AJ's Salvation

by Sam Destiny

  “At what cost?” She wanted to know and then looked up. Her brother looked as if he, too, had been in a fight with them, his eyes bloodshot meaning he had cried.

  “How long was I out?” She wanted to know, sitting back on her heels.

  “Let those guys take Jam to a hospital, Aly. They are the only ones who can save him,” Greg whispered, and she tried to get to her feet, but it was nearly impossible.

  “She nearly killed you, too, Alessia Rhyme! What were you thinking coming here?” he asked as he had her in his arms, leading her away.

  “She had them both. I couldn’t let her win. I couldn’t let her hurt them. And I failed Jam,” she cried, her chest hurting with more than physical pain. “Will he be okay?”

  Greg didn’t look at her another second, his eyes finding someone across the room. He nodded after a second, his expression grim.

  “Mr. Rhyme, I need to take your sister away. We need CT scans, MRT, and some blood work from her,” the doctor said, obviously having left Jam’s side. He was talking right over her, and Aly wouldn’t have it.

  “I’m awake and listening. Talk to me if you need something,” she ordered.

  “Mom!” The cry pulled her from her anger, and she knelt as her son came running but stopped a few steps away from her. He looked pale, but other than that fine.

  “You’re bleeding,” he whispered, his eyes filling with tears.

  “I’m fine,” she promised and then opened her arms for her son. He smelled of fabric softener she’d never use, clean air, and male perfume, most likely Greg’s, but that didn’t matter. Holding him felt like coming home.

  “The emergency guy told me to take your hand and get you because we both need to go to the hospital. You’re hurt, and I’m hurt, and they want to make us stop feeling the pain,” he explained, and Aly nodded.

  “Then let’s go.” If her son were hurt, she would go anywhere with him to make it better. Plus, there was only one hospital around and Jam would be there as well.

  She got up from the floor, insisting on carrying her son despite her body screaming out in pain. She needed him close.

  “Miss Rhyme, this … I’m … so sorry.” Thea Karmison had the balls to step in Aly’s way.

  “You’re sorry? For what? Not knowing that your daughter would kill someone one day? For making sure you ruined three lives in one day just because you didn’t think to talk to me about visiting rights? I’m sure once your husband comes back, he’ll make you feel sorry.”

  “My husband will never return,” Thea promised her with a certainty that would’ve scared Aly if she could feel anything but pain.

  “The way the doctor looks at me, neither will Jam, and that goes on your conscience. Each and every day of your life you can get up with that thought. You’re the reason Jamison Loane might no longer be on this earth.”

  With that, she walked away, sitting down in the ambulance until she got a dizzy spell then lying down next to her son, letting sleep take her over. Just a few minutes, she promised herself. She needed to escape the pain and the loneliness for just a little bit.

  It was night by the time she regained consciousness. A noise had woken her, and when she looked up, it was a woman wearing a doctor’s coat.

  “How is Jam?” she instantly asked. She knew Lesso would be okay and most likely asleep, so the guy she loved was Aly’s first priority.

  “Still in surgery.” The curt answer told Aly more than the woman probably intended to.

  “How likely is it that he can see his son again? And don’t lie to me. I’m most likely on my way to prison sometime soon,” she mumbled, her head much clearer again and her body burning less with pain than earlier.

  “Do you realize that Jamison’s and your story actually is the thing people talk about behind closed doors? The story is made of epic,” the doctor replied instead of reacting to her question.

  “Head injuries?” Aly inquired, not ready to give up.

  “Extensive. They had to drain the swelling.”

  “Broken bones?”

  “Multiple.”

  “Internal injuries?”

  “Yes. A torn lung, some bleeding. A lot of pain. And a coma.”

  “Thank you for not lying or trying to ease my pain,” Aly mumbled, meaning it.

  “If he ever wakes up again, we can’t be sure he’ll be the same man you fell in love with. There’s a high chance he’ll be forever changed and in need of assistance. Miss Rhyme –”

  “There’s a higher chance he’s dying right there, right?” she asked, and it took a few seconds before the doctor nodded, sitting down on her bed.

