagine. Hell, Hannah doesn’t even want to hold him accountable for what he did to her. I’m not even sure what happened to her yet…
No one had noticed that I was standing with my back against the door until I started moving towards Hannah to try and calm her down. Elliot glanced over at me before he mumbled something about needing some air and exiting the room. Sitting down slowly on the side of the bed I hugged Hannah as she latched onto me with a death grip. It felt like pure heaven to have her in my arms again but the situation at hand was still gut-wrenching.
“I’m going to find your father, Hannah, and give you two some privacy before the others return,” Lisa spoke sweetly as she opened the door. Stopping before stepping out into the hallway she turned back towards us, “Hannah…you know we love you and would do anything for you. Your father thought he was protecting you by not telling you about the letters. Even though I did not agree with his wishes, I did however respect them. I am so sorry about Matthew. I know he loved you and you loved him in return. Please try to understand where your father is coming from.” Before allowing Hannah to respond, Lisa stepped out into the hall and shut the door behind her quietly.
Not long after Lisa left the room Xavier and Abby came barreling through the door. As soon as Abby locked eyes with Hannah they both lost it. Xavier and I just shrugged our shoulders at one another, allowing the two of them to have their crying reunion. I have no idea how they understood what each other said because the sobs were out of control. Xavier had also told me that Elliot and Lisa had gone to the cafeteria to get something to eat and to let Hannah cool down. The clock showed well after one in the morning and we all were running on fumes. Hannah had Abby curl up in the hospital bed with her as I planted myself on the window seat while Xavier took up shop in the lounger to my left.
Chapter 22
Hannah
Stepping out into the sitting area that over looked my parent’s large backyard and in-ground pool, I inhaled the fall air. It had been close to a month since I was released from the hospital with a sprained wrist, bandaged cuts, and bruises covering most of my body. But thankfully I had only been kept in their care for around twenty-four hours. The worst part was reliving everything, the morning after waking up, with the detectives. After the woman had found me walking down the road and took me to the hospital, she had ridden with the police to show them where she had found me. It didn’t take them long to find the abandoned warehouse sitting back off the road, the car he had stolen after he ditched the truck—and of course, Matthew’s lifeless body. The whole interview with the detectives was a blur, mainly because my mind seemed to have blocked that part out so I didn’t have to continue to relive it over and over again. If only I could block out the images of Matthew during his last few breaths, then maybe—just maybe, I would start to feel like my old self again.
Not long before my release from the hospital Landon had shown up. We were all sitting around in my room waiting for the doctor to come in when a low knock sounded from the other side of the door and Landon stepped in. Jason didn’t seem very happy about his presence. Shortly after Landon and I began talking he realized that Landon was there as a friend and nothing more. It was nice to know that people actually cared about how I was doing. Being locked away for almost a month, I hadn’t realized how big of a media frenzy had taken place. My hospital room ended up lined with flowers, cards, candy, and photographs of people wishing me well. We had to use a completely separate car to haul everything to my parents’.
The first night out of the hospital my parents asked Jason, Xavier, Abby, and I to stay at their home because they needed to know we were all going to be all right. That was definitely something that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon—me being okay, that is. I can hardly keep the smile off my face every time I think about that night. Xavier and Abby had shared one of the guest rooms downstairs on the opposite side of the house than my parent’s room while I stayed in my old room and Jason took the room directly across from mine. Jason and I hadn’t really had the time or the privacy up to that point to talk about what had happened between us at Silhouettes the night I was taken.
It was the night the nightmares began. I had left the door to my room cracked open in hopes that Jason might come in before I fell asleep so we could talk about things. Instead my eyelids fluttered shut and I was out of it not long after my head hit the pillow. My dream that night was haunting. There was so much blood as I held Matthew in my arms and screamed for help, but nobody came. It seemed like an eternity passed until Matthew’s body was engulfed in an ocean of blood as I began to drown in it myself. The next thing I knew I was being jarred awake. When I opened my eyes I found Jason holding onto me as I thrashed violently around my bed with sweat coating my entire body and tears covering my face. After he calmed me down, he didn’t even ask for an explanation, because I think he knew without me telling him. He pulled the covers back, stripped down to his boxers, and climbed into bed beside me. Pulling me as close as I could get to his chest, he stroked my hair until I drifted back off into a peaceful sleep.
One thing that surprised me was how Alex seemed to have fallen off the face of the earth. We had been friends for so long, even though we hardly saw one another, I felt like he was a brother to me. Pulling out my cell phone I decided to text him.
To Alex Cell:
Hey stranger…Just thought I would see how you have been, I miss you…
Staring at the screen for god knows how many seconds; it lit up as his name flashed across it. My phone beeped numerous times before I opened the message.
Reply from Alex Cell:
First I want to say that I know I’ve been M.I.A for a while now Han…I’m sorry for that. I miss you more than I can explain through text, but I couldn’t come back around after all that with Abby. When I saw that you were missing, I felt like a complete jackass for not being there to keep you safe. We’ve been friends for years and I failed you when you needed me the most. Weeks later when the news broke that you were home safe, I was too ashamed to contact you to see how you were doing. I’m a shitty ass friend huh?
To Alex Cell:
Alex, I’m sooooo sorry that she did you that way. I never thought that would happen, but the lack of time you all spent together made it hard. Don’t get me wrong…I DO NOT agree with what she did and never will, but I am happy to see her smile again. No you’re not a shitty ass friend! I can’t say what I would have done if I was in your shoes. But I do know that I want you in my life still, let’s just forget the past and go from here. Agree?
Reply from Alex Cell:
Okay, let’s forget the bullshit bet
ween everyone else and get back to our badass friendship. Lol.
To Alex Cell:
Awesome! So when am I going to see your face? It’s been too long!
Reply from Alex Cell:
Well……..I kind of took a position in New York. DON’T FREAK OUT!!!! I come back to Cali every so often and next time I do, we will get together for sure.
To Alex Cell:
WHAT THE HELL!! New York!?!? You took the break up to the extremes mister… Can I come visit?
Reply from Alex Cell:
Abby broke my heart Hannah…But you know you’re welcome anytime. It’s good to hear from you, call next time! I miss your voice… See you soon.
To Alex Cell:
The phone works both ways! See you soon Alex.
A familiar voice brought me back to reality. “Hey, beautiful…I’ve been looking for you.” Just hearing those words come from him was everything I could have ever hoped for. I turned around as I felt his arms snake around my waist.
“Just clearing my head...” I sighed as I breathed in his scent.
“Ready to head home?” he asked.
Ready was an understatement. We had spent the whole day at my parents’ house grilling out. Abby, Xavier, some of my parent’s friends, and this lovely man of mine, Jason. It was a perfect day in all, but alone time sounded wonderful.
“Yes, please.” We held hands as we headed back inside and downstairs to tell everyone goodbye.
∙∞∙
Opening my eyes to Jason scooping me up out of his Camaro I realized we were back at his place—well, our place. The sound of that was still so weird; our place. A couple days after I went back to Abby’s and my apartment we decided it was best to break the lease. Xavier was doing all but begging Abby to move in with him and ever since I was back home, Jason and I were inseparable. It only made sense to do so.
Moments of Reckoning Page 13