Unbreak Me (Second Chances)

by Heather D'Agostino

“Just do it,” Zach grunted as he moved to slide down to the floor.

  Melanie helped him lay back so he was flat on his back. “Katie come here and hold him still right here,” she pointed to his chest. She grabbed his right arm and pulled and twisted until she felt it pop back into place. Zach groaned and screamed as if he was being tortured. Katie cringed and began to sob. Seeing him like that was worse than she thought. Melanie went to grab a scarf from her room so she could immobilize Zach’s arm until they got to the hospital.

  “Here,” she handed the phone to Katie. “Call Mr. Montgomery and ask him if he can meet us at the hospital.” Katie raised her eyes in question.

  “I don’t want you here alone in case his dad comes looking for him, and I don’t want you waiting around for me in the waiting room. Mr. Montgomery can take you to his loft.” Melanie held up her hand to Katie as if telling her the discussion was closed. “Now go put some clothes on.”

  “I’ll be right back,” she patted Zach’s knee and rose to her feet.

  Melanie moved down the hall at a lightning pace to change into some scrubs. She ran a brush though her hair pulling it up into a ponytail and threw on a pair of sneakers. She had her cell pressed to her ear when she reemerged from the bedroom.

  “Yes William, I’m on my way in right now. Broken ankle, cracked ribs, facial lacerations, and I reset the shoulder already.” She hung up the phone and moved over to where Zach was sitting. “Let’s go.”

  They helped Zach out to Melanie’s car and made their way to the hospital. On the drive over, Zach looked at Katie, “I’m sorry about this.”

  “What?” she looked shocked as her mouth dropped open and she wiped at her eyes.

  “I really didn’t want you to have to know about this,” he waved his hand in the air. “This isn’t something that I share with anybody.”

  “Zach, this isn’t your fault. You didn’t cause this,” Katie demanded.

  “I know, I just wanted to be normal for once in my life. Not the poor battered kid with the bad reputation,” Zach sighed. “People always see me as troubled. For once I wanted someone to see me as me.”

  “This actually explains a lot,” Katie glanced at him and then back at the road.

  When they pulled up to the hospital, Austin and Hannah were waiting out front. Melanie jumped from the car and ran in the emergency doors, not bothering to offer an explanation at the moment. She came back out in a matter of seconds with a wheelchair and opened the car door, motioning for Austin to help her move Zach into it.

  “Thanks for coming,” she glanced up at him. “I need you to take Katie with you. I don’t want her where his dad might find her. There’s no telling how he’ll react to us being involved in helping his son.”

  “No problem, you don’t need to worry, Katie will be fine. I’ll take care of it,” he hugged her and turned to grab Katie’s bag from her hand. “We’ll be at my loft until I hear from you.”

  Melanie turned to Katie. “Go with Mr. Montgomery. I’ll take care of Zach and I’ll call you as soon as I know something.”

  Katie hugged her tightly. “Thanks mom. I love you.”

  “Love you too, sweetie. Now go,” she pointed in Austin’s direction.

  Melanie wheeled Zach into the emergency room and rambled off her diagnosis to William in true doctor form.

  5 hours later

  Melanie had called Austin when Zach was settled into a room, and gave word that Katie could come back for a visit. Zach’s injuries had been worse that she had expected. His broken ankle was so severe that she had to perform surgery to realign the bones. He now had a rod in his leg that went from his knee to his ankle holding everything in place. He would need extensive physical therapy before he would walk normal again. One of his cracked ribs had punctured his lung, and he had needed twelve stitches on his face. Melanie had been sitting vigil in Zach’s room for most of the morning. She had fallen asleep in the chair in the corner of the room about an hour ago. That was just how Austin found her when he brought Katie back to the hospital later that afternoon.

  “Here,” Austin handed her a cup of coffee. “It’s just that gross kind from the machine down the hall, but I thought you could use a cup.”

  “Thanks,” she looked up at him offering a tired smile and took the coffee from his hands.

  Katie stood tentatively at the door watching and waiting to be noticed.

  “Come on in sweetie. He’s resting right now. I’ve got him on some pretty heavy pain meds. I have no idea how he managed to drive to our house with the condition he was in.”

  Katie crept into the room and stood by Zach’s bed. She leaned over and ran her hand lightly across his cheek. His eyes fluttered open as he tried to focus on her.

  “Hi,” she whispered. “How are you feeling?”

  “Better, thanks to your mom,” his voice was raspy and barely above a whisper.

  Katie’s smile was forced. “You need to rest, ok? I’ll be here when you wake up,” she leaned forward and placed a kiss to his forehead.

  Zach closed his eyes and sighed. He hadn’t felt safe enough to relax in a long time.

  “I’ve got to report this to social services,” Melanie sighed.

  “No mom, they’ll take him away. He doesn’t want that,” Katie begged.

  “Sweetheart, I have to. It’s the law,” Melanie could see the anguish on Katie’s face.

  “I have a friend that’s a lawyer, maybe he can help. I’ll give him a call and see if he can offer some advice,” Austin shrugged.

  “How would we pay him?” Melanie looked up at Austin.

