The sound of the door knob turning makes my stomach drop. I watch in horror as Tom opens the door and strides in.
“Let’s go. Where are your bags?” he asks, looking around for my bags.
When he doesn’t see any bags, his face gets red. “You think I’m joking, you little wench? Grab a bag and start packing now,” he yells in my face.
“Why are you doing this?” The words escape my mouth before I can stop them.
“Why? He’s my dad, and I’m here to take care of him. Make sure people like you can’t take advantage of him in his old days.”
His arrogance makes my blood boil.
“You’re here to take care of your dad? Where were you the past four months, while he was slowly dying here? And you want to take care of him by forcing him out of the home he loves and into a care facility where no one will care about him? Yea, that sure sounds like taking care of him,” I say, my voice dripping with sarcasm.
He takes a step back for a second, surprised at my outburst. Then, all of a sudden, he charges towards me until his face is mere inches away from mine and his hands go towards my back to grab my ass.
Panic washes over me, blood draining from my face as images of another physical assault flood my mind. I bring my hands up instinctively, ready to push him away, but he doesn’t touch me. Instead, he locks his cold eyes with mine.
“Don’t worry I won’t ever touch the old man’s dirty second hand goods,” he says with a smirk on his lips. “Now you listen to me, and listen carefully. You do not talk to me like that ever again. You may feel pretty comfortable right now thinking you have the support of the old man in there, but he’s losing his marbles rapidly and will soon be dead. I on the other hand, will be around for a long time. With the way you left things with your family, you don’t want to have me as another enemy.”
My jaw drops, and the look of surprise on my face makes him laugh. “Caught you by surprise there, didn’t I? I know a lot more about you than you care to know and I know a lot of people in this town. You don’t want to get on my bad side,” he repeats, “get in your closet and start packing. You have ten minutes before I come in and throw you over my shoulder and out the door,” he warns, before walking out and slamming the door behind him.
I run to the door to lock it this time and reach for my phone to call Lou again.
“Lou−Tom is insane. He just came into my room and made all sorts of threats. Told me I have ten minutes before he throws me out. What should I do? I have no intention of leaving, but I also don’t want to get into a fist fight with him.”
Lou releases a deep sight. “I’m really sorry you have to deal with this, especially today. I’m on my way. I should be there in twenty minutes, but for now start packing a bag and pretend like you’re leaving, but drag your feet as long as you can. If he makes you leave the house before I get there, go and sit in your car, but don’t drive off anywhere. I don’t want you to leave the house by yourself right now. We have to take your brothers threats seriously.”
“I know,” I whisper, my voice filled trepidation. I hang up the phone and cover my face with my shaky hands. Could this day get any worse? I know I can’t afford to fall apart right now, but how much can one person take in one day? I’m only a twenty-year old woman, one who was very much sheltered from life up until three months ago. How do I deal with all this?
I take a look at my watch and realize that I don’t have time to drown myself in self-pity. According to Tom’s schedule, I only have about five minutes left to pack my stuff, so I will my legs to get up and move fast.
Five minutes later I have a bag full of some of my essential belongings on my shoulder as I slowly open the door and peek outside. Tom’s pacing the living room floor in furious strides. I duck back inside and stay there a few more minutes in an attempt to buy more time, but as soon as I hear his steps towards my room, I walk out before he has a chance to come in. He notices the small bag on my shoulder and raises his eyebrow in question. “Is that all of your stuff?”
I nod my head.
“Yea, right. Well, if that’s all you want to take with you, that’s fine. You won’t ever see the inside of this place again, but if you want to leave your stuff here, that’s okay by me.”
“That’s all I want to take,” I reply, avoiding his eyes.
