Sweetness

by Jude Ouvrard

  The crisp air gave me chills. With my scarf and beanie on, I tried to keep as warm as I could. Riding my skateboard when my legs were turning into ice cubes was harder than expected. I placed my belongings in my locker at the gym and jumped into the shower. The hot water burnt like fire on my skin. It hurt, but my body had to be warmed up after being out in the cold weather.

  After a couple of hours of welcoming customers, achieving my daily chores and talking with Danielle, we were getting hungry. I offered to get take outs nearby, we only had to decide on what.

  “Would you mind picking up some sushi?”

  “No, not at all,” I said, before recalling how cold it still was outside.

  Sushi was far from being my favorite food, but Danielle promised the local store’s was worth giving a try.

  “Hey, girls.” Justin said as he came in.

  Being the new girl in a tight circle of friends didn’t come easy. Danielle had a heart of gold and used to be my boyfriend’s girlfriend and Justin seemed to be Calvin’s wing man. He helped him with every area of his businesses and I never heard them argue about anything. I hadn’t talked to Julia as much, but I knew she wasn’t a waitress, she too had a connection to Calvin’s group. They all knew each other, and very well, it appeared.

  “Hi,” I said, shyly.

  He seemed like a good guy, but I didn’t know him that well. He gave me a ride home each night, but he was the quiet type for the most part. He nodded as a salute.

  Danielle approached with a big smile on her face, and she hooked her arm through Justin’s. “He’s like my big brother. Cal, Justin and I, we go way back. We met Justin in college and since then, we’ve been hanging out together.”

  “She’s like a little annoying sister,” Justin joked as she elbowed him in the ribs. “You see, she’s a brat.” This time, he managed to block her elbow and walked away from us, laughing.

  Danielle watched him leave. “He’s a nice guy. It’s not my story to tell, but he’s got a fucked-up past, too. I think that’s why Cal and he are such good friends. They understand each other, I guess.”

  Before I went to get food, we had some papers to file and documents to update. We stayed working at the reception until my stomach started growling with hunger.

  Telling Danielle I wouldn’t be long, I grabbed my board and headed outside. The sushi would probably be frozen by the time I got back to the gym. I considered asking Justin for a ride, but it wasn’t far to go and he’d spoiled me enough in the past few days with running me around all the time.

  I pushed my foot across the ground to get my board moving forward, keeping my hands in my pockets to stay warm. I busied myself, trying to convince my frozen body that I loved New York. With weather like this, I missed Florida, where the winter didn't turn me into an icicle.

  Danielle had already called the sushi place, to make sure they had her favourite rolls in stock.

  I was about to round a corner when I tripped and fell face first onto the sidewalk. What the hell had just happened? I’d never fallen off my board like that before and I wondered if I’d hit something on the ground. I rolled over onto my back, feeling a little bit dizzy, when I saw the guy from last night.

  Oh shit. I knew then, I was in deep trouble.

  Chapter EIGHTEEN

  “HEY! LOOK WHO'S HERE!” HE offered me a smile which gave me the chills. ”I think I'll teach you some manners,” he said, grabbing my board from the ground, he took a swing at me with it.

  My first reflex was to move my hand to protect my face. He smashed my side with strength and it took my breath away. The pain had me curling into a fetal position. To my surprise, apparently one hit didn’t suffice because he hit me again on my back.

  ”Stop!” I tried to look at him but he was taking another swing toward my head. I covered my head with both of my hands as I took the hit. A thunderstorm of pain exploded in my head.

  I attempted to open my eyes but my vision blurred and every image seemed doubled.

  ”Take that, you fucking whore. You won’t be so brave next time, will you? Might think twice before you decide to act all tough.”

  ”Shut up!” I panicked. Last night, I’d lost control when I told this asshole what I thought about him. Calvin had a point; I had no idea who I had messed with.

  He kicked me a few more times before I heard the voice of another man, urging him to stop. I kept my hands over my head because I thought it was helping with the pain. Every part of my body ached, but the cold winter weather helped by numbing everything. Breathing was painful and it got even worse when I started crying.

