by Ford, Mia
* * *
We burst through the door to the hospital room number given to us to find Lexi sitting up in her bed. She looks hurt, she has bruises and cuts all over her. I gulp loudly, feeling this more than I thought I would. I knew that I’d hate it to see her hurt but it cuts me to my core. It screams all the way through me.
“Oh my God, Lexi, what happened?” I push past Cassie to get to her. Immediately I want to reach out and hug her but I force myself to hold back. I don’t know how she’s hurt, where she’s been injured. “Are you okay?”
“I’m okay.” She nods slowly. “I’m hurt, obviously you can see that but the doctor said I’m okay. I’ll be let out in the morning. I need you guys here because they won’t let me go to see Flora alone.”
“What happened to Flora?” Krysten demands. “Is she in a bad shape? She isn’t… is she?”
Lexi’s eyes brim with tears. “She got stabbed. It didn’t damage her too much, she’s okay, but I want to see her. I got separated from her when we were brought in here and it’s killing me. I need to check on her.”
“Oh God, yes okay.” Stabbed? That’s serious shit. “Do you know what room she’s in?”
Lexi slides out of the bed, balancing on her feet in her hospital gown. I let her lean in to me, hating the way she’s in agony. I do take a lot of this on my shoulders, this should never have happened. I didn’t listen to her. That’s a mistake I will never make again. The idea of that man doing anything to her is too much.
“I feel horrible,” Lexi whispers to me as Krysten and Cassie go in front of us. “Flora is hurt because of me.”
“Flora is hurt because of Trent. You didn’t do anything to her. You cannot blame yourself for this.”
“No, but it’s my fault. I let him into my life. This wouldn’t have happened otherwise.”
“You didn’t know he was going to do this to your friend. You wouldn’t have gone with him otherwise.”
She doesn’t answer me, she just leans into me more. I’m sure she’s crying. I can feel her shaking against me. I do hold her to me but there’s a barrier between us. I don’t know if it’s her putting it up or me. It’s probably the both of us because we’re ashamed of all the things we let happen to everyone around us.
“Okay, Flora is in here. Can I go in with Krysten first? I want to see her.”
She lets go of me and clings to her friend’s hand. It kills me to have her pulled away from me, but I know that I need to let her go. Nothing can happen to her in there anyway. There are too many people around. Although I suppose I thought that last time and I was wrong, but I’m trying not to get lost in that.
“Oh God, this is bad, isn’t it?” Cassie hisses to me. “I wasn’t expecting her to be that bad.”
“Where is Trent now?” I don’t want to focus on the wrong thing, but there aren’t any cops here.
“I don’t know. Lexi hasn’t said. I suppose we’ll find out in a moment.”
“How long do you think we need to wait before we go inside?”
“I guess until one of them comes to get us. We don’t want to interrupt.”
“Lexi blames herself for all of this.”
“I thought she would.” Cassie nods sharply. “She is very like that.”
“That’s going to be hard, isn’t it? It’ll take her a while to get over it.”
“If she ever does. You need to be prepared for the possibility that this crushes her.”
“She’s been so strong, I can’t imagine this fully taking her down.”
“I hope not. I wouldn’t like to think so.”
Cassie and I fall into a comfortable silence while we’re both lost in our own thoughts. Mine circle solely around this guy and what he might be up to now. The cops might be after him, he might be locked away, or maybe he’s still at large. Chasing around, threatening other people. I can’t fucking stand that.
“You spoke to Bessie recently, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, I spoke to her. Why?”
“I’m just a bit concerned about her and Aubrey, that’s all.”
“Why? What makes you feel like that?”
“Because we don’t know where Trent is. Look at Lexi, hear what she did to Flora; he’s a dangerous psychopathic man. There’s no telling what he will do next.”
“You think he might come after your family?”
“I don’t know.” I shrug helplessly. “I don’t know what’s going on with him.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Maybe I should give her a call.”
I nod and watch her walk away, just as I see the hospital room door open. Krysten pops her head around the door and she smiles thinly at me. I can tell that she’s been crying though, it’s all over her face.
“Is she bad?” I practically whisper. “Is Flora injured in a bad way?”
“She’s going to be okay, but for now, she isn’t.”
I peer over her shoulder, feeling sick as I see all the machines. Flora’s in a much worse state than Lexi. The idea of some man stabbing a knife into a woman in horrifying. What sort of human does that?
“Where is he?” I call to Lexi, needing this over now. “Do the police have him?”
“Who? Trent? I don’t know.”
“Did you call the police?”
“We haven’t yet. I wanted to get us to the hospital first.”
“Okay, so he’s still out there?” I drag my fingers through my hair. “Where did he get you?”
“At Flora’s place. Why? What are you thinking? I’ll call the police now.”
“I need to get him. Don’t fucking worry about it. I’m going for him now.”
“Why? What the hell would you do that for?”
I snort. “Are you kidding? Isn’t it obvious why? You’re my girlfriend…” Krysten gasps in shock, I guess this is the first time she’s heard this. We’re blurting out this news in the wrong way left, right, and center. “And he hurt you. I’m not going to let him hurt you again. It won’t happen. He’s been tormenting you for far too long, I’m sure there are things you haven’t even told me about, and it needs to stop. This has to be the last day.”
