The Eyes That Own Me (Timing is Everything Book 1)

by Rebecca Fischer

  I figure I might as well tell him because I'm not giving Charlie up for anything.

  "Aaron, after the program ends, I want to propose to her. I already know she's the one for me."

  Smiling softly, he says, "I'm okay with it, and I'm glad you're not pressuring her now when you're both so busy. Plus, you've only been together a few months. That gives you guys like what? A year?"

  "Something like that. I love her like you love Kylie, and I hope I don't screw it up."

  He looks off for a minute and somberly says, "Well not all of us are lucky enough to act on it."

  I tell him honestly, "It will happen. Just let her in, man."

  He shakes his head, still looking hurt. "It's not me to worry about. Bryce was my best friend. She thinks I only care about her because of him and my loyalty to my sister. I've loved her from afar for as long as I can remember. I was planning on talking to him about it after her twenty-first birthday. I was coming back from a deployment and not scheduled for leave until a month after. I couldn't move it up for the funeral because he wasn't immediate family. She can't separate my feelings for her from being a little sister."

  Nodding in understanding of fighting for the one you want, I try to convince him. "Give it time. If you need me, I'm here."

  "Same to you." He looks at his watch then back at bathrooms where Kylie is walking to us. "They should be bringing her back soon, and then I'll ask about visitors."

  Kylie says, "Maybe it would be best if I spoke to her first when she wakes up. She will be disoriented, especially if she has a concussion."

  The doctor walks out of the ER doors and calls Aaron over to him. I'm still sitting on the bench when Kylie rests her head on my shoulder. It's strictly platonic. Aaron walks back, gives Kylie a look, and she immediately moves away.

  "She has a mild concussion. They gave her meds to take the swelling down in her body and to combat the nausea she'll have when she wakes up."

  "When will she wake up?" I ask.

  Kylie explains, "Concussions are tricky. She could wake up in five minutes or tomorrow. Usually, you have to stay awake for twenty-four hours. Since she's already out, it could help her heal."

  Aaron tells us both, "They said her room would be on the third floor. Let’s head up there and Kylie can see her first. My parents just texted me that the construction traffic has cleared on the highway and they will be here in thirty minutes."

  The nurses are just wheeling her into the hallway when we get the room number. She looks so small and pale with her whole left side in slings and bandages. There is also a bandage on her forehead with dried blood crinkled down her cheek. She is still the most beautiful girl in the world. Kylie follows them into the room.

  Aaron lays down the operation schedule. "The doctor said the surgery on her wrist would happen in the next few hours. They already reset her shoulder and put it in the sling. They're going to keep ice packs on her knee and ankle repeatedly to see her mobility and necessity of physical therapy for it."

  "I'm glad she was asleep for all of that. I hated having my shoulder reset."

  Aaron laughs in agreement, "Don't I know it. I’ve had mine reset twice overseas and had to reset at least a dozen."

  Kylie walks out of the room. "The nurse is a friend of mine, so I got a better rundown. Her vitals are strong, but based on what Rob told the cops about her emotional state, this is just her body's way of saying she needs to relax. At this point, it's just a matter of time. I'm going to the cafeteria on my floor because the coffee is better. I'll bring some back for everyone. You guys can go in now."

  We go into her room, and I take a seat at the chair next to the bed. Aaron leans against the foot of her bed with his jaw ticking so hard it might jump out. I look over at him and propose an idea. "You think you can take me to my house so I can get some stuff, then we can pick up some stuff for the girls? I still don't have my phone, and I want to get stuff to make Charlie more comfortable if they might keep her here for a few days."

  Aaron nods. "Once Kylie gets back and my parents get here, we can take off. We're going to need to check on Waffles and Ruckus."

  We sit in comfortable silence when we see, whom I know from pictures, Aaron and Charlie's parents running through the door. Aaron jumps up from the foot of the bed, and Mrs. Hanston immediately hugs him. She looks around the room, passing over me when I stand up from my chair. "Where's Kylie? I thought she was with you. What did the doctors say?"

