The stalker had continued on after he'd sent her down the embankment, and sirens were heard coming their way.
Since Trevor couldn't get through to Symóne, he pulled up his GPS tracking app on his phone and saw that Symóne's location was stopped on the off ramp of their exit. He turned around to go to her, feeling there was something wrong. When he pulled up to the side of the road and saw that there were police and ambulance vehicles parked down the ramp with people all going down toward the scene, his heart pounded as his trot turned into a sprint, seeing that it was Symóne's car crumpled against a pole. Before he could reach her, the sound of power saws cutting through the door and roof of her car sent violent chills down his spine.
“Symóne!!!” he screamed out. His cries gained the attention of the nearest officers and they restrained him to keep him from getting in the way of the firefighters who were using the jaws of life to free Symóne.
“That's my girlfriend!” he belted, still attempting to get to her. When he looked over the officer's shoulder, and the man cutting through the car had moved over to get to another part, Trevor saw Symóne's swollen, bloody face. His knees buckled under him, but he managed to catch himself. He pushed past the officer and rushed up to her car.
“Symóne! Oh God, please let her be okay!” he cried. An officer tugged at him, so that they could pull away the part of the car they'd cut where then an EMT approached to check her vitals.
“She's alive, but she may have internal bleeding. Get that gurney over here, lets see if we can get her stable enough to make the trip,” the EMT urged.
Just hearing that she was alive, gave Trevor hope. He moved out of their way, but stayed close enough to keep an eye on Symóne. It took four people to move her carefully without jostling her too much to put her on the gurney and then into the back of the ambulance.
The officer told Trevor that he would have to follow her to the hospital, because there were too many people already in the ambulance working on her. He hurried back to his vehicle and sped off behind the ambulance. Once he pulled into the emergency room parking lot, he rushed inside, but they had already taken her back for x-rays. He was told to wait, but soon following the x-rays, she was wheeled in for surgery. A doctor came out to explain to him what needed to be done, and to get permission from a next of kin.
“She has no family. I am her next of kin! Do what you have to do to save her, please!” he demanded.
The doctor let the nurse get Symóne's paperwork signed while he rushed back to prepare to perform surgery. Symóne had four broken ribs, a broken collar bone, a fractured jaw, and a broken ankle. It was hours before someone came out to update Trevor on Symóne's condition. He had called Vince and asked him to go pick his mom and brother up from the airport, since he was the only other person other than her son, that she trusted to ride with. Once he explained why Trevor wasn't there to meet her, she wanted to go straight to the hospital to support her oldest son.
The doctor returned to give Trevor the news just as his mom, brother, and Vince rushed in. He greeted them with an embrace, but then turned to get information on Symóne.
“We've got all of her broken bones braced except for her collar bone and jaw. We wrapped her shoulder and put her arm in a sling. She certainly doesn't need to move it much, well not at all if possible. We also had to wrap her head to keep her from moving her jaw as well. She'll need to be on a liquid diet for now, only using a straw. We don't want her to further injure it, trying to chew food,” he breathed, but Trevor could tell there was more.
“I'll do everything I need to do to take care of her but—I feel there is more?” he promised.
The doctor pulled him to the side for privacy for the next bit of news. “I'm so sorry, but…we couldn't save the baby,” he said solemnly.
“What?” Trevor frowned. “What baby?” his hand drew up to his mouth as the realization hit him. “She was pregnant?” he whispered.
The doctor nodded and rested his hand on Trevor's shoulder. He let out a gush of wind as though he were punched in the gut.
“I have to go see her,” he pleaded.
“She's still unconscious, but should be waking soon. Try not to get her worked up—maybe you shouldn't tell her about the baby just yet?” the doctor cautioned him of her fragile state.
