by Ivy Smoak
I laughed. "Not that much older than me."
He kissed my forehead. I took a moment to breathe in his scent. It was still diluted by hospital soap, but now that he was awake, it was almost like I could smell him again.
"I could feel it," he whispered. "I don't really know how to explain it. I just...I knew you were there. And I could feel that you needed me."
"You know that I always need you, James."
He kissed my forehead again. "I'm sorry, baby. I'm so, so sorry."
Why did he keep trying to apologize? I thought about what Rob had said. That maybe James knew Isabella was going to try to hurt him. But before I could ask him, the nurse walked into the room.
She immediately frowned at me.
I sat up and stepped down off the bed.
"How are you feeling, hon?" the nurse said.
"Thirsty. And tired."
"You need to let him get his rest," she said and looked at me.
James laughed and then coughed again.
She handed him a glass of water.
James took a long sip. "When can I get out of here?" He tried to sit up and clenched his teeth together.
"Not anytime soon." The nurse grabbed the glass from his hand. "Not if you don't get your rest."
"I'm fine, really." He grimaced again as he readjusted himself on the bed.
"On a scale of one to ten, how is the pain?"
James shrugged. "Ten as the worst?"
"Mhm."
"Maybe a three then."
She looked at him like she didn't believe him at all. "Go back to sleep, hon. Maybe you'll start making sense once you get some proper rest. The doctor will come in shortly, she's just finishing up a surgery."
James nodded. It looked like he was already about to fall back to sleep.
"And you stay off his bed, missy," she said to me before she left the room.
"Really, how much does it hurt?" I asked and slipped my hand back into his.
"It's not so bad." He yawned and grimaced again.
"James."
"It hurts like hell."
I pressed my lips together. "Go back to sleep, James," I said and kissed his cheek.
"Come back up. I want to hold you."
I wanted to follow the nurses instructions, so I sat back down in my seat. I wanted him to get better. "I'm not going anywhere. I'll be right here when you wake up."
"Promise you'll stay?" he asked as his eyelids grew heavy.
"Of course." I squeezed his hand.
"I love you, Penny." It was almost a mumble.
"I love you." I watched him slowly fall asleep. For the first time in a long time, I realized how tired I was too. I laid my head down next to his hand. I felt at peace. I felt safe. I felt whole again.
***
Something buzzing woke me up. When I realized it was my phone, I quickly grabbed it and slid my finger across the screen so that it wouldn't wake James. But it wasn't a phone call, it was just a text. I clicked on the message that Rob had just sent.
"Penny, I've got it. You have to come see this."
I looked down at James. He had asked me to stay. But settling this mess would give him such a sense of peace. I didn't want him to have to worry about anything while he was recovering.
Another text came through. "It's enough to put her away for a long time even if they can't link anything else to her. It's over."
I let a breath escape that I hadn't realized I had been holding. It's over. I leaned down and kissed James' forehead. "I'll be right back," I whispered.
He moaned in his sleep.
No one would ever hurt him again. Ever. I left the room as quietly as possible.
"How is he doing?" Porter asked once I was in the hall.
"Good. He's sleeping. I'm going to run by our apartment real quick. I'll be back in half an hour."
"I'll come with you," he said.
"You don't have to. I'm meeting Rob there. He thinks he found evidence to convince the cops that Isabella was behind all of this."
Porter was already talking into his watch. He touched his earpiece. "Briggs will be here in a minute and we can head over."
"I think it's better if you both stay here." I felt guilty for leaving James alone when I had told him I'd stay. I wanted to make sure he was okay while I was gone.
"You're always our first priority, Mrs. Hunter. Mr. Hunter has made that very clear."
Briggs ran up to us. "How is he?"
"He's sleeping. But he's good." Porter clapped him on the back.
Briggs nodded. He looked relieved. "Have you asked him about us?" he asked.
"He's not going to fire either of you." Not after he knew how protective they had been since our wedding night. Not after he found out how much they cared.