“Fine. Let’s go then,” he says, pointing to the direction of the staircase and leading the way. I try to take small steps and walk slowly behind him. Once we reach downstairs, he waits for me to catch up. As we get closer to the front door, I walk slower trying to think of a way to stall. This agitates him and before I have a chance to come up with a stall tactic, he puts his hand behind my back, opens the door and pushes me out and right into a wall of muscles. Two strong arms go around my back trying to steady me. I look up and gaze into striking emerald eyes.
“Whoa. You okay?” Aiden asks. I just stand there staring into his eyes, overwhelmed by flood of emotions from everything that has happened today and unable to form any words. And for a split second, I do feel okay. I feel strangely safe in his arms. As if I’ve found my home. I inhale a faint scent of his cologne and bask in the feeling, but the fleeting sense of comfort doesn’t last long. Aiden pulls his arms off and takes a step back to take a look at me.
“What is going on here?” he asks, looking from me to Tom and back. “Why are you carrying a bag?” And why were you pushing her out like that?” He asks Tom and me in succession.
“Because she’s leaving. That’s why,” Tom responds in a clipped tone.
“What do you mean she’s leaving? She’s Grandpa’s caregiver. The best one we can find anywhere. Why would she leave?” Aiden asks Tom.
“I’m taking Dad to a care facility. They can give him better medical care there. Plus we don’t need a teenage gold-digger lurking around the house when the old man does not have his wits about him anymore.”
One of Aiden’s arms automatically goes around my back in a protective manner at Tom’s words, the gesture giving me butterflies.
“There’s no need for name calling Tom, and I think Grandpa would hate a care facility.”
Before Tom has a chance to respond, his phone rings and he steps away for a second to talk. Aiden turns his head back to me. “I’m sorry about him… Are you okay?” he asks, his voice laced with concern. Tom doesn’t give me a chance to respond, as he quickly comes back.
“I’m getting called into an emergency meeting. I’ll be back in less than an hour, and I better not see you or your car here when I get back. Understood?” he directs at me.
I just nod my head. Of course, I have no intention of not being here when he comes back, but I’m hoping by then, he won’t be allowed in.
As soon as he’s gone, I release a tense breath I had been holding. Aiden turns around to face me. “Wow. I can only imagine how that must have gone down. I’m sorry you had to go through that, but I thought I warned you about him. Why didn’t you stay away?”
“I wanted to, but then I heard him shouting at your grandpa and heard your grandpa’s pleading voice with him, and I couldn’t stay away. David sounded like he needed help.”
He takes a deep breath. “You should’ve stayed away. What are you going to do now?”
I hesitate for a moment, not knowing if I can trust him, but I decide to go with my gut. “I called Lou. He’s on his way. He said Tom has no authority to make decisions for David.”
“That’s good. It was smart to call Lou. Let’s go inside and wait for him then.” He puts his hand in the small of back, gently steering me inside, and the feel of his hand on my back has tingles running up and down my spine.
We haven’t taken more than two steps inside the house, when we see Maria rushing down the stairs in tears.
“Aleah–I’m so glad you’re still here. David…David,” she manages to say in between sobs, while pointing upstairs.
“David what, Maria? What happened?” Aiden asks.
“David…he collapsed in his room…
his heart.”
Before she has a chance to say anything else, I’m tearing up the stairs two steps at a time.
David’s lying in the middle of the floor in his room, the nurse actively giving him CPR. I kneel down next to him and hold his lifeless hand in mine, tears running down my face. Aiden kneels next to me, gently asking the nurse, “What happened?”
“He had a huge argument with Tom. After he left, he was worried about Aleah. Said something to the effect of having to go check on her to see what Tom is doing to her. He got up, but hadn’t taken more than two steps when he held his chest and collapsed on the floor,” the nurse responds.
My broken heart shatters into a million tiny pieces at her words. I can’t believe that David worried about me, and was on his way to come check up on me when his heart gave out. My stream of tears turns into small sobs as I struggle to keep my emotions under control.
Aiden puts his arms around me trying to comfort me and I rest my head on his chest while I sob.
