Last Chance To Fight

by Ava Ashley

  “Well, give it some time,” Betsy said. “There’s no reason you have to decide right away.”

  I didn’t have to think too much more about it, however, because just then I got a phone call. Though I tried not to admit it to myself, I hoped more than anything that it was Hunter. But when I looked at the screen, I saw that it was an unknown number, and my heart sank.

  “Hello?” I said, picking up.

  “Hi,” said a familiar voice that I couldn’t quite place. “Is this Anna?”

  “Hi, yes it is,” I said. “May I ask who’s calling?”

  “Oh, honey,” she said, her voice breaking. “It’s Jean. Hunter’s mom. Remember me?”

  “Oh wow,” I said. “Of course I remember you! It’s so great to hear your voice, I’ve really missed you, you know.”

  “Sweetheart, I’ve missed you too. But,” she said and then paused. It sounded like something was wrong.

  “What is it?” I asked, a terrible fear springing up in my stomach.

  “It’s Hunter,” she said. “He’s been in an accident.”

  “Oh God,” I said, everything around me going blank. “This can’t be happening. Is he OK? What’s going on?”

  “Don’t panic,” she said. “He’s unconscious, but he’s alive. And he’s going to need you to be strong.”

  “Where is he?” I asked. “I’ll be right there.”

  “Here,” Betsy said, reaching out her hand. “Give me the phone.”

  I handed it over and sank back in my seat. I couldn’t believe this was happening. Why did I make him leave like that? Why couldn’t I just take it easy, listen to him, trust him, and try to make it work? I couldn’t believe that I had pushed him out of my life for the second time, and now this was happening, and I might never get a chance to take him back.

  Suddenly, nothing else mattered, and the tough decision I was struggling to make was suddenly and incredibly clear. Hunter was the only person out there for me. I couldn’t live without him. If he had a daughter, then it didn’t matter if I couldn’t have kids or not. Those were the cards I was dealt, and I had to make them work. I had to love her, for his sake. I only hoped that I was not too late.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Anna

  Betsy, who really deserved some kind of incredible friendship award, got me to the hospital and helped me to find Hunter’s room. It was a good thing she was there, because my mind was in such a blur that I didn’t know if I could have done it myself. She stopped outside the door and gave me a quick hug.

  “I think I should leave you here,” she told me. “But call me as soon as you need a ride, all right?”

  “Thank you, Betsy,” I said. “I swear I’ll make it up to you someday.”

  “Seriously,” she said, “it’s nothing. I wish I could do more. Keep me updated, OK?”

  I nodded and took a deep breath as she walked away down the hall. I didn’t know what I would see on the other side of that door, but I was terrified that it would spell the end of any hopes I’d ever had of happiness.

  When I opened the door and saw him, I thought that I would collapse. He was lying on the bed, his face all cut and scratched up, and breathing tubes in his mouth. Jean, his mom, was there and she stood up when I came in.

  “Oh, Anna,” she said, wrapping her arms around me. “I’m so glad that you’re here. He really needs you to be here.”

  “Thanks, Jean,” I said, finally letting the tears I had been holding back start to roll down my cheeks. “I’m really glad that you’re here too.”

  “So, I know it looks bad,” she told me. “But the doctors say he’s going to be all right.”

  “Really?” I asked, hardly able to believe my ears. “You mean, there’s no brain damage, or anything like that?”

  “Luckily, he was wearing his helmet,” she said. “It’s all cracked to pieces, and if he hadn’t had it on that would have been his skull. He still got banged hard enough to knock him out, but they tell me it doesn’t look like there will be permanent damage. Of course, it’s impossible to tell until he wakes up.”

  “God, I hope it’s true,” I said, looking at him. I would have to wait and see until he woke up, and I knew that I would be in a terrible state of anxiety until he opened his eyes.

  “Go ahead,” Jean said. “You should be near him. Hold his hand, talk to him. It might help.”

  “Thanks,” I told her, sitting down in the folding chair next to his bed.

  “I’ll leave you two alone for a while,” she told me. “You have my number now, so you can let me know if he wakes up?”

  “Yes,” I said, looking over at her, so grateful to have her there. “I will definitely call you if there is any news.”

  “Thanks, sweetie,” she said. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

  “What time is it?” I asked, suddenly realizing I had absolutely no idea.

  “It’s just after eleven,” she told me.

  “It’s getting pretty late,” I said. “I’m not going to leave, so if you want to go home, don’t worry about it. I’ll definitely call you.”

  “Thank you, Anna,” Jean said, giving me another hug. “I always hoped you’d come back to look after him, you know.”

  “Thank you,” I said, hardly able to speak. “That means a lot to me.”

  Jean kissed me on the cheek, then walked out the door and left me alone with Hunter. I looked at his face, still so beautiful though it was now covered with dark, bloody scratches where he had hit the road. I felt awful, knowing that he had probably driven away from me too upset to drive safely. I shouldn’t have shut him out like that, I should have learned my lesson nine years ago. I picked up his hand and held it between my own.

