by Alora Kate
“You’re fast.”
I nodded at Gunner, who stood and walked in behind us.
She laid in bed like sleeping beauty, with the tube down her throat. The machines beeped. Her chest went up and down.
Ki was on one side and I, the other. She kissed her forehead and whispered into her ear. And then stood up.
I kissed the inside of her palm and held it tight against my chest.
“Lexy poo poo, you better wake up.” Ki remained standing, looking at her then glancing to the machines. “I’ve decided that we need an assistant and I can’t hire someone without your expert advice.”
“Assistant?”
“Yeah, Lex keeps bugging me about hiring one, to answer the phones when we’re out working. Sometimes we come back and we have twenty messages to go through, sometimes more. Not all the work pans out, but it might be nice to have someone answer the phones instead of always getting our voicemail.”
“Makes sense.”
“She’s been pretty insistent on it. I’m surprised she hasn’t hired somebody already. Plenty of times I expected to walk into the office to find a new desk and employee waiting for me.”
“Sounds like something she would do.”
“She surprises me a lot.” Ki looked at me and smiled. “There’s something about you, Tapper, that has her tied up in knots. They’re good knots though. Since she saw you that day on the elevator, she hasn’t stopped thinking about you or talking about you. I think it reminded her of how happy you had made her, and the times you guys spent together,” she paused and messed with Lex’s hair that was laying on her pillow. “It might take her awhile, but just know her feelings for you are very strong. I think they were last year also, she just didn’t know how to handle them, so she buried them.”
“She’s good at that.”
“She’s very good at doing that, even with me. Did she tell you how we met?”
“College?”
“Yes. Freshman roommates. Complete opposites. Barely spoke to each other. A few weeks into the fall semester, I came home late from studying and there was a guy in our room with her. He had her pinned to the bed. I immediately knew something was wrong. I jumped on the guy’s back and pulled my rape whistle out from under my shirt and blew it in his ear. He shook me off and ran out the door. Lex and I were attached at the hip after that.”
“She let you in.”
“Yes.”
“Because you saved her.”
“I guess I did.”
“You were the first person to ever care about her, Ki.”
She nodded and turned her head away. Her hands went to her face, no doubt to wipe her tears and I stayed silent. I held her hand, memorized every line and freckle on her beautiful face, and then it was time to go. The nurse checked her vitals as we left and Gunner made sure the door was shut behind us.
“She’ll be okay,” he said, and we both nodded and went back to the waiting room.
Chapter 30 – Alexa
Something or someone was choking me.
My throat was tight.
I couldn’t swallow.
I couldn’t breathe.
“It’s okay, Alexa.” I heard a woman say. “There’s a tube in your throat.”
I tried to reach for it, blinking my eyes a few times.
“Just relax, I’m going to take it out now.”
I felt a pull, like something was ripping my insides out through my throat, causing me to choke and roll over. I tried to scream out but it was half-stifled, as I couldn’t find my voice while the searing pain shot through my stomach.
“Alexa, you need to calm down. Try not to move and take a deep breath in for me.” I felt a warm hand rub my shoulder softly and I tried to slow my racing heart.
My stomach cramped up, I felt like I was bloated but I did what the woman said.
I took a deep breath in, started to choke when my side started to cramp up and it was confirmed—this was the worst pain I’ve ever felt in my life.
“It’s okay, sweetie. I’m giving you a hefty dose of Vicodin as I speak.”
I felt the warmth spread through my body and I relaxed into the bed. “What’s wrong?” I whispered, as my throat was dry and rough.
“You had surgery, honey.”
The man with the dark brown eyes and an evil grin flashed before my eyes.
“Someone stabbed me?” I felt fuzzy, like I couldn’t remember if it was a dream or if it really happened.
“Yes, dear; some asshole stabbed you but you’ll be just fine.”
“I don’t feel so good.”
“You will soon.”
I rolled my head toward her voice and slowly opened my eyes, but the light was too bright. “Can you close those, please.”
“Of course,” she said walking to the window and I closed my eyes again.
It was too bright.
I was tired.
“Can you feel it, sweetheart?”
I couldn’t even find the energy to open my eyes. “I’m tired.”
“The doctor will be in shortly, try and stay awake for him.”
“My . . .” I started to cough.
“It’s okay. Just rest,” she said, squeezing my hand. “Your family’s been in and out all week. Sweet man at the door’s been looking over you, taking turns with another man so they could rest also.”
My family.
“Miss Tanner?”
I nodded, rolling my head back.
“Nice for you to join us. How do you feel?”
“Cramps.”
“That’s normal. Surgery went well, we repaired the damage and your lung seems to be healing up just fine as the wound was small.”
I nodded again.
“You could have extra gas trapped inside but we’ll get you up and walking soon.”
Walking? I can barely keep my eyes open, barely speak more than a few words. “I’m tired.”
“I gave her something to help with the pain,” the nurse said. “She’ll be asleep soon.”
“Why don’t you rest, Alexa; I’ll come check on you later.”