“Right, which is why I’m going to call the cops in a moment.”
“No.” I shake my head rapidly. “No, that isn’t good enough.”
“Why? What the hell are you talking about?”
“It isn’t just you in danger here, is it? It’s also my daughter. I cannot let this man anywhere near my child. You understand that, don’t you? You have to get that. I have to protect Aubrey.”
“He won’t…” she starts, but she can’t finish her sentence. “I don’t think…”
“Lexi, you’re in the best place for you, you will be cared for here. While you’re in here I need to figure out where this asshole is. I need to put an end to him. I refuse to let him get away with this.”
“Cooper.” Lexi grabs onto me. “Don’t do this. Leave it to the police.”
“The police won’t help this. They won’t. They will fuel this. A man like Trent, a guy in a gang, he won’t care. He has a criminal record, he’s been in trouble with the law, and it hasn’t ever stopped him.”
“But I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“I don’t want you to get hurt either, and I’m not going to let it happen.”
“Cooper, be reasonable, listen to me. Just hear what I have to say…”
“I can’t listen to anymore, I need to take action.”
“Why won’t you ever listen to me?”
I feel like she’s trying to drag me into an argument to keep me here; I can feel it, but I don’t know what to do with it. I just want to go with my gut this time, to take action. There’s so much protective rage coursing through my veins that needs an outlet. Preferably my fist smacking against his face.
“I have to go, Lexi. I have to do this. Try to understand.” I snatch my arm away from her, letting her know just how serious I am. “Just accept my choice.”
I take her silence as agreement so I
turn and run off. I literally run towards the front door so I can get to him. He is going to regret every choice that he’s ever made. I will make sure of it. The faster I run, the hotter the blood runs through my veins. I’m starting to go crazy.
36
Lexi
“What the hell, Cooper?” I cry after him as he tears off. “Why are you acting crazy?”
“That was crazy,” Krysten agrees. “Is he normally like that? His eyes were all wild.”
“I know, right? He’s never been like that before, I haven’t ever seen that side of him. What do I do?”
“Chase after him! Try and make him stay. After what Trent did to Flora if you don’t want him to get hurt then you need to make sure he stays. Cooper has no idea what he’s getting into.”
“I know. That’s what worries me. Will you be alright with Flora?”
“I will. Maybe you should find your cousin too.”
I take off at the speed of light, trying to find Cooper. Unfortunately, my ailing body doesn’t want to go anywhere near as fast as Cooper, but he can’t just leave. My biggest hope is that he will realize his mistake the moment the fresh air hits him and I’ll find him just waiting.
“Cooper!” I yell loudly as soon as the cool air hits me. “Cooper, where are you?”
“Lexi, what the hell is going on?”
“Oh, Cassie, have you seen Cooper?”
“Only inside. Why, has he come out here?”
“Yeah, he said that he’s going to find Trent. He’s gone all mental and he wants to kick his head in for what he’s done to me and Flora. He’s also scared of what Trent might do to Aubrey.”
“I know. He told me that too. That’s why I’ve just been out calling Mom.”
“Everything is alright though, right? She’s fine?”
I would feel dreadful if something happened, it would crush me. Already everything tenses inside of me. My muscles tighten and knot up, my head spins wildly. I don’t know what I’m going to hear…
“She’s fine. Mom is on high alert. No one would mess with her anyway.”
“Good – well, that’s great news. I don’t want anything to happen to Aubrey.”
“No, I know that. We need to find Cooper quickly before he does something dumb. It doesn’t seem like anything is going to happen to Aubrey; he doesn’t want to aggravate.”
“I know. That’s why I’ve come out here in a fucking hospital gown. I need to find him.”
“Well, I know where he’s parked. Come on, let’s go and find him.”
Cassie takes my hand and we tear across the car park to where Cassie knows Cooper has parked the car. My heart thunders against my chest as we go. I have the horrible feeling that he’s already gone…
“Oh, there’s his car! He’s still here. Come on.”
I pick up the pace through the pain and lean against the car. Cooper is sitting inside with red-hot rage burning across his face. I bang on the window, demanding his attention but it takes him a while to look.
“Cooper, stop this! Stop it now! You can’t do this, please. Hear me out.”
He winds down the window and leans out. “Get off the car, Lexi. It’s too late. My mind is made up.”
“But Aubrey is fine,” Cassie joins in. “I just spoke to Mom and she’s okay. There isn’t anything to worry about. You just need to calm down before you create a problem.”
“I’m not about to create anything. I’m ending it.”
“No, let the police end it, Cooper, please. I’ll call them now, I will.” I wish I had now, I wish the moment that Judy suggested it I had agreed, it would have saved all of this. “I’ll stop it. Let me do it.”
“No, I’ve made up my mind. There isn’t anything you can do now.”
I do the only thing I can think of and I stand in front of the car. He can’t go backwards so now he can’t leave. It’s rash and maybe I’m acting a little crazy now, but it’s all I can do. I have to protect him. I couldn’t protect Flora, she’s in that hospital bed right now because I couldn’t look after her, but I can take care of him.