  “Hunter,” I said, kissing his hand, “I don’t know if you can hear me. But if you can, please know that I love you more than anything. I’m so sorry I asked you to leave. I want you with me, always. I want us to make a family together. Please, please wake up.”

  I couldn’t go on any longer, and put my face down on the bed beside him, sobbing. I kept my head there, next to him, for a long time. The feeling of his body touching mine was so precious to me, I couldn’t believe I had ever thought I could live without him.

  I don’t know how long I stayed there, but I must have fallen asleep. I felt something on my head, and slowly came to, opening my eyes. I gradually became aware that there was a hand stroking my hair while I slept. With a sudden realization, I bolted upright with a gasp, to see that Hunter was awake smiling down at me.

  “Hey, kiddo,” he said. “Fancy meeting you here.”

  “Oh, Hunter!” I cried. “You’re all right!”

  “I think so,” he said. “It doesn’t feel like anything is broken.”

  “No, nothing is broken,” I told him. “There was some concern about your head, but you seem to be fine.”

  “I think I’m fine,” he said again. “Sore, though, for sure.”

  “I’m so glad,” I said, picking up his hand and looking into his eyes. I thought how only a few hours before, I had wondered if I would ever look into his eyes again. I kissed his hand, again and again, so unbelievably grateful that he was alive.

  “I’m really happy you’re here,” he told me, looking deep into my eyes. “I’m still so sorry about everything.”

  “Oh,” I said, squeezing his hand. “Please don’t think about that. I’m sorry I asked you to leave. I love you, Hunter. I’ve always loved you, and never anyone else.”

  “I love you too, Anna,” he said. “I always will.”

  There was something in his voice that made me pause.

  “But what?” I asked, not wanting to know, not wanting to think that even now, after all this, there could be something to keep us apart.

  “But I think you should take some time to think about all of this, before we get back together,” he said.

  “But I don’t want to think about it,” I told him, squeezing his hand. “I thought I lost you again, and that was all the thinking I
needed to do.”

  “I’m really happy you feel that way,” he said sadly, “but I think the best thing for us is if you take some time, and find out how you really feel about having me and Jane be part of your life.”

  I paused for a moment, looking into his eyes and really thinking about what he said. I was surprised that after what had happened, he was the one asking for us to take a break. If he was asking something like that, he had to have a pretty good reason.

  “I guess you’re right,” I said, though I didn’t want to admit it. I had a lot of complicated feelings about children, and motherhood, and I probably shouldn’t rush into it just because I was scared of losing him.

  “And I’ll be there waiting for you, with open arms,” he said, “if and when you are ever ready.”

  “Thank you,” I said, tears streaming down my cheeks as I stood up to kiss him. “Thank you so much for understanding.”

  “Of course,” he said, reaching up to embrace me. “You’re the best girl there is. I’d be a fool not to give you what you really deserve.”

  “But what about your championship?” I asked. “What about your ankle? Does it hurt? Don’t you need me?”

  Hunter smiled and shook his head.

  “See?” he said. “Always thinking of others. Anyway, I’m not sure right now if I hurt my ankle or not. I think they’ve probably got me pumped full of some kind of pain killer.”

  “I want to help you through it,” I told him. “You might need me.”

  “That’s sweet of you,” he answered. “And although you’re the best physical therapist I’ve ever had, I don’t think it’s a good idea. We shouldn’t be seeing each other all the time like that, at least for a little while. You need some space to think. I can find someone else to help, and I’ll be all right.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked. “I really don’t want to leave you like this.”

  “I’ll be fine, really,” he said. “I’ll miss you. But it’s for the best.”

  “OK,” I said, reluctantly heading toward the door. “Please give me an update on how you’re doing now and again.”

  “I will,” he said. “Bye, Annabelle. I love you.”

  “I love you too,” I said, and closed the door behind me quickly, before I started to cry.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Hunter

  After getting out of the hospital, it took me a few days to really know how I felt. My whole body hurt like hell, so I wasn’t sure if my ankle was in pain because I’d reinjured it, or just because everything kind of hurts when you throw it against the pavement like that.

  But after a few days, the rest of me felt fine. And my ankle wasn’t that bad. It wasn’t anything like when I’d first started walking again, when every step was excruciating. I was in a manageable amount of pain. I could handle this.

  As a matter of fact, when I woke up in the hospital and Anna was there, I thought I could handle anything. First of all, I was lucky to be alive. In the moments before I hit the pavement, when I knew I’d gotten in an accident and had no power to stop it, I thought for sure that was the end. I hated that I was going to die like that, being a totally selfish jerk. I would never put myself in danger like that again, because too many people were counting on me not to.

  And as for Anna, I couldn’t believe she’d come there for me after I was such an asshole. It scared the hell out of me that I needed someone as much as I needed her, but when I woke up and she was there, I thought that everything would be all right. Most people in life don’t get a second chance. And here I was, getting my third. This time, I would have to do things right.

  Of course, it was harder than anything to let her go, especially while I was lying there in a hospital bed, hardly able to move. But I knew it would be better for us in the long run. I knew that she loved me, and I hoped to God that she came around to realize that she wanted both me and Jane to be a part of her life. I knew there was a possibility that she’d come to realize that it would be too hard, and we couldn’t be together. I refused to think about that.

