"Fuck!" Alyssa yelled out loud and she flung her turkey wrap against the wall. She was furious at the news for breaking away. She wanted to know what was happening. The other woman in the room turned her attention away from the window and stared at Alyssa. Clearly the bout of profanity was enough to disturb this woman, even in her current state of distress. Alyssa felt the need to explain her outburst.
"That car on TV, that's the guy who shot my fiancée. I just wanted to see them catch him, to know that it was over. I'm sorry for my behavior," said Alyssa.
"Is your fiancée all right?" the woman asked.
"I don't know yet. That's why I am here. How about you?" Alyssa asked.
"My son was in a motorcycle accident. He's hurt pretty bad, internal injuries. He's only nineteen years old!" she blurted out and then she started to cry.
Alyssa was starting to say that she was sorry when the nurse came in and took the woman to the recovery room to sit with her son. Alyssa wished her and her son the best as they left. The nurse told Alyssa that they were finishing up with Jack and that the doctor would be out to talk to her soon. Alyssa only had to wait about ten minutes until the surgeon came out to speak with her.
"Alyssa Snyder?" he asked when he entered the room. Alyssa walked over to talk with him. The doctor smiled when she walked up.
"Mr. Coleman is out of surgery and everything went great. His vitals are real strong and he is doing very well. At this point we are fairly confident that he will make a full recovery," the doctor began.
"Oh thank God!" Alyssa interrupted, but the doctor wasn't finished.
"The bullet missed his heart, which was very lucky because it was close. It made a clean exit to the other side. He did have an arterial tear though, so he lost a lot of blood. He'll be in intensive care for the next twenty-four hours before being moved to a recovery room. It will be several hours before you can see him, but once he is awake and we have checked to ensure that there are no signs of infection, we will bring you back for a few minutes. You will have to wait until he is in recovery before you can spend an extended amount of time with him, but like I said it looks really hopeful right now. It will take a while but he will be okay in time."
Alyssa thanked the doctor and then she sat back down to wait until she was allowed to go and see Jack. She felt like a tremendous weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. Jack was going to be okay! She started to cry and to shake, but it was partially due to relief. Her tears were interrupted though by an update on the news. The man driving the car did not survive the wreck and his identity had been confirmed. The man who shot Jack was none other than Sam Masterson! The news report told citizens that they could rest easy because not only was the high speed chase over, but the notorious serial killer was no longer at large.
Alyssa cupped her hands over her mouth. She could hardly believe her ears. Masterson had been the one who shot Jack, not someone who was trying to avenge Trevor Barnes! Alyssa was shocked. She had no idea why Sam Masterson would have had it out for Jack. After all Jack had been the one who had gotten Masterson sent to a hospital rather than prison. In any case though, Alyssa was glad that both Masterson and Barnes were dead.
Chapter Twenty-One: Recovery
Jack started to open his eyes but he quickly shut them again. A blinding square shaped light was all he could see. He squeezed his eyes shut, watching the colored outline of the light dance around behind his closed eyes. He shook his head and tried to see again. Everything was blurry and he felt dizzy and sick to his stomach. What the hell happened? Where am I? Where's Alyssa? These thoughts entered his mind and then quickly faded again as Jack slipped back into a deep state of unconsciousness. The darkness came again, and it was comforting and quiet. There was no pain in the darkness. Yet the light, the light kept trying to break its way in. Jack could see it creeping underneath his eyelids like a thief determined to steal his silence. The light was cruel as it brought tremendous pain. Whenever Jack started to see the light he felt like his chest was being burned from the inside out. The burning soon gave way to the most intense pain that Jack had ever felt. This time it didn't fade when he closed his eyes, instead it held him captive like a tortured prisoner.
Jack wanted to scream or run away or at least move in an effort to alleviate his pain, but he couldn't. He wondered if he was paralyzed. He couldn't move his arms or his legs. The only thing that he seemed to be able to control was his head. He shook it back and forth, trying to get the rest of his body to move along, but it was like he was strapped down and confined. Once again he tried to open his eyes. He could see the square light again, only this time it was less blinding and he could see that it was a light fixture on a white ceiling. He could hear a steady and rhythmic beeping near him and voices speaking softly in the distance. His mouth was gummy and dry like the cottonmouth feeling of a hangover. Jack moved his tongue about and licked his lips, trying to revive a little moisture. He turned his head to toward the beeping sound and he realized that he was hooked up to hospital monitors.
The pupils of his eyes dilated as his mind suddenly remembered the shooting. He had just proposed to Alyssa and they were waiting outside the restaurant for a cab. A black car pulled up slowly and as Jack turned to look at it, he recognized Sam Masterson. Then he saw Masterson hold up the gun and fire! The deafening sound was embedded in his memory. Oh God, there were two shots! Where is Alyssa? Panicked ripped through Jack's body and it overcame his pain and his apparent paralysis. He fought against them both with violent and desperate intensity. He managed to raise his shoulders and move his arms enough to shake the bed, which alerted the nurses.