  “He might take this case pro-bono. If not, I‘ll take care of it,” he replied.

  Austin left the room to move into the hallway and make the call.

  Katie moved over to hug Melanie. “Thanks mom, for everything.”

  “I’m glad I could help. Zach’s got a long and hard road ahead of him though. He’s going to need support, and I think maybe you should back off on dating him for a while.”

  Katie jerked her head up in shock, “No, I can’t do that.”

  “You have no idea what you’re dealing with here, honey,” Melanie reached out to touch Katie’s arm.

  “But mom, I love him. Don’t you think that’s a little unfair?” Katie’s lip began to tremble and a lone tear escaped her eye.

  “Listen to me, honey,” she placed her hands on Katie’s shoulders and turned her to so they were facing each other. “Zach has a lot to deal with right now. I don’t want you involved with someone that has as much going on with them as he does. He’s going to need our support. You can offer that as a friend, but nothing more. When he gets his life back in order, we’ll revisit the situation. Right now that’s how’s it’s going to be, understand?” Melanie looked her in the eye with the “Don’t push me” look.

  “Yes, Mom,” she reluctantly conceded.

  Just then Austin walked back into the room with a tall blonde man in a suit.

  “This is Matthew Sullivan, the attorney I was telling you about. He thinks he might be able to help Zach,” Austin pointed to the man who stood stoically in front of the hospital bed.

  “Austin tells me that we’re looking at a case of ongoing abuse here,” Matthew pulled up a chair and sat as he opened his briefcase.

  “Yes, Zach says it’s been getting worse over the past year. He’s been saving to move out and go to the School of Design,” Melanie stated. “His father beat him pretty severely last night. He came to my daughter in the middle of the night and we brought him here. I’m a surgeon here, so I was able to treat him.”

  “Well, given his age,” Matthew was writing in a notepad as he talked, “I think our best bet is to emancipate him. He’s got a steady job, and it sounds like from what I’ve heard, that he’s been supporting the household. Let me do a little research on family background here and I’ll let you know what I can do,” Matthew stood and shook Melanie and Austin’s hands before disappearing out into the hall.

 
; “He’s going to be ok,” Melanie hugged Katie. “Thank you,” she mouthed to Austin.

  Austin leaned in and kissed her on the forehead, “I’ve got to head home. Do you want me to leave Katie with you or take her with me?”

  “Take her with you. I can’t stay in here, and I’m worried Rick might come by. I have a shift I have to cover. I’m on in two hours, and I need to go by my office to check my schedule,” she rubbed her eyes and yawned.

  “Mom, I wanna stay,” Katie pleaded.

  “No, I’m not discussing this any further. Go with Mr. Montgomery and stay with Hannah. I’ll pick you up after my shift. Understand?” Melanie meant business and Katie knew it.

  “Yes Mom, see you tonight,” she grumbled.

  With that Katie and Austin left Melanie with Zach. She checked his vitals one more time before calling hospital security. She filled in the guard on the situation with Zach, and then left to get ready for her shift. She was completely exhausted, but this was nothing new in her line of work. She’d lost count of the number of sleepless nights she’d had over the course of her career. The sleepiness could be kept at bay with some coffee and a little splash of water to the face.

  With renewed determination she made her way back to her office to start her day.

  Chapter 11

  September 2012

  It had been a long day and all Melanie could think about was getting home to a soft warm bed. She’d been up for almost twenty-four hours straight. Granted this was nothing new in her profession, but she’d been on the day shift for the past three years, so pulling an all-nighter was a thing of the past, at least until last night. Mr. Sullivan had been by several times throughout the day asking questions about Zach’s history. He had discovered that Zach had been seen at the hospital several times. He hadn’t given his name for fear of someone finding out about his home life, but the physical description given was unmistakable. It was him. After talking with Zach, it was obvious that he was embarrassed with his home life and had been trying to get away from his dad for a while. That evening before he left, Matthew had approached her with some promising news.

  “The judge has agreed to meet with me in his chambers tomorrow and hear the case. We might be able to get in front of the court before Zach has to be discharged. That way he won’t need a foster parent. I need to know where he will go when he leaves here,” Matthew questioned.

  “He needs physical therapy,” Melanie stated. “I can send him to a state run center, that way the state will pay for his care. He will need to be there for at least six weeks. Once that time is up, we can go from there.”

  “Sounds good, keep me informed, Dr. Andrews,” Matthew shook her hand and headed out.

  Melanie packed up her things to head over to Austin’s loft. She had her car at the hospital from when she had brought Zach in that morning, so she didn’t need to worry about the subway. She just wanted to make it a quick stop to pick up Katie, and then home for a hot shower and bed. As she threw her bag over her shoulder and gathered her jacket, she couldn’t help but feel some relief that the day was finally over. She was so thankful that Austin had come to her rescue. She hadn’t had to ask him for help like this before, and she was grateful that he had so willingly rose to the opportunity. Every time she turned around, she was finding he had even more to offer her than she had ever expected.

  Traffic was horrendous on the drive to Austin’s loft. Boston at rush hour was one experience that she did not miss; of course NYC wasn’t any better. This is why I take the subway most days she slumped against the steering wheel as traffic sat at a stand still. A trip that should have only taken fifteen minutes ended up taking forty-five.

