by Jill Sanders
“There she is. Here’s our hero now,” Aubrey said as she appeared in front of Lea. “The whole gang is here.” Aubrey motioned to the room.
Sure enough, there were more than a dozen people shoved into Lea’s private hospital room, a room Lea had been in more times than she knew. Not that she could tell which room it was, since they all looked alike, but she was sure she was on the second floor of her hospital. The one she’d worked on for the past few years.
No doubt doctors and nurses she’d worked side by side with were now taking care of her just like they did everyone else that came in through their doors.
“Hi,” she said finally. Her eyes scanned the many faces she knew, looking for Brett. She was sort of relieved when she didn’t spot him amongst the crowd. “What time is it?” she asked.
“Just past two in the afternoon,” Scarlett answered. “We tried not to wake you. We were just dropping off these.”
Lea noticed more than a dozen floral arrangements crowding every surface of the room. There were brightly colored balloons as well.
“Thank you.” She shifted and hit the button on the side of the bed. Everyone was silent as she slowly sat up.
“How are you feeling?” Elle finally asked.
She assessed herself before answering. “The morphine is doing its job.”
“Brett is just outside talking to the cops. Do you want me to go get him?” Aubrey asked.
“No,” she said, sounding a little too eager. “I… I’m a little tired.”
“Okay.” Aubrey glanced at the rest of the people in the room. “We’ll leave you to rest.” Aubrey walked over and took Lea’s unbandaged hand and squeezed it gently. “If you need anything, we’re just a phone call away.”
“Thanks,” she said, closing her eyes. This time, however, she didn’t fall asleep. Instead, she waited until she heard everyone leave the room before opening them again. Only she had misjudged. She wasn’t alone. Brett stood over her, looking down at her. She noticed a large white bandage over his left eye and forehead. A dark bruise filled his left cheek and chin. His lip was twice the size it normally was and split directly in the middle. Still, he looked too good to be true.
She took a moment to wonder if she looked as bad, but then figured it was better to block that thought out of her mind completely.
“Hey,” he said softly.
Her heart broke a little at knowing what she had to do next. He had almost died because of her. Without her knowing, tears rolled down her cheeks.
“Hey.” Brett moved closer and sat gently on the side of her bed. “I’m okay. You’re okay. We’re alive.” He took her hand.
She shook her head from side to side. “No, you don’t understand.” She closed her eyes. “This is all my fault.”
“How so?” His tone turned a little sharp.
“If you hadn’t been with me. If I’d never overstepped…”
“I thought you were smarter than this.” Brett’s sharp tone cut into her statement.
Her eyes flew open and locked with his.
“It’s because of me. Of what I am. All of this,” she said, trying to get him to understand.
“No, it’s because of three racist asshats who believe they’re above the law.” He stood up suddenly, then turned towards the window. “Judge Robert Dixon was arrested a few moments ago. He and his son had arranged to have Robbie released. It was the judge’s new house that the two men took you to, to kill you. There’d been an ongoing investigation into the judge’s past racist behavior. The moment he arranged for his grandson’s release, well, let’s just say his career ended.”
“Did he know?” she asked, feeling her stomach roll.
“We’re not sure. He’s playing his cards close to his chest. Claiming that his son and grandson went off on their own. But Rob Sr., his son, is claiming it was all the judge’s idea.” He shrugged and turned back towards her. “You didn’t do anything wrong. This”—he waved his hand, and she noticed a few bandages on his right fist—“none of it is in any way your fault. There are bad people in this world. You are not one of them.” He moved over to her again.
“I almost lost you.” It came out as a cry. Her chest hurt and no matter how much morphine was flowing through her veins, she doubted the pressure would ever be released.
“And I almost lost you,” he said softly, sitting beside her again. He took up her hand, and she felt him lift it to his lips and brush a soft kiss across her knuckles. “Make no mistake, no one in their right mind thinks that this was in any way your fault.”
She opened her eyes and met his before nodding slightly. “I was going to break it off with you.”
“When?” he asked, frowning. “Before?”
“No, because of what happened.” She sighed. “If we’ve just been through hell and we haven’t even officially moved in with one another, what more does our relationship have in store?”
He smiled. “Whatever it is, we’ll conquer it together. Like we took out Robbie. That is, if you’re game?”
She smiled and nodded. “I think I’d like to recover from this first.”
“Me too,” he said with a chuckle. “Are you hungry?” he asked her suddenly.
She thought back to the last meal she’d eaten and how that had ended up.
“I’d like a shower first, if possible.” She looked down at her crisp hospital gown.
“I’ll ask and arrange for some Jell-o or whatever they’ll give you.” He stood up and walked over to the door.
“Brett?” she said, getting his attention.
“Yeah?” he asked, looking back at her.
“I’m glad you found me,” she said finally, swallowing the lump in her throat.
“I’m just glad I lost my cell phone so much that Aiden has the find-me app installed and connected to my number.” He smiled.
