“What is that?” I finally back away from the refrigerator to walk around to the other side of the living room. My eyes gravitate to the stain as I pass the white couch with my bloody mark on it and through a doorway. Coming into view is a picture I wish could be framed and hung on my wall. Jared’s wearing a red flannel shirt and is currently teasing a fire in the stone fireplace before him.
“My house doesn’t have a fireplace like this!” I climb onto the couch across from the roaring fire. The warmth feels so good against my cold, pale skin. I don’t think I’ve ever had a crazy fantasy before, but the image of Jared working that fireplace has got me picturing him with an ax in his hand, cutting down timber like a lumberjack.
“Yea, I made a few upgrades when I re-did the place last year.” Jared’s smooth voice returns me to the present. He slowly rises to his feet and sneaks into the space behind me on the couch.
“Oh really? Then I have to ask…” I peek at him from the side, “What’s with that lavender room?”
“Don’t you like purple?”
“Uh, kinda, but that room looks like Easter threw up in there!” I meet his eyes and a sexy smirk begins to make its way across his face.
“Okay, I got over zealous.” He dramatically throws his hands up in the air, admitting defeat.
“Over-over zealous! I mean, the other colors must be getting jealous!”
“I plan on making everyone jealous!” His arm braces itself on the couch behind me.
“Oh? And how do you plan on doing that?”
Slowly Jared leans in, placing a kiss on the tip of my shoulder. He doesn’t stop at just that. Softly, he continues to trace kisses up the curve of my shoulder and up my neck, finally coming to a stop behind my ear.
“Like this,” he seductively whispers, so close to my ear that I shiver.
Jared pulls back slightly, making eye contact with me, and I think he wants to say more. I sit, waiting for him to say something else… maybe this is my moment! Maybe I should tell him how I feel. Before my mouth can form the words, his lips are on mine and I’ve lost my chance.
His lips part mine as his hands push me down on the couch. I feel his strong body on top of me and my hands reflexively form around his face, pulling him closer. When we are like this, even when he is right on top of me— he is still too far away. I crave for the taste of his lips, for the warmth of his hands on my body, for the smell of his soap, the curve of our bodies together. I need him more than I’ve ever needed anyone in my life. It’s twice what I have felt for Hunter and I think that’s what scares me. I remember my conversation with Ro the night we burned half my room, and her words echo through my mind. “Is he worth it?”
THE DAY HAS COME, camping day! That’s all I’ve heard about for the past week or so. I’ve gotten texts from Stacey nonstop. We even went food shopping together for the event. I made sure to get my s’more supplies. Jared helped Eric and Mack pack up Eric’s pick up with the tents and coolers and stuff. The only thing keeping me from this epic event is work. Ugh, just a few more hours and we are out of here! I took the weekend off, but promised Jack I’d work Friday night just because I felt bad. The crew is already there, getting the tents set up, and Jared is just waiting for me to finish and we’ll be on our way. He chose to take the bike because he feels it’ll get us there faster. Plus, if we hit traffic we can always careen around it. The worst part about this whole thing is— the shop is dead. It would at least take my mind off things if it were busy and time flew by, but now all I can hear is dripping from the leaky faucet and muffled talk from Jack’s office in the back.
Ugh. I roll my eyes and pick up a wet towel. I wipe down the machines for the thousandth time today. I hear a shout before muffled whispering again. Jack is starting to worry me. He has these muscle men around him now all the time, like his personal bodyguards. They creep me out! I swear one of them licked his lips at me one time. They wear shorts and tank top like it’s not cool, crisp fall outside. I shake my head while I return to my cleaning. It isn’t going to do me any good to think about it. Sera hasn’t stopped by in a while, and I guess Jack is just getting wrapped up in the wrong crowd. As much as I hate her, I think that maybe she was good for him. Now that she’s gone, I think it’s driving him crazy. Maybe Jack’s getting into drugs. The way he tore the handle off of the espresso machine, I think he’s on something. He has bags under his eyes like he doesn’t sleep. I’ve caught him murmuring to himself before, and I don’t think he’s left the shop in three whole weeks. When I went to put the deposit on his desk, I found him sleeping on the leather couch back there.