"I'm taking her to the apartment," Porter said. "No bathroom breaks."
"I'm feeling much better today," Briggs said.
Porter nodded. "You ready?" He started walking before I had even answered.
"What was that about bathroom breaks?" I asked as I caught up to him.
"Briggs' stomach got really upset yesterday and he kept leaving his post. I have it under control."
"You guys are allowed to take breaks."
"Not at the same time, though. Would you like me to call Ian or would you like to drive with me?"
"I'll drive with you." Every time I went home to shower he'd ask me the same thing. And I always said I'd drive with him. He had even started letting me sit in the front seat with him. Besides, I knew Ian and Jen were spending time together before she had to fly back to California. I didn't want to interrupt that.
Porter opened up the passenger door for me and I climbed into his SUV. It was strange driving through the city today. The last few days had been hell. Everything looked bleak around me. But today I noticed how green the grass was in Central Park. And how happy the joggers looked. Soon that would be James again. He'd be better in no time, I knew it.
"Are you married, Cole?"
Porter barely winced when I called him by his first name. And he didn't reprimand me anymore either. There was no way I was going to let James fire either one of these guys. They had only just started to warm up to me.
"No, I'm not married."
"Are you dating anyone?"
He glanced at me for a second as he hit his turn signal. "You're asking a lot of questions today."
"I just feel like when James is all better you're going to get all serious again. It's my last chance to get to know you." I saw a small smile on his lips.
"I have a girlfriend. We've been together for almost five years now."
"What's her name?"
"Last name or first name?" He smiled again.
"First name, of course."
"Julie."
"I'm sorry we've been keeping you away from her. Everything's going to go back to normal soon."
"Briggs and I both wanted to be there. You never even asked us to stay. As far as I was concerned, we were volunteering."
"We're going to pay you for your time."
"That's not necessary. It's my fault that he was in there in the first place."
"That's not true." I looked out the window. "It was mine."
"I don't think so, Penny."
I liked that he was continuing to call me by my first name. "We agree to disagree then."
He gave me a small smile. "I guess so." He pulled up in front of our apartment building. "Do you want to just call him and tell him to come down? When James wakes up he'll be wondering where you went."
"Good idea." I wanted to get back to James as soon as possible. I clicked on Rob's name in my phone. It went straight to voicemail. "His phone must have died. I'll just go up real quick. I'll be back in a minute."
"Let me come up with you." He unbuckled his seatbelt.
"No, it's fine. His phone dies all the time. He never charges it. Sometimes I'm surprised he even has a cell phone at all. Besides, I wanted to go up anyway to grab a few things for Jame
s in case he's allowed to change out of his hospital gown."
"Okay." He nodded at me as I climbed out of the car.
For the first time in ages I was actually happy to enter our apartment building. Cliff, the man at the front desk, didn't stare at me like I was a charity case this time. Someone must have reported that James had woken up. It was probably all over the news.
"Good afternoon, Penny," Cliff said with a smile. "I have some mail for you."
"Good afternoon, Cliff." I grabbed the mail from his hand. No manila envelopes. No more Isabella. Soon this would all be behind us.
"And just to let you know, Rob and your cleaning lady are both in your apartment. They were both on the list that Mr. Hunter wrote up so I let them in."
"Yes, that's fine. And her name is Ellen." I hated when people addressed her in any way as our help. She wasn't that to me. Ellen was family. She had stopped by the hospital every day. I had told her she didn't need to work at all, but she insisted that it kept her mind off worrying. And that she wanted the apartment to be perfect for when James came home. She was one of the sweetest people I had ever met.
"Right, yes I have her name listed here. Ellen. I'll make a note to call her that. Actually," he said and cleared his throat. "I was wondering...do you know if she's single?"
My first reaction was to laugh. Cliff was even younger than me. And Ellen had to be at least 60. But of course, there was no way he was asking for himself. He was probably asking for his father or some older relative. "She's single."
