by Eden Rose
My head is banging as if someone is practicing the drums in it and my hand is shaking from the pain. The whole left side of my body is in so much pain that it’s unbearable.
“My name is Tina and I have been assigned to your care the past few days. I must say, your friend hasn’t left your side,” she points to Wyatt. And then over to the side that has a cot resting against it. “However, he has pissed off the night nurse because he demanded he sleep with you.”
He places his lips on my forehead and whispers the three words that make me melt every time I hear them from him. I blush all the way through my body.
My eyes hold Tina’s as I urge her to continue what she has to say. I don’t want to hear anymore but I have a feeling that it’s important. The pain is too real. I don’t need to know how I got to be in so much pain, but I do know that it needs to stop.
“Think, baby, think about what happened. I want to make sure that you get the best treatment that you need in order to get better.”
My hand that is free grabs Wyatt’s arm and I squeeze it tightly. I shake my head and then close my eyes. “I’m tired.”
The pain that I am in is horrifying. The logistics as to how I got shot are not as important as the pain. It’s such a strong pain that thinking about what had happened isn’t going to help me at all. All it will do is create more pain for me.
“Okay, we will let you get some rest. I will be back soon to check on your vitals,” Tina informs me and then leaves my room.
Wyatt is kissing my face over and over again repeatedly while I cry silently. “I’m in so much pain. Please, make it stop.”
“I’m sorry, baby. I’m sorry that I wasn’t there.”
My eyes open and even through the moisture that is coming through them, I still see the grief and agony that is reflected in my man’s face. “It’s not your fault. You didn’t do anything wrong. If you say you did again, I will kick your ass.”
His face shoots back a little and his sexy Adam’s apple sticks out more from the movement. “I just feel so bad. I should have been with you.”
“So you could be in the bed next to me? No, Wyatt. I need you to tell me what happened. Please. I have a feeling that the cops are going to be coming soon. I need to know what happened so I can prepare my statement.”
Even talking is a chore and I swallow a lot in order to get enough saliva to speak to him. I don’t know what’s wrong with my throat, but it feels as if someone has squeezed it too tightly.
My vision starts to get blurry and I can’t make out Wyatt’s face anymore. I begin to panic and draw in deep breaths in order to fix whatever is happening. Nothing is working.
“I… I… Can’t… Breathe!” I manage to struggle out.
Wyatt
“I… I… Can’t… Breathe!” She mumbles out with panic lacing her voice and I know that she’s scared.
Her cheeks turn blue and her lips form a straight line across her beautiful face. “Shh, baby. It’s okay. You are just having a panic attack,” I brush my hand over her hair but she shakes her head violently.
“No!”
I could just imagine how I look right now after she yelled that. I thought for sure she wouldn’t be in the mood to be yelling about anything much less telling me no.
“Nurse!” I yell from where I’m standing. I have her hand pressed in between mine and looking at her face makes me want to cry. She looks scared out of her mind and it’s freaking me out more than anything.
I can hear the running of sneakered feet as they come flying through the room. “What is going on?” The nurse asks and pushes me aside.
Of course I don’t move out of her way so she puts her hand on my hand and squeezes gently. “I need to be able to talk to her and check her vitals in order to see what’s going on. Please move over there.”
With much annoyance, I do as asked. I sit in the chair off to the side and watch the nurse as she checks over Keeley. There is several machines that are beeping and blinging with random colored lights that only heighten my anxiety.
After what feels like hours, I stand up and walk over to the nurse again. The beeping has ceased but one of the machines is still flashing green. “What’s going on? What is happening to my girl?”
The nurse slips her stethoscope around her neck and looks over at me. “Due to the high stress of the situation, it is very common for gunshot victims to have panic attacks.”
A doctor comes strolling in with a clipboard and a tablet in his hands. I watch over on the sidelines as he confirms what the nurse had just said to me and he nods his head. He pulls a shot out of his lab coat and preps Keeley’s lifeless arm.
Her whole body is lifeless but the look of sheer horror on her face is what makes me worried the most. Keeley’s eyes are bugging out of her head and her lips are in a tight line. There is no color in her face as she watches frantically as the doctor preps to give her a shot.
About a minute later he looks over at me and nods his head to the side. I walk over to him and place my hands on my hips out of frustration.
“Do you know what happened to this young lady?”
I gulp air quickly into my mouth and hope it spreads through my body before I freak out. “No. Someone broke in and shot her. That’s all I know.”
The doctor nods his head and then says to me: “I don’t recommend her going back to that house. I don’t recommend her being in any high stress environment until we can get her blood pressure down. She’s so stressed that she was on the verge of a stroke.”
My heart feels as if it’s about to explode. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“No,” he says calmly. “Can she stay some place where she will feel safe?”
I know what he’s asking me. He’s asking me if I know what happened and if it were my fault. “Don’t worry, doctor. I will make sure she feels safe because she is.”
“By the way, I gave her a sedative so she will be out cold for the next couple of hours. You should take a shower or something.”