  “Stop, right there, young man!” The same voice yelled, but I heard the guy taking off with my skateboard. The good Samaritan knelt beside me. “Are you okay?”

  Couldn’t he tell I wasn’t, by the sound of my sobbing?

  I needed to get up. I didn’t want any police intervention. Sure as hell didn’t want to taint Calvin’s good reputation. He had hired me after all. I wasn’t only his girlfriend but I was his employee, too. His reputation meant a lot to him, so I decided I had to endure a little more pain in order to save him some issues. The media were already far too aware of his life. I didn’t want them to know about this. We were allowed to have privacy.

  “Please.” I tried to sit up, to get a better idea of how far I was from the gym. “Can you help me get up?”

  “I don’t think you should be moving at all,” he responded, but helped me anyway.

  “I work at Banks Gym and Fitness. It’s right here.” I said, starting to step forward. The man took my arm and placed it over his shoulders, helping me back down the street. We had about a dozen of feet to go. Thankfully, it seemed the world still had people in it who were willing to help a stranger. We were close enough that I could see Danielle at the reception.

  Danielle and Justin were talking behind the reception counter when the man pushed the door open and helped me inside.

  “Danielle.” I tried to say her name, but I was in so much pain, it came out as a whisper.

  “Excuse me, miss?” The man spoke in a loud tone trying to get their full attention.

  I sat on one of the chairs by the entrance and exhaled with caution. My body trembled with pain.

  “I think you should get her to the E.R., as soon as possible. She was attacked outside by a man,” the stranger explained.

  Sitting here, safe inside, I tried to breathe but it hurt everywhere. My ribcage felt like it was broken in half.

  “Iris!” Danielle rushed over to me and Justin followed behind. I held my head in my hands as the pain intensified. I removed my beanie and discovered it was full of blood. I touched my hair with shaking fingers and groaned. “Ow!”

  “Justin, take her to the E.R. now. I'll call Calvin,” Danielle ordered.

  When I heard her say that she would call Calvin, on the one hand- I wanted her to, but at the same time- I didn’t want him to freak out. During our phone call earlier, he'd asked me to be careful and here I was bleeding profusely and in bad shape.

  “Don't call...” I tried to warn her, but a wave of dizziness got to me and I started vomiting on the floor. Nice job, Iris.

  “Danielle, I'm taking her now. Stay here until closing. I'll let you know where we are,” Justin yelled.

  The man offered to help Justin but he just swept me into his arms, as if I weighed about twenty pounds. He laid me on the back seat of his SUV and then he exchanged phone numbers with the helpful stranger, before taking off towards the hospital, screeching his tires on the street.

  “Do you know who hurt you?”

  I nodded. “The guy I mouthed off to last night.” It was all I managed to say, I couldn’t speak any longer.

  My body had dealt with too much crap and I couldn’t seem to function. My head was pounding and every other part of my body was hurting too. I didn’t even want to think about the bruises that were going to cover my body later.

  Justin's phone rang and he snatched it up.

  “
Hello.” he answered in a tone that told me he wasn’t in the best of mood. “Yeah, Calvin. Danielle told you? I'm on my way to the E.R. She's conscious but she needs to get checked over A.S.A.P. She puked all over reception.” He paused. “I know, Cal, I'll stay with her until Danielle meets me at the hospital. Call me when you land.”

  I wanted to talk to Calvin and I leaned across, struggling to speak. “Calvin, I want to speak to him.”

  “Stay calm, girl, stay calm. He’s already gone. Wait a minute.” He dialled Calvin’s number again. “She ah... she wants to speak to you.”

  ”Babe?” His voice echoed as I took the phone from Justin’s hand.

  “Cal...” My voice was rusty and low. I realized he might not be able to hear me.

  “Justin’s going to take care of you. I’ll be there, as soon as I can.”

  “You have impor...” I coughed and my head throbbed without mercy. “Important things to do.”

