Twisted Love

by R. C. Stephens

  I turned us toward the nurse’s station and asked, “Yes, we would like to check on Luc Blanchard. He was brought into surgery about an hour ago with a bullet wound.” I waited for the nurse to check his chart and Lexi kept her eyes glued to the floor.

  “He’s in surgery, when we know something we will update you….wait… there is no next of kin on his file,” the nurse looked up to me.

  “Oh, I’m his wife, Alexis White, you can contact me,” Lexi lifted her head and muttered. As the words left her mouth the nurse looked between us questioningly and my chest constricted to the point of pain.

  “Sure ma’am,” the nurse replied taking Lexi’s cell phone number. I guided Lexi toward the Starbucks in the main lobby it was open late.

  Lexi was quiet as we walked through the halls. I told her to take a seat at one of the vacant tables offering to bring her something. “I’d rather come with you,” she replied looking around us. There were random people scattered around the main lobby but it wasn’t busy.

  “Okay.” I took her hand and we walked up to the cashier. I ordered myself a regular coffee and a chicken wrap. “What do you want?”

  “I can’t eat, I feel sick to my stomach,” she replied.

  “At least have something light,” I replied with a worried tone.

  She shrugged her shoulders. “Whatever.” Everything about her demeanor was scaring me. Is she traumatized? Is she confused? Does she still love Luc? Does she want to go back to him?

  The cashier looked my way waiting for me to order. “Okay, can I get a feta vegetable wrap and a small white hot chocolate,” I said to the cashier. Lexi looked up to me, her eyes holding a little bit of a sparkle. I knew she was thinking how I knew what she liked. I took her hand and squeezed it in mine as we waited for our order.

  “You don’t want to take a seat?” I offered again.

  “I’m scared Dylan.”

  “I know baby,” I said planting another kiss on her head and placing my arm around her shoulders keeping her close to me. Even in this position she managed to mold herself into my body and my heart clenched.

  I took my arm off her shoulder to get the tray with our food. We went to sit at a table and I scooted my chair close to her, she looked up to me gratefully.

  “I’m sure the police will want your statement, are you okay? Do you want to talk with one of the counsellors? Maybe we can see if Dr. Newman is available,” I suggested.

  “Yes.” She nodded. “Dr. Newman.”

  “Okay,” I opened up her wrap and passed it to her. Her hands were shaking badly.

  “Let me help you,” I offered.

  This caused her to giggle. “You’re not going to feed me Dylan.”

  “Why not?” I asked wounded.

  “Because I’m not an old lady.” She rolled her eyes and a part of me felt relieved that she had come back to me somewhat.

  “Did you just roll your eyes at me?” I grinned playing with her a bit hoping to lighten the situation.

  She shrugged her shoulders and my attempt at distraction was put to rest by the solemn look on her face.

  “Everything will be okay Lex,” I said trying to sound hopeful. The truth was I felt like I was drowning myself. I didn’t know if I’d lost her and if she wanted Luc. I also didn’t know if his family would ever leave her alone and she would be free. We both sat quietly eating our food drowning in thoughts.

  Lexi's cell phone rang. I could tell by the look on her face and the way she was talking that it must be the nurse. “Luc is out of surgery, he’s in stable condition,” she exhaled looking like the weight of the world had just been relieved from her shoulders.

  “If he would have died,” she brought her hand up to her mouth bracing herself. “It would have been my fault.”

  “No Lex, don’t ever think that. Luc comes from a dangerous family. He knew the risks he was taking when he fell in love with you. He put you at risk by loving you. I feel bad for the guy, I do. Coming from such a shitty family, but I don’t want you blaming yourself for this. This is one of those wrong place, wrong time things Lex, I will not let you carry this burden on your shoulders.”

  At my words she visibly relaxed. “Okay, let’s go see him.”

