His soft voice, so confident, so reassuring, was enough to allow me to drift back to sleep, into a dreamless sleep that seemed to last forever.
When I woke up again, I found out it had only been two hours.
“What time is it now?” I asked Blake.
“It’s just after one in the morning.”
“On what day?”
“Sunday.”
I did some mental math in my head that took a lot longer than it would have on any other day.
“So I’ve been here for a day and a half?”
“Yes.”
“But wait… if it’s one in the morning, visiting hours are over.”
“Not when you promise to make a hefty donation to the hospital, they aren’t.”
I managed a weak smile. “You didn’t have to do that for me.”
“I did. I promised when I saw you I wouldn’t leave your side. Not until you woke up, not until you were better.”
I drifted back in and out of consciousness for the rest of the night. Every time I woke up, Blake was there. Sometimes he was texting, sometimes he was on his laptop, both of which looked a little awkward to do with just one usable hand, and sometimes he was just watching me. But he was always there. Always caring.
* * *
On Monday morning, I finally felt well enough to try and eat some solid food, to try and piece together what had happened. I pestered Blake about it until he finally told me the story.
“I came to surprise you for the weekend. We reached an impasse with the company we were trying to buy, there was a legal problem that had to be dealt with before we could move forward, and so I knew I would have a weekend free while the lawyers sorted it all out. So, I decided to come and spend it with you, since I didn’t know when the next time we’d really get to see each other was.”
At that point, every doubt I had about us succeeding as a couple, every nagging feeling that maybe Blake was pulling away by cancelling the trip in February dissipated completely. It was obvious now that he wasn’t doing that, he was going to come and visit me on his rare weekend off! My heart fluttered with love as he continued his story.
“Maybe I should have told you, maybe none of this would have happened if I had. Who knows. What I do know is that I decided to make it a surprise. I was going to show up at your apartment on Friday night and tell you we had the whole weekend together. I remembered your address, I told the cab driver where to go. My plan had been to do the whole romantic thing and call you, tell you to get down to the front of your building and surprise you, since I didn’t know the code, and I had no idea how long it would take for someone to come out of the building.”
“You’re right, that would have been one hell of a surprise!” I told him. It sounded so romantic as he told the story, I wished with all my heart that was how it had happened.
“Then when I got there, I could hear you screaming inside. I knew it was you, and I knew you were in trouble. I ran back to the taxi before he could drive off, told him someone was in trouble, and got him to call 9-1-1 while I grabbed the crowbar from the trunk and pried the door to your building open.”
“The landlord’s not going to be happy,” I replied with a bit of a smile.
“No, I got an earful about it, until I threatened to sick my lawyers on him. After all, destroying that door might have saved your life, I wasn’t going to let him bully me at that point. I broke in and immediately saw that man on top of you, hitting you. I think you were already passed out, you’d stopped screaming. He didn’t see me coming at all, and the fact that I played football in high school came in handy. I tackled him off you. We fought. Eventually, I overpowered him. The cops came, arrested both of us. When the cab driver told them what had happened, they let me go with apologies, got my contact info, and then let me ride with you in the ambulance.”
“What happened to your arm?” I asked, looking over at the sling. “And your forehead?”
“The forehead was actually from tackling him, I hit my head on the ground as we both crashed. The arm, well, at one point he had a good vantage point on me, and he broke it. He thought he’d gotten me then, but luckily it was my left.”
“Oh my God, Blake, I’m so sorry. I’m sorry that happened to you just because you knew me. It was my ex, Tom. He had been abusive when we were in a relationship, he read about us in the paper and decided he wanted to claim me back, when he realized I’d moved on.”
“I know, I immediately grabbed your phone and called Anna, she told me who he was when she arrived at the hospital and saw him.”
Fear suddenly caught in my throat. “Wait, he’s here?”
“Handcuffed to a bed and guarded by two cops 24/7. If it makes you feel any better, it’s because I gave him a worse pounding than you got.”
“Not to sound like a vindictive person or anything, but yes, that does make me feel better, thank you.”
I found out from Blake that I’d suffered a mild concussion, a broken cheekbone, a dislocated shoulder and random bruising on most of my body. They kept me at the hospital for a few days just to be sure that I wasn’t suffering from anything more, and then released me to go home.
Even though it was Tuesday, Blake still hadn’t gone back to New York. He insisted on seeing me home, insisted on making sure I was safe.
The problem was, as soon as I got to my apartment building, I started trembling. I stood still, staring at the door, staring at the place where Tom had assaulted me.
“Ok, you know what, we’re going to get you to a hotel, and you’re going to find a new place to live, starting tomorrow,” Blake told me. “Unless you want to go stay with Anna? That might be better.”
“Yes. Yes, I think I want to stay with my sister,” I whispered, turning away from the building. It was just way too soon. I couldn’t stay in that building. I just couldn’t.
Blake wrapped his arms around me reassuringly.
“That’s fine. Of course that’s fine. Listen, if you don’t have anywhere else to go, you’re always welcome to come stay with me. No pressure, but hey, this is just me letting you know that I don’t mind if you decide to come to New York, you’ve always got a place to stay.”