  “None of this means shit. My place is right beside you.” I wanted him with me, especially now. Every part of me hurt and it didn’t help that I couldn’t be with him. The words he had spoken were all I needed to hear. He wasn’t upset with me.

  I loved him, his voice. “I love you, Calvin.” I started to weep, impossible to control myself.

  “How are you feeling?” I heard a huge noise in the background. “I’m so mad that I can’t be with you. It’s driving me fucking crazy.”

  “I’m strong, I’ll be fine. I’ll be waiting for you,” I muttered, too tired to hold the phone any longer. My eyes grew heavy, as the pain took control of my body and mind.

  I heard him repeat my name a couple of times, but he sounded so far away and I was so tired. I had never been this exhausted. Never.

  My body moved, and it felt as if my head was detached from my neck. I opened my eyes to discover Justin and a couple of strangers wearing blue outfits standing beside him. I figured they must be medical staff. Safe, I thought. They would help with this pain. They had to, I trusted them to fix me.

  They asked me questions, so many of them, I struggled to answer. My name, age, what today’s date was and then, they shone a light right into my eyes and I cringed. Darkness was better, I hated the light.

  “We have to run a full body scan and take care of this cut, here.” I felt some intense pressure on my head and I tried to touch it, but my hand was drawn back to my side by a warm hand.

  Justin’s voice kept coming and going in the background. I couldn’t understand a word of what he was saying. Was I going to make it? Was I dying? Death couldn’t be an option; I had to be with my man again. My place was right next to him. I wouldn’t get in trouble anymore. My behavior had to change for my own survival and his sake.

  “Calvin... Calvin... Calvin,” I chanted his name and my heart started beating fast.

  In my mind, I had pictures flashing of us, of him. The speed of the pictures matched my heart rate. I hated this; I didn’t think I could breathe.

  And then, everything stopped. My racing heart slowed down, then I passed out again.

  Why were the people in my room crying? Everything was alright, wasn’t it? No pain, absolutely no pain. I opened my eyes little by little. They fluttered at the sight of the light coming from the doorway.

  “Iris, you’re awake.” Krys stood beside me, holding my hand and while I hadn’t felt any pain before, this kind of hurt.

  “Water.” I had to drink something or I was convinced my mouth was going to dry out.

  A blurred version of Danielle ran out of the room and she returned a few seconds later with a nurse. She took my vitals and asked me if I wanted a small glass of water to drink. Actually, I might have preferred a shot, but I’d take what I could get.

  “Ms. Hartwell, you’ll need to sit up, okay? I’ll lift you up while we adjust your backrest. If you feel any pain, let me know.” I nodded in agreement.

  Because I’m stubborn, I tried sitting up by myself and discovered it was a bad idea. Everything hurt at once but I didn’t say anything because I was so desperate to drink that damned water.

  When the backrest was in position, I started breathing again. “What’s the prognosis?” I didn’t think anything was broken, except maybe a finger or two. I had broken a bone before and this didn’t feel like the same type of pain.

  “The doctor will see you soon, Ms. Hartwell.” She smiled in a polite way. “Here is your water.”

  I tried to drink the water, but my swollen lip made the water drip all over my hospital gown. “Would you like a straw?” Danielle asked.

  I tried again with a straw, which worked thankfully. Water had never tasted so good. I closed my eyes savoring it when it ran down my throat. Everything seemed a little better. My stomach gurgled, begging for more.

  “We’ll wait five minutes before we give you some more, okay?” The nurse insisted when I asked.

  “Do you feel any pain?” Krys asked after the nurse left the room. Her eyes were red-rimmed and she seemed exhausted. I could tell she had been crying.

  “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry so much.”

  Krys chuckled. “You look like you’ve been hit by a fucking train and you’re worried about me?” She started crying again. “I’ve never been this worried about anything in my entire life. You’re the first friend I’ve ever had, who I’m not shy to show the real me to. You understand me and I hate to see you like this.”

  “Is it that bad?” I asked, clueless regarding the extent of my injuries.

