by Brenda Ford
“I just want to be with you, Brad, that’s all,” she bursts out. “That’s all I have wanted ever since that magical night we first met. I just… I want to be yours, that’s all. I keep trying and trying to show you that, but I can’t make it happen. You won’t seem to see what there is between us. Me and you… we’re destiny. We’re supposed to be special. I am your happy ever after. Not her, not any of the others.”
“Maria, I feel a bit shitty saying this to you when you’re crying, but I have said it over and over again. Me and you aren’t anything. We never were and we certainly never will be. There isn’t anyone in our way.”
“You!” she yells. “You are in our way. You are the problem.”
I lean under the bed to try and reach for the call button to alert someone now. I’m not remaining stuck with this woman anymore. But before I manage to grab it, Maria notes what I’m doing, and she lurches towards me. She grabs my face in to her hands and stares intently in my eyes. Her gaze flashes with all kinds of emotions which leaves me very concerned. I’m in a position where she could really hurt me again.
“If I could just get you out of your head, then you would see… you would finally understand that me and you are meant to be. That’s all this has been. Me trying to ensure that you’re getting out of your own way. This is happiness that I’m offering you. A real future. Marriage, babies, the lot. It could be incredible.”
She tugs my face towards her and crashes her lips to mine, trying to seal my fate. Instantly, I’m so disgusted that I can’t even pretend to save my life. I snatch myself back and make a loud grossed out noise. Even though she still has hold of my face, I wipe her salvia off my face and give her a horror struck look.
“Maria, what the fuck? You will not let it go, will you? You will not just leave me alone.”
“You are completely obsessed with her, aren’t you?” Maria growls while taking a step back from me. Her expression is all twisted up and angry. “She is the one in our way. I tried to tell you.”
“No one is in our way because we are not a thing. I keep telling you.”
“We will be. I’m going to make sure there isn’t any other option for you than to be with me.”
That’s a chilling and sinister comment if ever I have heard one. “What are you planning?”
“It doesn’t matter to you what I’m planning. It isn’t like you’re going to be able to stop me from where you are. Look at the state of you. You’re completely stuck there. Pinned to the bed like a dog in a fucking cage.”
“What are you doing?” I ask with more desperation this time. “What are you talking about?”
She tosses her head back and laughs nastily. “Oh, wouldn’t you like to know, Brad?”
“Yes. I would. That’s why I am asking you. I don’t want you to do anything stupid.”
The smile that she gives me is too sinister for words. It’s freaky as hell, she looks like a doll in a horror movie or something. I almost want to throw up at the sight of her. My nose screws up in disgust, I can’t believe I ever hooked up with this woman. Her ugly insides now make her much less attractive to me.
“Maria, just go to the police. Hand yourself in. Apologize for what you have done then they will help you. The best thing you can do is move on from this. That’s all any of us want.”
“Oh, I will never be able to move on from this, and I’m going to make sure that you can’t either.” She nods frantically. “I will make sure that you are never able to forget me, Brad Smith.”
“What are you talking about?” I yell after her as she heads towards the door. “Maria, what do you mean? You don’t think I am already completely unable to forget all of this? Are you kidding me?”
Fuck. She’s gone. She’s left. Going to do whatever it is that she’s planning. And she’s right. There isn’t anything that I can do while I’m here stuck in this fucking bed. I need the help of someone else. Anyone. Right now, the only people I can get hold of are the medical staff working here. They might have enough going on, but this is serious. This is potentially life threatening. I lean down and find the button before pressing it frantically. My heart hammers in my chest as I wait impatiently for someone to join me.
“Did you just see someone leave here?” I blurt out the moment a nurse comes in. “A red haired woman?”
“Er no.” She furrows her eyebrows at me. “No one shouldn’t be in here at this time. Visiting hours are over.”
“I know, but somehow she got in anyway. She was just here a moment ago. She threatened me and now she is threatening my girlfriend. The police are looking for her, they need to find her, she is the one who put me in here.” This isn’t a nurse who I have seen before so I guess she might not know my story. “I need to stop her. Can I leave? If you take all of these needles out of me now, then I can chase after her and stop her.”
“I really don’t think that’s a good idea…” the nurse offers unhelpfully. “You need to be in here…”
“I know you don’t understand, but I can’t just let her go. Can you stop her? The police need her…”
“I…” She glances behind her in shock. “I will go and see what I can do. Try and stop this woman.”
I’m not reassured at all. “She has red hair and a white top on. The police need to know. This is serious.”
“Okay, well I will call them. I will make sure they get here now if it’s that serious.”
“Right, well make sure that they get here quickly. I don’t want her to escape again.”
She nods and backs away from me, her eyes wide with shock. I think she assumes that I might have lost my damn mind. I kinda feel like I have with all of this. How can Maria have gotten to me twice and escaped it? It isn’t right. They are supposed to be looking for her, making sure that she is locked away. They should be here watching because it’s pretty damn obvious that she might come back to me. Or perhaps they thought that was too dumb too.