  Once she had parked in the deck and pulled her weary body from the car, she trudged to the elevator and made her way up to the twentieth floor. When she walked down the hallway, she could hear laughter coming from inside Austin’s apartment. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves and knocked on the door. When he opened the door, she was assaulted with the smell of something delicious.

  “Mmmmmm, I’m not interrupting dinner, am I?” she had a guilty look on her face.

  “No, you’re right on time,” he smiled. “The girls are playing Wii and I’ve got a roast in the oven. Figured you wouldn’t be much in the mood for cooking after the day you’ve had.”

  “Cooking? No. I’m just thinking about sleep and a hot shower right now,” she yawned.

  “That’s what Katie thought, too,” he laughed. “I figured I’d feed ya before you go home.”

  “Thanks, but you didn’t need to do that. I feel bad, I called you in the middle of the night for help, and here you are helping again,” she wiped at her temples. “I know you’re busy, too. You did have to work today, right?”

  “It’s no problem. I like that you called me. I’m glad that when you needed someone, I’m the one you thought of. Besides, I needed to take a day off anyway,” he winked. “Now, come in here and sit down and eat,” he motioned toward the table where the girls were already sitting.

  Katie waved and rushed over to Melanie with a tight smile, “Is he gonna be ok, Mom? I mean did Mr. Sullivan figure something out?”

  “I don’t even get a hello?”, Melanie hugged her.

  “Sorry. Hi Mom. So?” Katie begged.

  “Yes, he’ll be fine. Mr. Sullivan has some ideas. As soon as I know more, I’ll let you know. I’m really tired sweetie. Can we talk about this later?” Melanie sighed.

  As Melanie followed Austin into the apartment, she couldn’t help but watch him intently. Every time they’d gone out or seen each other, he had been dressed in a suit or something similar. Last night and then now, he wore a pair of dark jeans that hung low on his hips with a snug fitting Henley. Every muscle in his back and arms was defined under the tight fabric. She bit her lower lip as her gaze trailed down to his backside and stopped. She shook her head and blushed at the thoughts that were running through her mind. Part of her wanted to reach out and squeeze it, but another part was chastising her for even thinking about it. She’d just recently told him that she wasn’t ready; she couldn’t very well act on these impulses. What kind of message would that send?

  She shook her head to clear her thoughts and ambled over to plop down at the table. “I’m supposed to be the one cooking for you, you know. I thought that’s what we agreed on the last time we went out,” she chuckled.

  “Mom, Mr. Montgomery’s a better cook than you. I’m glad he was the one to do this,” Katie laughed and began to choke on the water she was sipping as Melanie gave her a glare. “What?” Katie feigned innocence, “you know it’s true.”

  The four sat at the kitchen table enjoying the evening and wonderful food that Austin had prepared. Melanie watched as the mock family laughed and enjoyed one another’s company. Oh how I miss this she thought. Austin happened to look over and see the wistful look in her eyes. They both sensed that there was more to this feeling of completeness than either of them knew at the time.

  After they finished eating, Austin suggested that Melanie go relax on the couch while he and the girls cleaned up. She willingly went in the family room and lay down on the plush couch. Katie and Hannah began clearing the dishes while Austin rinsed them and placed them in the dishwasher.

  “I don’t know how you did that,” Katie shook her head from side to side in amazement.

  “Did what?” Austin glanced over his shoulder from the sink.

  “Got my mom to go in there and relax and not try to take charge of whatever we were doing,” she glanced back at Melanie who was now asleep on the couch.

  “Your mom’s tired. I’m sure she would have put up more of a fight if she wasn’t so worn down,” Austin chuckled.

  “Well, she’s passed out now,” Katie giggled.

  “Dad, since Dr. Andrews is asleep, do you think that maybe Katie could stay the night?” Hannah batted her eyes and gave Austin the look she knew her dad couldn‘t resist.

  “Don’t give me that face Hannah Montg
omery,” Austin laughed. “She can stay. I think it will be awhile before Dr. Andrews has the energy to go anywhere anyway.”

  “Thanks Dad,” Hannah rushed over to hug him.

  The girls finished in the kitchen and went to Hannah’s room, careful to be quiet and not wake Melanie. Austin could here giggling for a while, but then they settled down, and he assumed they’d gone to sleep.

  Melanie was snuggled under a blanket when he walked into the family room. He sat down on the loveseat and watched her sleep. She looked so peaceful and angelic lying there. Her chest rising and falling as soft breaths escaped her lips, the way her face crinkled up every now and then as if she was dreaming about something.

  He smiled as he thought about what it would be like to wake up next to her. Many of the past nights had been spent lying awake fantasizing about what it would be like to have her naked in his arms, moaning his name, as he made sweet love to her in his bed. He smiled as he studied her and the way she had made herself at home as if she belonged in this very spot. She had removed the hair tie, so her hair was sprawled across the pillow, her shoes had been kicked off, and she had removed her watch and placed it on the coffee table. The living room scene looked complete. He couldn’t imagine anyone else fitting into his and Hannah’s life as easily as she did.