by Bella Jewel
A tear rolls down my cheek as those big brown orbs come into my line of sight. He blinks a couple of times, and I smile through my sob as I say, “Hey there, stranger.”
He coughs once with a wince, and then in a gruff voice, he mutters, “You have a lot of explaining to do.”
I cry harder now as I place my hands either side of his face. “Yeah, I know I do, but you’re here. You’re okay.”
I lean down and press my lips to his, kissing him softly. He’s messed up. His face basically unrecognizable still. It’ll take a long time to heal. Even then he’ll be left with scars.
I swipe my tears and stand up straight, staring down at him, wanting to say so much and yet none of it’ll come out.
“Tell me one thing,” he says, his voice still scratchy.
“Anything,” I whisper.
“Is our baby okay?”
Oh god.
Here come the tears again.
“Yes,” I sob. “Yes, the baby…our baby…is okay.”
He closes his eyes and murmurs, “Thank you, God.”
Oh man.
I sob harder.
“Come here,” he says, reaching a hand out and pulling me very gently into the bed beside him.
Then he holds me as I cry, he holds me until the tears dry up, and only then does he say, “I know what you did for me.”
“You do?” I rasp.
“Yeah. Lincoln came by just before you did. He wanted to tell me before you came in. You risked everything, Melanie. What you did was so fuckin’ stupid, and crazy, and…”
I close my eyes, ready to take on his wrath.
“You saved my fuckin’ life. You saved me. What you did was brave, so fuckin’ brave. I love you so fuckin’ much.”
I swallow, and then whisper, “I’d do it a thousand times over for you, Brody. A thousand times over.”
“You took my burden. You took it from me.”
“Yeah, I took it from you, because you’ve lived through enough. I couldn’t watch you die, Brody. Not because I didn’t understand why you were doing it, but because you’re a good person, a good man, and you’re mine, honey. You’re mine, and I can’t live without you. We can’t live without you.”
I put his hand on my belly, and his body shakes just a little.
A pained shake.
An emotional shake.
“Thank you,” he rasps, his voice cracking with emotion.
“Sniper is gone now,” I whisper. “But I’m going to do something else for you, too. I want to sell the house and I want to move here. I love all these people. I love what they’ve done for you, for us. But I also want to open a library for Mick. A place where people can come and talk openly. I want to have staff on hand, so people always have a safe place, if they need one. A library is a beautiful place, full of books and warmth. They can just read all day, or make a coffee, or watch some television. I want a service where we can direct them to different places to get help. To talk to someone professional. I want a place for people like Mick and Ashley to be able to go.”
I turn slightly and lift my head up just in time to see a tear run down Brody’s cheek.
I swipe it off with my finger.
“You’ve done your part, Brody. You’ve given Mick his wish. But now I’m going to do my part, something I should have done months ago. I’m going to let his memory live on. I want you to help me. Will you move with me? Will you start a life here with me?”
He nods, reaching up and carefully gripping my face. “I love you so fuckin’ much Melanie.”
“I love you too, honey.”
He reaches down, rubbing my little belly. “We’re having a baby.”
“Yeah, honey, we’re having a baby.”
“We’re startin’ a new life.”
I nod, smiling, another tear escaping down my cheek. “Yeah, we’re starting a new life. We’re going to help people the right way. No more violence.”
“No more violence,” he agrees.
“Firstly, though, we’re going to get you better. I don’t know if you know, but you broke a lot of bones, so I’m going to have to shower you. It’s going to be terrible. I’m going to have to wash parts of you I’m just not okay with.”
I grin at him.
He grins back. “I’m sure you won’t mind.”
“I certainly won’t mind. Now, you’ve got a hell of a lot of people out there who are wanting to see you. Those people, they’ve done a lot for you. We owe them everything.”
“One more minute,” he says, pulling me back closer to him. “I need one more minute with you and my baby.”
He winces in pain when he does, but it doesn’t stop him.
Brody is strong.
Brody is a warrior.
Brody is back.
Mine again.
Finally.
“Love you, baby,” he murmurs.
“Forever, honey.”
“Do you think it’s a boy or a girl?”
I laugh. “Hopefully a girl. I can’t deal with another Broderick in this world.”
He chuckles and then winces again. “I hope it’s a girl, too.”
“You do?”
“Yeah, if I can be blessed with two of you, I’m not going to say no.”
“Stop being so darn sweet. You were all broken and twisted just a few days ago.”
“I’m still all broken and twisted, but with you, it doesn’t feel so bad. Your light chases away my demons.”
“I’ll make sure they go this time and stay away. I promise it.”
“Yeah,” he murmurs. “I know you will.”
I nestle into him, and I smile.
I smile for the first time in such a long time.
Because I know we’re going to get through this.
It has been a long road, and we’ve had so many ups and downs, but somehow, through all of it, Brody found his way back to me.
I swore the moment he opened his eyes, that I was never going to let him out of my sight again.
I’ll never let him get hurt again.
No.
I’m scribbling out this story, and I’m going to start again.
From page one.
I’m going to erase all the pain.
I’m going to fix all the wounds.
I’m going to take away all the bad.
That’s the beautiful thing about rewriting a story.
You can do whatever you want with it.
You can make it as beautiful as you need.
You don’t have to have any darkness.
Yeah, that’s what I’m going to do.
Brody and Melanie’s story from scratch.
It’ll start a little something like this…Once upon a time…
THE END