Trevor made him no promises. He only followed him back to Symóne's room. The sight of her when he entered, broke him down emotionally. She didn't look at all like herself. Her eyes black and blue, swollen shut, her lips cut open and bloody. Her arm that was nestled in a sling, rested on her stomach. He could tell that her entire mid body was wrapped tightly in thick, padded gauze, securing her reconstructed ribs. His eyes continued down to her ankle, which was set in a cast. She looked completely fragile and he knew that he would take care of her.
He pulled up a chair and sat beside her bed and held her free hand. As the tears rolled down his face, he wondered who would hit her and not stop to check on her. Soon after she went into surgery, the police on the scene had come in and told him about the statements of the Samaritans that tried to help her and had also called 911. It was reported that a car had swerved into her car, and that it seemed intentional.
The nurses were through checking the machines and the doctor left out to give them some time alone. Trevor lay his head on the bed and sobbed at almost losing her. How am I going to tell her about losing the baby? Did she know about this? He wondered to himself. Her fingers twitched as she moaned and attempted to open her eyes, but couldn't.
“Tre…Tref…” she tried to speak.
“I'm here babe,” he stood and leaned forward to kiss her forehead. She winced and not wanting to cause her more pain, he pulled back from her.
“Where…am I?” her words were muffled as she tried to open her mouth to speak. She couldn't see him, but she could sense his presence. His touch was reassuring, but she was in a lot of pain. The monitor began to beep rapidly as her heart rate increased. A friendly looking woman in Disney print scrubs—a nurse, entered Symóne's room to check on her.
“Are you in pain, Miss Lassetter?” she asked.
Symóne tried to nod yes, but the movement of her jaw caused her to growl in misery.
“I'm going to give you a little treat, sweetie,” the nurse promised as she stuck a needle into Symóne's I.V. and released a fluid into it. “There. You'll be feeling better in no time,” the nurse promised. Symóne calmed right down, but also became lethargic as well.
“Call me if you need more,” the nurse called out as she left out of the room again.
Trevor decided that now was not the time to question her about the pregnancy. He only held her hand to assure her that he was there, and to let her get some rest. Once she had fallen asleep, he made a quick trip out to the waiting room to send his mom and brother to his condo to get settled in.
Just as any mom would react, she didn't want to leave him, but the flight had taken a toll on his brother and he needed to take a nap. He was understanding that his big brother needed to stay in the hospital with his girlfriend.
Trevor gave his mom his keys so that she was able to drive his car to the condo and be able to get into the building. She was already well known there, and getting in wouldn't be a problem.
“Trevor, Son…I'm going to go get settled in and let your brother catch a nap, then we'll come back to check on you. I really want to meet Symóne, but I know that she will be out of it for a while. When she wakes up, tell her that we are praying for her,” she embraced Trevor and he then gave his brother a high five and they were off.
Trevor returned to Symóne's room where a couple of nurses were checking her vitals and making sure that she was okay. At the time, Symóne was barely alert, drifting in and out of consciousness. Just wanting to be there for her, he sat by her bedside for hours until his mom and brother had returned to see them.
Trevor's brother was taken off guard at just how damaged Symóne looked. “Oh my gosh Trev! She looks bad!” he spoke loudly.
<
br /> “Drew! Shhh…!” his mom scolded him in a whisper.
“She got hurt really bad, Mom!” he tried to whisper, but was clearly upset at the sight of Symóne.
Trevor put his hand to Symóne's face and caressed it as gently as he could. His brother's voice had awakened her and she tried really hard to open her eyes. Her vision was blurred, but she knew that he was there.
“Hey baby, I'm right here,” he leaned into her view. Her fingers moved as though she wanted to feel him, so he gave her his hand. A tear rolled from her eyes as she realized how messed up she had to be, not to be able to move anything without it causing great pain. Trevor leaned further in to kiss her forehead, then gently kissed her cheek.
“I'm hot,” she muttered through her swollen lips.
Trevor folded her blanket down to her waist. “Is that better?” he asked.
“I guess,” she said dryly.