  He looks at his mom who is the spitting image of Charlie in thirty years. A little gray is in her brown hair that's pulled into a bun. She looks about average weight for being the same height as Charlie. She's wearing a windbreaker and khaki pants. Her dad is a taller man, about my height, wearing a gray polo and dark blue pants. They look like they just came from a golf course.

  Aaron tells them, "She went to get coffee from her department. Char's still not awake yet." Mrs. Hanston starts crying and gives Aaron another hug before Mr. Hanston pulls her back into his arms. They both now notice me standing by the bed.

  Mr. Hanston walks around to me and asks, "You're Matt I presume?"

  I stick my hand out. "Yes, sir. I'm sorry we had to meet like this, Mr. and Mrs. Hanston."

  He returns the shake. "Call me Jerry, son. This is Grace. We've heard a lot about you."

  "Same here. It's nice to finally meet you both."

  Aaron chimes in. "Mom? Dad? Matt and I are going to get some stuff from his house and the girls’ condo." Kylie is back in the doorway holding a coffee tray. He looks down at Kylie. "What can I bring you since I assume you won't be leaving either?"

  "I'll text you a list," she says. He gives her a kiss on the cheek and then his mother. Kylie gives me a brief hug and then leads Charlie's parents to the small couch in the corner of the room.

  The drive to my house passes by in a blur. I can't stop the nagging feelings in my stomach after everything Kylie told me tonight and if Aaron's reaction to the story was any indication, the bullying from her classmates really took a toll on my youthful angel. I walk into my house in a trance. Jeremy is already here taking care of the dogs for me. He apparently yelled at me at the hospital saying he was going to come home and keep an eye on everything here since he assumed I wouldn't be back at the house anytime soon. In the back of my mind, I remember hearing his voice and something about the dogs, but my adrenaline was too high to focus at the time.

  I know I can't take care of Charlotte unless I have some stuff for myself or else she'd yell at me for not thinking ahead. What I wouldn't give to have her scold me right now.

  After my grabbing my now dead phone, a charger, and a change of clothes, we head to the girls’ condo. Once we get there, Aaron gets Ruckus and puts his leash on him.

  "I'll walk him while you get the stuff on the list. Don't forget some books from her shelves and hide Charlie's chocolate stash at the bottom of the bag."

  I laugh. My woman loves that Swiss chocolate. It's her secret vice and special ingredient when she bakes fancy chocolate concoctions. "Dude, I ordered a bunch of that chocolate to last her like two months. It's supposed to come any day now."

  "We'll leave a voicemail with the front desk to hold it until one of us can pick it up. She'd kick our asses if that chocolate gets ruined."

  Aaron goes to walk Ruckus, and I put some extra food out for both him and Waffles, who seems to be hiding. I figure Aaron will not want me going through Kylie's stuff so I go into Charlie's room and start grabbing things quickly, but stop when I see a new picture of us on her nightstand. It's one I took of us at the lake with the forest in the background, matching the smile in her eyes while my arms are around her, keeping her as close as possible. I sit down on the bed before I pick it up, and run my finger over the happiness I see in the eyes that own me. The specs of diamond gleaming back at me and the green around her eyes vibrant like the first day of spring. My heart soars at the feelings I have for her and how many more days I wish we could have like that one and plan to have. After I pl
ace the picture back down again, my hand comes across her favorite bedtime cover. I can't forget that fuzzy throw blanket. She loves cuddling in that thing. I hear Aaron laughing behind me.

  "Those blankets are actually really comfortable. Charlie made me one that folds into a pillow before my first deployment, and I still use it when I need to catch a little sleep at the precinct. The guys made fun of me because it had the Air Force logo on one side and a bunch of decks of cards on the other because I always had a good poker hand." I'm laughing along with him and then, just silence as we realize why we need the blanket to begin with. Aaron breaks it. "Matt, she's going to be fine."

  "I know but after hearing that story tonight, I just hope she listens and believes me. I know what it's like to be cheated on, too. At least I caught her myself and not half of my school on my birthday."

  Aaron nods to me. "We'll deal with it once she wakes up. Tomorrow, I'll ask my buddies if they may have seen whom she was talking to. My sister has a pretty good memory of faces, and if we can at least get a name, we can run his license and see if she can match the face to the name."