I’m broken out of my reverie when the bell chimes that I have a customer. Finally. Turning around, my eyes meet those of Sera. Only she’s really different now. Her hair is fire engine red and her eyes glow like those of a cat trying to see through the darkness. Don’t get me started on her svelte new body, but the odd thing is she’s wearing what appears to be combat clothes: all black, thick boots, like she’s some weird soldier or something. I finally snap out of the trance when I see her flipping the sign on the door to ‘Closed.’
“Hey…” I start but she whips around to me, her eyes searing through me. I wince.
“Beat it, blondie,” she spits through clenched teeth, never turning to make eye contact as she stalks towards Jack’s office.
My eyes dart around, trying to find something to defend myself with. There’s nothing. I open my mouth to say something, anything.
“I SAID GET OUT OF HERE!” she screams venomously, finally turning to look me in the eye.
It’s the look that scares me. Her eyes scream vengeance, and her lips, set in a firm line, tell me her fight is not with me. But I’m definitely pissing her off. I need to get out of here! I turn and run through the double doors to the kitchen. I dodge under various hanging pans and the open oven and sneak out the back door. I stumble out into the back parking lot when Jared looks up from his bike.
“That was fast. I was just about to text you that I’m outside.” He smiles, putting his phone back in his pocket. “Done already?”
“Uh, yea.” I stumble down from the last step and into the parking lot. I glance back once, wondering what Jack could have possibly done to turn someone so beautiful into such a monster. I shake my head, unable to wrap own head around it, let alone to let Jared in on it.
“It was a slow night,” I mutter, untying my apron and throwing it into the bushes. I throw on my leather jacket waiting for me in one of the saddlebags before climbing on behind him. I’m more than ready to put a couple miles between this place and me. Camping is just the thing to get my mind off the freaky encounter I just experienced.
We drive for about an hour when the wind starts to get the better of me, even through my new jacket. I snuggle closer to Jared on the seat, but even my butt is starting to get numb. I think Jared senses my anxiousness, but he only glances once at me through the rear view mirror. He takes one hand off the handlebars to place it on top mine around his waist, trying to comfort me. Leaning my head against his shoulder, I allow him to. I glance next to us before something registers. It seems like the tractor-trailer is coming over the dotted line. My head shoots up and I glare straight ahead, then behind us— there are no other cars. Our tiny little bike must be in his blind spot. My fists clench against Jared’s shirt. I watch in horror as the truck comes closer and closer. A part of me feels like I’m in a movie; I can watch it happening, but I almost don’t believe that it’s happening to me. I pull Jared closer as I feel him zoom forward to escape being trapped between the guardrail and the huge truck. It’s no use. I can already tell. I hear horns honking around us, and my ears can’t comprehend whether it’s Jared’s or not. We are millimeters from the guardrail; I can almost reach out and touch its hard metal surface when I grip Jared’s jacket for dear life. Please God!
BAM!
Free falling. Pain. Pins and needles are all I feel when my eyes finally blink open again. I blink a few times until my eyes begin to
work again. I make out a face over me, mouthing something over and over again. ‘Are you okay?’
“Yea,” I croak, trying to get up.
“No! Stay down, you took a hard hit, don’t move!” the lady tells me, coming to kneel in the shrapnel next to me. I try to move my legs anyway. I can’t feel my left one.
“My leg!” I scream, trying to grab at it. It’s wet and slimy. Looking down, I take in my blood-stained clothes. I can almost make out a hard bone protruding from it.
“It’s okay, help is on the way.” She tries putting her hand on my shoulder, preventing me from moving and further.
“Jared?” I ask, and her eyes look behind me hesitantly. “Where’s Jared?” I repeat.