"Oh wow. Okay great." He looked slightly embarrassed. "I'm happy to hear that James woke up."
I smiled. I couldn't even express to him how ecstatic I was. "Thanks, Cliff." I walked toward the elevator with the mail. I thought about Bee and Mason, Rob and Daphne, and Jen and Ian. And possibly even Melissa and Matt. Love was in the air. Ellen loved James like a son, but she didn't have any children of her own. She had never married. Maybe there could be some love in the air for her too.
The last week and a half I had felt so depressed walking into our apartment. It felt empty and lifeless without James. It wasn't a home without him. Really, the hospital felt more like home than this did. Wherever James was, that was where home was.
I stepped off the elevator and grabbed my keys. I walked into the apartment and tossed the mail and my purse on the kitchen counter. "Rob?"
There was no answer.
"Ellen?" I couldn't wait to tell her that Cliff had asked if she was single. Her first reaction would probably be to giggle too.
But again, there was no answer.
They must have both been upstairs. "Rob?" I called again as I walked out of the kitchen. I turned the corner toward the staircase and saw him. He was lying at the bottom of the stairs. There was a pool of blood under his head and his leg was twisted at an awkward angle. "Rob!" I ran toward him and crouched down. "Oh my God, Rob." I was afraid to touch his body. I didn't want to injure him any more than he already was. There was so much blood underneath his head. And it was smeared around beneath his hands like he had tried to get up and failed. No.
"Wake up. Rob, you have to wake up. Ellen!" I screamed up the steps. "Ellen, help!" I gently put my fingers to Rob's neck, trying to find a pulse. My eyes were blinded by tears. "No, Rob, wake up."
"Don't move."
Her voice made my whole body turn cold. Isabella.
"Stand up, Penny."
I let my fingers fall from Rob's neck. I hadn't had time to find a pulse. Or maybe I just didn't want to believe what I had really felt. Nothing. There was no pulse. And I suddenly felt so weak. I didn't want to stand. I wanted to throw myself on Rob to protect him. A million thoughts flashed through my mind, but what stuck with me were some of the last words Rob said to me. "I'm going to marry that girl." He had finally found himself. He was finally happy. He couldn't die now. He just couldn't.
"Put your hands in the air and turn around."
"Where's Ellen?" I thought about Ellen lying somewhere else in the house. Unconscious. Or worse. All I could do was stare at the pool of blood expanding around Rob's head. This can't be happening. Rob can't be dead. Tears streamed down my cheeks. He can't be.
"I said put your hands in the air and turn around."
For a second I thought about running. It wasn't just my safety I had to think about anymore. But I couldn't escape this. There was only one door out of the apartment. And she was in my way. And I couldn't leave Rob. I stared down at his body. Please be okay. I slowly stood up, lifted my hands in the air, and turned to face her.
A cruel smile crossed her lips. She looked as perfect as ever, even though she was wearing something I never thought I'd see her in, a pair of faded jeans, a tattered t-shirt, and yellow latex gloves. She was dressed like a cleaning lady. Yet not a single strand of her hair was out of place and her makeup looked like a professional had done it for her. I always felt insignificant around her. I thought that feeling might fade after James and I got married. But it hadn't. Or maybe it was just the fact that she was pointing a gun toward me.
"I never much liked him," she said and nodded toward Rob's body. "It's a pity though, I didn't expect anyone else to be here."
"Is he dead?" I needed to know if Rob was okay. I needed to know if he was breathing.
"How should I know? He certainly doesn't look good. Luckily I always come prepared. Although, I certainly didn't expect to see you. Shouldn't you be with your new husband? Especially after you left him alone the last time?"
How does she know about that?
"One thing I do love about you is how utterly transparent you are," she said. "You think I don't have connections? You think I had no idea what was happening to my own husband in the hospital? Think again."
Her own husband? She had lost her mind. She was completely insane. "Who's feeding you information?"
