Repair Me

by Jennifer Foor

  Then I heard the voices of two people.

  They were in the men’s room next to this room and Ashley’s voice was one of them.

  “Don’t you dare blame this on me!”

  “When is this goin’ to end? You really think he’s goin’ to change his mind and want you again? He doesn’t love you, Ash.”

  “I don’t care what you think. We’re goin’ to be a family. If he doesn’t make it, I will ruin that little bitch’s life.”

  “I’m tired of hearin’ it. That woman you’re callin’ a bitch is who Ford is in love with. She’s a nice girl and it ain’t her fault that you’re still hung up on him. I just don’t get it. You could be with someone who cares about you, but you choose to wait for somethin’ that’s never goin’ to happen. It makes no sense.”

  “I hate that you think you know me. I regret that night, Shayne. I wish it never happened.”

  “It seems like you’re using that night to your advantage.”

  “You promised you wouldn’t say anything.”

  “I know you better than anyone. Now promise me, you’ll back off until we find out he’s goin’ to be alright and I promise to keep your secret.”

  “Whatever!”

  I heard the door opening and closing and then it was quiet. As much as I wanted to know about Ford being okay, I couldn’t help but wonder what her secret was and why Shayne was keeping it for her.

  I waited a couple minutes to head back into the waiting room and when I got there the doctor was inside talking to Ford’s parents. They seemed calm, which made me feel like it was good news . I didn’t move from where I was standing until the doctor walked away.

  Shayne walked up and touched my shoulder. “He’s got a broken arm, and a dislocated hip. They flew him here because he had a head injury. The doctor said it wasn’t as bad as they first suspected. He said it’s sometimes hard to tell because of the amount of blood loss with a head wound. Anyway, he’s got a couple of staples in his forehead and a serious concussion, but he’s goin’ to be alright. They’re goin’ to get him into a real room and then we can go in and see him.”

  “Oh, thank God! I was so scared. Are they sure he’s going to be okay?”

  “That’s what they say!”

  I hugged Shayne because I was so happy. In the corner of my eye I could see the dirty look that I was getting from Ashley. It wasn’t like I cared what she thought. Even though I felt guilty, she needed to be held accountable for what she’d done. Forcing Ford to be with her had caused all of this to happen. He wouldn’t have been sneaking to see me and giving up his sleep had it not been for her and her asshole father.

  I pulled away from him and smiled. “Thanks for taking up for me, earlier. I really appreciate it.”

  He smiled. “I know how you feel about Ford. He’ll be glad you’re here.”

  Ashley went storming out of the room and I swear it looked like Shayne seemed happy about it. “You hate her too?”

  “We have issues. I’ll just leave it at that.”

  For the next hour we waited patiently for Ford to get in a room so we could visit with him. When his parents went into his new hospital room, I was worried that Ashley would make a scene. She came back into the waiting room, but sat on the other side and didn’t talk to me or Shayne. Neither of us complained about her silence.

  When Ford’s parents came out, Ashley stood up and went walking toward the door. Shayne stood up and got in her way. “You’re goin’ to wait and go with me.”

  “No I’m not! He needs me!”

  “Bitch, sit your ass down over there and get over yourself. He needs her, not you.” Shayne pointed to me and I felt like he really had my back.

  She tried to push through him again. “Get out of my way!”

  “Don’t forget about earlier, Ash. I have no problem lettin’ everyone know.”

  She shoved him and went to sit out in the waiting room without causing any more trouble. As curious as I was, nothing could have distracted me from seeing Ford. With his parent’s nod of approval, I entered into the room and saw him hooked up to all of the machines. Tears were falling down my cheeks as I approached him and reached for his hand. As I sniffled, I saw his eyes opening and felt him squeezing my hand. “Hey, darlin’.” His voice was raspy and I could tell he was in an extreme amount of pain.

  I touched his face. “I’m so glad you’re going to be okay. You scared me to death!”

  “Sorry!”