“Thanks,” I whispered as I closed my eyes, Blake leading me away from my apartment building. I knew I’d have to come back here sometime to get my things, but I also knew I was never going to be able to live in that apartment building again.
We drove in silence to Anna’s apartment. As soon as I showed up, I was shown to the “guest couch”, which was made up for me. I said another teary goodbye to Blake, who promised he would be back as soon as he could, and then crawled under the covers and decided to sleep away some of the pain. I still wasn’t back to normal, my brain constantly felt like it was working at around 50%, like I couldn’t concentrate perfectly on a lot of things, and I needed quite a bit of sleep. The doctor told me those were some of my concussion symptoms, and that they would go away with time, but that I still needed to take care of myself.
I was vaguely aware of Anna and Blake talking out near the front door as I drifted off to sleep.
* * *
When I woke up, I found out Anna had made me a bowl of homemade bacon macaroni and cheese, my absolute favourite comfort food.
“Mmmm, this is perfect, thanks Anna,” I murmured as my stomach growled. I realized I’d barely eaten anything the last few days, and my stomach grumbled at the thought of one of my favourite dishes. I was starving!
“Hey, listen Jules, we need to talk about what you’re going to do in the future, ok?”
“Yeah. Of course. I’ll be out of your hair as soon as I find somewhere to go. I promise I’ll start looking today.”
“Are you kidding? You’re welcome to stay here for as long as you want. That’s not what I meant at all. I meant that I think you should consider moving to New York City.”
“What? Why?”
“I was talking about it with Blake, before he left. He told me he suggested it, and the more I t
hink about it, the more I think it’s a good idea. He’s great for you, you’re obviously happy together, and I really think after what happened to you here that you should get away from Columbus, even for a little while.”
“But what about you?”
“I’ll be fine here. I’ve always been. But I don’t know. I might move out west or something in a couple of years. Life changes. You only get one shot at some things, and love is one of those things. It’s obvious that Blake loves you and that you love him. I think you need to follow your heart.”
“We’re making the long distance thing work though.”
“And that only works if you eventually get together for good. Anyway, I’ll let you eat,” she continued, and left the room.
I pondered my sister’s words while I devoured the macaroni and cheese. Was she right? I mean, I supposed she was, in a way. Long distance relationships eventually had to have both people come together. And I really, really loved Blake. More than anything after the events of the last couple of days. He had probably saved my life. I knew he would do anything for me, would do anything to protect me.
Still, moving to New York City would be a big change. I had lived in Columbus my entire life. I could count on one hand the number of times I’d left the state. I still had to finish school. Would my credits transfer? Or would Blake expect me not to work, to be a kept woman?
There was so much uncertainty when it came to moving, so many questions I didn’t know the answer to.
Still, my heart knew what it wanted. I knew what I wanted. It was going to be the hardest thing I had ever done, but I knew it was the right thing to do.
I picked up my phone and called Blake.
“Hey, how’s it going?” he asked upon answering.
“Good. I’m going to move to New York,” I answered. The smile on my face could have lit a thousand lights.
* * *
Three weeks had passed since I told Blake the good news: I was moving to New York. Our relationship wasn’t going to be long distance anymore.
But, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. After all, this was a huge thing for me. Moving out of state, out of my hometown, to somewhere completely new? Definitely not something I usually did. Plus, I had to deal with my credits, my classes, getting transferred, and all that administrative stuff.
Blake was, of course, super supportive of me continuing my studies. He thought it was fantastic that I wanted to dedicate my life to saving people, and even though my eventual salary wasn’t going to be even close to his, Blake still thought that if I wanted to work, I should work.
I wasn’t sure what my long term plans were. However, I did know I wanted to finish getting my nursing degree, and I did want to at least get some experience working in a hospital. I loved working with people, I loved helping people. I loved it when I helped make them better, and I knew it was my calling in life.
So, as soon as I had made my decision, I started looking into transferring my credits and getting accepted somewhere else.
To start with, my college had been incredible about refunding me tuition for the semester after the encounter with Tom. Because of my concussion I had found it incredibly difficult to concentrate, and after a couple of meetings with doctors and my advisor, we decided it would be best if I took at least one semester off, then come back in six months.
So, I started applying to colleges in New York City, and got accepted at a couple, one of which was only two subway stops from Blake’s apartment, completely walkable if I wanted. I accepted to continue my studies in the June session, that way I wouldn’t end up behind overall.
Now I was packing up my things, packing up my life. Anna came with me to my apartment, my first time inside since Tom attacked me outside of it. I had tried coming back, with Blake, but had a minor panic attack and ended up staying at Anna’s instead. She came and grabbed me some clothes and anything else I’d need for a few weeks, but now, as I had to pack up my life for good, I had to come back for the day.
We made sure to come in the daytime, during Anna’s day off.
“Are you sure you’re going to be ok?” Anna asked as we stood on the sidewalk looking at my old building. I could feel the panic starting to build inside of me as the memories of that day came flooding back, but I nodded. I had to do this.
“Yes. Besides, I have a nurse with me, she’ll take care of me if anything happens,” I joked.
