Absolution
By Michelle Dennis
Copyright 2016 Michelle Dennis
Kindle Edition
Dedication:
Dedicated to my husband – my Valentine, my hero and everyone’s mate.
∞~∞~∞~∞
Absolution – Book II of the Infinity Series, is a gritty and confronting telling of a young man’s battle with depression, loss, love and grief.
Looking back over the last six years, two major tragedies occurred in my life; both centred around men’s mental health and the lack of awareness regarding such a poignant issue. With the sales of this book, I hope to raise awareness of some concerns facing men, help reduce the stigma associated with mental health and use proceeds to help support Beyondblue.
Warning – 18+ sensual content, references to terrorist acts, drug use and homosexuality
Infinite Completion – Book I of the Infinity Series, is centred around a young woman finding her way through depression, loss and love, and has assisted my efforts to raise money and awareness for the Pink Ribbon Foundation.
The Infinity Series, in essence, is themed on love and the many layers of it – particularly self-love – and with a diverse contemporary romance composition, this series is sure to have something for everyone.
Acknowledgements:
Thank you to Najla Qamber Designs, for the beautiful cover.
My thanks to The Pedantic Punctuator for help with editing and formatting, and to the Ellenbrook Writers Group for their friendship and guidance.
A huge thank you to my family and friends for their continued love and support.
Table of Contents:
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
About the Author
Contact the Author
Other Books by the Author
Chapter 1
The night wasn’t meant to end like this. When a girl accepts your hand in marriage, it’s meant to be a “happy ever after” scenario.
Not this.
I drive Abbie to the hospital – behind her family in their car – all the while clarifying to her what had happened after I’d left her house. I explain how Zane was parked down the street of her house, and I wanted to know why. As I tell her that I followed Zane when he drove away and found him lying in the car park of The Lair, my gut is in knots. She’s listening, but staring out of the window in silence.
I don’t push for a conversation, she’s clearly not up for it, and waking up to the news about Zane has been a big slump in her “happy ever after” too. Zane is her friend and I can only guess at what thoughts are flooding her right now. To top it off, she’s pregnant. And up until my unexpected appearance, begging her forgiveness, she thought she’d be doing it alone. I’m such a dick for hurting her like that. I had no right to run away from my responsibilities. I’ve got a lot of making up to do.
When the hospital comes into view, my heart starts to race with nervousness.
I hate hospitals.
They’re ugly places. Gigantic buildings with expensive parking, crappy food and filled with sick people.
Swinging the car into a parking bay, I turn the car off and I hear Abbie sigh.
The glow of first sunlight reflects off her tear-filled eyes and my chest tightens. ‘Come on, he’ll be alright,’ I say gently, as I unfasten my seat belt and lean over to her. Our lips touch and I breathe in her perfume.
‘I know,’ she says, pulling back and forcing a smile.
Unexpectedly, her door opens and her mum appears. ‘Are you okay, sweetheart?’
‘Yeah, Mum. Just taking a breath.’
‘Alright. We’ll go straight to enquiries.’
Mrs. Bennet helps Abbie out of her seatbelt and I dash around to her side of the car, ready to wrap her in my arms. The air is crisp, with the copper sun only just pulling itself up over the hills that skirt Perth from the east, so I adjust her cardigan onto her shoulders and place my arm around her.
As we rush into the Emergency Department of Victoria’s Hospital and head straight to the Enquiries Counter, an upsurge of apprehension washes over me. I take a deep breath; Abbie doesn’t need me falling to pieces now. Trying to compose myself, I swallow the saliva filling my mouth, so I don’t throw up; the place reeks of body odour and sanitiser. I hold Abbie close but she’s not focused on me; she’s scanning the waiting room.
Her parents are in the lead as we cross the cold, shiny floor and I’m watching Sam hold on to Izzy and Jade, as our little group huddle around the counter.
‘We’re here to see Zane Williams. He was in the assessment unit, but should be in a ward by now?’ I hear Mr. Bennet say, as I focus my attention on Abbie for some reassurance that she’s okay. She’s as white as a ghost. I just want to take her home.
The woman sitting behind the window taps away at her keyboard and checks the computer screen before she responds. ‘Yes, it appears he’s been taken up to ward 5G. You can take the blue lifts up to level five, he’s in room 510.’
Mr. Bennet thanks her, as we all turn to head towards the lifts. We make our way in silence. Everyone seems deep in thought. And worry. I notice that across the waiting area, there are also lifts with brown doors. A mundane thought, I know, but I really don’t like hospitals and thinking about mundane stuff keeps me from focusing on what really happens in these places; the illness, the sadness… the deaths.
The doors close after we all clamber in. Sam pushes the button on the panel for level five, with Izzy and Jade still clinging to his six-foot frame.
I squeeze Abbie’s trembling hand. ‘Come on, Princess. He’ll be alright.’
Leaning into my embrace and tightening her grip on my hand, she replies, ‘I hope so.’
‘He will be. He’s in good hands now.’
What a stupid thing to say. How the hell would I know if Zane’s going to come out of this?
