She put her arm around him and squeezed, then sighed heavily.
“Mrs. Harrison?” the night shift nurse opened the door.
Symóne raised her head up to see over Trevor as he turned to look as well.
“Sorry to disturb you. Just checking on you and making sure you don't need anything?” she asked.
“I'm a little thirsty.”
“Sure. I'll be right back,” she promised and left the room. She returned with a cup of ice and a bottle of juice.
Vince entered in behind her with a used gift bag and handed it to Trevor.
“Faye and Alex used Symóne's keys to go by your house and get you some comfortable clothes and shoes. Now I see why,” he chuckled.
Trevor stood and took the bag, a guilty smile on his face. The nurse left back out, giving them privacy and Trevor stepped inside the small bathroom that was in Symóne's room and changed into the pair of sweats and a t-shirt and the socks only. Since he planned on lying next to Symóne for the rest of the night, he left the sneakers in the bag.
“So what's going on?” he asked Vince and took a seat at the foot of Symóne's bed.
“The city has two officers at her room door, and a representative from the institute she escaped from, is here with one of their nurses to take her back when she is released. I have a guy in the hall and one that will follow them back to the state line. The State of Texas is sending an investigating team to the property to see if they can find any evidence of how and why she knew of this property and had access,” said Vince.
“Is she awake?” asked Trevor.
“She's out at the moment. She's going to need a day or two to fully recuperate.”
“Is she handcuffed to something?” Trevor checked. He really didn't want her to wake up and be able to overpower anyone and escape again.
“Absolutely. Both wrists, and shackles on her ankles,” Vince smiled at the relieved look on Trevor's face.
“Good,” he sighed. “So, I'm not going to be able to come into the office in the morning, but I can handle some paperwork from home. Do me a huge favor and ask Mike to get me another phone and get it all set up for me, then I need Gloria to send my case files by messenger to the house and call and reschedule all of my client meetings for tomorrow,” he breathed.
Symóne took his hand in an appreciative gesture. He gave her a gentle squeeze, then continued. “I know they are going to want to commandeer my Range Rover for investigative purposes, so I guess I'll be driving the Hummer for a while,” he snorted.
“Speaking of your Hummer…” Vince started but he was getting a call. “Yeah babe? Okay, give me ten minutes and I'll be on my way,” he smiled and ended the call.
“Where was I?” he smirked.
“My Hummer?”
“Oh, yes…it's in the parking lot. Alex said it was like driving a bus,” he chuckled. “…and he put Symóne's keys in the bag with your clothes.
“I got them, thanks,” said Trevor.
“Well, I've got to get going. If you think of anything else you may need, give me a holler,” Vince stood to leave.
“I will,” he said. “Hey Vince?” Trevor started.
“I know—” Vince started, but was interrupted.
“No, you couldn't possibly understand how much I appreciate you. If you hadn't taken matters into your own hands, I might be dead right now,” he sort of became choked up.
“I'll always have your back, Harrison. We may not be linked by blood, but going through law school together and building our firm gave us just as strong of a bond. I know you would have done it for me, and…I need you…you know, to take on the hard cases?” he chuckled, then darted out of the room before Trevor could react.
“You guys really are like brothers Trevor. I'm thankful to Vince too. I don't know what I would do without you,” Symóne exhaled.
Trevor turned to lay back down beside her and she turned over for him to cuddle with her.
Chapter 7
The next morning, the sun was beaming through the curtains of the hospital room. Her eyes squinted at the light and she jolted upright, realizing she was being restrained by a set of thick straps with buckles.
“What the hell?” she screeched.
“Yeah, you're not going anywhere until we are ready for you to go back to where you belong,” said the administrator from the institute where she resides.
“Ow! My leg…it hurts!” she snarled at the nurse she had seen every day for an entire year until she escaped six months ago.
“Well, if you hadn't run off, those snakes wouldn't have sunk their teeth into you, now would they? Now settle down and let the nurse take a look at your wounds,” she insisted.
“Where's Trevor?” Lori demanded, lifting her head as far up as she could.
“He's not your concern. We need to work on you, Lori.”
“But…I…need him,” she whined, letting her head fall back to the pillow.