Looking at the ashen face of Keeley has me shaking with anger. Someone deliberately went into her house and was looking for something. That something had almost cost her her life. Keeley is such a beautiful person but I know that’s angry as well. Hell, we are all angry at what happened to her.
A few hours later and I still haven’t showered or slept, a few police officers come into the room. I know exactly what they are here for because it’s obvious, but I don’t want them to upset Keeley anymore than she already is.
“Someone ransacked your house. They were looking for something. Do you know what they could have been looking for?”
She shakes her head and then winces. “I have no idea. Did they… why did they shoot me?” Her head drops and I know she’s looking at her side.
I nod my head and place my hand gently on her bandaged arm. She silently shakes with her tears and it breaks my heart even more than ever. “Yeah. Keeley, it’s very important that you tell me everything that you know. The person that shot you was using a gun that is registered to your husband. They shot you through your left lung. A centimeter to the left, you would have died. That’s why you are bandaged. Are you sure you have no idea why they were looking through your house?”
“Why do you keep asking me that? I have answered your question a few times. I have no idea.”
The police officers are jotting notes down in their books and I can tell that they are getting frustrated.
“Wait! What gun are you talking about? The one that is in his safe in his office?” Keeley’s line of questioning is direct and forceful just like the attorney is.
The male police officer nods his head and then says: “We searched through the wreckage of your and his offices and I will tell you that we found a gun safe that was empty. The Glock and Ruger were missing.”
“I need to see the lab reports,” she whispers to me and I see the tears that are rolling down her eyes.
The female one speaks up next and sits down next to Keeley so t
hey are on the same level. I know why she is doing that and it’s bull shit that she’s trying to manipulate a statement out of Keeley when she’s high off of all of these fucking pain meds.
She’s an older cop with the normal attitude of one that has been on the job too long. I hate her instantly and it’s not because she’s a woman. It’s the fact that she doesn’t trust what my girl is telling her and it’s pissing me the fuck off.
“We searched the remaining parts of both of your offices and I found that you have a safe as well. Do you mind telling me why you have thirty thousand dollars in twenties?”
Keeley
“What the hell are you talking about?” I demand and sit up further in my bed. The mere factor that Wyatt is close to me does little to nothing in the realm of comforting me. I’m livid and like a live wire right now. “I do not have that much cash on me.”
A lawyer with money is one thing, but to keep all of that money in a safe is a different thing all together. I would never have that much cash laying around in my house. There is no telling what kind of shit could happen or anything.
Wyatt pets my hair and then looks at the monitors that are beeping behind me to warm me of my blood pressure rising. I don’t give a fuck about the blood pressure. Right now, I want to know why my husband had so much money.
“Mrs. Johnson. Is there anything that you would like to tell us regarding that money?”
The fact that they are insinuating that I would be a money launderer is atrocious. I would never do anything that carless and to jeopardize my career like that… That’s career suicide. Plus, I have to think about my father who is the one that has helped us out on a lot of things.
And then it clicked.
“Are you talking about the safe that was between the wall next to the closet door? The one that is cemented and bolted to the ground?” I ask them and then look over at Wyatt who is looking as if he’s witnessing some horror movie.
Which is probably true. I know I look scary as hell. Plus, I’m angrier than a hornet who has been swatted at.
The male cop nods his head and sits down in the chair to the side of the bed. I’m pretty sure that is what Wyatt was sleeping on before they brought his a cot. “Yes, that’s correct. You mean to tell me that you had that much cash in your house and you had no idea? Highly unlikely.”
The lawyer side begins to kick in. “Am I on trial here? Is this how you treat your victims that had just been shot? Should I be read my Miranda Rights?”
“That’s enough!” Wyatt says to the police officers who are getting too personal with me. “This woman has been through enough and it’s unethical for you to question her while she’s on pain meds.”
The female cop speaks up and looks pointedly at me while she does it. “Probably not a good idea to be taking that medicine. Don’t you think? Mixing your pills with that… Yikes. We will be in touch.”
And with that, I watch their asses as they leave my hospital room. Wyatt is trying his best to soothe me but it’s no use. The damage has been done and now Wyatt will understand just how crazy I am.
Wyatt
Knowing that they are making her angry, I decide to leave my line of questioning. We aren’t going to get anywhere if she’s mad at them and not cooperating with me or them.
*
I stood by uselessly while the nurse, Tina, helped get Keeley out of her drap dressing gown and into the shower. I also stood by silently as I looked over every inch of her body to make sure that there wasn’t anything else on her body that shouldn’t have been there.
I listened to Keeley complain about the shampoo and conditioner choices and complain about the fact that the water wasn’t hot enough. In the few months that I have gotten to know this woman, I have never heard her complain about anything before. It’s unnerving.
When she steps out of the shower, I watch as the nurse struggles to help her out. Selfishly, I want to get my hands on her so I rush to the shower and pick her up. Her beautiful body immediately relaxes against mine and I hold her close.
