Just To Be Loved

by Lee, Vivian Rose

  “Shut them up Mya!” Heather yelled, putting her hands to her ears.

  Seeing the smallest of openings, Mya didn’t hesitate. She leapt at Heather and grabbed her wrist with one hand, and grabbed her hair with the other. Heather was a few inches taller than Mya, so it was a struggle to get a good grip on her arm, but she had Heather’s hair down to the roots, and pulled it with all her might. Heather screamed and swung the knife, slicing Mya across her forearm before getting away. Mya grabbed her arm and stumbled back as well.

  “Bitch! Hunter is mine!” Heather screamed.

  As she charged at Mya with the knife raised, Mya moved around Heather to hold her attention and keep her away from the boys, and swiftly kicked her in her side. Heather stumbled, but held onto the knife, and when she facing Mya again, she screamed with rage at the top of her lungs. Not giving Heather a chance to regroup, Mya grabbed a pillow from the sofa and swung it at her as she rushed forward, and when Heather reacted by swinging the knife wildly, the knife sliced through the pillow and snagged. As she stood there trying to pull it out, she took her eyes off Mya who kicked her in the stomach. Heather doubled over and dropped the knife, and when Mya saw that she no longer had the knife in her hands, she went on the offensive. Grabbing two big handfuls of Heather’s hair, she kneed her in the face, and when she fell backward, Mya jumped on top of her.

  “You crazy bitch!” She screamed as she relentlessly attacked her with all she had. When she grabbed her head and began banging it on the floor, Heather reached up and raked her nails down Mya’s face. She somehow found the strength to buck Mya off, and when the two of them saw the knife lying on the floor, both women scrambled for it. Heather reached the knife first, being the longer of the two, but before she could use it, Mya leapt on her back, pulled her head back, and dug her nails into her face. Heather let out a blood-curdling scream as Mya’s nails continued to rake at her face, and then took the knife and stabbed Mya in the arm to force her to get off. Filled with searing pain from the deep stab wound to her arm, Mya screamed and rolled away.

  “I’m going to kill those brats!” Heather psychotically shrieked before going towards the babies.

  Ignoring her pain, Mya jumped up to her feet and tackled her. She straddled her back, ready to pummel her, when Heather blindly swung her arm backward and sunk the knife deep into Mya’s thigh. Looking at the knife that was surreally stuck in her thigh, Mya screamed, and yet despite how bad it looked, in the back of her mind she was relieved that at least Heather no longer had the knife in her hands. With Heather still pinned underneath her, she gritted her teeth, and pulled the knife out before throwing it across the room. She was now bleeding from both arms and had a severely deep gash in her leg, but she knew that she couldn’t stop fighting, not for one second. She grabbed hold of Heather’s hair again, and began pounding her head onto the hardwood floor as hard as she could.

  When Heather stopped moving, Mya rolled off her and onto her side. She had lost a lot of blood and when she tried to get up her legs gave out. She sat there for a moment. The boys were still screaming, but at least they were safe. Weak and lightheaded, she crawled over to the phone to call 911, and after crawling for what felt like hours, she lifted the receiver and could barely hold it up to her ear.

  “Shhh. It’s okay babies,” she said softly to them as she pushed the buttons.

  “911. What’s your emergency?” The dispatcher asked on the other end.

  “Please help me,” Mya moaned in a voice that was faint and losing strength.

  “Miss, Miss what is the problem?”

  “I’ve been stabbed by Heather Burton… she’s still here… please help me.”

  Mya dropped the phone.

  She cast a glance at Heather and when she saw that she was coming to, crawled over to her babies. She had no more fight left in her, but she would protect her babies with her life.

  With her face now a swollen bloody mess, Heather unsteadily stood to her feet and searched the room for the knife, looking to put an end to this once and for all.

  “Where’s my knife bitch?” She screamed. “I’m going to kill you and those screaming brats!”

  Reaching down deep and somehow finding the strength, Mya pulled herself up to her feet just as Heather found the knife.