  I look around her room again, just staring off at all of the pictures that surround her when she goes to bed at night and wakes up in the morning. She surrounds herself with reminders of people who love her, and I will continue to keep that tradition alive. I grab the one from her nightstand and put in the bag before running out of the door to Aaron's truck.

  On the drive back to the hospital, I plug my phone into the car charger. When it finally turns on, I have five missed calls and ten texts. Two of the calls are from Charlie and three from unknown numbers. Five texts are from Charlie.

  From: Angel

  8:10 pm Hey, I got off early and am heading home. Hope the guys aren't being too mean. Call me if you need a DD.

  11:23 pm I just called you but it rang until voicemail. I need to talk to you.

  11:28 pm I just saw the picture. I'm coming to Deep End.

  11:39 pm I'm here. Can you come outside, please?

  12:03 am I give up. I'll see you in classes after term break.

  My poor angel. I click to the voicemails and put them on speaker. Her voice is shaky in the voicemail, and I damn near cry.

  "Hey, it’s me. Um, this is awkward, but I wanted to give you a chance to explain. Please call me."

  The next one makes my stomach bottom out, and a lump thickens in my throat. Her voice is trembling and choked the whole time. Aaron's face turns white, and he grips the steering wheel.

  I'm sorry I wasn't enough for you. I would've given you the chance to at least explain. I'm leaving for break a few days early to get my head on straight. I did fall in love with you, Matt, so I guess you won the bet. I'm sorry I was stupid to think you felt the same.

  Aaron growls, "What the fuck, man? We need to find that idiot who lied to her. If it weren't three am, I'd say we'd go now, but I want to see her. Text Zander to go to Deep End now to see if he can catch any bouncers as they leave."

  "Have your parents said anything?"

  "Yeah, the doctors already reduced the meds because of her vitals. They called Kylie's parents to let them know what happened and not to come until tomorrow."

  I'm practically jumping through my seat. "Dude, drive faster. She could wake up any minute!"

  He puts me back into my seat. "Keep calm, man. Remember, Kylie goes in first, and if she doesn't want to see you right away, you need to respect that."

  I sigh. "I'm gonna leave a message for work for a few personal days so I can go back for Ruckus and Waffles. I'll take them to my house so they can play with Nike and Zamboni."

  Aaron says, "Remember, Waffles is scared of big dogs. Grab her crate just in case."

  I just nod because my head is in a whole other place. My voice is scratchy as I speak.

  "Aaron, how did you deal with not being there when all of that stuff happened to her in high school? I was inside the building when this guy approached her, and I feel like my entire world is in the cracks. I was one wall away. I can't even imagine how humiliated she was back then and tonight."

  Clenching the steering wheel again, he says, "This was years before Bryce died so at the time, it was like my worst nightmare coming true. Here I was protecting my country and thinking I was protecting my family, but I wasn't there to protect my own sister from having her self-esteem and trust ripped to shreds”—he clears the emotion from his throat—"Before that night, you couldn’t stop Charlie from grabbing life by the balls. There was never a day she didn't have a smile on her face. She and Kylie wanted to do everything with Bryce and me. The only solace I had was that they stood up for her when those little bitch brats turned on her. I heard about all of the pranks and vandalism. They bullied my sister up until graduation. She didn't even want to walk because she was afraid they'd make fun of her when her name was called. I was still in Biloxi training and had to miss it, but they Facetimed me in and luckily for those bitches, nothing happened, or else I'd have rained a shit storm on them. Kylie told me that once summer hit, Bryce gave her a desk job, and she threw herself into working. She stopped going to the community center as much and just retreated into herself like a turtle. They tried to get her out of it, but she was in a robotic daze."

  "I've seen that daze before, and it damn near killed me because I felt so helpless. I'm glad Kylie and Bryce had her back. I just wish she hadn't needed them to. Thank you for trusting me that I would never do that to your sister. She's the most important person and part of my life. Nothing else matters unless she's there with me."

  "Matt, I saw how you looked at the picture you grabbed from her room. I trust you already, but that's what sold me. You looked how I felt every moment after I found out what happened back then and tonight. There is no faking that."