“Guess who's here to see you?” he began. “Mom and Drew are here,” he tried to sound excited. She couldn't see them, and as her eyes wandered around, all she could see was what was at the top of her room. Trevor motioned for them to come into her view, and when they did, his mom leaned over her with a smile.
“I'm so happy to finally get to meet you face to face, Symóne. I'm sorry that this has happened to you, but we're going to stay as long as you and Trevor wants us here—to help you get back to yourself,” she assured her.
When Symóne tried to smile, her bottom lip split a little and she moaned, licking her tongue out to soothe it. Trevor reached for the ointment and cautiously dabbed a little bit all over her lips.
“Hi Symóne,” said Drew, looking at all of her bruises, as being that close, let him see more of the details of her injuries.
“Hi Drew,” she spoke softly. Although her lips were feeling better, she didn't want to risk cracking them again.
Being the affectionate person he was, he reached out to hug her. Both Trevor and his mom screeched No! and pulled him away from Symóne.
“Drew honey, Symóne is very sore and can't move. We have to let her get a little bit better before you can give her hugs, okay?” his mom explained.
“Okay momma,” he sighed and backed away, standing next to his brother. Trevor gave Drew a comforting pat on his back, not wanting him to feel scolded for wanting to hug Symóne.
“Symóne? Is there anything you want from the house, or should I call someone for you?” Julia, Trevor's mom, asked.
“Oh gosh, Mom! I didn't think about Faye. She's probably been calling her, worried sick. Can you stay in here with Symóne while I go call her?” asked Trevor, and she of course agreed.
Just as he stepped into the lobby, Faye and her parents were rushing through the doors.
“Trevor! Where is she? Is she…okay?” Faye bawled uncontrollably, thinking the worst. She had Symóne's purse and phone from her car. One of the officers had looked through Symóne's purse for information on a next of kin contact, and saw in a planner that she had both Faye and Trevor listed. Only, Trevor was unreachable since he was inside the hospital. So, they then called Faye and asked her to come retrieve Symóne's things and that she had been in an accident and was at the hospital. Of course, seeing the condition of the car and all of the blood everywhere, Faye assumed the worst.
“Yes, she'll be fine, but she has a lot of recovering to do,” he replied.
She had practically rushed past him to get to her friend. Trevor turned to walk with her, but gave her some words of caution.
“I need to warn you before you go back to see her. Symóne has some damage to her face that caused a lot of swelling. She also has a lot of broken bones, so please do not touch her. Also, try not to ask her too many questions, it hurts her to talk,” he finished, then looked at Faye and her parents wanting them to confirm that they understood his suggestions.
They all nodded and continued toward her room. An orderly carrying a huge fluffy bear, a hand full of 'Get Well Soon' balloons, and two large bouquets of flowers, was headed into her room.
“Hey, excuse me!” Trevor called out. “Who are those from?” he demanded.
The orderly looked at one of the cards that was stuck in the flowers. “They're from a…Mr. Trevor Harrison,” he answered, then continued into Symóne's room, followed by Trevor, Faye, and her parents.
Once the orderly set the flowers down, and placed the bear and balloon weight down on another table, he left out. Trevor went over to the flowers and read the card.
“To the love of my life, get better soon and let me take care of you. Love Always, Trevor Harrison,” he finished, but his face was concerned. He looked to his mom, and gave Faye a look that meant for them to stay with Symóne. He rushed out to the lobby and called his office.
“Hey Gloria, did you send Symóne flowers and balloons?” he breathed.
“Yes Sir, Mr. Harrison. I figured in the light of things, you were too distracted. I just wanted her to have a little bit of visible joy around her. I didn't know what to write, I hope that what I said was okay?” she checked.
“Yes. That's sweet of you Gloria, it's perfect. Thank you so much,” he breathed in relief. “You're the best, and remind me to give you a bonus,” he chuckled.