“Fuck.” I grab on to my forehead, a brand new aching there. “Fucking hell. That’s just…”
“Oh, I will never be able to move on from this, and I’m going to make sure that you can’t either.”
Those are basically the words that Maria left me on which isn’t great. It doesn’t bode well for my family or Tami at all. And she is right about something else as well. I am stuck here, pinned to the bed like a fucking dog, unable to escape. She is out there doing whatever the hell she wants, and I can’t stop her. I want to scream, to yell, to fucking destroy everything. I want to do something, anything to stop this. But I can’t. I’m just stuck here waiting… waiting… and dying inside.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Tami
“Oh, Brad,” I murmur as his hands run over my naked skin. “Wow, that feels so… so good.”
The breath flies out of my mouth, my lungs squeeze tight, I can barely hold myself together as Brad brushes his hands over my very naked hips and towards the tops of my thighs. I grab his hips, loving the heat emanating off of him. He’s like my personal hot water bottle, and I love him for it.
“Spread your legs,” he whispers, his words blowing over my exposed throat. “I want you.”
“Tell me first.” I grip onto his skin tightly, my nails piercing his skin. “Tell me what I want to hear.”
He pauses for just a second, giving me the chance to hear his heart pounding as loudly and heavily as mine. Part of that is sexual thrill, I can definitely feel that throbbing through me, but it’s also nerves. I’m excited to hear him say those three words at last, knowing that he really does mean them. Here, in this bed, there is no other reason to tell me that he loves me unless he really means it. Now I know for sure. It’s real.
“I love you,” he hisses, my chest swelling with joy the whole time. “I love you so much.”
“Oh, my God, do you mean it?” My head lolls to one side. Desire cascades through me. “Are you serious?”
“I do mean it.” He kisses me over my throat, his tongue licking me every so often. “Of
course I do.”
“Well, I love you too. I have loved you ever since I first met you… oh! Wow, shit.”
The words flow away as his fingers plunge deeply in to me. He takes my breath away, sending me in to heaven with just a mere touch. He massages me, brushing against my most sensitive areas, causing me to see stars. But the physical sensations are nothing compared to the wonderful happiness in my chest at the feel of those three words. Hearing that Brad loves me is the most incredible thing in the world.
“I want to hold you,” I moan while sliding my hand down is body. “I want to feel you.”
I take him between my fingers and stroke him up and down, causing us both to groan in time with one another. He slides his thumb over my clit, brushing it over and over as I graze his tip. He shudders as I roll my hips towards him. We couldn’t be closer to having intercourse if we tried. We just need to move our fingers first. The only problem is he seems really fired up by what I’m doing to him and I love him touching me too. I don’t want him to ever stop plunging his velvety fingers in to me over and over again.
“It’s nice, isn’t it?” I gasp out desperately. “Just me and you. No more drama.”
“Just me and you,” he echoes, his tone thick with lust. “And our happy ever after.”
It’s too good to be true, which is what tells me that this is a dream, but I don’t care. It feels so real and if this is the only way that I get to be with Brad without everything else surrounding us, then so be it. I will take it happily. I garb on to him tightly and roll my hips towards him, trying to communicate how much I need him.
“Brad, I want you inside me,” I growl. “It feels like it has been a life time since I had you.”
It hasn’t of course, it only feels that way because so much has happened in between, but the way that I throb desperately for him makes it kinda painful. I need him so badly my core actually hurts. I roll him on to his back and sit astride him, smiling down at his fraught expression, filled with a deep need. I love seeing him all wound up like that, needing me too. The sex goddess he unlocks in me unleashes wildly, excitedly.
I lean down and kiss him softly, my lips brushing off of his mouth and down over his throat. The excitable sounds coming out of his mouth cause me to continue traveling ever so slowly. I kiss his collar bone, his nipple, his stomach, all the way towards his thick steel rod. My mouth salivates. I want to take him deeply inside.
“Oh shit,” he groans as I push him between my lips. “Oh fuck, your mouth feels so good.”
In my dream, it’s easier to slide him further down my throat than before. I can take him all the way in, right down to his balls much simpler than before. I cup his balls in my hands and I stroke them as I suck him hard and fast, twirling my tongue around him faster and faster. I can tell by the way that his body tenses up, I’m pushing him close to the edge and I love it. I pick up the pace, moving faster and with more passion until he shudders to a stop and explodes between my lips. I have tasted him a little before, so I know how sweet and salty this is, but it’s more intense and powerful this time around. He flows down my throat, filling me up, tasting wonderful as he does. I tilt my eyes up at him, smiling as I spot that glorious beautiful expression on his face.
“Come here, you,” he moans as he leans down to grab me. “I want you.”
I almost question this. Surely, he isn’t ready to go after he just soaked my throat with his seed, but then I recall this is my dream and anything can happen, so I sidle upwards and I angle myself above him so he can tease my entrance. His tip tickles me, begging for entry, but I wait for a second before I slide all the way down. I just want to remain in this glorious moment of anticipation first. It feels so good; I never want it to end.
“Fuck me,” Brad begs me desperately. “I need you, the love of my life.”
