I looked at Dalton as he offered me a sad smile. I’m fairly certain my own smile mirrored his. I wanted to leave so badly. I need to be home with my loves, my hero dog, and our pig too, of course.
“Soon, Harlee. Mommy will get to come home soon.”
She turned in my lap and looked in my eyes, her bottom lip quivering. It took every ounce of strength I had to hold myself together. I refuse to lose it in front of Harlee.
“Moose, why don’t you and I get some ice cream tonight before we head back to Mamie and PawPaw, and then tomorrow we can go to the mall and buy a special surprise for mommy, okay?”
Her excited laughter was all the confirmation Dalton needed. He was pretty awesome at defusing any situation and I loved that about him.
We spent a few hours talking and laughing. Luckily, there was no shortage of cartoons on the TV, because trying to entertain a three year old in a boring hospital room, is damn near impossible without it.
“Alright, Moose. We need to head out.”
Harlee turned and wrapped her arms around my neck. It broke my heart to know that I couldn’t leave with them. I miss snuggling with her on the couch and reading her books before I tucked her into bed. The thought of missing so much while I laid in this hospital bed, infuriated me. I was angry with Austin for all the shit he put me through, and angry with myself for letting it go on for so damn long.
“Mommy will see you tomorrow, okay? I love you.”
“I wuv you too.”
Dalton held his arms out and Harlee jumped into them. He bent down to kiss me, but Harlee beat him to it and planted a sweet little kiss on my cheek. I laughed and kissed her back, as I tickled her tummy. Dalton kissed my forehead and told me he would be back after a while, and then they left.
I feel terrible that Dalton has to sleep in the awful recliners in my room every night. No matter how many times I tell him to go home and get some real sleep, he refuses. I’m glad my parents are still here to watch after Harlee. Our friends didn’t mind keeping her, but I just felt horrible about burdening them, even though they insisted it was no burden at all.
A knock on the door startled me from my thoughts, “Come in.”
“Hi, Em. Dinner time!”
Sally, the sweet, but feisty, old lady from the cafeteria came sauntering in with a tray of who knows what in her arms.
“What poison am I forced to consume tonight, Sal?”
“Oh you hush. I put an extra brownie on your tray. Those chocolate chip ones you love so much.”
“Oh, I just love you. Thanks so much.”
Sally has been working in the hospital for longer than I have been alive. She is the most caring woman I have ever met, but she will put you in your place quickly if you cross her. She’s good about sneaking Betty and me extra desserts when she can. Bless her. Lord knows I love desserts.
“I wish I could stay and chat, but we are busy as shit tonight. You better heal quickly, honey.” Sally stepped closer and patted my cheek, “I miss seeing that pretty face of yours. Everyone else is so damn boring around here.”
“Sally!”
“Shit honey, you know it’s true.”
I shook my head and laughed, “I’m sure there are plenty of entertaining people who grace the cafeteria every day.”
She shrugged her shoulders and smiled as she turned and headed out the door. I love working here. This is the first job I have had where everyone is genuinely amazing. Sure, there are a few assholes, but for the most part, working here is wonderful. Now if only the roles were reversed and I was the one taking care of a patient, instead of being the patient. Soon. I’ll get to leave soon.
I have officially been in this awful hospital bed for two weeks. Two long, miserable weeks. Of course, I am only able to remember one of those weeks, but that is plenty of time to go stir crazy. I was told that I could be released tomorrow, as long as the tests they ran on me today come back clear. Thank fuck! I am ready to run out of this room and never look back, well, at least until I come back to work.
Everyone was busy working today and my parents had a special day planned with Harlee, so I’m left here with no one to entertain me. I shouldn’t expect that someone would be here at all times, but I wanted to share my misery with someone else. As I played a trivia game on my phone, I heard footsteps make their way into my room.
“Knock, knock, guess who?”
“Oh my God, Magnolia! What are you doing here?”
“Are you kidding? I had to come see you. I feel awful it took so damn long. I just couldn’t get off work.”
