I stood on the threshold of my family home and felt like a stranger. “No, it is. I know I was the family screw up for a while trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life but I got there. All I have done is work and work fucking hard to prove to you and dad that I am so much more than your disappointment. And when I finally do meet that special someone, you treat her like a fucking felon. No, you will not be meeting her anytime soon. I’m not sure you ever will.”
“You are not nor have ever been a disappointment. You’re angry now, I get it but you saying the things you are saying right now are completely out of line and frankly, hurt my feelings. You and your sister are our entire world. We have given you both our complete heart, love, and trust. You want to be angry, be angry, but don’t you ever question my feelings or commitment to you.”
I didn’t say another word and got into my car speeding off for the gate. As I was leaving the property, my father was arriving home. He rolled down his window and asked me what was wrong. “Ask mom” and then I sped off without another word. Fuck! this is not how I saw this playing out with my mom. Is she right? Am I just going on blind trust with Alex? I don’t want to believe that I am.
A text message came through and it was from my mom.
Mom: I’m sorry.
I was stopped at a light and quickly texted back.
Me: I know. I’m sorry too.
Mom: When will I see you again?
Me: When I’m ready.”
I shut my phone off and drove over to the one home I knew I would be welcomed in. When I got up to her place the door looked like it was kicked in. I shoved my way inside and called out to her in a panic. Her place was trashed with the little possessions she had were now knocked over and smashed.
“Alex! You here? Alex!?” I called out again and then I heard her call for me from her bedroom.
“In here,” she said weakly. When I reached Alex, she was lying on the floor and bleeding from her head.
“Baby, oh, my god.” I grabbed a t-shirt to apply pressure to her head that was still bleeding profusely. I reached for my phone and dialed 9-1-1.
“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?”
“I need an ambulance to 137 Park Avenue right away. My girlfriend has been attacked in her apartment and is unconscious with a head wound.”
“Okay, sir, I have your location and I am dispatching two units. E-T-A in five minutes, please stand by.”
“Thank you, please hurry.” I dropped the call and concentrated on Alex. The blood was not stopping even with using my shirt to apply pressure. What the hell did she get hit with? A hammer? A few minutes later I heard the paramedics call out. “We’re back here, please help her.” I cried out. I got out of the way so they could work on her. She was as still as a board. They were calling out all sorts of commands, I could hardly keep up with what they were saying. Thank god her apartment was close to the hospital. In a matter of a couple of minutes, she was accessed and loaded up into the back of the ambulance. I tried to join her but I was stopped by one of the responding police officers.
“Go, don’t wait for me. Just take care of her.”
“Listen, I have told you all I know. I got here and found the door hanging off its hinges. I rushed inside and found the apartment ransacked. I found my girlfriend barely breathing and then I phoned for help.”
“Sir, do you know anyone who might have done this?” he continued to question me. I answered him, no but in the back of my mind, all I could think of was Winston and his thirst for revenge. Did he find out that his lies have been exposed? I never did check-in with my father, so I don’t know what happened after I left the office. Fuck! He’s a dead man if he did this to her. I raced to the hospital not caring about the traffic lights along the way. I just had this overpowering need to be with Alex. Once I arrived, I hastily parked my car and tossed my keys over to the valet and kept running toward the entrance of the ER department.
No one was at the information desk. Come on, I need help here. I looked around and then hit the bell and didn’t stop until an older man came out to greet me practically snatching the bell from my hand.
“Can I help you, sir?” he asked with no humor in his voice.
“Yes, I need information on Alex Depry, she was brought in by an ambulance.”
“Are you a relative?” he asked.
“Yes, she’s my wife,” I lie but I don’t care. I will say anything to get back there.
Three hours have gone by and still no word on Alex. What the fuck is taking so long? I checked in with the information desk every half hour on the hour and was told the same thing. She’s in surgery and a doctor will come out and join me when there is news to be told. I’m going crazy here, like batshit crazy losing my fucking mind.
I was pacing the long hallway and that’s when the double doors swung open and a man in scrubs began to approach me. “Are you the next of kin for Alex Depry?” he asked and my heart sunk. Next of kin? Is she fucking dead?
“I am. How is she?”
“She’s stable. She suffered a blunt trauma to the back of her skull resulting in two brain bleeds in different sections of the brain. One was an easy repair, the other was more complicated. She’s breathing on her own which is a very positive sign. She’s been moved up to the ICU of Neurology. She’s going to be closely monitored for the night and her condition will be assessed in the morning when the rest of my team joins me for rounds.”
“I’m sorry, and you are?”
“My apologies to you. I’m doctor Bennett, head of Neurology. I was paged upon her arrival. We did a cat scan and quickly determined she would need surgery. I’m sorry that no one gave you an update sooner but due to the dire situation, we had to act quickly.”
“No, I’m glad you did. Can I see her?”
“I’m afraid that’s not possible. She’s heavily sedated.”
“I don’t care, I just need to be close to her.”
“Okay, five minutes and no more than that. You can get a special pass made up and be back here by six for rounds. We can meet up then.”