  So I threw myself into getting better, and into getting ready for the championship. I got a new agent, an older woman named Bonnie who had been in the business for a long time. She had a tough reputation, and I thought she was my best shot for getting me a good contract after my old one ran up, after the championship.

  I got a new physical therapist too, and I got back on track. My new physical therapist was a guy named Dan, and he was great at his job, but I had to admit that his touch didn’t have the same magical effect that Anna’s had. Still, I hoped he could whip me back into shape.

  We worked a lot on strengthening the muscles around my ankle, and also on pain management by doing as much as possible to keep it from swelling. I kept ice on it any chance I got, elevated it, and massaged the fluid away from the ankle pretty much constantly. No matter how hard I worked on it though, it still hurt a little. I had three weeks to get better, and I hoped it would be enough time.

  In the evenings, if it wasn’t one of my nights to spend with Jane, I mostly kept to myself. There was a time in my life when I would have thrown myself into the arms of ten different girls for comfort, to keep from getting too sad and lonely. But I had long since realized that there was no comfort in that at all, it was all empty and meaningless. I missed Anna like hell, and no one else was going to make me feel any less lonely.

  I tried to use my time wisely. I did some online shopping and bought every single self-help book I could find that had anything to do with cancer survival, or what it was like to lose the ability to have children. If Anna ever decided to give me another chance, I would be ready for her. I would know exactly how to support her, and how to make it easier for her to accept Jane into her life. I would finally be the man she always deserved. Or, at least I would try. Because when it came down to it, Anna was perfect, and I was anything but. Still, I was determined to spend the rest of my life trying to catch up with her.

  It was during these weeks that I decided to finally finalize my separation from Jackie. We really only got married to appease her religious parents in the first place, and I thought it was time to end it officially. I talked to her, and she seemed to be on the same page.

  “Actually,” she told me, “I was kind of thinking the same thing. I recently started seeing someone else, and although we aren’t serious yet, it would be great if I didn’t have to later on explain the fact that I have a husband.”

  “Great,” I said. “I’m glad we agree. So, I’ll have my lawyer draw up the papers and it’ll be simple.”

  “Sure,” Jackie said. “I’ll sign, no problem.”

  “Thanks, Jacks.”

  After that, I started looking for a ring to give Anna. I knew it was a little premature, because I didn’t even know yet if she’d decide she wanted to be with me. I guess maybe buying the ring was just sort of my way of hoping, or praying, that she would decide to come back to me. And anyway, no matter what she decided, she was the woman I’d love for the rest of my life. I wanted to have an object that represented that, whether I got the opportunity to give it to her or not. I hoped more than anything that I would get to.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Anna

  Three weeks later

  Walking out of that hospital room was probably the hardest thing I ever did in my life. Every cell in my body cried out in protest, telling me to go back, telling me that I was making the wrong choice. I wanted more than anything to be with Hunter, and honestly didn’t know how my feet were able to carry me away from him.

  But, after a few weeks, I started to see that he was right. I had some serious thinking to do. And although I missed him like crazy, it was easier to do my thinking without him.

  I spent a lot of time with Betsy, Ted, and Avery. I even volunteered a few times to watch Avery so that Betsy and Ted could go out together, and I think that spending that time alone with her really helped me.

  I looked down at her now, happily asleep in my arms. I
thought back to when I first got off the airplane and saw the empty car seat in Betsy’s car, and all of the insanely jealous and depressed feelings that I had tried so hard to quash. But now, with Avery in my arms, I couldn’t even imagine feeling jealous, or even depressed. I just felt happy to hold her, to get to know her and have her be a part of my life.

  It took some time, but after a while I started to feel that way about Jane, too. That was a bit more complicated, because of course I wished more than anything that Hunter and I could have children together, and it stung that he’d had her with another woman. But I was starting to think that I could get over it. After all, she was Hunter’s daughter, so how could I not love her? Anything that came from Hunter had to be sweet and beautiful, just like him.

  I missed Hunter like crazy for those three weeks, and I thought all the time about calling him, or texting him, or something. But, as hard as it was, I had stopped myself every time. When Hunter and I got back in touch with each other, I wanted to be sure that I was ready. I had already had to say goodbye to him twice in my life, and I never wanted to do it again. So, I waited.

  Of course, I couldn’t go on every single day wondering how he was doing, if he was hurt from the accident very badly or not. So, I got back in touch with his mother. She and I had always gotten along. In fact, she always used to tell me that if she had a daughter, she’d have wanted her to be just like me. It was comforting to have her back in my life, and it was especially helpful to get her frequent updates on Hunter.

  From his mother I found out that he’d gotten a new agent after Trina turned out to be a total fake, and everyone thought that the new woman would be able to work out a better contract for Hunter the next time around. I also knew that he had gotten a new physical therapist at a different clinic, and was going several times a week. I decided that while Avery was sleeping, I’d go ahead and get the latest news, now that it was just a few days before his championship.