  Leaning my head back against the headrest, I sigh. "Until she wakes up and I can talk to her, it feels like a part of me is missing."

  The rest of the drive is silent, and we head back to the waiting room on her floor. I just want my angel to be okay. Once she's better and listens to me, she will be by my side every night. I need to see those beautiful eyes every day for the rest of my life.

  They’ve just taken Charlie down for surgery on her wrist. When we walk into Charlie’s private room, Kylie is curled into a little ball on the couch with tear tracks smeared down her face. Aaron covered her in the blanket he brought, while I put Charlie's books and our photo on the small nightstand.

  Mr. and Mrs. Hanston have come back with more coffee and ask us what happened tonight before the accident.

  Dropping my head in embarrassment, I admit, "It's my fault. Someone hated me enough to mess with the most important person in my life."

  Mrs. Hanston sniffles. "Who could do something like that to my baby girl?"

  She gets up and comes over to me and takes my hands in hers. "Matt, no matter what happened or will happen, none of this was your fault. Even if this person despised you, they knew how to interfere with your life, but you sure as heck didn't cause someone to run a red light."

  "I agree with my mom," Aaron says. "Whoever did this obviously didn't realize whose sister he was dealing with. I have cause to arrest him or her, along with the person who ran the red light. Zander texted me that the woman who hit Charlie sped up through the light and thought she could beat Charlie before she turned. As for the idiot at Deep End, we still need to do further investigations and get a statement from my sister. Kylie told me he grabbed her and yelled at her."

  Smacking my head back against the wall, I attempt to rein in the anger that's boiling over. I can see Mr. Hanston's face burning red knowing his daughter was treated with such cruelty. Again.

  It feels like we've been waiting for hours, not minutes, until a doctor calls for the Hanston family. She's holding a few x-rays in her hand while we gather around.

  "I'm Dr. Shaylin. I performed the surgery on Charlotte's wrist. We only needed to put two pins in her wrist for stabilization. We found some hand-shaped bruising alon
g her forearm and took some pictures for the police since Miss Mitchell told us someone had assaulted Charlotte earlier this evening."

  Aaron asks, "What about her concussion and other injuries?"

  "Her leg is fine, just bruised and sprained so I don't see a need for extensive physical therapy, just light exercise. Her concussion is mild, which may cause headaches for a couple of weeks. Her shoulder will need some therapy to regain mobility after being the sling."

  What a fucking relief.

  "They should be wheeling her back in shortly, but we want to keep her for two days to add a new cast and keep an eye on her concussion."

  Mr. Hanston shakes her hand and says thank you. As Dr. Shaylin turns around, the orderly is wheeling Charlie in. The noise wakes up Kylie, and I know it's because we’re all jumpy. I haven't even let go of the blanket since we got back so that I can take care her myself. I want her to be as comfortable as possible while she's stuck here.

  After getting her comfortable, I take my spot back in my chair, leaning my head against the wall to close my eyes just for a second. It's already five in the morning. This has been a long fucking night.

  It's not until I hear an alarm blaring that I realize I must have fallen asleep. Kylie uncurls herself from the couch and Aaron's nowhere to be seen. I must have gone out like a light.

  Kylie's voice is thick with exhaustion. "The cafeteria should be opening in a few minutes for breakfast and same for visiting hours. Aaron sent his parents’ home to get some sleep and then went to meet Zander."

  My joints are sore from sleeping in the chair as I get up groaning like an old man. Running my hand through my hair, I say, "I'll bring something back up for you."

  I walk on autopilot downstairs; I grab bland pancakes for myself, and bacon and egg sandwiches for the others. I walk back upstairs to see the nurses leaving the room and Bree talking to Kylie. I place the food down as she comes to give me a hug.

  "I'm so sorry, Matt. This is all my fault. If I hadn't sent the picture, she wouldn't have gone to the bar."

  I look her straight in the eye. "Brianna, it's not your fault. Someone did this to hurt Charlie and me. Once Aaron gets back, we will know who started all of this. Knowing Charlie, she came to the bar wanting to punch the girl in the face, and her texts told me she just wanted to talk to me."