  She swept her finger across the side of my cheek. “You’ve been better, let me tell you.”

  “I’m pretty sure Calvin will take you away on vacation, the second he gets the okay from the doctors.” Danielle approached me and placed her hand on my forearm. “He should be here soon, he hired a private jet. He is freaking out.”

  “Me too. Can I have a mirror? I’d like to see the damage for myself.”

  Danielle and Krys both hesitated, claiming they didn’t have a mirror available.

  “Take a picture with your phone; I have to see how I look before Calvin does. If he’s going to lose it, I need to know why.”

  Krys pulled her phone from her pocket. Danielle didn’t agree with the idea. She turned her back to me and sighed.

  “It’s going to kill him to see you like this. Be prepared for a very broken Calvin.”

  He couldn’t be broken if I wasn’t. Calvin didn’t deserve more pain than I was suffering. The IV in my hand confirmed they were giving me pain medication but I didn’t expect to look too bad. The bruises could be hidden under my clothes and everything else would be alright.

  Krys took a picture and handed me the phone. My eyes were glued to the screen, was this some type of joke? A white bandage was wrapped around my head, I had dried blood on my neck and my lips were double their normal size.

  “Shit.” There was no way I could try to hide any of it from Calvin. But I’d do anything to keep him from being hurt. “I need to clean up the blood.” I gave Krys her phone back and the tears began to flow. “I can’t let Calvin see me like this.”

  This time, I didn’t think I would be able to stop the tears. I looked like hell. Freddie Kruger looked handsome in comparison to me.

  “Iris, calm down. Don’t think about this, you need to rest now. I’ll ask the nurse if we can clean you up before Calvin gets here, but please, don’t worry about it. Justin will handle him, okay?”

  “When he first left, he was worried about Zach trying to get his hands on me and then, this other guy. I provoked this situation and he freaked out when Justin told him. I miss him, I love him, Krys. I want him to stay here with me but I’m afraid he might try to find the guy who did this.”

  “I don’t know if he will, and we won’t know until he gets here. Two police officers showed up when you were napping. They want to ask you some questions, but till then get some more sleep. We’re right here.”

  Sleep sounded good. I had done too much thinking in the short period I had been awake. Time flew
faster while I slept anyway.

  My mind is black – no dreams, no images. Just plain black. I have no idea how long I stayed in this dark haze but it calmed me.

  “Iris Hartwell.” I heard his voice, but I was still lost in that black place.

  “Calvin!” Danielle’s voice made my heart jumped.

  “I need to be alone with her, please.”

  I heard no responses, but assumed they left. My mind lightened up into a lighter shade. My body relaxed, feeling better knowing he was near. He’s here.

  The chair squeaked on the floor when he moved it to my side.

  “What the hell happened to you?” he said.

  I opened my eyes, still tired, but desperate to see him. Too much had happened while we were away from one another. Our eyes met and the connection between us made my heart flutter.

  “I love you, Calvin,” I whispered.

  He bowed his head down to the mattress and I thought I heard him crying. “I’ve never been so scared in my life.”

  “I love you, baby. That’s all that matters.” I ran my fingers through his messy hair trying to soothe him. “I don’t want you to hurt for me. One of us in pain is enough.”

  “If you hurt, babe, I do too.” He sighed. “Who did this to you?”

  “The guy I mouthed off to. You were right. I had no idea who I was messing with. I’ve learned that the hard way. They had been harassing Danielle with indecent propositions and she refused to tell you about it. I couldn’t let it go. You’ve probably seen them around, too. They hang around together, two, sometimes three of them. Dressed up as if they were appearing in a rap music video. The guy who did this to me...” I paused, struggling with the need to cry. “He was the one wearing the red hat, the big one. I should have known better. I’m so sorry.”

  “I knew they were bad news. I noticed they were hanging out near the gym. I should have done something.” He held my hand with force.

  A doctor came into the room, a stethoscope around his neck. “Ms. Hartwell. I’m sorry, I missed you earlier. How are you feeling? Any pain?”