“Fine, I don’t care. I just need to see her right now.”
“Follow me, I will show you to her room.”
Her room was illuminated with a soft overhead light above her bed. Even in sleep, she was breathtakingly beautiful. I wanted to crawl up and lay beside her but she had so many wires coming from her arms and chest, I didn’t want to hurt her.
Fuck! I swear on my life I am going to make whoever did this pay. I whispered in her ear that I loved her with everything I have and then placed a kiss on her forehead.
“I’ll be back baby.”
It was way past midnight when I arrived back at my parent’s house. I rushed up the stairs to their bedroom and called out for my father.
“What is it, son? are you alright?” he asked half asleep.
“No, I’m not. I need you.”
“I’ll be right there. Give me a minute to get dressed.”
I was at the bottom of the stairs facing the entryway when my dad came down. My mom followed close behind and as soon as she saw my expression, she quickly took me in her arms to hold me. It was taking everything I had not to break down and seek out my mother’s comfort but it was my father who I needed more.
“Oh, baby, what’s happening?” she asked with concern.
“I don’t mean to be short with you but it’s dad who I need. Please, mom, don’t press me right now.”
“Okay. I understand. Can I get you anything to eat or drink?”
“No, thank you. Dad, can we go somewhere and talk?”
“Sure, let’s go into my office. Honey, go back to sleep. I’ll take care of our son.” She nodded and gave my father a hug and kiss before returning upstairs. I knew she wanted to stay but I was happy she gave me the time I needed with my father.
“What’s happened?” he asked and closed the door behind him.
“Someone broke into Alex’s apartment tonight and physically assaulted her. She
had to undergo brain surgery and is in stable condition at the moment.”
“Holy shit! It has to be Winston.”
“My thoughts exactly. That mother fucker is a dead man walking. Let’s go get him.”
“Rogan, it’s not that simple.”
“The hell it isn’t. This has gone on longer than it had to be. And? For what? Some fucking land? Mineral rights that are just that? He’s deluded if he believes he has oil on those lands and no land is worth hurting my girlfriend!” I shouted out my anger.
“Rogan, will you calm the hell down and take a breath. I know everything points to Winston but we need unyielding evidence first. Hopefully, that will come tomorrow when I meet with him.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“After you left the office yesterday, I did some digging of my own and found out the original mineral rights did indeed belong to Creekside Orchards but they were in the name of Winston’s father. They never got transferred over to the new owner which would be Harrington.”
“How can that be? Doesn’t the new owner take possession when he acquires the property?”
“Yes, in today’s times, they do but this is going back over five decades maybe more. The laws were different back then to what we have in place now. Harrington could not have known and all he wants to do is work his farm probably not caring at all about drilling for oil.”
“Okay, let’s say this is the true motive behind Winston’s drive to bribe Alex’s father, blackmail his daughter and ultimately attack Alex. Doesn’t he know that no secret stays buried forever? Look what I have already uncovered in just under a week? And now with you back home and onto him, how the hell does he think he can get away with all of this?”
“I don’t know but my father does.”
“Grandpa? What does he have to do with all of this?”
“Your grandfather and Winston’s grandfather were friends back in the day and yes, did some wildcatting back in the 1980s when the talk of oil was hot but as you know, it resulted into just a myth. Lockhart was a gambler and lost practically everything in bad investments and then the stock market crashed and that was the end of his empire. When his son took over he was practically starting over from scratch with hardly any capital to work with. He was a decent rival and played as amicably as he could but then I took over and relationships changed.”
“I was very aggressive when I took over at the helm and although grandpa still mentored me, I had my own vision for the state of the company and pretty much did what I wanted. I was responsible for a hostile take-over on one of the companies that Winston was trying to acquire. When he won in court and stole those properties causing the farmers to go bankrupt, I was convinced it was a personal attack and I never stopped trying to get those lands back. A few months ago, right before my birthday, I succeeded. He was outraged. I didn’t care. I laughed in his face and threw him out of my office.”
“I was too caught up in my work and everything that happened after between your mother and me, I got careless and stopped paying attention. I should have known he would try something to get back at me never knowing he would go after Alex or her father to get what he wanted. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”
“Dad, are you fucking kidding me right now? Shouldn’t be surprised? Of course, it would make sense for him to seek revenge against you. You fucked him over. He waited out his time and instead of going after you which has been proven to fail and fail again. He decides to go after me by putting my girlfriend in the hospital with two god damn brain bleeds.”
“I know and I’m so sorry. We will get to the bottom of this, I promise you.”
“I need a drink and a shower, or maybe just a drink and keep them coming.”
“One shot and you are going up to your room to sleep. I know you want to get drunk enough so you don’t feel the pain you are feeling right now but that is not going to help Alex. She needs you to be there and you will after you get some rest, okay?”
“She has to make it, dad? I love her.”
“I know you do. Come on, let’s get that drink.”