“Oh honey, don’t even. You’re here now; ah I’m so excited to see you.”
I stood up and wrapped my arms around her. “You look like shit on a stick, girlfriend. I need to do something with your hair.”
“Oh how I missed your bluntness, Magnolia.”
Magnolia dug through her giant purse that could easily moonlight as a suitcase. She pulled out a brush, hair product, and a hair tie. Sitting on the bed, she motioned for me to sit in front of her. It felt amazing to have someone mess with my hair. I need to make an appointment at the salon as soon as I get out of here.
“Have you conditioned this monstrosity in the past month? Girl this is bad.”
“Hey, hooker, don’t judge my afro. It’s not like anyone in here has the time to help me with my hair, nor have I had any reason to mess with it myself.”
“Clearly.”
We laughed as Magnolia ran amazing smelling product through my hair. We joked and caught each other up on the latest gossip as she made a fish tail braid in my long, dark hair, shaping it so the braid would fall across my left shoulder.
“I need some advice. What do you think of the name Colt? Or how about Auburn or even Reese?”
“Oh I love those names, they are… Wait. Wait, what? Girl are you…”
“Yes! Yes I am! Finally. Lord knows we’ve been knocking boots numerous times a day.”
I turned around to face her and pulled her in for a hug, “I am so thrilled for you. Harper is going to be so excited. Have you told her yet?”
“I’m staying with her tonight. I need to cuddle that cute little boy of hers, so I’ll tell her then. We are so excited to be parents, Ember. Everything is so perfect. After all the bullshit I went through, things are finally where they should be. The same goes for you, cupcake. You dealt with a lot of heartache from that son of a bitch, but it’s time to move on, and let’s face it, you have Mr. Handsome just waiting to sweep you off your feet and make you his forever.”
I blushed at her admission. She’s the only person in my life who truly knows exactly how it feels to be trapped in a hellish relationship. Her ex-husband was a sick bastard, just like Austin.
“I am just so happy for you guys. You will be an amazing Mom. How excited is Cliff?”
“Oh! I’ll show you.”
Magnolia pulled out her phone and brought up a video. When I hit play, I watched as Cliff opened a small wrapped box. When he pulled out a small pair of cowboy boots, he looked at Magnolia with confusion written on his face. I could hear her giggle at almost the exact time the light bulb above his head lit up, figuratively of course. He covered his face with his hands and started crying. Tears rolled down my own cheeks as I watched this strong man that I have known since childhood, crumble into a pile of joyful tears at the thought of becoming a daddy.
The camera moved closer to him as she grabbed his hand, pulling it away from his face, “Are you seriously pregnant?” He said as he wiped his tear covered cheeks. She didn’t say anything, but I assumed she had smiled or nodded because he lunged at her, wrapping his arms around her. She outstretched her arm as best she could, showing them hugging as he said, “I love you so much, Mags. I can’t believe it. I. Cannot. Believe. It! I’m going to be a dad! A dad!”
The video cut off and I looked at Magnolia, who was grinning wildly. “That had to have been the single most adorable reaction I have ever seen. He’s a Keeper, Mags.”
�
��Isn’t he though.”
As I smiled at Magnolia, my phone beeped, letting me know I had a text.
Dalton: Hi, beautiful. I have a few errands to run and Blake asked me to meet him for a quick beer, then I need to run home and shower. I know you are in good hands, but I will see you in a few hours.
Me: You knew! How did you guys keep Magnolia a secret?
Dalton: I’ll never tell. I miss you.
Me: I miss you more. Have fun. No rush. I’ll see you soon.
“You’re blushing from a text. What a dork.”
“Shut up and help me walk to the cafeteria. I need some more brownies.”
I technically shouldn’t leave my room, well the floor at least, but I need to get out for a bit before I go insane and start carving words into the wall with a butter knife.
Once we made it to the cafeteria, we sat in the corner and talked about life and babies while we ate entirely too many brownies. It was so great to have Magnolia here.
“Hey, Em. Guess what movie is on in…” She glanced and her watch, then back to me, “Ten minutes?”