“You know I will,” Anna replied with a sympathetic smile.
I squeezed my sister’s hand and went into my building. I passed through the hallway where my ex-boyfriend Tom had beaten me unconscious until Blake saved me, and immediately unlocked the door to my apartment and went in.
I hadn’t been there in over three weeks, but it was almost eerie how everything seemed exactly the same. My life had changed so much, and yet my belongings were all still exactly where they were back when I didn’t look over my shoulder every time I heard a noise behind me, or when I was expecting to keep living in Columbus for the foreseeable future. It’s funny, how life works that way.
As soon as I was past the hallway and back in my apartment, I started to relax. Tom had never gotten in here, although how he found out I lived here was still a mystery to me. Maybe one of his friends had seen me, something like that. Columbus wasn’t that big a city.
Still, I had to tell myself regularly that Tom was in jail. Blake had hired me a lawyer who kept me informed about how things were going with the charges. I was likely going to have to testify, but it would be months before his case would go to trial.
In the meantime, Tom was in jail. Apparently a year ago he’d stolen a car, made bail, and then ignored his court date. He was found passed out on the couch at his mother’s house, but skipping his court date had guaranteed that no judge was going to give him a second chance. I didn’t have to look over my shoulder to see if he was coming after me again, and that was a huge relief. It still didn’t stop my body from reflexively being nervous in crowds, or when I heard noises, now.
My first stop was the bedroom. I somehow managed to pack all my clothes into three boxes, then began working on things like sheets, blankets, that sort of thing.
“Hey, can I have this chair you’ve got in the living room?” Anna called out.
“Which one, the daisy pattern one?”
“Yup!”
“Sure, go for it. I never used it anyway.”
“Sweet, thanks!”
I had to smile at Anna’s optimism. She was already convinced I was never coming back. When I told her I was going to put my things in storage, she asked me what the point was. And I had to admit, she was right. Deep down, I knew I was going to be with Blake forever, that we weren’t going to come back to Ohio. So, the plan changed. Now, I was taking everything I wanted to New York in my car, and the rest was going to storage for a month or two while Anna sold my stuff on Craigslist and split the cash with me. I was going all in on this relationship.
The thought didn’t scare me nearly as much as I thought it would. For years after leaving Tom I’d avoided relationships with men, always scared that they would end the same way as my time with Tom did. Always scared that one day they would change, that they would start beating me like he had.
I never worried about that with Blake. At first I had, sure. At first I had even wanted to avoid a relationship in case he turned out to be a bastard like Tom. But the more time I began to spend with Blake, the more I realized he was different. He wasn’t like Tom, and I quickly realized he never would be.
That’s how I ended up moving halfway across the country to live with a man I’d only been with for just shy of three months.
“I still can’t believe the perfect guy just fell into your lap like that,” I heard Anna call in from the other room. “I mean, I’m happy for you of course, but girl you need to invite me over and introduce me to some of his friends.”
I laughed. “Well I haven’t even really met any of his friends yet, they might all be assholes.”
“I don’t care, if they’re as hot as Blake is, I’ll deal with it.”
Giggling as I continued to pack away my things, I stored all my clothes in boxes labeled to go on the truck to New York, then moved in to the kitchen.
It took five hours, but eventually my place looked completely bare. The movers would be by the next day to pack everything up that had to go to the storage facility, and the boxes I was taking with me to New York were all loaded up in my car.
It all seemed so final somehow, and even though I thought I’d be sad, I was actually pretty excited. Anna and I sat on the couch with some pizza and drinks I’d gone down the street to buy to celebrate. After all, I was going to be sleeping at her place again tonight, and the next morning I was making the eight hour drive east to be with Blake.
“Here’s to my little sister, growing up and moving to the big city,” Anna toasted, holding up her glass of cheap cider I’d found at the liquor store.
“And here’s to my big sister, for being the best friend anyone could possibly ask for,” I replied.
“You’re too sweet. I’m going to miss you.”
“I’m going to miss you too. You’re going to have to come and visit. Even if it’s just for the hot guys.”
“Well, I suppose it’ll also be good to see you. And remember, if you ever feel like you need to come back home, for any reason, any amount of time, I always have a couch for you.”
“Thanks, Anna. I appreciate it. But I’ll be ok. I know this isn’t the sort of thing I usually do, but I think it’s the right thing to do.”
“Don’t worry, I agree with you. I think Blake is wonderful for you, and wonderful in general. I don’t know him well, but I have an older sister’s instinct to go with, and he is great.”
“Yeah. Yeah, he is great. I made a bad call with Tom, but boy have I made up for it with Blake.”
As I fell asleep that night, with Blake sending me loving texts until late at night, I had a smile on my face. In less than twenty four hours, I was going to live with the best man on the planet.
* * *
The next morning I woke up from a night of awful sleep. I was so excited about the move that I just spent most of the night tossing and turning. Eventually I fell asleep, but when my alarm went off at seven in the morning, I groaned into my pillow and hit snooze. Just an extra ten minutes would hit the spot perfectly.
Shades of Submission: Fifty by Fifty #1: Billionaire Romance Boxed Set Page 66
