Safe With Me, Part 8 (The End)
Page 20
“Come on,” I said. “She needs you.”
He held his lips together between his teeth, his arms folded across his chest.
I put my hand on his back and scooted to the very edge of my chair. “I know you’re angry but don’t you dare leave this hospital without telling her you love her.”
Tyler shot me an icy glance. “Angry ain’t the word.”
“I know.”
His sinister tone was too quiet for anyone else to hear. “I’m gonna kill that boy.”
I’d probably have to wait a few days before talking any sense into him. But tonight, after a long day of crying and worry, I'd saved my last bit of patience for him. “You have every right to be angry but we have to go home now and you need to talk to Britta before we leave.”
He kept his lips tight, his nostrils flaring. “I’m too angry.” He let out a tortured growl. “Why’d she do this? We raised her better than that.”
I leaned in closer and gave him the most pleading look I could produce. “She’s sixteen and she thinks she’s in love. That’s why she did it. It had nothing to do with us.”
“Yeah, well,” he scoffed, “she’s gonna be locked in her room till she’s thirty. I mean it. No car, no computer, no nothin’. If she wants a boyfriend, I’ll let her date that one little nerdy kid. What’s his name? Levi. Yeah. I like that kid.”
I didn’t have the heart to tell him, but Levi’s mother confided in me that she was pretty sure her only son was gay. I put my hand on Tyler’s thigh. “She’s in trouble over this.” With my jaw firmly set, I nodded to affirm my own statement. “She’s in really big trouble when she gets out of this hospital, but we can talk about that later. Right now, you need to go inside that room and tell her you love her.”
“She could’ve been killed. Doesn’t she know that?”
“Yes. She’s groggy and drugged up but I’m pretty sure she knows that.” I smirked. “You can rant and rave all you want on the way home. Right now, just go in there and tell her you love her before we leave.”
“I’ll come back tomorrow. I gotta calm down before I talk to her.”
“No. You need to find a way to calm down, now. Her day’s been a lot worse than yours. She needs to know her daddy loves her.” Truthfully, I didn’t know if she’d even remember this day. She was on a morphine drip and spent most of the day asleep, but I was absolutely determined to get my stubborn husband inside that room. I was sure the real reason he didn't want to see her was because he didn't think he could handle it. It was easier for him to act like he was angry.
He groaned. “I love her. I tell her all the time. I just need a night to calm down.”
That man had never been more irritating to me. “No. What if you leave this hospital and never see her again? God forbid. I don’t even wanna think about it.” Tears filled my eyes. “Please, Tyler. Just push your anger aside for a minute and go see her.”
His brown eyes softened, then he gritted his teeth and muttered under his breath for a moment. “I hate it when you’re right.”
“I know.”
Tyler growled once more, then pressed his hands against his knees and stood up. He didn’t look back at me. He simply trudged down the hall as I followed closely behind.
Oh, she looked so pitiful in that bed. Her broken leg was in a thick cast. A wide bandage was wrapped around her head. The part of her forehead that peeked out under the bandage was bruised a horrible shade of purple. She had other minor cuts all over her face, only one requiring stitches. A member of the emergency crew that pulled her and Lucas from the wreckage said they thought the people inside were dead for sure when they arrived. Miraculously, our sweet little girl suffered relatively minor injuries.
Lucas had injuries that were far more serious, but he was out of surgery and his prognosis was good. His mother, Wendy, was a basket case. About an hour earlier, she and I both sobbed against each others' shoulders as she apologized to me, repeatedly.
Tyler froze in his tracks in front of me when he saw her lying there.
“Daddy?” Her feeble voice was heartbreaking.
As Tyler walked up to the bed, I hurried around to the other side.
He gently put his hand around one of hers. His eyes went up and down her body.
I was glad he couldn’t see what the gown and sheet were covering. There were bruises and minor abrasions everywhere. There were so many, it was hard to believe Dr. Kerns when he told me she was going to be okay. They would keep her in the hospital for at least three more days, but her prognosis was ‘more than positive,’ to quote the doctor. She had a painful recovery ahead but he fully expected the best.
She blinked a few times. I saw pain in her slightest movements. “Daddy, I’m so sorry.”
“Oh, honey,” he whispered. His sad eyes once again drifted up and down her weak body. He stopped to stare at the giant bandage around her head, his mouth slowly forming a deep, genuine frown.
“Are you mad at me?” she asked.
Tyler winced. “I’m just glad you’re…” he looked away and wiped his face with his sleeve, gasping quietly for air.
Britta's big brown eyes went to mine, showing coherence beneath her medicated fog.
I whispered, “It’s okay. Keep your head still.”
I knew he’d forget he was angry when he saw her.
She looked scared as she watched him tremble.
He stayed that way for a while, then sniffled as he turned back to Britta. He reached to the nightstand and brought some tissues up to his face. He whispered, “I love you,” as he bent down to kiss her cheek.
Her lips formed a fragile grin. He stayed there until his tears rolled to her face. That’s when his head shot up. In a hoarse breath, he said, “I’ll be here in the morning.”
And with that, he turned around and left the room, his pace increasing to a sprint as he headed out the door.
“Oh no.” Her pretty face crumpled. “I forgot to tell him I love him, too.”
“Don’t worry about that.” I choked my own tears back, surprised that I wasn’t sobbing. “Try to go back to sleep.”