###
As soon as Tapper came into the room, my eyes were fixed on his. I heard Ki talking, she was at my side, but I couldn’t look away from him. His stare was soft, his eyes a mixture of so many emotions, and I felt a tear run down my cheek. Even though I was lost in his eyes, he was still there, I hadn’t lost him. The old Tapper was still in there, I just had to bring him out. Feeling like I was seeing him in a different light, I moved my hand toward his.
“Tap.”
“Dollface,” he choked out, and I couldn’t hold anything back. He leaned in and brushed his lips against mine. “It’s good to see you again.”
“Has it really been a week?”
He didn’t answer but Ki did.
“Yes, but you needed the rest and so did your body.”
I rolled my head toward her and gave her a small smile. My eyes drifted past Ki, to the beautiful bouquets of lilies all over my room. Each bouquet was slightly different, in varying shades of pink, different styles of lilies, and in different vases. They took up just about every single available area and without even looking at the cards, I knew exactly who they were from.
“Hey, beautiful.”
I smiled. I knew I was at my worst but I really didn’t care.
“I’ve missed you.”
“I’m sure you did,” I joked.
“You’ll get to come home soon.”
Home. “That would be nice.”
Tapper squeezed my hand and it made me smile. “Can I have a minute with him?” I looked over at Ki, who gave me a watery smile.
“Of course.”
Tapper leaned up and kissed me as the door was shutting, bringing back my tears. “My little trouble-maker. I’m never letting you out of my sight again.”
“I love you, Tap.” My words mixed with my tears and he opened his eyes, putting his forehead to mine.
“Christ, Lex.”
�
�I think I might’ve loved you this whole time,” I cried. “I’m so sorry, so very sorry for missing the past year. I wasn’t there for you at all . . . I feel awful.”
“I love you, Lex. The past is over.”
I nodded. “I just feel bad.”
“We have each other now, I promise I won’t let you leave me again.”
I chuckled and felt my stomach start to cramp up again. “Tie me to the bed if you have to.”
He arched his brow and grinned. “Don’t tempt me, dollface.” He rubbed his thumb against my palm, careful of the wires. “I’ll do anything for you, Lex.” He kissed my lips. “Anything.” He kissed me again, and I reached up to hug him but couldn’t.
“God, it hurts so much.”
“I’ll get the nurse.”
He tried to leave and I shook my head. “No. Use the call button.”
“Where is it?” he asked, looking around me.
“I’m not sure.” I went to move and he put his hand on my arm.
“Don’t move, I’ll get it.”
He went to the other side of the bed and found it hanging off the side. I watched him click the button, smile at me, and then put the side rail on the bed down. “What are you doing?
“Getting closer.”
He put his elbows to the bed, only inches away from me.
“I’d scoot over and share the bed with you if I could.”
“It’s okay.”
“Tap. Thank you for my flowers.” I kissed him softly on the lips and smiled against his lips. After several more kisses, the door opened and Ki came back, this time with Prescot and Lucas.
“Hey.”
Lucas came to the side of my bed. “Nice to see you awake, Lex.”
“Thanks.”
“How’s the pain?”
“Feels like period cramps.” I shook my head, I was doing it again—hiding my real emotions—this ends today. “No . . . not, period cramps. It feels like period cramps ugly, evil step-sister. On steroids.”
“I’m sorry, Lex. We had no idea.”
“It’s not your fault. No one knew what he was going to do. Not even me.”
“Still, it’s my job to protect you.”
“You were there, right?”
“He carried you to the van, Lex,” Ki added.
“See, you did save me. Ki would never have been able to carry me.”
“Hey now,” she protested and flexed her biceps in a bodybuilder pose. “People can do remarkable things when they’re put to the test.”
The air in the room lightened up with those few chuckles and I felt it was easier to breathe. I didn’t want everyone moping around, feeling bad for what happened. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. I wasn’t mad at anyone.
“It wasn’t your fault, Lucas, or Ki, or Tapper. I don’t blame anyone or hold anything against you guys. It was Avon’s fault.”
“We got him,” Lucas informed me. “He won’t be a bother anymore.”
“Did you stab him for me?”
Lucas looked away and said, “Something like that.”
“He suffered,” Tapper spoke up. “Donovan made sure of it.”
“Good, then it’s all over and we can get back to life.”
“Slowly,” Ki said, standing at the end of my bed. “Slowly. No work. No cleaning. No dancing. It’s my turn to take care of you.”
I groaned, “You’re going to do the same thing to me as I did to you, aren’t you?”
She smirked. “Paybacks are a bitch.”
Chapter 31 – Alexa
“That’s enough, Ki!”
She spun around at my door. “Your injury was way worse than mine.”
“I’ve been home for almost two weeks, I’m perfectly fine.”
“So am I,” she said, moving her arm up and down, slowly, and she tried to hide her facial expressions.
“It still hurts you.”
“Of course, it does,” she tucked it into her side, “just like your stomach still hurts you.”
“Not as bad as your shoulder.”
“Hah!”
“Okay,” Tapper said at my side. “Ki, please leave so I can have a word with Lex.”
“Fine.” She spun back around and shut the door after her.
I curled into Tap’s side and winced at the dull ache in my side.