  “You’re dead now bitch! Now Hunter can marry me! I should have had Clay kill you in the first place, and then I wouldn’t have to be doing this!”

  “Hunter doesn’t want you Heather, and if you think that after you kill his sons and me he’s going to marry you, you are a lunatic!”

  “No, no, you’re wrong! Hunter will marry me!” She screamed.

  Mya could hear the sirens getting louder as a crazed Heather walked slowly towards her with the knife in her hand.

  “Hunter will marry me! He loves me and you will never have him!”

  Mya heard the door open. “In here!” She screamed. Heather turned to see three police officers with their guns drawn.

  “Drop it!” They shouted repeatedly.

  Heather looked from Mya to the police. “She can’t have him!” She shouted.

  She turned and lifted the knife over her head ready to plunge it into Mya’s chest, when a loud bang rang out. The knife fell to the floor and Heather dropped to the floor right along with it.

  “Get the paramedics in here!” One of the officers yelled.

  Mya collapsed. “My babies! My babies!” She cried just before darkness shrouded her.

  Hunter was on his way over to his parent’s house, and from a block away, he could see police cars in the driveway, a couple of ambulances, and all the neighbors in the street looking up at the house. Unable to get through, he parked the car and took off running, and all he could think about was that Mya and the babies were hurt. He knew his parents were away.

  When he reached the driveway, an officer quickly stopped him.

  “Sir, you can’t go in there!” The officer said, holding him back.

  “That’s my family!” Hunter yelled. He pushed past the officer, rushed into the house, and saw Mya lying unconscious on the floor with blood all over her. While the paramedics were busy working on Mya, and two of the officers held onto his sons, Hunter dropped to the floor beside her with sorrowful tears streaming down his face, and took hold of her hand.

  “Sir, we have to get her to the hospital, she’s lost a lot of blood.”

  Hunter slowly rose to his feet and looked around the room. What happened here? Composing himself as best he could, he moved over to the officers and took his sons.

  “We have to go!” The paramedic yelled. “We can’t stop the bleeding!”

  “Sir you go; we will stay with the boys,” one of the officers said before he and another officer took them back.

  “Call my brother,” Hunter said, handing them his phone. “His name is Bryan. He’ll come for the boys.”

  He kissed his sons and quickly climbed into the back of the ambulance.

  Hunter sat beside Mya’s hospital bed with his elbows resting on his knees and his head hanging low. Unmindful of the tears that fell from his eyes, he still couldn’t believe it when the police informed him that Heather Burton had come to his parent’s house to kill Mya, and more than likely, his two sons as well. How could he have been so wrong about who she really was? A mentally deranged and ultra-possessive maniac? She ought to be glad the police only shot her in the leg, because if it had been him, he would have killed her with no remorse. Her mother came to the hospital to see her, and she couldn’t even look him in the eyes when she apologized for her lunatic daughter’s actions. He really couldn’t blame her though; except for the fact that she and her husband raised such a spoiled and selfish brat. The only good thing to come out of all this is that Heather will be going to prison for a long, long time. After his brothers took the boys to Ghani’s, they met him at the hospital, and were now sitting out in the waiting area waiting for him to give them word on their sister’s progress.

  Hunter looked at Mya. Wh
en they first arrived at the hospital, she was taken immediately to surgery. The doctors said that the reason why she lost so much blood was that Heather hit the main artery in her thigh. She was unconscious, but the doctor guaranteed him that she would make a full recovery. As he lifted Mya’s hand and gently caressed it, the tears again fell from Hunter’s eyes. He looked at the bruises and deep scratches on her face. Both her arms were bandaged from the deep wounds, and her right thigh was bandaged and immobile to keep her from moving and ripping apart her sutures. The police said that it was obvious that Mya was fighting for her life and the lives of her twins, and judging by the sheer amount of carnage and blood at the crime scene, Heather was arrested for three counts of attempted murder. His brothers got in touch with their parents and they would be arriving in a few hours.

