Mrs. Richardson watched her swing her hips as she made her way down the white halls.
Sarah stopped, turning around. “Hospitals make me cringe; I can’t believe this is where Dylan spent Christmas,” she spit out. Her blonde hair cascaded over the designer clothes, showing off her perfect figure. Heads turned as she continued to walk down the hall. She got to the room, pausing before entering. Glancing at her watch, she dug through her purse and took out a mirror, checking her makeup. She fidgeted with her hair, reapplied lipstick and dabbed on more perfume. Looking down at her blouse, she unbuttoned it more and lifted her breast to accentuate her cleavage.
“I’ll wait out here.” Mrs. Richardson stood in the hallway and watched as the siren approached her son.
“We have been so worried about you.” Sarah opened her arms as she walked into the hospital room, pretending to give condolences.
Dylan stood up from the hospital bed. His eyes showed mixed emotions as he welcomed the familiar face.
“It must be so hard for you to see her like this,” she continued.
He looked at the numbers blinking on the machines and all the tubes connecting her to life support.
“Yeah, scary thing is that’s what’s keeping her alive right now.”
“You poor thing. I wish I could do something.”
“You showing up here is a surprise, but it means a lot to me.”
“Anything for you, Dylan. When your mom told me she was coming, I knew I had to see how you were doing.” She bent over, sticking her chest out, so he would notice the very low cut blouse that exposed her black lace bra and the skirt that hugged her body like it was painted on.
“So she is in a coma?
“Yeah.” He nodded his head.
“Look at all her scars, how horrible. I bet they will never go away, huh? Do they have any idea when or if she’ll wake up?”
“No, we have to just wait.”
“Justin said you’re not singing with the band anymore, and that you gave up your job on the slope. Dylan, you can’t let this girl ruin your life. What if she never wakes up? You spent Christmas here? I don’t understand. Why don’t you let me take you out to get a drink or something. You look like you could use one.”
“Thank you, Sarah, but I don’t want to leave her.”
“Dylan, I flew all the way from Washington State to see you. You can leave her alone for an hour to catch up, can’t you? I’m sure she won’t wake up while we’re gone.”
“I really can’t, but thank you for coming.” He returned to the bed and took Nicole’s hand as he sat down beside her.
“Well you call me if you need anything. I’ll be in town till tomorrow. You can reach me at this number.” She scribbled her number on a piece of paper and handed it to him. He stood up taking the number and placed it next to the magazines on the table.
“I’ll see you later, Sarah.” As Dylan hugged her goodbye, Bradley came to the room, nodding to Mrs. Richardson. When he saw Dylan and Sarah hugging, he turned and left quickly.
Mrs. Richardson entered the room to talk to her son just as Sarah walked toward the door. She watched the fake smile on Sarah’s face quickly turn to disgust. Sarah grabbed Mrs. Richardson’s arm and pulled her back out the door.
“I need you for a second.” Sarah led her down the hall where no one could hear them, and pulled her aside.
“He won’t leave that bitch! What the hell is wrong with him? He’s just sitting there next to that ugly body. She looks hideous, and he chose that creature over me. That bitch ruined everything.”
“I’m sure he’ll come to his senses, Sarah. She’s in a coma. She may not survive. Dylan is grieving.”
“It’s taking too long. That little wench screwed up everything. How long can this take? You need to figure out a way to wake your son up. I’m growing very impatient. If this marriage doesn’t happen, I’ll have to reveal your little secret and I’m sure your life will make a sudden turn for the worse. Maybe I can hire you as my maid.” She laughed at the thought.
“Sarah, it will all work out. Give him a little time. If you show him you are there for him through the tragedy, he may think the marriage thing is his idea. Believe me, he’s not good with ultimatums.”
“I’m tired of waiting. You need to go in there and make him realize he is wasting his time. Make him realize that this stupid bitch is just luggage. I wonder if there’s a way to disconnect that machine. It’s the only thing keeping her alive. How hard could it be to unplug it?”
“Sarah, that is murder. You can go to jail for that.”
“Who said I would be the one to pull the plug? I have people who are indebted to me.”
“You can’t ask me to do that. I will not kill someone for you.”
“If you don’t want me to let out our little secret, you will do whatever I tell you to.”
Little tramp! Mrs. Richardson grit her teeth instead of ripping into this spoiled bitch who would do just about anything to marry her son.
She felt horrible having to help this villain, but her life depended on it. Dylan was young and could find a way to bounce back. She, on the other hand, was much too old to try and put the pieces of her life together again.
“You need to give him a little more time.” She tried to reason with her once more. “If you push him too much, he’ll pull away.”
“I’m tired of waiting. This should have been handled at Brenda’s wedding. We would have gotten together that night if she never showed up. He left with her! You need to speed this up. I don’t like waiting. That girl may never wake up. We are wasting time. How could he want that vegetable when he could have me?”
“I don’t know, Sarah.” Mrs. Richardson bit back her sarcastic tone.