“How can I resist that?” I cry out as I give him what he wants, what we both want, and I slide down on to him. “Fucking hell, Brad, you feel so good. You feel so… so…”
God, when he’s fucking me like this, making me feel everything, it’s hard to recall why I don’t know if me and him could work. What the hell I am worrying about. When it feels like this, what else could I need? Screw the rest of the world and their opinions… why not just have this forever more?
“Oh my God.” His finger caresses my clit as I thrust harder and faster. “Oh, fuck, Brad.”
I dig my nails deeply in to him as I ride him, the pleasure creeping its way through me as we move in harmony. Our bodies fit together so well, it’s utterly perfect, I love it. As the hot bliss screams and grows within me, I give myself over to it wholly. I feel care free and excitable, happier and full of thrill. This moment is all that I have ever wanted and more. This is how love is supposed to be, this is what our relationship should be like, not filled with constant drama and stress. Me and him could be happy if we were allowed…
Bang!
“What the hell?” I bolt upright in bed, the dream fading away as a sound disturbs me. “What was that?”
Bang! Bang!
My heart races. I leap out of bed like I have been electrocuted and race over to the window. I peer through it with my pulse pounding in my throat. My stomach flip flops, sickness threatens to come spilling out, but I clap my hand to my mouth to prevent that from happening. I need to remember that I have just been through a massive trauma, so I might be over reacting to something that’s actually very normal. The bangs could have nothing to do with me. I need to gather myself up and stop acting like a paranoid freak.
God, I wish that Ruby was here. I should have let her stay. What the hell was I thinking? Why did I need to be so brave? To try and convince myself that I could survive through absolutely anything. That was stupid and full of a useless pride that I never want to succumb to today.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Nope, that’s too close. It’s to do with me, I’m sure of it. Without even allowing myself to think for another second longer, I grab my cell phone and call the cops. I refuse to end up in the same position again. Stuck with Maria because I can’t call anyone to come and help me. They will understand anyway.
Once the phone call starts, I dive into my bed and slide under the sheets. I feel stupid once I’m there that I didn’t even think to check all the locks on my windows and doors, but there isn’t a chance of me leaving this place now. There isn’t any real safety under the covers of my bed, but it’s better than being out there, exposed.
The police will be here soon, I tell myself as I speak. It will be fine. There is no need to worry.
Bang! Bang!
“Help!” I yelp into the phone. “Help me. Someone is here, something is happening…”
If I am paranoid, then this is a slippery slope. There is no telling where it might lead. Probably me calling the cops over everything forever. But after what I have been through, I would much rather be safe than sorry. So, I explain what is happening to me without a hint of shame. I need them, this is what they are here for, and there is no telling which direction this might head in to if I am not careful.
“It was her.” I almost collapse to the floor as soon as I hear those words. “It was Maria.”
After sitting in the same curled over position for hours just listening to chaos unleashing outside, the relief is almost sickening. I nearly collapse and puke all over the place. I feel everything all at once.
“It was Maria,” the officer tells me softly. “She had a gun. Judging from the ranting outside, she wanted to kill you because she believes that your boyfriend should be with her.” I gasp loudly, unable to hide my shock. “But don’t worry, she is locked up now and her words have pretty much tied her to being locked away for a long time.”
“Yeah?” That’s good. I’m glad to hear that, it makes me feel calmer. “She’s going away?”
“She is. This is finally over which I’m sure is good news to you.”
“It’s… I can’t even explain how good news it is. It’s… everything.”
It means that the drama is over. At least that part of it anyway. I don’t even want to think about the rest of it yet, I can’t deal with any of that. I’m just glad that Maria is gone… however, the fact that she wanted to kill me just for Brad is fucking scary. I could have actually lost my life over him. I have already seen what she can do with a knife, so I dread to think what a gun would have done to me.
This is scary as all hell. I can’t help but think about which way it could have gone.
“Thank you, officer,” I say in a small voice. “Thank you for everything that you have done.”
I just want him to go now. I want him out of my hair so I can succumb to the tears. I need to cry it all out. The relief, the joy, the sadness. All of it.
Chapter Thirty
Brad
“Please, just let me out of here!” I cry out as the nurse leaves the room yet again, forcing me to stay in here. “I’m okay now. I’m doing alright. All I want to do is go home. I’m sick of this…”
But yet again I am left here alone with no clue as to when I will be allowed to escape. It’s driving me insane. They won’t even tell me when I am allowed to even discuss getting out here never mind anything else.
“Hey, buddy.” Alex pops his head around my room door and smiles thinly. I should have known that one of my brothers would turn up soon. When it’s visiting hours, they rarely leave me alone. “Bad time?”
“Every moment is a bad time right now. I’m stuck here and they just won’t let me out.”
“Because they’re trying to take care of you, that’s why. Not to punish you.”
“Well, it sure as hell feels like a punishment,” I grumble. “It’s pissing me off.”
“I hope what I have to tell you is good news then. I would like to cheer you up.” I watch as he steps across the room and takes the nearest seat to me. “I have some news about Maria.”