“Your friend? Uh… he’s uh—”
I push out of her grasp and twist my contorted body around onto my stomach. The scene before my eyes makes my heart freeze in my chest. The tractor-trailer is overturned in the middle of the road. Traffic has backed up behind us, and the bike is about ten feet from me. Jared is about five. I think it’s Jared, only because I can see a crowd of people around him. Something is wrong! His helmet is sitting a foot away from where the crowd starts. Before I know it, I’m crawling towards him. The pain in my leg is unbearable so I just use my elbows to propel me forward. “Jared! Jared!” I’m screaming the entire time.
“Miss, you shouldn’t move. Your leg is broken!”
“Miss…”
“You can’t move!”
I ignore them all. It takes me a while, as no one will help me in dragging my bum leg behind me. They watch almost pitifully as I crawl my way to Jared. They step away, allowing me to approach, and I crawl my way up to him. His eyes are closed and he’s facing upward. His leg is bloody too, but it’s the gash on his head that make the tears flow like a river from my eyes.
“Jared! Jare! Jared, please hang in there!” Somehow through the agony, I twist around and pull his head into my lap.
“Miss, you can’t move him. He hit is head!”
I grab a piece of glass from the ground and hold it up for all to see.
“Unless you have an MD at the end of your name, back the fuck up!” I scream for all of them to hear. They look at each other, then back at me. I think I see the pity again.
“Jared,” I try again, running my hands all over his face.
His eyes never open, but I see his lips moving. “Don’t leave me,” he whispers.
“Never,” I respond to his ear as I kiss his cheek a thousand times. “Hang in there! Don’t you leave me!” I scream, grabbing his bloody shirt in between my fists. The paramedics come too soon and pull us apart. I scream and kick my good leg to stay together.
“April! April!” I turn to see Officer Smith breaking through the crowd and running toward me. “I’ll go with her!” he tells the EMTs as they strap me into the stretcher and I curse the day they were all born in very literal language. “April! Calm down!”
“John Smith, if he dies…” I can’t finish my sentence because I burst into sobs.
“It’s going to be okay.” He comes in to give me a hug before he nods on my shoulder. I feel a pinch and pull away just in time to see the needle sticking out of my arm.
“Et tu, Judas?” I whisper to Officer Smith’s guilty blue eyes as unconsciousness hits me.
MY EYES OPEN TO the plain white tiles of a ceiling. I hear beeping, constant annoying beeping. Ugh, I’m in a hospital! I look down at all the tubes in my arm. I look like a pincushion; they have stuck me with more holes than a strainer. I start ripping out the needles one by one as I struggle to climb to my feet. Once I throw off the blanket, I notice the huge cast on my left leg. Crap! The machine starts beeping even louder when it no longer senses my heartbeat, and a hoard of nurses come flooding in to my room.
“Miss, you have to get back in bed!” One of them tries to reason with me.
“I have to see Jared!” I holler back, letting my legs dangle off the edge of the bed.
“In good time. First you have to get better!” she coaxes me in a fake voice with her hands up, indicating she means no harm.
“No. I’m going to see him now!” I slip to the ground, wincing in pain as my cast bangs against the hard linoleum. I bite my bottom lip to keep from blatantly screaming.
“I’m sorry, I can’t let you do that!” Another nurse in pink scrubs pushes me back into bed.
“You aren’t letting me do anything, I’m telling you!” I scream, grabbing a bloody needle off the bed where I just threw it. I rip the other end off from the IV bag and they all gasp and take a step back in unison.
“Well, we won’t help you hurt yourself,” Pink scrubs tells me, wrapping her arms around herself stubbornly.
“I didn’t ask for your help!” I mutter, clumsily waddling out with my back against the wall so no one gets any ideas. With each step on the cast, I feel a blinding pain shudder through my entire body. My head becomes lightheaded from all the sudden movement, but I don’t dare stop. I made a point— I’m going to very well see it through. A doctor comes running down the hallway towards me with a nervous look on his face.
“Back up, Doc. I’m going to see my boyfriend!”