  “I looked at him. This wasn’t the first beating he had gotten, right?”

  She was a young doctor, probably about their age, but Aly didn’t know her. Clearly, she was someone from out of town.

  “How in the world did you come to be a doctor in hell?” Aly wanted to know, and the woman shrugged.

  “I didn’t know, but I learned pretty quickly who rules the town. Look how far it has come. We have a man dying because them now.”

  “He was dead inside long before that. Jam was a broken man when he showed up on my doorstep some weeks ago, but I thought we could make it all better. I knew he needed professional help, but I figured we could get him there with a little coaxing. I wanted him to overcome his past. Instead, his past won.” She felt a tear slip down her cheek and then took a deep breath.

  “Where is Alessandro?” she asked and the doctor leaned back enough so Aly could see the bed at the end of the room. Her son was sound asleep.

  “Is he okay?” She then wanted to know and the doctor looked up. Aly couldn’t believe that she hadn’t even cared enough to wait for a name or ask for one.

  “He’s bruised and battered, but I think all that matters to him is you,” the doctor admitted, and Aly ached to touch him.

  “What’s going to happen now?” she asked quietly, and the woman got up from her bed.

  “I think it all depends. A few people want to see you in the morning. Try to get some sleep.”

  “Doctor …?”

  “Johnson. I’m Lucy Johnson.” She smiled, and Alessia nodded thankfully.

  “Can you free me from the machines? I need to touch Lesso, and then …” She shrugged, guessing that the doctor knew pretty well what she was trying to say.

  “He’s not out of surgery, Miss Rhyme,” the doctor reminded her.

  “Call me Alessia. And I know, but I wanna be prepared and not cause a riot if I get up.”

  “Well, then I’m Lucy. It’ll be bad. I’m not sure you want to see that,” the woman mused, and Aly met her eyes.

  “He gave his life to save mine. I think I can handle anything for that guy,” she assured her, and Lucy nodded.

  “Very well then. I’ll send a nurse to unplug you and if I have news, I’ll let you know.”

  Aly gave her a smile and then watched as the doctor left, basically being replaced by a nurse. The moment she could, she got up and walked over to Alessandro’s bed, lying down next to him. She cuddled him, and he instantly turned into her embrace, coming closer.

  “Love you, Mom,” he mumbled sleepily, and Aly kissed his hair.

  “Love you, too, son,” she replied and then hummed until she was sure he fell back asleep. No matter how hard she tried to keep her eyes open, waiting for Doctor Johnson to return with news about Jam, she couldn’t stay awake for anything in the world.

  Jam wasn’t alive. He was in a world of pain. Groaning, he tried to open his eyes. There was no way for him to take inventory of all his injuries because there wasn’t one part of his body that didn’t hurt.

  “Jamison, are you awake?”

  “You need to leave right now!”

  “I need to make sure that his son will not go into the system if he dies. Otherwise, Jam’s sacrifice was for nothing.”

  “You need to leave. He is not in a frame of mind to make a decision like that and any judge would fight that!”

>   “Doctor Johnson, excuse me, but you aren’t from here. You don’t understand what –”

  “Oh hell, I understand well.”

  “Stop.” Jam’s head was hurting with the low discussion at his bedside. His throat ached and bringing the words out was torture. He did recognize one woman, though, and that was Shannon.

  “Jam!” He felt someone touch his left, and he turned toward the woman.

  “I got the Karmisons to sign over custody. It’s all done and well now. But you might die.” At least she had the decency to cry while saying that. Not that the mentioning was needed. The pain was subsiding, and Jam had a hard time keeping the threatening blackness at bay.

  “Papers. Pen,” he ordered, using what little control he had left.

  “Mr. Loane, I’m …” He groaned and the male voice trailed off. Time was limited. “You are right. Screw this. Here.”

  Something long and slender was pushed into his right hand, something cold placed under it. “Just one signature, Jam. Write your last name,” Shannon urged, and he took everything together that he had. For Aly. For Lesso.