Silently, she sobs against my chest and I walk over to her bed where I sit down first with her on top of me.
“Sir, we are going to need-” The nurse begins but I shut her off before she can start saying a bunch of things that have nothing to do with what Keeley needs.
“She’s fine right where she is.”
In the tone of my voice, I let it be known that I’m not changing my mind and that she needs to leave before I start getting mad. Keeley has been through a lot and the invasive line of questioning that the police had given her, didn’t help.
The nurse rolls her head back on her neck and then looks up at the sky before looking back at me. “You have a half an hour. I will be back then and I want her to be in her bed alone. I swear, do not do anything that will make me angry.”
Before either of us could respond, she spins on her heels and strolls out of the room.
I brush my hand over her wet hair and pull a little to get her to look up at me. “Sh, cupcake, it’s going to be okay. I promise.”
Something that the police said is beginning to bug me as I feel her jerk against me. “No, it’s not. I need to tell you something about me that you might not like.”
“I love you, cupcake. There’s nothing about you that could make me love you any less. It’s not possible.”
“I have Bipolar.”
I feel as if she had just punched me in the gut. “That’s what you are worried about? Baby, many people have that and are functioning just fine.”
She shakes her head against my chest and I can feel her tears as they soak my shirt. “No, it’s not just that. About five years ago, I had gotten a concussion at work. It was stupid and silly but they gave me pain killers. Needless to say, one of my problems is that I have an addictive personality.”
Something that Keeley is saying isn’t adding up. I don’t get why she was so scared to tell me that she had Bipolar. I wasn’t lying when I told her that many people have it and seem to be fine. The part of her sharing this information that has me questioning what she’s trying to say is the addictive personality. “What happened?”
I feel something in my bones as I try to calm myself from making a big mistake. I need to know what had happened to her so we could figure out how to make it better.
“I got addicted to the pain killers and almost went to rehab for it.”
And just like that. She dropped a bomb on me. “Okay, please explain to me what happened. I want to know everything about you and I don’t want you to think that I would love you any less.”
Keeley takes a deep breath and then says: “In college, I was pretty destructive. I didn’t want to take my medicine anymore and I didn’t like what it did to me. I refused to take it and it caused me to be unpredictable. Olivia and Shana found me one night and I was about to start dancing naked in a bar because I wanted to. But it’s weird… It’s an outer body experience to know that I was that out of control. It’s hard to explain and I don’t want you to think I’m crazy or something.”
I kiss her forehead and then down her cheeks to her lips. “I don’t think you are crazy. I think you just need someone in your life that is going to stick. How did you get addicted?”
“Oh, that’s easy. I was going out with Jerry at the time and he hooked me up with some Valium. I loved it and the Xanax so much. It calmed me down and it made it easy to function in public.”
“So, he’s the one that got you hooked on it?” I needed clarification as to how I was going to kill him. He honestly had no excuse about not knowing she’s sick. That she has something in her brain that is making her do this. And if he were going to tell me that he didn’t, I would kill him.
“No!” She immediately jumps to his defence. “It was me and I shouldn’t have done it. I started skipping class and not giving a shit about anything except getting high. Finally, Olivia and Shana cornered me and told me that I needed help. I started seeing a shrink who explained my disease to me.”
Even though I feel for her situation, I do not think for one second that Jerry didn’t have anything to do with her addiction. Not for one moment. “Okay, cupcake. I got you. How about you close your eyes and get some sleep.”
Keeley
I’m exhausted after sharing with Wyatt how I am fucking crazy. I warned him in the beginning that I was though, so he doesn’t have anyone to blame but himself. My mother passed on the disease to me and it’s a good possibility that I could pass the disease on to my children and I wouldn’t want anyone to live with this.
Eventually, I’m going to have to tell Wyatt that I’m not interested in having children. Of course, I like the idea of having children and taking care of them, but I’m scared shitless.
Look at what my mother did. She killed her own daughter because she was going manic and didn’t even blink. It was no big deal that she had drowned my baby sister in the bath tub. Nothing. My own mother did that.
I’m somewhere between being awake and being asleep when I hear the door crack open a little. It’s probably the nurse or someone like that. I open my left eye and look over to the corner where Wyatt has been sleeping and he’s not there.
“Keeley. I know you are awake,” Jerry says for the doorway.
With a jolt, I open both eyes and immediately sit straight up to figure out why he’s here. “What are you doing here?” I demand. “I was shot in our home because someone was looking for something. I almost died!” I yelled a little too loudly for being in a hospital.
My soon to be ex-husband advances towards me and then stands just at the end of the bed. “I’m so sorry that had happened to you. You weren’t supposed to have been hurt. Everything was in the process of being figured out…” He holds his hands out in front of him as if he’s showing me that he’s sorry about what happened.
“What needed to be figured out?” I demand. In dramatic situations such as this, I always expected me to confront him with documented evidence about everything that he is doing. Unfortunately, I don’t have that evidence because I don’t know what the fuck he has been doing all of this time.