“Tell him if he doesn’t marry me, his accounts will be frozen and he’ll be cut off. He gave up his job on the slope, right? There is no way he would walk away from all his money.”
“Sarah, let’s give him a little more time.”
“Go tell him now. If not, we will have to find a way to disconnect that machine before we leave. That stupid bitch, what does he see in that simple girl?”
“We are not going to disconnect the machine. I’ll threaten to cut him off, okay? But that’s all I will do.”
Mrs. Richardson made her way through the hallway to Nicole’s room. A nauseous feeling came over her. Because of her stupid mistake she had to betray her son. He was hurting; he was grieving. She wanted to go in the room and put her arms around him; she wanted to be there for him during this difficult time in his life. Instead she had to wound him even deeper and deny his pain. What kind of mother would betray her son so? Anger intensified, but she had to conceal it like a chameleon. She entered the room. Dylan had Nicole’s hand in his. My poor son. She couldn’t do it. He looked so lost, so hurt, so sad. Could she just pretend she had told him? She looked toward the doorway and could see Sarah peering in. Go tell him now. If not, we will have to find a way to disconnect that machine before we leave. She closed her eyes for a moment to muster the strength to injure her son, to scar him even deeper.
“Dylan, how are you doing honey?” She walked over to him and they embraced. She saw Sarah’s eyes widened and she glared at the life support. “Dylan, why don’t you come home with us, son?”
“I can’t lose her, mom. I don’t know what I’d do without her.”
“A hospital is nowhere for you to be, and you spent the holidays here. You need to come home where you belong.”
“I belong here with Nicole. I won’t leave her.”
Mrs. Richardson had never seen his son like this. She looked at the door and Sarah’s glare reminded her again of the threats. Go tell him now. If not, we will have to find a way to disconnect that machine before we leave. Sarah’s voice rang over and over in her mind. Maybe we should tell everyone
your little secret. Mrs. Richardson hated herself for the words she heard escaping from her mouth.
“Son, you are in love with a corpse.”
Dylan’s eyes peered up at her. “What did you say?”
“You need to get over this charity case. Don’t you see what she is doing to you? You are wasting away.”
“Get the hell out of here.” He shook his head in disgust. “I should have known better.”
“Dylan, I am serious. You have wasted enough time here. Your father and I have decided it would be best for our families if you and Sarah got married.”
“What?”
“You heard me son, it is for your best interest. She comes from money. She knows the business. She is a refined young woman.”
“You have the nerve to come in here and tell me you want me to marry someone? Are you crazy?”
“It is for your own good. How long have you been wasting with this--this waitress? Dylan please, you know she isn’t worthy of our family.”
“You can’t tell me who I can date.”
“She is practically a corpse, Dylan. And yes we can. If you don’t marry Sarah, I am afraid we will have to freeze your accounts.”
“Get the hell out of here. Take your fuckin money! I don’t want a dime. You are crazy! You and dad are nuts if you think you can tell me who I should marry.”
“Dylan it is for your…”
“Get the hell out of here, mom. And get that bitch out of here too. I don’t need your money!”
She stormed out of the hospital room. “I did it, I hope you are happy. I told my son while he was grieving that he was in love with a corpse. I warned him, he will be cut off if he doesn’t marry you.” She fumbled with her coat. Flustered, she walked toward the elevator.
“You go ahead. I am going to see if I can calm him down a little. I’ll catch a cab.”
Mrs. Richardson continued down the hallway. “Please take your time,” she muttered under her breath. Then she saw Bradley coming down the hall.
“Brad, how are things?” She quickly wiped her eyes. “I hear the two of you have been taking turns here at the hospital. I am worried about Dylan. Do you have time to grab a cup of coffee?”
Bradley looked at his watch.
“Please, Brad.”
He saw a pain in her eyes.
“You know Dylan doesn’t talk to me.”
“Sure we can grab a cup of coffee.” They walked to the elevator.
*Sarah*
Sarah didn’t follow. She hovered outside and saw Dylan holding tighter onto Nichole.
“Stupid bitch, I wish she would just die,” she uttered as she walked away from the hospital room.
“You know, you can make that happen.” Steve, dressed as the balding male nurse, whispered to her.
“Excuse me?” she peered at him, startled.
“She is probably in pain anyway. You would be doing the girl a favor.”
“What are you suggesting?”
“Pull the plug. It’s a waste. She is going to die anyway. But it will take forever with that machine doing all the work for her.”
“I wish I could. He never leaves and when he does, his friend Bradley comes in.”
“That’s easy enough to take care of. I can have him paged. There was a cop that had wanted to question him; he will think it’s him. You can slip in quickly and unplug everything and hurry down the staircase right there. All you are doing is unplugging a few chords, the girl gets to go to heaven and that lad over there is free for the taking.”
“So if I unplug the machines, she will die?”
He nodded.
“How delightful. How perfect. Can you do it now?”
“Wait ten minutes, when you hear them page him and see him leave, you can sneak in, do it, and get out of here. I will create a distraction in the sitting area so attention will be away from the room. The best thing for you to do is pull the plug and go to another floor and blend in with people and then leave normally.”