As we step out of the elevator and make our way to the reception area, Mr. Bennet points to a corridor. ‘There’s room 510.’
We stop. All of us. Everyone takes a deep breath, almost in unison. We’re on the move again and pick up the pace. Abbie pulls away from me, keeping a firm hold of my hand and leads the way.
The door to room 510 is open, but there’s a curtain pulled across the doorway.
‘Can we go in?’ Abbie whispers to her father.
‘Of course honey, go in,’ Mr. Bennet ushers her in and she lets go of my hand.
There it is. She goes to Zane. Something I might have to get used to.
Everyone disappears behind the curtain, except me. I don’t feel as if I should be there. I don’t even know the guy. Why the hell am I feeling so out of place? She’d want me in there, wouldn’t she? Then again, she hasn’t invited me in, so…
‘Mr. Hewitt?’ A woman’s voice pierces my thoughts an
d I turn. I’m face to face with two cops.
I immediately notice their crisp blue uniforms and the gun holsters hanging on their hips. ‘Yeah,’ I reply, a little confused as to how they know my name.
The female officer puts her hand out to shake mine. ‘Senior Constable Hendricks. And this is my partner, Constable McFarlan.’
I shake her hand. She’s only a small woman, but by the strength in her handshake, I reckon she wouldn’t take any shit from anyone. Constable McFarlan looks stiff, somewhat arrogant – I know his type.
He clears his throat. ‘We’ve just had a word with the night nurse, and she pointed you out as the person who brought Mr. Williams in to the hospital. Is that correct?’
He’s Irish. Okay, maybe he isn’t all that bad; a brother from the motherland and all that. They must’ve done a check on my name, driver’s licence picture and passport details, but I have no reason to avoid answering their questions, so I’ll comply. ‘Yeah, that’s right. It was early this morning, just after midnight actually.’ My heart is thumping hard. Shit! I hope I don’t start to sweat because that’ll make me look suspicious, even though I haven’t done anything wrong. ‘I found him at The Lair and called an ambulance. After I followed them here, I gave the hospital staff his name and left. I’ll try to help where I can.’
Hendricks gestures toward a small waiting area, which is conveniently empty. ‘This’ll only take a minute.’
‘Sure,’ I reply. There isn’t much else to do while Abbie is in with Zane, anyway.
Hendricks sits down on the grey sofa and as McFarlan takes up a position on the opposite sofa, I have no choice but to take the plastic chair between them – trying to ignore the uneasy churning in my chest.
McFarlan speaks first. ‘So, do you know Mr. Williams?’
I fidget with my thumb nail. ‘No, not really. He’s a friend of my fiancée.’
‘Are they close?’ McFarlan continues, while Hendricks writes something in her notebook.
‘Yeah, I guess so. They went to school together, and now they attend the same church.’
‘What church is that?’
‘Church of Our Lord – or something like that.’
‘You don’t attend?’ McFarlan flicks a quick glance at Hendricks. What are they getting at?
‘I’m Catholic, so no, I don’t go to their church.’
‘Okay. What time did you find Mr. Williams?’
‘Around one o’clock, or just after.’ I rack my brain for the correct time. ‘When I left Abbie’s house, I noticed his car pull away from the curb a few houses down. I thought it was a little weird, so I followed him. He ended up at The Lair. I sat in the car for a few minutes, and when he’d gone inside I followed him in. Thought we’d have a chat.’
‘What about?’
‘To let him know that Abbie and I are back together.’
‘Why would you need to tell him that?’
‘Well, they’ve… ah,’ I clear my throat. Why is my heart racing? This doesn’t sound good. ‘They’ve been spending a lot of time together.’
‘And you wanted him to back off?’
‘Um, yeah, but then I realised he was… you know?’ I’m not sure how to say it without sounding offensive. ‘I just wanted to tell him that Abbie and I had sorted things out, but then I realised he was at The Lair for another reason.’
‘And what would that be, Mr. Hewitt?’
‘He’s a homo. He was there waiting for his friend.’ There, I’d said it. I’m not sure if I should be telling them about his personal life, but they were obviously expecting a full recount of events. ‘I was walking back out to my car and saw somebody lying on the ground. When I got closer… well, it was Zane, and he was pretty messed up. I ran back into the club to call an ambulance. His friend sat with us until the ambulance arrived.’
‘And you didn’t know he was a fa—’ he clears his throat in an attempt to cover up the word he was about to use. ‘Er, homosexual, before last night?’ Hendricks adds.
‘No idea. Does that matter? He’s still a person, and they really messed him up.’
‘The fact that he’s homosexual doesn’t matter, but it’s a motive.’
McFarlan stands up and holds out his hand. ‘You’ll need to stay in town, Mr. Hewitt. There may be some more questions.’
‘Sure.’ I stand up and shake hands with him.
When they leave, the knot in my gut tightens. Do they suspect me?
I desperately want to get out of here, but I’ll linger in the corridor a while and wait for Abbie.
‘Valentine?’ Abbie appears from behind the curtain.
My heart immediately starts racing again. I turn and pull my hands from my pockets, reaching out to hold her. ‘I’m here, Princess.’