  I shook my head. “No, I’m sorry. I never should have kept you up all night and then let you leave.”

  He tried to smile, but ended up in pain. The staples across his forehead scared me. I couldn’t imagine the type of pain that he must have endured. “Not your fault. I wanted to.”

  “I thought I lost you.”

  “I’m fine.” He struggled with his words again.

  I laughed while still crying. “This is not okay, Ford.”

  “Don’t leave.”

  I squeezed his hand. “I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”

  Ford

  It was clear that I was in the hospital. I couldn’t recall what had happened to land me here until I saw Sky standing over my bed. I could tell she’d been crying and when I was finally able to speak, her eyes lit up.

  My parents had come in first. They woke me and said a couple things, but I couldn’t respond. It was seeing Sky that forced me to try harder. I needed her to know that I was okay.

  I could feel pressure in my head, but there wasn’t any pain. I was sure it was because I had a drip to manage it.

  “What happened?”

  Sky rubbed my arm and looked like she was sad to talk about it. “I think you fell asleep at the wheel. You rolled the truck into a field.” When she started to cry, I squeezed her hand again.

  “Wasn’t your fault! Don’t cry.”

  “You could have died. I was so afraid I would never see you again.”

  I felt bad that Sky was so emotional. It was understandable that she was shaken up, but I wasn’t going anywhere. That’s when I started thinking about the conflict that set all of this into motion. “Where’s Ashley?”

  “She’s out there with Shayne. He wouldn’t let her come in before me. She’s not happy about it, but I don’t care. Nothing was going to stop me from seeing you.”

  I appreciated that Sky was determined to be by my side, but knew that Ash wasn’t going to sit around and not cause problems. She’s probably already called her father and whined about it. Knowing her, she’d already suspected that I’d spent the night with Sky and that’s why I wasn’t home in the first place.

  I was worried that with me stuck in the hospital that Ash was going to make Sky’s life a living Hell. “Did you say Shayne was here?”

  “Yes.”

  “I need to talk to him. Can you go get him for me?” I needed him to watch out for Sky. It was more important than my recovery. I didn’t know what I would do if something bad happened to her. She’d already been through so much.

  “He’s with Ashley. Do you want to see them both?”

  I don’t know if she noticed but I rolled my eyes. “Not really.”

  Sky smiled. “Just let the bitch come in and see that you are alive. Once she’s gone, I’ll come in and stay with you.”

  She leaned over and kissed me before heading out of the room. A few minutes later my cousin came walking in, followed by the demon. Ashley smiled and came to my side. “I was so worried. What am I goin’ to do with you?”

  “Nothin’! Pack your shit and be out of my place before I come home.”

  She looked shocked and so did Shayne, even though he knew I had no intentions of being with her.

  Ashley shook her head and started to whine. “Please, Ford. We’re having a baby. You can’t just kick me out. You know what will happen if you do.”

  “Get the fuck out!” My blood pressure was rising and I could tell that the stress from her being there was making me unstable. “Now!”

  Ashl
ey left the room crying.

  Shayne was smiling from ear to ear. “That went well.”

  “I don’t care.”

  He rattled on the bed. “What did you want to tell me?”

  “Watch out for Sky. Ash is goin’ to be a bitch. I don’t want her to hurt Sky.”

  He patted me on the shoulder. “No problem, cuz.”

  “Make sure she’s gone when I get there.” I muttered as he walked out of the room.

  Within seconds Sky came back in. She had a smirk on her face as she approached the bed. “From the look on her face, I’d say she didn’t like what you had to say.”

  “I told her to get her shit out of my place. I’m done with it, Sky. Let her come at me with whatever she has. I ain’t losin’ you again.”

  “I told you I wasn’t going anywhere,” she reminded me.

  “Sky, I need you.”

  “I’m here.”

  I laughed and shook my head. “Take your clothes off and climb on top of me.”

  She smacked my good arm. “Ford! You have staples in your head and can barely move! I’m not doing that here!”