“This is perfect. It is for Dylan’s own good. ”
“I hate it when they waste so much money keeping a corpse breathing. Hey do me a favor though. Put this in her hair when you do it.” He handed her a yellow carnation. “It is really important, don’t forget.”
She stuck the flower in her purse.
Steve stuck his hand back in his pocket and then reached over to shake her hand, “This is nice,” he held the tennis bracelet in his hands for a moment. “Is this one caret?”
“Two,” she said dismissively. Steve examined it, running his fingers over the links. He smirked as he let go of the diamonds. “I bet you never take it off huh?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “You can hide in there.”
She nodded and hid in the stairwell.
*Sarah*
What is taking so long! Time seemed to stand still as she waited for her cue. She cracked open the door and peered out.
Sarah was successful, at least in the eyes of society. She was gorgeous, well-educated and raised with the finest of everything. But her father had made some bad business deals and they were close to losing everything. She didn’t know how much time she had before her world would come crashing down and she wouldn’t be able to enjoy the luxuries she had grown accustomed to.
Get a job? Work for a living? No way. Not when I have the rich, single Dylan Richardson’s mother on a chain. Dylan could provide her the life she deserved, without having to marry some prune or geek or something. They had dated in high school and so she knew the sex was good.
It didn’t last long and he ended up cheating on her with her best friend. So why would she want to marry him? Money--plain and simple. If they ended up divorced in a few years, alimony would still provide her with the lifestyle she wanted to continue. This stupid bitch came along at the worst time. Sarah had to marry Dylan before she lost everything. No one could know.
Dylan wanted nothing to do with her especially after his mother’s ultimatum, but Sarah knew it was just a matter of time before he broke. Now that she blackmailed Mrs. Richardson to close all his accounts, Dylan would soon have no choice. She was so close. She almost had him in the palm of her hand. All she had to do was get rid of this stupid vegetable who was ruining everything.
“Dylan Richardson to first floor. Dylan Richardson to Cafeteria on the first floor.” She watched as Dylan left, walking down the hallway. Finally! Sarah’s head darted around, checking to see if anyone watched as she ducked into Nicole’s hospital room.
“Little bitch, I’ll show you.” She looked at Nicole’s body lying on the hospital bed. She already looked dead. This will put you out of your misery. She put the carnation in Nicole’s hair. It gave her the creeps. It almost felt like the body would reach up and grab her. Her nose cringed as the putrid smell of the hospital invaded her nostrils. What does he see in you? She examined her scars and matted hair.
The room felt cold. She looked at the machine. It’s just a little plug. I can do this. It’s just a little plug. She slowly walked toward the blinking numbers. She pivoted and rushed back toward the doorway and stopped. She scanned the hallways. They were vacant. I have to do this now.
She peeked at her watch and at the exit, leading to the stairwell she would enter to make her escape. She peered at the bed. I have to do this. She again crept toward the machine. It is just a machine. I’m just unplugging a machine.
She scanned the room again and swallowed as she searched the wires to the power source. She placed the gloves on her hands and focused on the lifestyle she would soon secure. I have to do this. She leaned in and hesitated for a moment. I have to do this. She reached down and pulled the plugs out.
Shit! A loud buzzing noise and lights flashing alerted the hospital of an emergency. Her eyes darted around. Shit! She ran out
of the room to the exit sign and opened the door
The pounding of her feet seemed to echo in the stairwell. Shit! What have I done? She climbed three flights of stairs and stood by the doorway to enter the hall. As she straightened her skirt, she closed her eyes for a moment and put her hand on the handle. Act natural. Act natural. She opened the door and snuck into the first open doorway she could find, pleased that the patient lay sleeping. She took a seat by the bed, grabbed a magazine from the table and buried her head in it.
*Dylan*
Dylan got out of the elevator. The buzzing noise pierced his ears, and he watched as commotion filled the hallway. That’s Nicole’s room! He rushed down the hallway.
“Nicole!” He dashed to the door.
“What does that mean? What is happening?” He grabbed the arm of one of the nurses rushing into the room. She just pushed past him. A doctor compressed Nicole’s chest. Commotion surrounded her bed. “What is happening?” He raised his voice, desperate to know the answer.
“Get him out of here,” the doctor insisted.
“No! What is happening? You can’t make me leave. Nicole! Nicole!” They pushed him outside and closed the door. Dylan sprinted to the nurse’s station, begging them to tell him what was happening.
“She has Coded, Sir.”
“What does that mean? Is she dying? What does that mean?”
*Steve*
Steve put down the papers on the ICU reception desk, looking at the lad in such agony. He straightened his scrubs and turned away. Poor, poor, Dylan. His eyes lit up as he held back his grin. He strolled to the elevator and pressed the button, pleased that it was empty. As the door closed he took Nicole’s panties to his nose. We will show him. We have only just begun.
Obsession and Sacrifice (Alaska #2) Page 4