“Ma’am, we can’t have you doing that!” He also tries to coax me back, putting his hands on my shoulders, twisting to steer me back towards the room.
“I didn’t ask for your opinion. I was telling you what I’m doing. Now, move out of my way or I will stab you!” I yell to every last nurse peeking their head up over the circular desk in the middle of the hall. The doctor moves back with his hands up and shakes his head before continuing his accelerated pace back down the hallway.
I take one more step before I realize I have no idea where he is. “Where is Jared Hoffman? Where is the guy I came in with?!” I turn to ask the nurses sitting at the desk. They pretend to ignore me, as if they think that will deter me. I laugh a creepy (maybe still drugged up) laugh.
“Okay, then. JARED!” I scream at the top of my lungs, “JARED!” As I continue to waddle down the corridor. I slip once and almost fall all the way to the floor, but I manage to pick myself back up. I then lean against the ledge on the wall and begin screaming louder now. It’s a laugh that makes me turn my head, only because I can tell she’s not laughing at me; she’s laughing at the situation.
“Girl!” She giggles, covering her mouth with her hand. “You are crazy! Here let me help,” she says, wheeling a wheel chair up behind me.
I squint my eyes at her apprehensively but she smiles back at me. “You don’t even know where you are going! Let me help, doll.”
I can tell from her dark eyes that she’s being genuine. I pause, taking in her dark curly hair, dark skin, big smile, and scrubs with little pink breast cancer ribbons all over them. I collapse maybe a little too hard into the wheelchair when I can’t find an ounce of deception behind her eyes.
“You got some fight in you, girl! I wish we saw more of that here,” she whispers into my ear.
“Do you know where Jared is?” I have a one-track mind.
“Relax, hon. I know where your boyfriend is. Don’t go stabbing me now!” She chuckles to herself.
I turn around to give her a stern look, but instead I can’t help but burst into laughter beside her. She strolls me down the hall and turns to the left. I’m memorizing the way so that I can take it back later. Jared’s door is the third on the right hand side. She pauses the wheelchair in front of the closed door and I spin around.
“How long have I been out?”
“Two days. We fixed your broken leg and you have a bruised rib. Otherwise, you’re good as gold.”
“And Jared?” I ask, bracing my hands on the armrests for support. I have a gut feeling, an ominous sense deep in my soul that I’m not going to like her answer.
“He went under surgery, too. He is stable.”
“Is that all?” She’s holding something back, thinking that maybe I’m too fragile to handle it.
“He hasn’t woken up from the su
rgery yet.”
“What?!” I say, a little too loudly. A nurse down the hall eyes me before scampering away.
“He’s in a coma. He hasn’t woken up, but all his vitals are promising.”
My heart drops, and I remember the huge gash in his forehead. “Any brain damage?”
“Not that we can tell. It didn’t break the skull, but we can’t perform functional testing until he’s awake.”
“Wheel me in!” I order her, maybe a little too harshly.
I open the door for her and she wheels me in beside his bed. He lays there with his eyes closed, a huge bandage wrapped around his head. The blanket around his legs is slightly higher on his left side. He has a cast like mine. We will have matching scars, I stupidly think to myself.
“I’ll leave you two alone,” the nurse whispers behind me.
“Wait, what’s your name?”
“Tammie,” she whispers before closing the door behind her.
I turn back to Jared. If his heart monitor wasn’t beeping I would think he was dead. His face is pale, his skin taunt, his eyes closed. I get this weird feeling in my stomach again. Using only my arms, I pull myself out of the chair. I put my good leg down first and then the cast, twisting so that I sit on the edge of his bed. It feels like hours I sit there, watching his chest rise and fall. It isn’t until Tammie comes back into the room to check his vitals that I finally snap out of it.
“Is there any brain activity?”
“There is always brain activity, but it doesn’t mean he will wake up, sweetheart. I’ve seen this a lot…”
“I know, I watch T.V. Some people in a coma even open their eyes, but it doesn’t mean they are mentally awake.”
Discovering April Page 20