  She took my hand and we made our way back to the recovery room area. “Dyl, is it okay if I go see him on my own?” she asked looking up to me with a guilty expression. I hated that she wanted to be alone with him. I nodded and let go of her hand. She walked away from me and I watched as she walked toward the room he was in. My heart broke a little more than it already had.

  Chapter 35

  A Broken Heart

  Lexi

  As I made my way in to see Luc, I felt bad for leaving Dylan. I could see that he looked so confused and lost and I knew it was my fault for professing my love for Luc the way I did. I walked over to the bed that Luc was lying in and watched the familiar beeping sounds of the machines. I had been lying in a bed like this not too long ago after my own surgery when he beat me.

  His eyes opened, but they looked small and tired. “Hi,” I said with a raspy voice.

  He nodded his head slowly looking groggy. “Water,” he said with a sand papery voice. I walked out of the room to the nurse’s station to ask for water and one of the nurses brought me a cup filled with water and a straw. I walked back in the room and Luc was waiting with his eyes opened. He lifted his head slightly still very weak and drank the water, clearly parched.

  Then he lay his head back down, and took a few slow breathes. “I’m so sorry,” he said with a cracking voice. “I will make a deal with them…I will leave town. I will make sure they leave you alone….” he drifted off. He looked like he was in pain and it was hard to speak.

  “Will they listen to you?” I asked, worried that they would never leave me alone. The last few hours I felt like I was overcome by dread that maybe I was supposed to live this life in a constant state of fear.

  “I will make them…I don’t think it was my brother’s intention to shoot me…we played together as children…we loved each other… I can’t imagine it…I can’t imagine it…” he shook his head looking desperate, sad and alone. “I know my father is mad that I said I will leave the business…I think Henri meant to warn me….I have to believe that my brother hasn’t turned into something so evil that he would shoot his own brother in cold blood….” he said and I could see the redness swelling in his eyes. He was in so much emotional pain.

  “I’m sorry Luc, is there anything I can do?” I asked lifting his hand in mine. He looked down at my hand and the tears began to fall in my eyes.

  “Alexis, don’t feel bad about me getting shot, I was raised around this life, this is the outcome of my father’s evil. None of it is your fault. I wanted something real for myself for once. I was selfish,” he said smiling sadly. “You were like a beautiful butterfly and instead of setting you free, I caged you in.” He closed his eyes and huffed back a sob.

  “I’m setting you free now Alexis, you are too kind to be here, and you telling me that you love me, made something inside me want to live, made me believe that life was worth living…you have a good man waiting on the other side of these doors waiting to give you the life I can’t, a life that you deserve,” he paused.

  At his words my tears began to fall down my cheeks. I knew this was good-bye for Luc and I, but it was much more painful than I expected, our souls had a connection that I would never forget.

  “Luc, you are lovable, and had I not given my heart away a long time ago, I know it would have been yours to snatch up. You are a good man, and I care for you dearly. You’ve taught me about acceptance and love. I will never forget you and I know there is a woman out there who will need your kind heart. You will give her yours and she will want it and love you fiercely because that is what you deserve and I believe you will find her. Be patient with yourself and don’t blame yourself for everything that’s happened. Blame can be a painful mind game that is hard to escape. Set yourself free too Luc. You de
serve to be free,” I said squeezing his hand a little too tightly.

  He smiled softly back at me. “Always so kind Alexis, your heart is always filled with love.”

  I closed my eyes and sucked back my tears, when I opened them I watched as Luc stared at me as if it would be the last time he saw me. “You should go to him Alexis, I will make sure my lawyer takes care of the annulment. Go live a happy life. I will leave Toronto and leave my family and start a new journey of my own. I will take peace in knowing that you are so loved and cared for...”

  “Luc?” I cried not ready to let him go just yet.

  “Don’t worry Alexis, the doctors said I should be up and fine in a week. The bullet did not hit any major organs and the surgery was successful. I will be okay and so will you,” he said pulling his hand out of my grasp. I could tell he was so very weak. He placed his hand over his stomach and closed his eyes.