  “That’s it,” the guy coaxed, and after the last ‘e,’ Jam dropped the pen, all strength having left his body.

  “Alessandro is now officially Alessia Rhyme’s son, as well as yours,” the guy stated, and as much as Jam wished he could smile in triumph, he couldn’t.

  “Tell my son I love him. Tell Aly to marry Spencer. He’s a decent guy. Tell her to be happy.”

  “Hell, no, Jamison Loane, you marry that girl. Don’t you dare die after everything we reached,” Shannon fussed, her voice filled with despair.

  “You all need to leave finally,” Jam heard, but then the voices already got further away.

  “But …”

  Unconsciousness claimed him, owned him, and Jam guessed, never would let him go again.

  “Mommy. Mommy! You’re squeezing me too tight!” Lesso moved in her arms, and she slowly blinked. Waking up was hard and her body demanded more sleep.

  “Morning, you two.” Shannon came in; followed by a guy Aly had never seen.

  She sat up, combing out her hair with her fingers. It took her a second to realize that it was all stiff and that her blood still coated it.

  “I need to take a shower,” she announced, getting up. Her legs were hurting, but so were her arms and her whole body really.

  “Let me get a nurse,” Shannon offered, and Aly glared at her.

  “I can do it myself. If I don’t, they won’t let me see Jam,” she protested, and Shannon slowly nodded, looking like hell. She clearly had seen Jam already.

  “Before you go, you need to sign papers. That’s Kent. He works with the adoption agency. I’ve been making sure everything was ready in case the plan worked out.” She raised an eyebrow and Aly understood that the guy didn’t know what she talked about. Aly did, though. Shannon had somehow managed to get the signature on the custody papers.

  “You mean us coming down here. Too bad we got in the middle of a fight,” Aly replied calmly. She didn’t mind lying any longer. Alessandro would never return to the Karmisons and that was all that mattered.

  “Jamison Loane signed the papers to agree on you adopting his son. You need to sign, too, so that in case –”

  “Don’t.” Aly gave the guy a sharp look and then nodded at Alessandro, who was listening intently, then she arched a brow, holding out her hand.

  She was handed a pen and the papers, and her eyes fell on the second line, the one holding Jamison’s name. It was shaking and not nearly as masculine as she had seen previously, but it was there. He had been awake. It gave her hope.

  “Congratulations. Zack Karmison is now officially your son,” the guy said and then stepped back. Shannon was crying silently, and Aly thought about the fact that this probably was as hard for her as it was for Alessia. They all had hoped Jam could’ve been among them to enjoy that moment.

  “Thank you. For everything. For being here last night and getting his signature. For waiting for me to wake up.” The agency worker nodded and then left, telling her that he’d have the papers along. Shannon told him just to get everything to her and she’d deal with it. Aly didn’t mind, even though she knew she’d be in town until either Jam walked out of this hospital or … the second possibility she wasn’t even ready to consider.

  She vanished in the little bathroom then, glad that someone had brought her clothes. They didn’t exactly fit, but once she got out of the shower, she didn’t care any longer. Phil was there and so was Dorly. God, she had missed her friends.

  They stayed a few feet away, and she silently thanked them. Any hugs and she might start to scream.

  “Look, Mom, Phil’s here! And Dorly!” Alessandro held onto the two as if they were part of his home, and he couldn’t wait to be back there.

  “I know, Lesso.” She smiled, but with all the people that she loved in one room, she knew one person was missing. She had to see him now, had to say all that she wanted to tell him in case he … in case he never woke up again.

  “Philomena, can you maybe…” Was she really ready to go there?

  “Lesso, you can stay with Dorly for a few minutes, can you?” Aly asked, and Lesso looked at her, looking suddenly so much more grown up than the last time she had seen him. It scared her and made her worry that he had lost his innocence. It would be another loss she’d heavily grieve.

  “I wanna see Dad, too.” Aly gasped, bringing her hand to cover her mouth. “They said he’d never wake up again. Can I say good-bye? Isn’t that what you were going to do?” he asked, and she hesitated a moment before nodding.