“Is that how you found me?” she asked, suddenly realizing she didn’t know how he’d shown up in the cement building in the first place. She hadn’t even questioned it at the time. She must have really been in shock.
“Yeah.” He smiled and then stepped outside.
When he returned, she was slowly making her way towards the bathroom, moving like a turtle, afraid that with each step she would crack into a million pieces.
“Here, let me help you,” he said, taking hold of her IV pole and wheeling it behind her.
When she stepped into the bathroom, she motioned for him to leave so she could shower and clean off.
“Oh, here.” He disappeared and brought back a bag. “Your mother thought you’d want some things.” He set the bag down inside the bathroom. “Food is ordered and should be here in about ten. Yell if you need help,” he said before shutting the door.
The moment she was alone, she leaned on the sink and let the tears flow. Her vision was too blurry to see what she looked like, nor did she care. She was alive. Brett was alive. Nothing else mattered.
Still, her world had shifted. She’d lost a part of her innocence. The belief that all humans had some trace of good in them.
Was Brett’s father the same as the three Dixon men? Would he have held her down, kicked her, tied her up like an animal, and treated her as if she was less of a human being?
Hadn’t his words done just that moments before she’d jumped in to save his life?
Could she and Brett ever expect to live a happy life if his father continued to fight against them? Was it worth it?
Her parents had come from different families. Her father’s parents had been poor. They’d both worked at a market and had raised their two sons in the same household as three other families, just so they could all afford the roof over their head. Her mother’s parents had come from wealth. They’d sent their daughter and son to the finest Ivy League schools.
The fact that they were both from Southeast Asia had just been a coincidence. According to her parents, they would have loved one another no matter what nationality their ancestors were. When they had met and fallen in love, nei
ther family had any problems with their relationship.
As she stepped under the warm water, she thought about her and Brett’s future. What would happen if they married and had kids?
She’d never once thought about her children being harassed because of their heritage. Never expected it, even though she’d been slightly harassed all her life.
She’d never once expected anything like this though. How could she hope to raise children in a world that was so cruel towards them?
“You okay in there?” Brett’s voice was right outside the shower. “You’re taking a long time.”
“I’m… okay,” she replied. “Just…” What? She hadn’t even showered her hair or washed the dried blood and dirt off from her skin at this point. Instead, she’d just sat there and wallowed in her own self-pity.
Then the shower curtain was shoved aside, and Brett stood there, looking at her.
“Need some help?” he asked. His eyes ran over her body. Instead of desire in his gaze, she saw concern and anger.
Instead of waiting for her to answer, he picked up the washcloth and poured a generous helping of soap into it and began gently washing away the dirt and grime.
“You’ll get your shirt wet,” she complained.
As a reply, he stepped back and tossed off the shirt and his jeans before stepping into the shower naked with her.
“This… is highly irregular,” she said, leaning against the walls. “The shower is far too small for the both of us.”
“We’ll only be in here long enough to get the grime off of us.” He began to work on cleaning her skin again.
It was then that she noticed that he hadn’t showered since last night’s events either. Taking up another washcloth, she poured shampoo into it and began scrubbing his skin clean.
They worked in silence for a few moments until he finally put some shampoo into her hair and started carefully scrubbing her hair clean.
“You have a large bump here,” he said softly. “I’ll work around it. Does it hurt?”
“Everything is dull still.”
Then she leaned back and enjoyed the way his hands ran through her long tresses, massaging her scalp, gently washing the bubbles away.
“I think we’re clean,” he said, breaking into her foggy mind.
“Thanks.” She opened her eyes and met his. The look in his eyes had shifted. Now they were full of desire. Full of love.
He pulled her close as the water fell over them, washing away the rest of the soap suds. They held one another like time had stopped. Like the whole world had stopped and nothing but that moment mattered.
Chapter 25
Lea was in the hospital for a few days. The entire time, Brett stuck by her side as much as he could, only leaving the room when her parents or her friends were visiting and he knew she was well looked after.
He’d walked down the hallway and stood outside his father’s room several times, unsure of what he wanted to say to the man. Wondering if he’d have enough guts to cut both his parents out of his life completely or not.
The last time, his mother had surprised him by opening the door. When she’d seen him, she’d stepped outside and shut the door to the room.
“Your father is resting,” she said softly.
“I’m not here to see him,” he assured her. Her response was a slight smile.
“How about we go down and get some coffee?” she asked.
He followed her in silence down to the hospital cafeteria. Then he sat across from her and ignored the black coffee she’d gotten for him.
“Why do you stay?” he’d asked her.
At first, he didn’t think she was going to answer, but then she sighed and set her coffee aside.
“I was in love. Your father was a better choice than staying in the house I’d been raised in. You never knew your grandparents but let’s just say I was thankful the day they were killed in the plane crash.” He remembered hearing stories of how her parents had died shortly after his birth. “Your father, well, he used to not be so bad. But then he lost his business because Mr. Val moved his business into the area.”