  A loud sob escaped my lips and I began to cry even harder. Suddenly from behind I felt a strong hand placed on my shoulder and I knew Dylan was here to help me through this. He must be jealous and angry with my behavior and he was still willing to push it all aside to support and love me.

  “Come Lex,” he said. I got up from the chair beside Luc’s bed. Dylan held on to me with his strong arms. It felt like he was the glue holding all of me together. We left the hospital and Dylan took me home, back to the condo. Our condo.

  ***

  Dylan

  I couldn’t help following Lexi as she made her way to Luc’s room, although I knew better than to follow her in. I couldn’t help but listen at the door. Hearing that her heart had always been mine was a relief. It wasn’t easy to hear how attached she was to him or how kind he was to her. Especially since I wasn’t there for her when I should have been a million times over. Even if I had no control over what happened to Santana that dreadful night I still chose to pull away, it was another mistake I would always live with.

  Listening to Luc say goodbye to Lexi, made me realize how much he really loved her, and him standing in front of that gun and defending her was his ultimate redemption. I couldn’t even allow my mind to consider what would have happened had he not arrived to intervene with his brother’s warning. The mere fact that his brother had a gun on him with a silencer turned my blood cold.

  I couldn’t help but have sympathy for the man. After all, he did save the love of my life. He called Lexi a week later to tell her that he spoke with his father and his father finally agreed to let him leave the family. He explained it meant he was being completely written off and disowned. All charges by CSIS had been dropped against him and he was a free man. He told Lexi he would be leaving Canada once he felt strong enough to get on his motorcycle. He also told her that his family would no longer seek her out, that they had no interest in her anymore and that he had his father’s word so she could rest peacefully at night. It was a relief to both of us.

  In the spring Lexi graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto. She followed through with her decision not to do her articling. Her mother came to graduation and Ash was in town too and we all had a huge celebration for her.

  One week later she received the news that she got a scholarship to the Harvard MA program in psychology. She never told me she applied for it, and I was more than pleasantly surprised. The following August we moved to Boston together. I got rid of the bachelor pad and we rented a small house with three bedrooms just in case we got visitors.

  I still had four more years of residency to complete and I went back to the Massachusetts General Hospital, while Lexi spent two years working on her MA. I waited for Ash, Anna, Nathan and her mom to leave Boston after she graduated. The first night we were alone I set up a very special evening for us with candles adorned around the house. I got her favorite Italian meal catered by one of the finer Italian restaurants in town. I also had one thousand white roses delivered to the house. When she came home from shopping she was in shock by the amount of flowers that filled our home. We ate by candle light on our terrace, soft music was playing in the background. It was a warm clear night and the stars were shining bright. I got down on one knee and professed my undying love to the woman who stole my heart when I was only a boy. The only woman I had ever and would ever love.

  Of course she said yes and one month later we got married at a beautiful wedding hall in Toronto surrounded by family and friends. When I saw her at the end of the aisle in her wedding gown, my heart nearly stopped. She was and still is the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. At the reception Nathan got down on one knee and proposed to Anna. She said yes. They had been dating for three years and after she completed articling she signed up to work for Canada’s national security service along with him. It was a big advantage having the two people closest to us working for CSIS because they monitored the Blanchard family closely for a while until they realized that Lexi was off their radar and Luc had settled in New York.

  Anna was worried that Nathan’s proposal took the focus away from Lexi’s day, but that wasn’t the case. She was so happy for Anna it only made her day even brighter if that were possible. She was radiant and glowing in a way I had never seen before. She thanked me for making her whole, for giving her love….I was thankful for her existence and the fact she agreed to marry me at all. She was perfection, my sweet perfection.