  I tried to laugh but it was starting to hurt. “I’m messin’ with ya. Just climb on the side and lay with me. Maybe you can sign my cast later.”

  I could tell she wanted to smile, but was trying to be a good girlfriend and take care of me. Just as I’d given up, she climbed on the bed and wrapped her arms around me. “Get some sleep, Ford. I love you.”

  I was pretty banged up and had scared everyone to death, but in my eyes it was like I was getting a second chance to make the right decisions. Being with Sky was all I wanted to do. Times were changing and I was ready to start doing things for me instead of everyone else.

  Chapter 30

  Skylar

  I wasn’t allowed to stay at the hospital overnight with Ford. As bad of a neighborhood as it was around the hospital, I slept in the parking garage in my car until visiting hours started back up. I didn’t want to have to drive around an unfamiliar city looking for a hotel.

  The next morning Ford looked better. He’d had a goodnight’s sleep and seemed less worried. I didn’t spot his parents or Ashley around his room, so it was realistic to assume I was the only visitor so far.

  “Hey, you. How are you feeling?” I reached over and ran my hands through his dark hair.

  He lifted his good arm and reached over to touch me. “Better now that you’re here!”

  “I slept in my car.”

  Ford scrunched up his face. “Don’t do that shit here, Sky. It ain’t a good neighborhood.”

  “You said not to leave you.” I reminded him.

  “I meant, in life. You could have gone home and got some sleep.”

  We held hands and I leaned my butt on the side of the bed. “I wouldn’t have been able to sleep.”

  “I’m not goin’ to get out of here for a few more days, they said. I reckon that will give that bitch time to vacate her stuff off of my property.”

  I raised my eyebrow. It was good that Ford was hopeful, but I didn’t share his optimism when it came to his ex-girlfriend cooperating. She’d already shown that she wasn’t the kind of person to just give up on something she wanted. “I know you must be in pain and pretty mixed up, but have you considered the probability that she doesn’t do what you want?”

  “Have you considered that I have no problems movin’ far away from her ass?”

  “You mean, closer to me?”

  “I mean, getting a place with you. Sky don’t you think we both deserve to give this a shot? I’m crazy about you, darlin’. It would bring me a lot of pleasure havin’ you to share a bed with every night.” I could see him smiling and couldn’t help but do the same thing.

  “You want us to live together?” I don’t know why I doubted his intentions. We’d been so happy before all this Ash drama had begun. We spent a lot of weeks at each other’s homes. It wasn’t too farfetched to assume that we’d be happy living together as a couple.

  “It would be nice.”

  I leaned down and kissed him tenderly on the lips. “Okay.”

  He rubbed his thumb over my hand. “See, now you can worry about that instead of other things.”

  “What about the baby?”

  Ford looked away briefly. He seemed like he was struggling for an answer. “How about we worry about that when the time comes.”

  I agreed and the conversation was dropped for a later time. The rest of the morning I cuddled up next to him and kept him company. We fell asleep for a while and woke up after lunch. Since Ford already had his food delivered, I left to grab something from the cafeteria and check in with my parents. The whole time I kept wondering where his family was. It was odd how his parents were there so quickly the night before, but they still weren’t there today. Ford didn’t seem to be bothered, but I was starting to worry.

  When dinner came around, and he still hadn’t heard from anyone, we called Shayne. He seemed oblivious since he was spending time at Lacey’s on his day off. The next call we made was to his Aunt Viv’s diner. He talked to Joey for a second until his aunt got on the phone. I couldn’t hear what she was saying, but Ford’s face turned a shade of white. When he hung up, he picked up a Styrofoam cup and threw it across the room. “Fuckin’ bitch!”

  I knew he could tell that he’d scared me. He grabbed me and held my arm while he spoke. “They served my parents today. The land is bein’ seized and they have fifteen days to find somewhere else to go.”

  “You think Ashley did this?”