  He sighed and closed his eyes. The thought of him almost losing Mya caused a deep pain in his chest. From the moment she came into their lives, she had been through nothing but hell. All because of his asinine mistrust of her; all because he didn’t want to acknowledge that he wanted her. The time she spent in prison… giving birth to his sons… crazy ass Heather trying to kill her and their sons… he had so much to make up to her.

  He took her hand in his. “I love you Mya, with my whole being. If I had lost you…” Hunter paused as tears clogged his throat. “Oh baby, I’m so sorry.”

  He dropped his head and wept.

  Hunter didn’t know how long he sat there beside Mya’s bed, but when he lifted his head, his parents were walking into the room having finally arrived after canceling their cruise.

  Henry rushed to his daughter’s bedside and broke down. “How much more does she have to take?” He asked as his voice cracked.

  Sylvie stood beside her husband as they looked down at their injured daughter, and then she looked up at Hunter with tears in her eyes.

  “Mom, Dad, let’s talk outside so that we don’t disturb her,” Hunter said, his eyes red and teary.

  Henry and Sylvie agreed and kissed Mya’s forehead before following him outside.

  “Where are the twins?” His mother asked.

  “Ghani is taking them to Elisi and Enisi, and then she will be joining us here at hospital,” Hunter answered.

  Henry embraced his son, who looked like he was dead on his feet. “Son we are home now, you need to get some rest,” Henry advised.

  “I can’t leave her Dad! What if she wakes up and I’m not there?” He said, sounding frantic.

  Henry patted his back. “Okay son, okay.” As he led him to the waiting area, Hunter looked over his shoulder, before leaving the room.

  When they were all sitting together, Sylvie asked the first question. “How is she?”

  “The doctor says she will make a full recovery,” Hunter replied. The stressfulness of the situation was taking its toll.

  “What happened?” Henry asked.

  Hunter could only tell them what he suspected.

  “Heather tried to kill Mya and my grandsons?” Sylvie gasped.

  “How did she get in the house?” Henry asked.

  “I’m not sure. The police said Mya put up a good fight. When they arrived, they said that because she so weak from having lost so much blood, she was guarding the babies with her body. Heather was about to plunge the knife into her chest when they shot her,” Hunter lamented, dropping his head.

  Sylvie moved to sit beside him and took his hand hers. “Hunter, this is not your fault, do you understand me?”

  Hunter looked at his mother. “Mom…,” he began to cry.

  Henry moved over to join Sylvie as Hunter released all the fear, the guilt, and the remorse he had pent up inside.

  Mya’s head spun wildly as she tried to focus her eyes. As bits and pieces of memories surfaced, she swallowed, grimacing at the soreness in her throat.

  “My babies,” she rasped as her eyes fluttered and closed. She watched as the knife plunged downward towards her baby boy’s chest.

  “Nooo!” She screamed as her eyes opened wide with fear. She looked around the sterile room, and then noticed the tubes protruding from her arm. Her heart pounded frantically in her chest. She had to save her babies. She pulled at the tubes just as the door opened.

  “No, Miss Trent don’t!” The young nurse shouted, rushing to her bed and grabbing at her hands.

  “I have to save my babies!” Mya shouted as she struggled with the woman.

  “Let me go!” She screamed. She pushed the nurse causing her to stumble and fall against the movable table that fell over. Mya pulled the tubes from her arm, but something was weighing her down. In a frantic panic, she pushed at the covers unmindful of the blood trailing down her left arm. Someone put a weight on her leg, and she pushed it aside to swing her legs over the side. The nurse recovered just in time to grab Mya before she slipped out the bed, and Mya screamed her frustration.

  The nurse reached over and hit the call button. “’Code 2 Room 315!” She shouted into the intercom while she tried to maintain a hold on Mya.

  Hunter jumped to his feet. “That’s Mya room!” He said to his parents before taking off in a full out sprint down the hallway. When he arrived, Mya was screaming for the orderlies to let her go.

  “Be careful,” the nurse shouted.