  Since I still had two years left of my residency we decided to stay in Boston and we both applied for Green cards. Lexi went to work for Children’s Aid helping children that had experienced abuse. She came home sad sometimes at the end of the day but she insisted that the work left her feeling fulfilled. Three months after the wedding, I came home one night to find that Lexi had lit candles all over our quaint home, and she had our favorite Italian dishes set up in the dining room. I knew something was up instantly. I ran upstairs to take a shower like a fast crazy man on a mission, because I had to get the hospital grime off me before I could take her in my arms or hear what news she had. The truth was we didn’t plan on getting pregnant right away but we didn’t do anything to stop a pregnancy from happening either. We decided on unprotected sex, lots of hot unprotected sex, and a ‘we’ll see what happens.’ I couldn’t get downstairs fast enough. Lexi had the table for two set up with candles and wine. I instantly noticed that my glass of wine had been poured and it looked like her glass had water. I knew it, in my heart I just knew it. When she finally presented her positive pregnancy test we both cried and kissed and cried and then made love on our dining room table, the part of it that didn’t have food on it at least. We were overjoyed, even though there was a tinge of sadness over the baby we had lost.

  I realized in that moment that life was bitter and sweet and that there was no one else I would want to navigate the bumpy road of life with other than Lexi. She was my heart, my soul my everything.

  Epilogue

  Two Years Later

  Dylan

  “Are you sure your parents aren’t mad that we aren’t spending Christmas with them?” Lexi asked looking over to me with her dark blue eyes filled with love.

  “No Lex, they aren’t mad, in fact they’re excited,” I replied wanting to make her more curious than she already was.

  “Really? Excited?” she said rubbing her swollen belly. She looked over her shoulder to the back seat. “Bobby, what does Daddy have up his sleeve?”

  Of course Bobby, our two year old son named after my father Robert, didn’t answer. I looked in my rearview mirror which was set up to see his perfect face smiling back at me. Bobby was content playing with the little toys on his car seat.

  “Well, I know you're taking me to Mount Tremblant, you know I’m not a fan of skiing and in my state there’s no way I would put on a pair of skis anyway,” she grinned.

  With one hand on the steering wheel I used the other to reach over and rub her belly. She smiled that sweet Lexi smile. “Babe there is no way I would let you put on a pair of skis even if you weren’t pregnant,” I chuckled remembering the last time
she had a pair of skis on. I confessed that I loved her and then ski patrol had to take her down the mountain. I lifted her hand to my mouth and placed a soft kiss on the back of her hand.

  “You’ll just have to wait and see,” I smirked and she rolled her eyes at me. “Don’t roll your eyes at me,” I scolded her but she could tell by the amusement in my eyes that I was joking. She began to laugh hysterically and her belly bobbed up and down. I loved watching her, especially when she was pregnant. I’d never seen anything more beautiful in my life than a naked Lexi when she was pregnant. Her heightened curves, her swollen breasts, the way her body grew with our baby inside.

  “A penny for your thoughts,” she said looking over to me. Bobby began to complain. I couldn’t blame him, it had been a long ride to Montreal and now into the mountains.

  “We’ll be there soon, little guy,” I said trying to soothe him. Lex turned around to put his pacifier in his mouth. When Bobby was born I got rid of the Porsche and opted for a Land Rover. It was excellent on the snow and was top rated for safety, only the best for my family.

  “Didn’t your parents want to come up to their place? It’s not nice of us to take it over Christmas,” she said digging for information. I responded with a devilish grin causing her eyebrows to furrow in the cutest way possible. I kept my eyes glued to the road taking the sharp turns on the slippery mountainous curves. We were only a few minutes away. We finally entered the town and I pulled up and parked the car. “This is not how I remember it,” she said.

  I still didn’t answer. “Let me go and unlock the door, then I’ll grab Bobby and help you guys inside, be careful the driveway is slippery.”

  I quickly ran to the front door and unlocked it. The temperature was at least twenty degrees cooler than Toronto. I took Bobby out of his car seat flipping a blanket over him so he wouldn’t be cold. Then I opened the door for Lexi and she held my arm as we made our way to the front door.

  “This isn’t your parents' place,” she said scrunching up her forehead.