When my father went back to bed, I continued drinking. I know I shouldn’t have but it was either getting drunk or killing Winston and if I were to do that, then I would need a whole hell of a lot of liquid courage. After my fourth drink, I knew I was toast and passed out.
“Rogan, wake up,” I groaned while my head pounded into the pillow. “Rogan, you need to wake up and get over to the hospital.” I sprang up too quickly only to get lightheaded and grab my head.
“What happened? Is it Alex?”
“You dumb shit! I knew I shouldn’t have gone to bed knowing you were still free to drink. Son, you need to get up,” my father shouted into my ear.
“I’m up and I’ll be ready in five minutes,” I said as my stomach rolled and then I ran to the bathroom barely making it to the toilet. Once I knew I was done vomiting, I shouted, “better make it ten.”
I felt like shit as my father drove me to the hospital. My eyes were covered by my aviator glasses shielding the sun and my bloodshot eyes. “Rogan, we’re almost there. Here, take this and put a few drops in your eyes.” He handed me a bottle of Visine.
“Dad, I get it, I look like shit,” I said as I put the drops into my eyes. “Please spare me the lecture.”
“You’re lucky I’m not knocking you on your ass. The one shot I gave you was from your grandfather’s private stock and it’s not the cheap over the counter crap. One shot was all you needed but as always you take it to the extreme and down four more. You are lucky to still be breathing and not laying in a pool of your own vomit.”
“Are you done?”
“Yes, for now, I am. Pull yourself together, we’re here.” I looked up as he parked his jag in front of the valet podium.
“Keep it close, thank you.”
“Dad, you don’t have to go in with me, I will be fine on my own.”
“I want to be here for you and for your girl, so stop trying to get rid of me. Come on, rounds are about to begin and you need to catch up with her doctor.” Dr. Bennett had left passes for me at the desk. After we got them, we took the elevator up to the fifth floor and quickly spotted the doctor walking with a group of other doctors.
“Dr. Bennett, wait up,” I called out. When I reached him I asked about Alex. He said he was just on his way in to see her and for me to wait out in the hall until he was through with his examination.
“You want some coffee?”
“No, I’m fine. I just want Alex to wake up.”
“I’ll be right back. Stay out of trouble.”
I paced the hallway back and forth until the doctors finally emerged from her room. Dr. Bennett came up to me and asked to speak with me privately.
“How is she? Any improvement?”
“There is which gives me hope. She’s remained stable throughout the night and that’s a very good sign. I want to keep her here on this floor until she wakes up. She will remain monitored 24/7 and I’m remaining optimistic that she will open her eyes soon. I find no other reason why she won’t. It’s frustrating, this I know but she sustained quite a blow to the back of her head. It’s a miracle she’s still breathing. I also wanted to mention something that may have been missed last night in the ER with all the chaos getting her up to surgery.”
“What is it?” I asked. My father was back and joined us.
“How’s Alex?”
“She’s stable. I’ll tell you about it in a minute. Dr. Bennett was just about to tell me something.”
“She was fully examined after blood and hair fibers were found on her.”
“No! Stop. Don’t fucking say it. Shit! I’m going to be sick.”
“Rogan, what has gotten into you?” asked my father as he took hold of my shoulders to keep me in place. Dr. Bennett interrupted my freak out moment and reassured me what I was thinking did not happen.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I am. I should have gone over my findings la
st night and clarify what we found. I apologize for that. No, she was not sexually assaulted, but it also had to be ruled out. As I stated, she was found to have blood and hair fibers underneath her fingernails. I’m a doctor, not a forensic expert but if I had to guess, I would say she fought her attacker who now has a deep scratch probably on his neck.”
“Can I see her?”
“Absolutely, you can go in.”
“Thank you, Dr. Bennett.”
My father continued to speak with him as I entered her room, closing the door behind me. She looked better this morning with some color returning to her face but I wouldn’t be satisfied until I could look into her gorgeous azure colored eyes.
I brushed the few stray hairs away that had fallen over her forehead. “You are so beautiful, Blondie. Please wake up and come back to me. I haven’t even taken you out on a date yet. I think we just skipped ahead and forgot about all the many firsts couples do when falling in love with each other. I know it matters and I promise we will have all those firsts together. You just need to wake up so I can begin showing you the world. I want to spoil you rotten and all I want in return is you beside me. You’ve given me something so special that I never knew was wanted but now that I have it, I’m going to hold onto it for the rest of my life.”
“Rogan, I’m sorry to interrupt. I have to get down to the office for my meeting. Are you joining me?”
“Yeah, I’ll be right there.”
I waited until he closed the door and then I continued speaking to Alex.
“You sleep baby and get better. I’ll be back as soon as I can. I love you.” I kissed her warm lips and stroked her cheek. It pained my heart to leave her but what was killing me more was knowing the person who hurt her was out there walking free. After I finish with Winston Lockhart, he will be lucky to still have use of his legs.
“So, what’s the plan here? Is Lockhart coming in today?” I questioned my father. “Are you going to answer me?”
“Rogan, I plan on dealing with Winston in my own way and that way does not involve you.”
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