Within a few minutes, EMS personnel storm the room and take over. They try to resuscitate David for a few minutes, but after a few failed attempts, bring out a stretcher to take him to the waiting ambulance. We follow them downstairs somberly, running into Lou as we exit the door.
Lou tells us he will go with David to the hospital, asking me to stay here at the house.
“I’m not staying here.” I respond immediately.
“I don’t think she should stay here by herself. My uncle will be coming back here soon and he won’t be happy to see her here,” Aiden chimes in.
“I can’t stay back here not knowing what’s happening to David, and I really don’t want to deal with Tom right now,” I add.
Lou releases a deep sigh. “Okay, but we have to be mindful of your brother too. Don’t leave here by yourself.” He turns to Aiden asking, “Can you go with her?”
Aiden turns his questioning eyes to me with a raised eyebrow, but nods his head.
“Don’t take your eyes off of her,” Lou warns Aiden, before whirling around and rushing to the ambulance.
Aiden tugs on my arm, when the ambulance leaves, pointing towards his car. I take a look at the fancy red sports car and my stomach coils. For some reason, the thought of sitting in Aiden’s car is too nerve-racking to me right now. With all the emotions running through my body, I can’t deal with the intensity of being around Aiden. I need a moment to get myself together and catch my breath before I get to the hospital.
“Actually, I’d like to bring my own car, in case I need to go somewhere after the hospital or need to leave early.”
Aiden hesitates for a moment, but then nods his head. “Okay. I’ll follow you in my car then.”
The drive to the hospital is a blur. There are so many things running through my mind that I don’t even know how I make it there safely. I remember at one point during the drive that I should be paying extra attention to my surroundings, making sure no one is following me, but my mind is so convoluted that the thought quickly drifts away. Once we arrive there, I park at the first available parking spot and just sit in the car for a moment, trying to mentally prepare myself for what may await me at the hospital. Aiden walks to my car, opening the door.
“I think you should stay here for a minute until I go in and figure out what’s going on. Tom may have heard and may already be here. Plus, a couple of other people from my family could already be inside. You don’t need to deal with more drama today, so just stay here till I gauge the situation and come back. I’ll be back quickly.”
The thought crosses my mind that I shouldn’t stay here in the parking lot by myself, but I dismiss it quickly. What are the chances that Shane was sitting outside David’s house waiting for me then successfully followed me to the hospital, and is now going to approach me in a public parking lot? Plus, I still need a minute to compose myself before walking inside, so I decide to agree.
After Aiden leaves, I cover my face with my hands and concentrate on my breathing. A few minutes later, I raise my head and stare right into angry black eyes. My heart drops immediately, every muscle in my body locking up.
Shane is standing a few feet away from my car, a smirk on his lips. Panic hits my belly like a fireball, the resultant shock paralyzing my limbs. When he sees the panicked look on my face, his smirk spreads.
He slowly pivots up to my car door, trying the door handle when he gets there. Thankfully, my car doors lock automatically when in idle, because in my frozen state, I don’t even have the wits about me to lock my door.
“Open the door Aleah,” he says, while yanking on the door, “open the damn door and step out.” I just stare at him. I know I should try to get away, to back up the car and drive away or at least call for help, but I’m so shocked and panic stricken that I sit there like an idiot and just stare at him. He keeps yelling and pulling on the door in anger. When he realizes that I’m not going to open the door, he lifts up his right hand holding a baseball bat to my window. But before I even have a chance to react, the baseball bat is being dragged away along with Shane’s hand. I stretch my neck in time to see Shane on the ground holding his nose, with Aiden standing over him.
“Who the hell are you? And what the fuck do you think you’re doing with a baseball bat at her window?” Aiden shouts, his face crimson red.
For a second, Shane looks ready to attack, but as soon as he notices Lou approaching him from one side and a hospital security guard, who must have noticed the scuffle, from the other side, he jumps up, running full speed to his car and putting his cowardice in full displaying. I guess it’s easy to target your defenseless little sister and act all tough, but be confronted with three grown men and all you show is the back of your head.