"Now Mr. Coleman, I need you to try and relax. You just underwent an intensive surgical procedure. Your body is still recovering from the anesthesia. That is why you can't move. You need to give it some time to wear off," said the nurse sternly. She was a woman in her late fifties to early sixties. She had pursed lips and an annoyed look on her face, not unlike a mother scolding an unruly child.
"Alyssa. Alyssa," Jack said twice in forced whispers.
"She's fine, Mr. Coleman. Once you are cleared from Intensive Care, we can bring your fiancée in to see you, but if you fight you are going to prolong the process. So please calm down a bit, alright?" The nurse walked over and tucked the blankets tightly around Jack, adding to his already impaired mobility.
The nurse walked away with her hands on her hips and she made her way back to her station, where she sat down to file her fingernails. Jack breathed a sigh of relief, Alyssa was alive and she was there. He lay back down for a while and tried to rest like the nurse had ordered, but the pain was incredible. Tears streamed down from his eyes, despite his best efforts to hide them. About half an hour later, the stern nurse returned and she noticed the tears.
"How are doing Mr. Coleman? Can you move your fingers yet?" she asked as loosened the tight blanket just enough so that she could see Jack's hands. Jack was able to move his hands and his arms partially.
"That's very good, Mr. Coleman. Are you feeling any pain yet?" she asked, watching his body language carefully. Jack clenched his fist and squeezed his eyes shut as he nodded his head.
"Is it a lot of pain?" she asked watching as more tears streamed down his cheeks. Jack nodded again vigorously. The nurse told him she would ask the doctor if it was okay to start his morphine drip. Shortly thereafter a doctor came back and did essentially the same test and then he had the nurses set Jack up with some pain medication in his IV. About half an hour later, Jack was able to move fairly well and he was in less pain. He felt really drugged up, and he still hurt but it was much better than it had been when he first woke up. The doctors came to check on him again and they determined that he was well enough to be moved to a regular hospital room. Jack asked when he could see Alyssa and the doctor promised that as soon as he was settled into his new room that she could stay there with him.
After what seemed like forever, two nurses came to move Jack to his new room. The first one changed the dre
ssing on his shoulder and his catheter bag and then they wheeled him down the hall and into an elevator. Then they went down the hall and into a private room. There the nurses set him up with a fresh IV and a new medicine bag. Then they hooked him up to series of monitors. One of the nurses brought out extra blankets and pillows. Some she gave to Jack and some she sat on a recliner that was next to his bed. The nurse told him that his fiancée could stay there for the next few days if that is what they wanted. Jack thanked her for that and he told the nurse that he hadn't seen her yet. The nurse smiled and said that she would look for her.
Alyssa was still sitting in the same room watching the news when the nurse came in. She was delighted to hear that Jack was awake and that he was doing so well that they had moved him to his own room. She broke into tears and hugged the nurse when she told Alyssa that she could stay in Jack's room with him. Then the nurse told Alyssa to follow her. She pointed out various markers and things to look for along the way so Alyssa could find her way back to Jack's room without getting lost. Alyssa was grateful for that as well. When they knocked on Jack's door, Alyssa was so nervous. She had no idea what to expect, but she dying to see him. Then the nurse opened the door and walked inside with Alyssa meekly walking behind her.
"Look who I found," the nurse said in a sing-song voice. Then despite the pain, Jack smiled when he saw Alyssa.
"Alyssa!" he said excitedly and then he started to cry despite himself. She started crying too as she made her way to his bedside. She ever so gently hugged him, being careful not to bump the bandages or pull on the wires. Jack reached up and wiped her tears away. Alyssa was so choked up that she could barely speak but she managed to say "I love you" and then she leaned in and kissed him on the forehead. Jack reached around to cradle her head and he returned the kiss and then he hugged her again until it just hurt too much to move his arm that way.
Alyssa stayed in Jack's room for the next few days. The only time she left was to go home to take a shower and pick up some of her own clothes while Jack was visiting with his son. Alyssa figured that would be a good time to leave because she didn't want to take away from their time, plus she didn't want to see Jade. She had been through enough without listening to that bitch's nasty comments. She did go down to the cafeteria every now and then to get something to eat, but she generally stayed by Jack's side other than that.
Jack's condition seemed to improve every day. He was soon able to get up on his own and even shower and use the bathroom by himself. The doctor said that he would go home in about a week. Only one of Sam Masterson's bullets had actually hit Jack and since it went straight through without damaging any organs, Jack was recovering pretty quickly. The other bullet had hit the side of the restaurant and it had been recovered by the police who were the first on the scene.
Alyssa told Jack that it was Sam Masterson that had shot him. Jack said that he knew because he had remembered recognizing him right before he saw the gun. The police had given Alyssa an update on the case. Apparently Sam Masterson's cousin, the one who had helped him escape, had disclosed some information as to why this had happened. Sam Masterson had told him that he was angry at Jack for not winning the case. Sam had these delusional ideas that since he was from a wealthy family, that a high priced lawyer could just make his charges go away. When Jack had told Masterson that the best he could hope for was life in a mental facility, he accepted it but he was angry. He wanted Jack to at least make an attempt to set him free, and Jack's refusal to do so infuriated Masterson to no end. Alyssa shared this information with Jack, who responded that at least he knew why. Jack was pleased to learn that Masterson was dead though. That way he couldn't hurt anyone else.