  “I know she did! That bitch went running home to her damn daddy and he made good on his promise.” Ford shook his head and covered his face with one hand, since he couldn’t lift up the other one. “My dad must be freakin’ out. He’s got nothing without his home and business.”

  “Can’t he ask a relative for help?”

  He shook his head. “He’s too proud. He won’t admit that he screwed up.”

  “That’s just dumb. Someone could easily lend him that money.” I couldn’t believe that men were so stubborn.

  “He knows he’ll never pay it back.”

  “What about Shayne’s dad?”

  “He paid for my mother’s rehab. That shit was expensive.”

  “Do you have anything saved?” I wasn’t trying to be nosey.

  “A couple grand. I’ve been helpin’ the business stay afloat and trying to get my dad caught up. Honestly, if I didn’t have his debt, I’d be doin’ well.”

  I wondered if Ford had considered that they were being forced out of the last place his sister lived before she died. Surely the sentiment alone would make them all want to stay there. “Are you going to be okay?”

  He pulled my hand up to his lips. “Yeah. As long as you don’t leave me for bein’ a broke bastard, I think I’ll survive.”

  I looked him in the eyes and didn’t even flinch. “I won’t!”

  Ford was a stubborn man, who didn’t like taking handouts or hearing that something couldn’t go his way. He was the type of guy to take what he wanted, not because he had to force someone, but because they wanted to do it. I loved his strong will and admired his strength. It was a terrible shame that this was all happening after he’d put so much time into trying to get them back on their feet. It seemed like every time something was looking up for his family, something bad would happen. The vicious circle was tearing them apart piece by piece.

  When I looked at Ford I saw someone that I wanted to spend my future with. He needed to feel like he was worth something. More importantly, he needed to feel appreciated. I was going to help his family, whether they liked it or not!

  Ford

  It was bad enough that I was lying in a hospital bed and couldn’t go anywhere. God only knew what was going on at my house. I wondered if they were going to refuse us some of our personal belongings. My dad and I had invested a lot of money in tools and equipment. We couldn’t afford to lose them and everything else. For us, it was a double whammy. W
e were going to lose our homes and our business. With nothing saved and only the clothes on our backs, how were we supposed to find a new place to live?

  My dad was too old to be looking for a new job. The young guys my age could double his work load in half the time. He couldn’t afford to open a new business and he was too young to collect Social Security. Since my mother had basically not existed for years, she was going to have trouble getting a job. Thinking about it all made me feel sick to my stomach. I was trying to be calm for the benefit of Sky being with me, but she knew me better than that.

  I could tell she was avoiding certain conversations, and by the time the evening news came on, we hardly said a word to each other. It wasn’t like it was her fault, even though she felt it was. Ashley had taken her obsession for me and turned it into revenge. She was like one of those girls on television that says “if she can’t have me, nobody will”.

  I considered all options to figure out what to do to help my dad. One could only imagine what was going through that man’s mind. He’d just got my mother back after years of them being separated. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, she was doing so well. It sucked that it could all turn to shit again, because of this.

  Since I’d wrecked my truck, I would now have to replace it. How was I supposed to do that without any source of income or a real home address?

  Ashley had fucked me royally. She had taken what was once a fun time and turned it to shit, all because she didn’t get her way. I thought as adults we were supposed to grow up and mature. She’d aged in reverse as far as mentality went.

  Now she was pregnant and expecting a child that I knew she had no desire to have. We’d talked about a dozen times when we were younger and Ashley was adamant about never wanting children. She said she hated crying babies and would never want to be tied down by that kind of responsibility. The only time she agreed to have kids, was when I was breaking up with her. She said it out of desperation, not because she’d changed her mind.

  Her father didn’t know it, but he was enabling her to act out in such a way that it would end up ruining his career. They may have taken away everything from my family, but it would never make me change my mind about them. They were bad people and I felt sorry for the baby that she was carrying. The child would probably never know what a good father I would have been. It certainly would never know what it was like to have two parents that loved each other and wanted to be a family.