Within a couple of minutes, we see a Honda Accord peel off of the parking lot and speed away, and I finally release a breath I had been holding since I first saw Shane. Blood slowly starts to make its way back to some of my limbs.
I tilt my head back from the parking spot Shane just vacated to see Aiden standing at my door.
My face must still show the extent of my shock and distress, because as soon as his eyes fall on me, he pulls my car door open and kneels down next to me, grabbing my shaking hands in his.
“Are you Okay? Did he hurt you?” he asks in a rush.
I shake my head, still unable to form a coherent sentence.
“I’m so sorry I left you all alone here. You should have told me not to go. When Lou said not to leave you alone, I thought it was because he was worried about how you are handling all the drama of this morning with my grandpa. I didn’t realize you were in danger.”
He reaches up with one of his hands and tilts my chin up, breaking my gaze away from our touching hands directly into intense emerald eyes. “I’m so sorry I left. As soon as I got upstairs and Lou said I shouldn’t have left you alone, I ran back down here. Thank God, I made it back in time,” he whispers, releasing a deep sigh, and wrapping his arms around me in a tight hug.
I only hesitate for a second before lifting my arms up to return his embrace. Being in his strong arms has a strangely calming effect on my nerves. I feel secure and comfortable, and for a split second even content, forgetting about how I almost got physically attached by my brother, how the man I have come to care so much for is lying unconscious in a hospital bed, and how his son threw me out of the house. For that split second, I feel as if the world is as it should be and I am where I belong. Of course, delusions don’t last long, the feeling of contentment is fleeting, and before I know it Aiden is untangling his arms from around me and taking a step away to study my face. I feel the absence of his warmth immediately, sensing a shiver run up my spine.
“Are you sure you’re okay? You look really pale and you’re shivering? Let me give you my jacket,” he says, as he takes his jacket off to wrap it around me.
Lou steps in at this moment. “I think you need to go home and rest. You’ve had a hell of a day, and looks like you’re still in shock. Nick just got
here. I’ll ask him to take you home. Tom’s been told about David, so he’ll be coming here, and not to the house, and both Maria and Nick are under strict orders to not open the door on anybody.”
I simply nod my head. I have no energy left to argue, and even though I want to be here for David, the idea of facing Tom or anybody else from David’s family is too daunting at the moment.
They keep David at the hospital for a week. He had a mild heart attack. On its own, the heart attack would have been manageable, but added to all of his other medical issues; it has left David in an extremely fragile state. The doctors recommended that he should either stay at the hospital longer or go to a long term care facility. Of course that’s what Tom wanted him to do, but David hates hospitals. He wants to stay at home as long as possible, and Lou, Nick and I have all agreed to abide by his wishes. So we made sure he’s back at home, as soon as possible.
After my encounter with Shane, we also now have twenty-four-seven security personnel present at the house who accompany me outside whenever I go somewhere. I feel ridiculous having a bodyguard follow me around, but the encounter with Shane has rattled me enough that I gladly take the bodyguard over the risk of running into Shane by myself again.
Two days after David comes back home, Lou asks to talk to me privately in David’s study. The look on his face when he asks this makes my stomach cramp up with nerves and my mind going in a million different directions. Lou has never asked to talk to me privately before. I wonder if this is about David’s health, or could it be that Shane’s been making trouble again without me knowing and he wants me to go to the police?
We walk into the study and he has me sitting in a chair across from him. I sense his uneasiness at what he’s about to say, this only exasperating my nervousness.
He takes a deep breath and begins. “Before I start, I want to say that I’m only suggesting this because I think it is in everybody’s best interest, but it is absolutely fine if you disagree with me. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable around me or David after this conversation if you’re answer is no, okay?”
Relentless Hope (Resilient Hearts) Page 9