  “Get your hands off of her!” Hunter roared. Henry, Sylvie, and all his brothers stood in the hallway fretting as Hunter barreled his way to her.

  “Mya baby, it’s me, Hunter,” he said, pulling her into his arms.

  “Sir, if you can calm her down, we need to get the IV’s back into her arm so we can help her relax,” the nurse said. “She is already started bleeding from her thigh again.”

  “Mya, the boys are fine,” Hunter assuaged her. “She didn’t hurt them baby. You stopped her from getting to our sons.”

  The nurse worked quickly to get her prepped. She pulled a syringe from her pocket and injected the meds in the IV tube. Mya immediately stopped struggling and looked at Hunter.

  “She didn’t get them?” She asked.

  “No baby, Ghani has them and they are safe. Now lie down and let them help you. You have to get better so we and see our boys together.”

  Mya calmly laid back and looked up into Hunter’s eyes as the nurse raised the blanket to check on her thigh. “I want to see them. Promise me that you will bring them to me.”

  “I promise baby. I will bring them to see you,” he state firmly. He waved his parents in. “Mya, Mom and Dad are here.”

  Henry and Sylvie came in and went to her bedside.

  “Oh my baby,” Sylvie cried, taking her hand.

  “Mom…”

  Sylvie silenced her. “You rest honey, Dad and I will be sitting in right here when you wake up.” Sylvie kissed her forehead as Mya’s eyes slowly closed.

  After the nurse changed her bandages, she left the family alone.

  “Mom, I’m going to get my boys,” Hunter announced.

  “Okay son, we will be right here when you return,” his father said.

  Hunter returned to the hospital with his sons and pushed opened the door. “Mya,” he softly called to her.

  She took one look at her babies, and tears of joy and relief immediately ran down her face. Henry took one of the boys and carried him over to her while Hunter carried the other, since Mya could hold them because of her arm wounds. She kissed each one, and looking up at Hunter, she smiled. They stayed for a little while before their grandparents took them home.

  Hunter sat beside the bed holding Mya’s hand. “Baby, I can’t express how sorry I am for everything that you have gone through because of Heather.”

  “Hunter, it’s not your fault that Heather is insane. She was obsessed with you, and I just want to forget all this ever happened and move on. She won’t get off with a slap on the wrist this time though, and that makes me very happy.”

  “If I had just trusted you…” Hunter paused as he stared intensely into her eyes. “I would understand if you didn’t want me anymore becaus
e of all the hell my mistrust put you through, but baby I love you. I love you so much I hurt.”

  Any pride or arrogance Hunter had was gone. It left him when he thought he could have lost her.

  “We can’t take anything back that’s already happened Hunter, it’s over and done with,” Mya said, feeling the sincerity of his words. “All we can do is move on and try to make things better together.”

  Hunter closed eyes in relief before leaning over and kissing her softly.

  “I love you Hunter,” Mya whispered against his lips.

  Epilogue

  Hunter and Mya stood outdoors with Father Sky as the roof of the most sacred cathedral, Mother Earth at their feet, and the trees and plants surrounding and embracing them. Guests were invited into the Medicine Circle that is symbolic of Life and the continuity of all living things, and as they entered the circle, they were cleansed, purified, and reborn.

  As the bride and groom stood in the circle as family and friends gave personal blessing to the couple, Mya glanced up at her groom shyly, her heart beating with happiness. She had come a long way. After she was released from the hospital, Hunter proposed and she accepted, and because they decided on a traditional Cherokee wedding, they were separated for three months and chaperoned by their parents. As things stood right now, they were burning for each other and could hardly wait for the ceremony to be over.

  Hunter smiled down at his beautiful bride in her Native American wedding dress of white beaded buckskin that matched his white beaded buckskin shirt and pants. Both wore their hair loose with the same beaded headband around their heads. The minister cleared his throat to start the ceremony.

  “Mya, what do you provide for this union of marriage?”

  With her eyes filled with tears, Sylvie handed Mya the Bride’s basket.