“Cooper, listen to me. Hear me, this is the wrong thing to do. This is crazy and violent. It’s you acting in an unnecessary way. This whole situation with Trent has been out of my control, but now I can handle it. Just a bit.”
Cooper huffs and slides out of the car, his shoulders slump forwards. He looks defeated, which is good. I need him to be defeated. He’ll be annoyed for a while but he will eventually see that I’m right.
“Thank you, Cooper.” I breathe out a giant sigh of relief. “I’m so glad that you’re thinking straight.”
He grabs onto my shoulders and I think he might be about to pull me in for a kiss, but he doesn’t. He shoves me to one side and gives me an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, Lexi, but I can’t relax until he’s dead.”
“You aren’t a murderer, Cooper. You aren’t like him. He’s the one that will kill you.”
“I can very much assure you that it won’t go down that way.”
I wonder if I’m falling into the same trap again. Maybe Cooper is another bad guy, someone that I should have seen the negatives of him too. Maybe he’s dangerous as well. I don’t exactly have the best track record now, do I?
But no… then I remember all the nice things he’s done, all the soft ways he’s touched me, all the ways he’s protected me. He isn’t that sort of man. Trent will eat him alive. Just because he’s mental.
“Don’t go, Cooper. Don’t do this to me. Don’t put me through more.”
“I’m doing this to stop you from going through more. Don’t you see that?”
“I don’t see any of it, Cooper. I just see you walking away from me.”
“This is not me walking away from you.”
“If you go, Cooper, I can’t keep doing this. I need to know that I’m safe, that I have control.”
But he steps away from me, answering me without words. I helplessly watch him climb back into the car and drive away. He doesn’t even make eye contact with me as he goes, he just drives away.
“Oh, my fucking God!” I fall to the floor, banging my naked knees on the way down. “This is too much. He’s left me, Cassie. He’s gone. He’s heading to his death. He doesn’t care about me at all.”
Cassie wraps her arms around me and she holds me close. It’s supposed to be comforting but nothing can make me feel better right now. I won’t feel better until he’s back… he might never come back.
“He’s doing this because he cares about you…”
“But it’s so dangerous. Why doesn’t he understand that? Why won’t he listen? I know Trent better than he does. Why did he just walk away from me like that? I don’t understand it, Cassie?”
“To be honest, I don’t understand it either, but I think he’s trying to be protective.”
“I don’t want him to protect me there. I want him here.”
“I know you do, Lexi.”
“He can’t save me from there. If he dies, I’m vulnerable.”
“He won’t die. Cooper is tougher than you think.”
I weep, I can’t stop the tears from coming. “Cassie, I have had so much crazy things happening in my life. You know that better than anyone. My life with Trent was a whirlwind of crazy. I don’t want any more crazy, I want things to be calm. I thought that’s what it was like with Cooper, that’s what attracted me to him. I liked his calm.”
“He is a calm person usually. This isn’t a typical situation.”
“I know, but I can’t stand that he just walked away, like my opinion meant nothing.”
Rationally, I can see why he’s gone like that. He thinks that he’s doing the right thing by me and Aubrey, but he isn’t. I know it deep in my heart. I’ve done everything I have for a good reason, I know why I’m acting like I am, but he won’t have it. I don’t know what that means for our future, I really don’t. I think this changes things more than I want it to. I honestly don’t know where we can go from here.
&nb
sp; “For now, we need to get back inside. We need to check on Flora.”
“I need to call the cops as well. If I can get them to Trent first, then maybe we can stop Cooper that way.”
“Yeah, exactly. Be proactive, that’s right.” Cassie holds me tight. “You got this, Lexi. I know that you feel awful for what’s happened, but honestly you don’t need to worry about it. You’re kicking ass as you are.”
“I don’t know, Cassie, I feel like I’ve let everyone down. Including Cooper now. Can you imagine how I’ll feel if something happens to him? That will absolutely destroy me.”
“It won’t. Trust me. It won’t. Cooper knows how to look after himself.”
Those words twist painfully in my gut, I don’t know how much I believe them. I want to think of Cooper as indestructible, I kind of need him to be that, but he isn’t.
“I can’t think about Cooper right now, I need to focus on Flora.”
We both know that won’t happen, but Cassie allows me to pretend. We head all the way back to Flora’s room, where I immediately get strained looks from both girls.
“What happened?” Krysten demands. “Did you not manage to stop him?”
“No, he’s gone. Me and Cassie both tried but he wouldn’t hear it.”
“He’s gone…? That’s really bad, isn’t it? What do we do?”
My heart bleeds. I tried to avoid telling people about me and Cooper because I was scared of being judged, but actually, all the people that know so far have been really kind about it. Just a shame that it might not work.
“I don’t think there’s anything we can do. The only thing I want to do is call the police.”
“Yeah, I agree,” Flora croaks. “I don’t want him to get away with it.”
I lean over her and hug her, the tears streaming all over again. I’m a fucking emotional wreck, I can’t seem to stop. “I’m so sorry, Flora. I’m sorry for what happened to you.”
“You’re sorry? I’m sorry. I’m the one who called you to my house.”