“I most definitely will, and you're welcome,” she chimed.
He rushed back to Symóne, and after an hour of trying to stay awake for visitors, Trevor urged everyone to let her rest. They all left and continued to return for visits for the remainder of her stay in the hospital.
Once she was released into his care, he had round the clock care for her, and made sure that she was as comfortable as she could be. Trevor's next move was to boost security again. He was going to find the bastard that did this to Symóne. He was fed up and at his limit. Once he made sure that she was safe with the nurses and security informed of what was expected of them, and Symóne had fallen back asleep, he met up with his contacts from the military. They had a plan, and he had more information.
“Trevor, you do realize how dangerous this is? I mean…we can handle this and you really should be home with Symóne,” his buddy suggested.
“I'll let you guys handle it, only if you promise that when you find him, he doesn't ever get another chance to harm Symóne or anyone else,” he raised his brows, fully insinuating. The guy nodded in agreement, but wanted Trevor to stay out of it.
Chapter 12
Three weeks later, Symóne's bandages from her ribs and face where removed. Since she had round-the-clock nurses and help that would be waiting on her hand and foot, she was changed over to an orthopedic boot and a cane for support. Her ribs couldn't take the pressure from the crutches, so she was put on strict limitations of her daily movement.
Her grand opening was only one week away, and she and Faye had everything ready at the store. Now that neither of them no longer worked for the Electronics Technical Support Center, they both were able to put forth all of their energy toward Symóne's dream.
Symóne…baby, you heal beautifully. With the exception of the boot and limp, no one would ever guess that you were even hurt,” Trevor smiled.
She leaned in for a kiss, still very tender at her waist, but so ready to get on with her life. Trevor's contacts were closing in on the perpetrator, as he let Symóne argue back via text to keep him talking. Now that Symóne has booked her first client with several other prospective clients to follow, she was feeling more optimistic about her business venture.
When Trevor finally told Symóne about the miscarriage a week after the accident, she reacted harshly. Her heart was broken and she felt responsible for not being more careful. It was also hard on Trevor, especially not knowing she was pregnant in the first place. After having some time to think about it, the thought of being a father hit him hard. He broke down as he told her what happened, explaining things the way the doctor had explained them to him. Seeing her reaction led him to believe that she wasn't aware of her pregnancy either.
Not wanting to upset her any further, especially since
his mom and brother were still there at the time, it was a conversation they agreed to have later as they didn't know how or what to say after that.
His family had just left two days ago, but wanted to come back for the holidays, which Symóne and Trevor were happy about. Drew was crazy about Symóne, and did a lot to help her while they were there. The fact that she was not afraid of his dragon, won her cool points with him.
They were leaving the doctor's office after her routine check-up and getting the okay to return to their intimate activities, with a strong caution of limitations. Trevor was still apprehensive, and didn't want to chance further injuring Symóne, especially since she was about to be working with her first client.
* * *
Patricia had returned to Trevor's office to finish up her paper work and the finality of it all made her grateful. She asked was there anything she could do for him, that she was extremely grateful for getting a new beginning. He declined the offer, but told her to just be happy and enjoy life with her children. She agreed with a smile and mentioned that she was ready to change a few things in her home to make it reflect her new personality. Trevor seized the opportunity and asked her if she was using a designer, and she wasn't but wanted to. Of course, he smiled with a suggestion. Patricia was excited and more than willing to give Symóne her business. She also had a few other celebrity friends that were looking to get some work done to their homes as well, and would be recommending Symóne to them also. Those were the other prospective clients that were waiting to see how Patricia's home turned out.
Now at her store, where Faye was organizing fabric swatches, paint color pallets, and stacking all of the idea boards in Symóne's studio office, Symóne came in ready to get to work. The store looked amazing and was already gaining a lot of interest, where people were calling from the fliers and advertisements that were sent out all over the state of Texas. Her website was up and running and her business cards were sent out as well.
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