She stared up at me, horrified, and much more alert than she should’ve been. “I’ve never seen him like that. I didn’t mean to make him cry.”
“I know, baby.” I stroked her cheek.
“Have you seen him cry before?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Honey, you need to rest. Your dad and I are gonna go home but I’ll be back in a few hours to stay the night.”
“I don’t ever wanna make him cry again." Her soft voice trembled. “He’s really sensitive, huh?” Her expression was slowly changing back to its former glazed-over state.
I restrained my chuckle. Her hazy comment in the midst of her injured state struck me in an odd way. She always had a way of surprising me with her observations. “Yeah,” I said. “They all are. And they’ll do just about anything to hide it.” There was so much I wanted to say, and I would when she was home and was lucid again. I kissed her cheek and watched her eyes close. She quickly fell asleep.
Tyler waited for me with the car running outside the main entrance. As soon as I fastened my seatbelt, he pulled away from the curb and said, “I’m sorry I waited so long. I was just so fuckin’ mad.”
“It’s all right. It was a rough day for all of us.”
He shook his head, staring at the road in front of him with a dazed look in his eyes. He stayed that way for a few more miles, in silence, until he pulled off at a grocery store parking lot.
He parked in the back, a good distance from the next closest vehicle. Then he cut off the engine and said, “You’re an amazing mother.”
“Uh…” It was flattering, but unexpected. “Okay. You’re an amazing father.”
“That’s not what…” He gently took my hand. “What I mean is, the kids don’t know how good they have it. I’ve always thought of you as a great mom but maybe I didn’t really get it. It hit me when I was waiting for
you back there. My kids truly have the best mom in the world.”
I was speechless, taken aback by his sincerity.
“I couldn’t figure out why you weren’t upset, like me.” He sighed. “I don’t think I’ve ever been that mad before. About anything. Ever. But you,” he shook his head, “I think you were just happy she was alive.” Tears fell to his cheeks and he wiped them with the back of his hand. “I’m glad you nagged me.”
I laughed and wiped my own tears away. “Thanks. I’m glad my nagging helped.”
“We could’ve lost her today.” He stared out the windshield. “Nothing else matters. God, what an amazing mother you are.”
Again… speechless. Too confused to process whatever he was trying to communicate.
He took off his seatbelt and angled his body toward me to tenderly cradle my cheek with his palm. “I’m so sorry for how Jack treated you all those years ago. I don’t know how anyone could ever treat you like that.”
I had to take a moment to think. I'd gone all day and not thought about the day when I got in trouble at the age of fourteen, and my 'dad' wouldn't even talk to me. This situation was entirely different. Jack was an asshole. Tyler was simply afraid to face the aftermath of his daughter's terrifying car accident. “Honestly, I hadn’t even made that connection," I said.
With a weak smile, he put his hand behind my head and brought me forward to give me the sweetest kiss.
My heart raced with an excitement I hadn’t felt in years. I’d grown so comfortable in my role as 'wife and mother’ that I often forgot he cherished me as ‘Susie.’ As the years went by, I got so carried away in the day-to-day routine of my life and gave less thought to what he went through — what I put him through — to make me his.
His lips broke contact with mine as he slid his thumb across my cheek, through a fresh trail of my tears. “I love you so much.”
"I love you, too." I sighed.
He looked in my eyes for a few more moments, then said, "You're thinking about the kids, aren't you?"
"A little. But I called 'em right before you went in to see her. They're worried, but they're okay."
He gave my lips another kiss. "In a couple months, after she's home and feeling better, me and you need to go away somewhere for about a month. Alone." His eyes were huge.
"A month? That's too long. Who's gonna watch 'em? They'll drive Matt and Daisy insane by then."
He shrugged. "A week, then."
"Okay. But it'll be a while till Britta feels better."
"So, hey, when's that idiot supposed to get out of the hospital? I need to know so I can beat his ass when he gets home."
I glared at him. "He's someone's kid too, you know."
His nostrils flared as he looked off out the windshield. "I know but it makes me feel better to think about hurting him. We gotta keep those two apart."
"We'll figure it out." I remembered what it was like to be young and impetuous. To Britta, it was a grand, romantic adventure to skip school with her boyfriend and ride off in his new car. I was a little disappointed with her, but as far as I knew, it was the first time she'd ever done anything like this. I was just happy she lived through it.
I collapsed against Tyler's chest and stayed there for another minute, trying to collect my thoughts. I was sure while I spent the night in the hospital, Tyler would spend his evening answering calls from relatives and friends. They all wanted to know if Britta and Lucas were okay. For now, it was nice to have the phones turned off and just be silent with my husband for a moment. We'd never been through anything this frightening with our children before, but we were going to be all right.
Tyler took one last deep breath and straightened his posture, putting his hands on the steering wheel.
I waited for him to start driving, but his nostrils were still flaring. His face was bright red.
He put his hand on his forehead. "You're gonna have to drive. I'm sorry. Never been so pissed off in all my life."
"Don't be sorry. It's okay."
We opened our doors and walked around to each others' doors. I didn't show it, but I was surprised that he wanted me to drive. In the entire time I'd known him, the only times I drove him were when he'd been drinking alcohol, or he was sick. Otherwise, he liked to be the driver. And I liked to let him.
After he slid into place beside me, he put a reassuring hand on my thigh. "Thanks for doing this."
I patted his hand. "No big deal. I'm a good driver. You're safe with me."
He chuckled and relaxed against his seat.
THE END
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