Alyssa talked a lot about the sick irony of everything. About how they had lived in fear of Trevor Barnes for so long, only to be attacked by someone that they never knew was a threat. Jack just told her that all of it was finally over. It just had to be over at this point. Barnes was dead and Sam Masterson was dead, and Alyssa and Jack were both alive. Then he told Alyssa to stop dwelling on the bad things that had happened that year and to start looking forward to the good that would come in the future. Jack would make a full recovery and they would be married. Together they would start a new life and from this point forward, they would only have good memories.
Chapter Twenty-Two: A Perfect Wedding
Jack made a full recovery and eight months after the shooting, things were very different in his life. Coleman, Patters and Schleicher managed to come back from the Sam Masterson fiasco that nearly put an end to the firm. After the news got wind of what happened to Jack, the firm was no longer viewed as accomplices to Sam Masterson's wickedness. They were soon looked upon as victims in their own right. This turned out to be excellent publicity for Coleman, Patters and Schleicher, because they now had public sympathy. This not only helped them to gain a whole slew of new clients, but it also warranted a fair amount of favoritism among certain judges. This may not have been fair to their opponents, but the law is rarely fair and justice is usually served on the side that is most convincing.
Coleman, Patters and Schleicher had to keep up with all their new clients without their star attorney though. Jack Coleman had a long recovery. He had only spent two weeks in the hospital but it was about four more months until he was fully recovered. Now he was finally able to live without pain in his chest and shoulder. He had minor motor skill damage to his left arm and hand, which made it hard for him to hold onto things sometimes. This was something that Jack would have to contend with for the rest of his life. Considering that if the bullet had been just a hair to the left it would have killed him, Jack was grateful that occasionally dropping stuff was his biggest challenge.
Jack debated returning to work once he was feeling better, but he had grown quite accustomed to a few things. For one thing he loved having Alyssa by his side every day. The couple had become incredibly close through the whole ordeal. After spending nine years in a loveless marriage with Jade, Jack was truly amazed at how wonderful true love could be. Jack now had joined custody of his son, Jason. Alyssa and Jason had become really close as well. Alyssa loved the boy and she spoiled him rotten when he was around. She doted on him and showered him with attention, something that the child never got from his own mother. Jade was always so self-involved that she never paid much attention to the boy. Truth be told, he was closer to his nanny than he ever was to her, but Alyssa was different. She played with him and talked to him and she always invited him wherever they went. Jason felt a new sense of belonging and his confidence soared. His grades improved and his attitude really improved, and Jack finally got to spend quality time with his boy and just focus on being a father.
So instead of returning to the crazy hours and undue stress of practicing law, Jack and Alyssa decided to invest in a few different startup businesses. They became silent partners in two local restaurants and a popular night club called Razor's Edge. In addition to this, Alyssa started her own online retail store. She bought and sold fashion, jewelry, handbags and shoes online. It took a little while to get her business going, but with a lot of marketing and some creative networking, Alyssa's Boutique was now turning a fair profit. She loved the flexibility that it provided and the fact that she was contributing to their lifestyle. Before she was making any real money, she always felt weird allowing Jack to pay for everything. Now she felt like everything was shared; their home, their finances, and their lives.
Of course the biggest perk to getting out of the business of law, was that they were no longer exposed to criminals. There were no crazy heroin dealers or psychotic serial killers out to get them anymore. Now they really could go out into town without being followed, threatened or attacked. They were truly free to just live their lives in peace and to be a family. Needless to say family became a focal point in their future plans. Alyssa was now two months pregnant and they planned to have a few more children if nature allowed. Jason was thrilled at the idea of having a little brother or a little sister in hi
s life. Jack was excited as well. He had always wanted more children but Jade was dead set against anything that had the potential to ruin her body. She still complained about the nearly invisible stretch marks that she had from Jason.
With family fast becoming the focus for Jack and Alyssa, of course they had spent countless hours planning their wedding. Alyssa had always fantasized of a big, elaborate wedding ceremony. She wanted the kind of dream wedding that young girls read about in fashion magazines. Jack was more than happy to oblige as he wanted their wedding day to be magical and perfect. So one day while they were looking at various venues to hold the ceremony, Jack got an amazing idea.
"Let's get married in Paris!" he suggested completely out of the blue.
"Paris? That sounds beautiful but how would we get our guests there? No one is just going to fly across an ocean for a wedding," Alyssa said skeptically.
"Okay, I realize that it would mean a very small wedding, with only a few close friends and I know you wanted something big. But what we would lack in size, we could make up for in romanticism. We could fly our closest friends and family down and have the reception in the Champ de Mars, which is a huge grassy park surrounded by floral gardens and accented by the Eiffel Tower itself. Think about it Alyssa. It would be in all of our pictures and our videos and then we could tour Europe for our honeymoon!" Jack's eyes grew wide with excitement as he spoke and the idea quickly grew on Alyssa.
Alyssa's Desire Page 20