“See, you still hurt. I don’t know why you fight with her about it.”
“Because it’s fun.”
“I’ll never understand, will I?”
I looked up at him. “Nope, it’s a girl thing.”
He kissed the top of my forehead and I put my arm around his waist.
Tapper and I went all in. He showed me his catheter port in his stomach. Explained how he takes care of it and even showed me how it worked. He said he’d tell me more, everything if I wanted to know, but I didn’t. I didn’t need to know all the details. I knew he could take care of his body and do all the things I could do, and that’s all that mattered. We would research and talk to his doctor about the sex stuff because we were unsure of that but again, it didn’t matter. We had plenty of ways of being together, regardless of what he could and couldn’t do.
“Lex.”
“Yeah.”
“I thought my life was over when I woke up that day in the hospital . . . when the doctor told me I couldn’t walk again.”
I sat up. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he shook his head, “I just want you to know something.” I nodded for him to continue and he did after taking a deep breath in and out. “I’ve been obsessed with wanting to walk the past year. That’s all I focused on. I couldn’t accept my injuries, I didn’t want to. I worked out every day, kept myself on a strict schedule and therapy plan. The only thing I wanted was my old life back. My legs. My fights. But you . . .” he took my hand in his, “. . . you fulfill my life, in ways I never thought I’d ever have.”
“And you’ve done the same for me.”
He reached behind his back and pulled out a shiny silver box. “It was my mother’s ring.”
“Oh God.”
He opened it, showing me the shiny silver band with three diamonds that were embedded in it. He took it out and I shoved my hand at him as my heart raced. “Thank you, Alexa Tanner, for giving my life purpose again.”
He slipped the ring on my finger.
Perfect fit.
I was at a loss for words but he wasn’t. “Ma measured your finger while you were in the hospital, when you were still under, and we got it resized.”
I nodded, admiring my hand, trying to keep my heart inside my chest. Trying to find the words. There were so many words that he needed to hear but I couldn’t get them to roll off my tongue.
“Lex.”
I looked at him, he grinned, and then asked, “Is that a yes?”
I sat on his lap and kissed him hard. “Yes, Tapper Low, I’d love to spend the rest of my life with you.”
Our kiss turned hot and heavy, and I was about to pull my shirt off when Ki busted in the door. “Oh shit, I’m so sorry!”
“Wait,” I told her, climbing off Tapper slowly, then pulling my shirt down. “Look.” I wiggled my hand at her and she met me half way.
“Oh my God!”
“Right!”
“Oh my God!” She pulled me into a hug and whispered I my ear, “I love you, Alexa Tanner.”
“Love you too, Ki.”
“I’m going to make the perfect maid of honor!”
###
“No, Ki. No way.”
“It’ll be fun!”
“I’m not having a theme-wedding.”
“But it’s totally you!”
We were both sitting at my desk, facing each other. It’d been a week since Tapper gave me the ring and Ki was going crazy making wedding plans.
“When Prescot asks you to marry him, then you can plan a theme-wedding.”
“He’s never going to ask.”
“Well, technically I’ve known Tapper longer than you�
��ve known Prescot, so maybe he’s just giving it time. I mean, the man barely talks . . .”
“Trust me, he talks just fine,” she said with a wink. “Maybe with a little more time . . .”
“Do you want him to propose?”
“I don’t know. Yes and no. I think it might be too fast, but then again, why not. I know I’d never love anyone the way I love him. He’s totally it for me.” The dreamy look in her eyes confirmed her words and I tossed a different idea at her.
“Well, then you propose to him.”
She laughed and threw her pen at me. “No, I’ll just have to wait.”
“As long as you’re happy, Ki.”
“I’m very happy with our relationship.”
I looked over at our third desk. It was much smaller than ours, but he didn’t complain. Our newest employee, Leo, was listening to voicemails. We had just got back from lunch, to celebrate his second day. He was only eighteen and attending college in the fall so this was the perfect job for him. He was also Gunner’s younger brother, so he came highly recommended, and he was in school for IT support, and one of these days, I was going to ask him if he had any hacking skills. I’d have to keep it hush hush, I didn’t need any crap from Ki or Gunner about it. I mean, there’s nothing wrong with asking, right?
Ki grabbed the newspaper that was sitting on her desk and started flipping through it, while I pulled out my phone and snapped a selfie of myself blowing a kiss to Tapper.
“We should get back to work, Ki.”
“Yes,” she flipped another page, “we should.”
I laughed at her and she kept reading while I went through the messages that Leo handed to me. There wasn’t much he could do right now but answer the phones, so we told him he could be on his phone and I even thought about getting a TV mounted on the wall for him. But for now, he watched shows on the laptop we got him.
“Oh no . . .” Ki whispered at her desk, grabbing the newspaper. “Lex, look.” She put the paper in front of my face and pointed. “That’s Lucas’ mom.”
“Shit.”
She dropped the paper, ran toward the door, and I grabbed the paper before it fell on the floor.
“Come on, Lucas,” she said, pulling frantically on her ear, watching for him to appear out of nowhere, which we grew so used to.