“What?” Brett shook his head. “What business? Dad has worked as an electrician for years.”
“Yes, but before that, he owned a small electric store and was the sole electrician supplying lighting fixtures to the area. Your father blames Mr. Val for moving into the area. He claims that he took all your dad’s business and your father had to start working small jobs.” She sighed. “In truth, your dad closed his business close to a year prior to the Val’s moving here. If he showed up to find that the job was for someone of…”
“Color?” he said dryly.
His mother nodded. “He’d leave without doing the job. It took a toll on his business. The word got around town about his reputation and, well, he had to find another job.”
“Why stay through all that?” he asked.
His mother’s eyes moved to his. “You,” she said simply. Then she smiled. “You were worth every moment of pain that man put me through.”
“And now?” he asked, shaking his head. “Why stay now? I’ve been out of the house for years.”
His mother’s eyes moved down to her fingers.
“Fear. I’m not proud of it, but I know what the man will do if…”
Brett reached across and took his mother’s frail hand in his.
“Nothing. He can’t do anything to you now.”
His mother shook her head. “Not to me.” She glanced up at him.
“Me? He threatened to harm me if you, what? Didn’t fall in line?” he asked, appalled.
His mother nodded. “Even when you wore a badge, he threatened you. He would say, ‘Cops get shot all the time.’ or ‘Cops die in the line of duty every day..’” She sighed and wiped a tear that rolled down her cheek.
“That son of a…” He glanced up at the ceiling, wishing the worst on the man lying in the hospital bed. “And now?” he asked.
“Now?” She sighed. “He’s going to be paralyzed on his left side,” she said as if that answered his question.
“So?” Brett threw out.
“So, now he needs me. Things will be different.” His mother smiled slightly.
“No, they won’t. The only difference is that you’ll have to wipe his ass every day.” Brett shook his head.
“He’s the only thing I have. I can’t just… leave.” She shook her head as more tears rolled down her cheeks.
“Yes, you can. You have me. You have Lea and her family,” he said, but she shook her head.
“I can’t,” she said softly. He remembered all his training and knew that he couldn’t force her to make the next move. The only thing he could do was be there for her when she was ready.
“When you’re ready, we’re here for you,” he told her. “Until then, that man is no longer welcome in my or Lea’s life.” He stood up suddenly. Then he stopped. “I’m going to marry her, and if you have a problem with it…”
“I don’t.” His mother smiled up at him. “I’ve always admired how hard that girl works. She’s smart, funny, and…” She looked back down at her hands. “She’s a better person than your father will ever be.”
He was slightly taken aback by her words, but then he nodded.
“Good, then maybe you’ll be invited to the wedding,” he said. “I’ve got to get back up to her.”
“I hope…” his mother started. “Tell her I hope she gets better soon.” He nodded and left his mother to sit all alone.
When the day came for Lea to be released so she could rest and recover at home, he took her back to her place. He was thankful to see that all his things had already been moved into her house.
Her old furniture had disappeared, and his sofa and chair were arranged nicely in her living room, no doubt thanks to all of their friends.
After carrying her inside, he set Lea softly on the sofa and then covered her with a blanket.
“Wow, you moved everything over here alre
ady?” she said, looking around. “It all looks so good together.”
“Not me,” he admitted. “Aiden asked for my keys. I suspect it was the whole team that did this.” He sat next to her. “How about a movie while I order us some food for delivery?”
“Sounds good.” She sighed. “I’m so ready to relax and eat some unhealthy food.” She lifted her feet to the sofa and tucked the blanket closer around her.
Just then the doorbell rang, causing them both to groan.
“Stay put,” he said, getting up.
“I don’t care who it is, I’m not moving for hours,” she said with a smile.
When he opened the door, Aiden and Aubrey strolled past him. “Hey,” Aiden said, handing him a case of beer. “Better put that on ice.”
“Hey,” he said, frowning after his friends. Before he could shut the door, Zoey and Dylan’s car pulled up behind Aiden’s truck. He waited as they ran through the light rain to step up on the porch.
“Hey,” he said, motioning for them to come in.
“Hey,” Dylan said with a smile.
“Where’s the kid?” he asked them.
“At grandma Kimberly’s for the night.” Dylan lowered his voice. “Don’t mention it too loud. Zoey’s already having anxiety over it.”
“Cool.” He almost shut the door, only to see Scarlett and Levi’s car pull up behind Dylan’s.
For the next five minutes, he watched as every single one of their friends piled into their living room.
Lea was now surrounded by her friends and had been handed a plate full of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, and one of the largest biscuits he’d ever seen.
People kept coming in, so he left the front door open and moved to sit next to Lea with his plate of food.
“I didn’t think this many people would fit in here,” Lea said between bites.
He chuckled. “Me either. You know, I think we could easily build a covered patio off the back of the house, you know, to barbeque out on and entertain.”
“That’s a great idea,” Lea said with a smile. “Talk to Aiden about helping out.”