"The question was, who isn't, dear. God, this was all too easy."
I swallowed hard.
"So, let's see. Hmmm. How should I have this play out? I originally just came here to plant evidence to frame you. But this is so much better. I'm thinking a lover's quarrel. Maybe the two of you were sleeping together behind James' back? Maybe the baby is actually Rob's?"
"How do you know that I'm pregnant?"
"Weren't you listening? I know every move you make."
"Who were you working with?"
"The press will report anything I tell them," she said, ignoring my question. "But I do love a scandal. Poor James. His new bride and his letch of a brother screwing around behind his back. And the worst part is James will believe it. Because I'll be by his side helping him recover. And I'll be reminding him every day how awful you were. How you only wanted to be with him for his money. And how his brother lived off his wealth. How Rob always resented his big brother's success."
"That's not true. You were the only one that was ever after his money."
She made the same noise with her throat that James' mother always did. "I have my own inheritance. I don't need the Hunters' fortune. And you won't be there to trick him anymore, putting false ideas in his head about me. Besides, James certainly doesn't believe that you could possibly love him if he doesn't even love you."
"He does love me."
"No. That was the problem the whole time. He's addicted to you."
"He's not addicted to me."
"Yes he is! And now that I know the only way he's capable of a connection, I can easily win him back. I'll make him crave me in a way he couldn't possibly crave you."
"He's not addicted to me," I said more forcefully. I was sick of hearing that. James was not addicted to me.
"You're so naive. I almost feel sorry for you, if it wasn't for the fact that you fucked my husband while I was still married to him." She lifted her gun a little higher.
"And you're delusional."
"Is that what you think? That my trying to win my husband back is delusional? I'm fighting for him. I'm fighting for us."
"There's nothing left to fight
for!"
She shook her head. "It was always me and James. Always. Ever since we were children our futures were set in stone. We have the greatest kind of love story. Yes, we've had our issues. And that was on him, not me. He projected his problems on me. He wouldn't touch me. He made me feel awful about myself. So yes, I found solace in other men. But he pushed me there. Because he couldn't face the fact that he was sick. And now he's gotten help. Now he's better. And now he can truly love me in a way I never thought possible. The way that you did. So it's only fair that he comes back to me. It's only fair."
"Life isn't fair, Isabella." I wanted to lunge for the gun. My mind was racing. What was the best way to reach for it?
"You think I don't know that? If life was fair I wouldn't be standing right here with you. I wouldn't be arguing with an immature girl about my husband!" Her hand was shaking.
For the first time I thought she might actually not shoot me. Maybe she was realizing how crazy this whole thing was.
"Isabella, we don't have to be arguing about this." I took a step forward.
"Don't move." She grabbed the gun with her other hand to steady it.
My phone started vibrating in my purse. Isabella glanced over toward the kitchen counter.
"Who's calling you?" she asked.
"I don't know."
She pulled my phone out of my purse and looked at the screen. "Is Porter still at the hospital?"
"No. He was waiting in the car downstairs."
"Shit." She tossed my phone down on the counter. "Enough chatting. Stand next to Rob." She raised her gun again.
"Isabella, you don't have to do this."
"Of course I do. I've already tried to kill James. And I failed both times. Now I'm going to kill you instead."
"Both times?" She tried twice?
"Kneel down next to Rob," she said, ignoring me.
"Isabella."
"Now!"
I heard the click of her gun being cocked. Fuck. "Okay." For some reason my fear hadn't switched on until that moment. I was worried about Rob. But now, now I realized what was going to happen. She was going to kill me. She was going to get her way. I was going to die. My baby was going to die. I tried to blink back my tears. I tried to think of anything I could do to prevent this from happening. But there was no hope. I glanced down at Rob's lifeless body. This was it. James and I were never supposed to happen. I was his student and he was my professor. Everything had always been against us. We weren't allowed to be happy. Life was a cruel joke.