“Jurassic Park?”
Magnolia rolled her eyes as she hooked her arm into mine, “No, crazy pants. The Notebook. I think we need some Ally and Noah time. Don’t you agree?”
I’m a sucker for romantic movies, we all are. Harper, Mags, and I have probably seen every single romantic movie ever made.
As we got comfortable, sitting side by side on the bed, the movie starts. I watch intently, thinking of how I have always wanted a love like Ally and Noah’s. When I think of Dalton and my future, I see it. I see a love that can withstand anything. A love that knows no bounds. A love I have longed for my entire life.
Work was brutal today. Since a lot of the guys from my unit are on leave, I got stuck doing PT with the assholes who are straddling the line of being at the weight they should be verses almost being too big by military standards. I had four groups and took each one through an extensive training program. I lost count of how many of those guys puked or cried, but I didn’t give in.
To be the best, you have to work hard. Working hard includes taking care of yourself, so I pushed everyone as close to their breaking point as I could. Since I had four groups, I worked out with every one, and my leg is throbbing.
After work I ran some errands, and stopped to pick up fresh flowers for Ember to put on the table next to her bed before I headed to Tacky’s Tavern to grab a beer with Blake.
As I parked my truck and walked across the parking lot, I felt a strange sense of dread. Chalking it up to exhaustion, I shook my head and made my way inside. I scanned the bar for Blake and spotted him at a small table in the back, chugging his beer and watching game highlights on one of the televisions.
I walked to the bar and ordered a beer, then sat down across from Blake. “Oh hey, bro. I didn’t even see you come in. You look rough. Shitty day?”
“Yeah man. I got suckered into four rounds of PT. I’ll be lucky if I can walk a straight line in the morning. My leg hurts like hell.”
“Well I guess a beer is just what you need then. Are you staying with Ember tonight?”
“You know it.”
“I’m heading out with Piper and Madison for the weekend. It’s her parents’ thirtieth wedding anniversary and her sister has a big surprise party planned. I brought the dogs and Wilbur over to Greg’s after work, he offered to watch them. I’ll swing by the house and grab my bag after I get the girls loaded, but I just wanted you to know I won’t be there to keep an eye on things.”
“You’re never there anyway. You might as well move the girls in with us. The more the merrier.”
“The time is coming, man. I just haven’t decided if we should move in together before or after I propose.”
“Propose first, just in case she turns your sorry ass down.”
Blake rolled his eyes as he took a swig of beer. “I would probably turn into a giant pussy if she turned me down. Do you think she would?”
“You can’t be serious. Piper loves you, man. I don’t know why, you snore and your farts could kill batman, but she does.”
“You’re a dick. Listen; let’s have a cookout next weekend. Em will be home and I think that calls for a celebration. Plus I’m dying to try out that new grill we bought.”
“Yeah, sounds good.”
After finishing our beers, we each ordered one more. We drank slowly as we recounted crazy stories from our younger days, “Do you remember that time you lit your ass on fire? Who knew that farting on a flaming stick could cause a mini explosion?”
“That’s only because Steven’s stupid ass poured gas on the end of that stick before he took a match to it. I couldn’t sit for a month. You honestly think I would forget that, Blake?”
“True. Ha. It’s no better than the time Phillip Dailey paid me twenty bucks to jump on the back of that mean ass horse they owned, butt naked.”
“You probably would have stayed on his back if we weren’t so shit faced. How many bones did you break again?”
“Four, but my balls hurt worse than anything. I knew that horse was mean, but damn if I knew he could buck like that. They were smart to sell him to the rodeo.”
Meeting up with Blake was just what I needed. After we left, I drove home to grab a quick shower. When I parked by the house and walked to the door, that same sense of dread hit me. I carefully looked around, taking in my surroundings. Nothing seemed out of place, so I shook my head, just as I did at the bar, and headed inside.