  Taking his hand, she followed Phil out of the room. Her best friend definitely knew where she had to go, and Aly had a hard time ignoring how everyone looked at her. God, they knew. Hell, did everyone know? It wouldn’t be long until the handcuffs would click, that much she was sure of.

  “No, Dad …” The broken sob of her son pulled her mind back, and she gritted her teeth before turning to the open doorway of the intensive care unit. He was bandaged. Every little bit of him seemed to be covered one way or the other.

  Lesso didn’t care about hurting Jam; he just threw his little body over his father’s bed, sobbing hard. “I’m sorry for being a bad boy, Dad. I didn’t want you hurt. But they say you saved my mom. You’re a hero, Dad. My hero!”

  Aly was pissed at herself that she had been out enough that people obviously could say many things to her son. She understood that they all were trying to help, but she’d feel better if she could just shield him from all pain and the reminders for it.

  As if. She knew that was a dream, but it was all she had left.

  She and Phil stood in silence for a long time until Alessandro’s sobs ebbed away and he started to breathe regularly. “He fell asleep,” Aly whispered, and Phil nodded.

  “I’m gonna take him away. Be prepared to have nurses come in all the time. I’ll make a mention to give you some time, but he’s under strict supervision,” she explained. Aly didn’t care how many people would witness her misery. As it was, the whole town seemed to know about it anyway.

  She waited until her son and her best friend were gone, then she moved toward the bed, her knees giving out just as she reached it. All the tears, sobs, and fears she had held in over the last couple of weeks finally broke free until Aly was almost choking on her heartache. She clung to Jam’s hand—the only thing obviously not destroyed by the monster—and pressed it against her cheek.

  “Forgive me. I should’ve left when you told me to. I thought I’d be ready to protect you when all my life you’ve been protecting me. You deserved it. I was sure I’d be able to bear the pain for you. I failed.” She paused, trying to collect her thoughts. “Our whole ride has been ridiculous. Jamison, I just got you for the first time in my life, and now, I’m supposed to let you go again? How can I when I’ll never find out if maybe, just maybe we’d make pretty babies? I will never have the chance to show you how amazing you are. I
’ve seen the doubt in you, but Jam, you would’ve been an amazing dad. I don’t want to say good-bye. This is not good-bye.” She had to stop again, her voice breaking. She wanted to get up and kiss his cheek since a mask covered his lips, but her body wouldn’t move. She was kneeling in front of his bed as if she needed absolution and maybe that was exactly what it was.

  “You gave your life for me, and I wasn’t prepared. I’m still not. Come back to me, you stubborn idiot. See what you managed! See how the people react to you. Jamison, don’t leave me. This can’t be good-bye.”

  She had no idea how long she was there on the floor when a hand landed on her shoulder. She was too scared to turn around. If they took her away now because of the lies she had been telling, they all had been telling, Jam’s death seriously was for nothing. It couldn’t be.

  “I can’t go to prison,” she mumbled, not turning.

  “You won’t.” That voice sent shivers down her spine, and Aly jumped up, standing protectively in front of Jam. Not that anyone could harm him much more than he already was.

  “You need to leave,” Aly snarled, but the woman across from her shook her head.

  “I came here to tell you that we took it all back. I retracted the missing person’s case from back then. I told them we only filed that since we hadn’t had any idea about Jam having sole custody. As well, my daughter will be going to prison. With my husband God knows where, I think it’s time to do the right thing. There’s no real need for any of you to make a statement because if Jamison Loane should really die, it’ll be murder, but I still wanted to tell you that whatever comes, I will back you up. You, and not the monster my husband raised. She has no funds whatsoever whereas you and Alessandro …” Aly actually saw how Thea Karmison swallowed while saying that name, “will get all the assistance you need.”

  “I don’t want anything from you. You had your chance.”

  “I wanted my grandson. I thought you’d never allow me to see him because you know I’m a Karmison,” Thea admitted, and Aly couldn’t help but think she looked like a broken woman. And in so many ways that was probably true.