She rushes to me and I fold my arms around her. ‘He’s in a coma.’ Her voice is small.
I take a breath and squeeze her tighter. ‘He’ll be okay,’ I say. ‘He just needs to rest and let the doctor’s help.’
‘They’ve damaged his face, broken his arm and ruptured his spleen.’
‘Shit,’ I reply softly. That’s not promising. Actually, it’s really fucked up. But, I’ll keep that to myself; she doesn’t need me getting angry.
She sucks in a deep breath, almost bursting into a sob. ‘Can you take me home?’ she says, with tears streaming down her cheeks.
Instinctively I’m embracing her and she’s sobbing into my shirt. ‘Don’t cry, Princess, he’ll be okay. Shhhh,’ I say, rubbing her back and twisting her hair through my fingers. ‘I can take you home, but don’t you want to wait for your family?’
‘I want to go home with you – to your house,’ she sniffs back her tears and gazes up at me.
Holy shit! My head reels. She wants to come home with me. I don’t even know if the place is clean. I don’t remember if I left dishes in the sink. Nothing really mattered when Abbie wasn’t around.
‘Sure,’ I reply, trying to sound committed with the idea.
‘Is that okay? Can I come home with you?’
I kiss her forehead. ‘Of course it is. Now?’
‘I just want to get out of here for a few hours. I need to think – take it all in. I’ll come back tonight.’
‘Okay, you need to rest.’ I rub my hand over her stomach and grin. I can’t hide my happiness about our baby.
She smiles, but it’s half-hearted. ‘I told Zane we’re back together. I told him it was you who found him and that we’ll be here when he wakes up, so I don’t want to be gone too long.’
∞~∞~∞~∞
After picking up a few things from Abbie’s place, we arrive at mine. I’m suddenly very aware of the enormity of the situation – our situation – and I’m happy.
‘The kitchen is through there,’ I say. ‘Make yourself comfy and I’ll be back in a minute,’ I add, leaving her in the middle of the living room while I take her bags to my room.
‘Aren’t you going to show me around?’ I hear her call out, as I rush around my bedroom and check that it’s tidy. It’s not. There’s a week’s worth of clothing thrown in a pile near the bathroom door, a coffee cup on the bedside table and a pizza box on the floor. I kick the pizza box under the bed, pull the quilt up and grab the coffee cup, before heading back out to Abbie.
I find her still standing in the middle of the living room.
I can’t hide the happiness I’m feeling at seeing her in my living room; grinning at her, I pull her closer. ‘I’ll put the kettle on first and you need to come and sit down.’ I lead her into the kitchen and offer her a seat at the table. It’s cold. I open the blinds and sunlight streams in. ‘That’s better,’ I add.
Then I spot the burger wrapper on the table, the half bottle of soda and the screwed up napkin, and I’m reminded of the unsettling fact that only twenty-four hours ago, I was a miserable single man.
I move hastily to clean up the leftovers and notice she’s scanning the room; the pale blue walls, the nineteen-seventies mustard-coloured bench tops,
the chocolate brown cupboards.
She’s smiling at me. Really smiling and I’m unexpectedly nervous. It’s been a long time since I made her a morning coffee – and life has changed so much.
‘I’ve missed you,’ she says quietly.
I turn to flick the kettle on and pull two coffee cups out of the cupboard. There’s so much I want to say to her. There’s so much I want to do with her, but I don’t want to push her – coffee will warm things up a little.
‘I’ve missed you too,’ I finally say. I continue adding sugar and coffee to the cups. ‘Oh, is coffee okay?’
‘I’d rather tea, if you have some? Coffee isn’t my favourite these days.’
‘Oh, yeah, um… Yep, I have tea.’ I pull the tea bags from an overhead cupboard and put one in her cup. ‘One sugar?’ I glance across and catch her gaze roaming over my body.
She smiles, caught out, and replies with, ‘Yes, please.’ My gut flips. God I’m an idiot. I feel like a teenager on his first date.
After a moment she says, ‘Um, I need to powder my nose.’
It takes me a couple of seconds, to realise she means she needs to use the bathroom. ‘Okay, it’s the second door on the left, just up the hallway.’
She rises from her chair and crosses the floor to kiss my cheek. ‘I’ll find my way,’ she adds and disappears into the other room. I’m happy to let her go for a couple of minutes, because I need to breathe. I need to consider my next step. I’m going to be a dad again. I’m going to be marrying the most beautiful girl in the world and I’m going to have to smarten up.
When I pour the hot water into the mugs and breathe in the aroma, it fills my lungs and I’m reminded that we should probably eat. It’s nearly midday and I know Abbie hasn’t eaten at all. There’s a few crème biscuits in a jar, but that’s about it – yeah, I’m a typical bachelor. The assorted crème biscuits placed on a saucer, along with a cup of tea, will have to do for now.
I hear the toilet flush and the sound of the floorboards creaking as she walks through the house. She’s heading for the bedroom. I decide I’ll take the tea and biscuits to her. I’ll show her around the house and maybe then she’ll take a nap.
Absolution (The Infinity Series Book 2) Page 1