I spent longer in the shower than I normally do, letting the hot water work my muscles loose. Between sleeping in a shitty chair for almost two weeks straight, and all the exercising I did today, I was sore as hell. As inviting as my bed looked, falling asleep near Ember was far more appealing.
I grabbed a protein bar from the pantry and made my way to the door. After locking up, I turned to walk down the porch steps when I saw him. The feeling of dread I had felt numerous times today, came back with vengeance as I stared into those dark and anger ridden eyes. Austin.
I reached in my pocket to grab my phone, but it wasn’t there. Fuck.
“What the fuck are you doing here, man?”
Austin laughed a deep, almost devious, sounding laugh. He staggered toward me, causing the smell of alcohol to waft through the air, “I came to take back what’s mine.”
“Ember doesn’t belong to you, and you know it. You fucked up any chance you had of being her husband when you put your hands on her in a way that a man should never put his hands on a woman.”
“Shut up, Bates. Save me the fucking theatrics. You know damn well that she would still be with me if you didn’t swoop in and fuck with her head. You told her things, didn’t you? Huh? Yeah, you made her believe I was bad, that I was wrong for her. You aren’t shit to her, Bates. You’re the fucking rebound. The temporary thrill she needs until she comes back to me, like she always does.”
“You put her in a coma. If you think there is even the slightest chance of her taking you back, you are more fucked in the head than I thought; which is a shock to even process, because as it stands, you are as close to being insane as someone who sleeps and shits in a padded room.”
I let him process my words for a moment while I thought hard about where I left my phone. I patted my pockets again; making damn sure it wasn’t on me.
“Missing something?”
I looked up as an evil grin spread across Austin’s face. He held my phone in his hand and before I made it two steps toward him, he slammed it against the ground and stomped it with his boot. “Oops, sorry about that.”
What in the actual fuck? The way I see it, I have two options. I can either make a mad dash to my truck and high tail it out of here, or I can man up and teach this asshole a lesson. I think I’ll go with the latter. I twisted my face in anger as Austin rushed toward me. He wrapped his arms around my waist in an attempt to tackle me. As I stumbled backward, I twisted my body slightly and jammed my elbow hard into the
middle of his back, causing him to trip and land face first into the gravel.
He stood up quickly, licking his bottom lip as blood dripped down his chin. Gravel’s a bitch when you fall on it.
“Oh, Mr. Tough guy, eh? You swoop in and try to steal my wife and now you actually think you can take me on. You ain’t shit, Bates.”
“I didn’t have to try to steal Ember from you. I finally gave her the hope she needed, the hope she longed for. You don’t love her, Austin. A man in love doesn’t hit his wife. He doesn’t treat her like a pawn in some fucked up game.”
“Oh that’s rich. You don’t know shit about our lives.”
“I don’t? Interesting. Was I imagining the black eye she had the first day we met? How about the night before we left for deployment when she showed up at my door a sobbing, wounded mess because you used your fists as weapons against her. Oh wait, maybe I also imagined the day you beat her so badly she ended up in a coma for an entire fucking week. She’s still in the hospital, recovering from what you did to her. You did that, Austin. I think it’s pretty fucking clear what your life together consisted of.”
I saw the rage boil inside him with every word I spoke. Every single instance of abuse that I reminded him of, caused his face to turn a brighter shade of red as his eyes darkened, the colors changing at each admission. He was furious and downright psychotic by this point.
He ran at me, but I ducked away, causing him to run past me. He didn’t miss a beat as he whipped around and grabbed my shirt, pulling me toward him. He swung at my face and missed. I brought my arm to my side and thrust it forward, jabbing him hard in the stomach, causing him to gasp for his next breath.
As he doubled over, I went to take a step backward, but his leg hooked around mine, causing me to fall backward onto the ground. He jumped on top of me, acting out some twisted lion eating the zebra fantasy he must have had as a child.
He got two good hits to my face before I kneed him hard in the balls. He rolled his weight to one side of me, giving me the ability to punch him in the ribs and roll him off me. He was lying on his back, letting out various moans as he held his ribs, slightly rolling from side to side as if that would take the pain away.
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