“We talked about this before. You don't need him to get your life back in order. You can do this without Trevor. He's a married man and has moved on. It's time for you to move on too, Lori. We are going to help you do that,” she explained.
Lori looked at her, then looked at the shackles on her legs and straps on her wrists. She teared up and began to sniffle.
“You don't understand. Trevor would have stayed with me if he knew. I just know he would have. He only needs to remember what we had. He'll come back to me, I just needed a little more time with him,” she cried.
“Lori, I do understand what you are going through. But you must realize that a lot of time has passed. Trevor is not going to give up a perfectly good life that he's worked to build, to start over with you. Now, because of this stunt you've pulled, you get to start your sessions all over again from the beginning. I had high hopes for you, but now we'll just have to wait and see,” the administrator explained.
“Okay,” Lori sighed. “Mrs. Jean? Before we go…may I please see Trevor one last time? I want to apologize for my behavior,” she asked softly.
“You know I don't believe you. However, he has requested to see you before we leave,” she told her and had to chuckle at the look on Lori's face. Her eyes lit up like fireworks in the sky, and she looked to be mildly hyperventilating.
“He still cares,” she sniffled, then lay back and waited while they prepped her for travel.
An orderly came in the room and brought up the clothes the administrator had requested for Lori's trip back to Georgia. While they took extreme caution in getting her dressed as they kept her contained and in restraints, an agent came in and asked for the Administrator to step outside the room.
She ordered her assistant to remain with Lori and the officers, and commanded that they keep a close eye on her. None of them were to make a move while she was out of the room.
When she stepped outside, Trevor and Symóne were waiting to speak with her. The first words out of her mouth were, “I'm so sorry for what you've both been through. We will do everything in our power to make sure it doesn't happen again,” she vowed.
“Thank you. But, I want to talk to you first before I talk to Lori,” said Trevor.
“Okay, lets hear it,” she urged him.
“The person that I was subjected to out there, was not the person I knew a long time ago. She told me about the baby and the Leukemia. Is that the only thing that drove her over the edge?” he asked her.
The woman inhaled a deep breath and shook her head no. “That is what initially started her downward spiral into depression. She was eighteen, about to be a mom, her parents were pushing her to continue her college education and pretty much took her son from her as soon as he was born. She loved you…she was in love with you, but didn't want you to only come back just for the baby. She never forgave herself for leaving him with her parents. They were good parents to him, but when they found out about the Leukemia just after he turned nine, they had told her that she needed to have her bone marrow tested to see if she was a match.
At the time, Lori was a very successful surgeon who was heavily engrossed in her career. They had asked her to contact you to be tested as well, but she told them that you had refused. She also told them that she would get tested, but put them and her son off for a long time after that. It wasn't until he became deathly ill and had struggled through several painful transplants that she even became concerned enough to finally come for a visit. He had been asking for her, pleading with her to spend time with him. However, through our sessions, we came to find that she had a hard time being around someone that reminded her so much of you,” she glanced at Symóne, then back to Trevor and continued. “You see Trevor, Lori has pictures of her son, and from an infant up until his passing, he looks quite identical to you. She took it hard—you being her first and then leaving without turning back. Not even for so much as a hey, how's it going? Or anything,” she paused briefly for a much needed breath, but she was on a time schedule. “Anyway, I'm not blaming you, because she could have very well told you about the pregnancy. We've tried many times to explain that if you were as driven as she claimed you were, and had set off to pursue a career, that it wasn't about abandoning her, it was about you finding yourself. There was no way that an eighteen year old boy would think that he needed to check on his ex-girlfriend unless she contacted him and told him there was a problem. She didn't…excuse me, doesn't see it that way. All she knows is that if given another chance to make things right, she would jump at it and give it all she has,” she finally finished.
Symóne had moved in closer beside Trevor during the conversation and clung on to his arm. She was displaying possessive behavior and her mind was on the defensive.
Trevor's head fell back as he exhaled a large gush of wind from his lungs, then looked to the administrator. “I want to see her and speak to her. I think that maybe if I apologize for not checking up on her, that maybe she can move on?” he checked with her.
“No. Absolutely not. If you apologize, then she will feel justified in her actions. Also, I think if you say anything to her at all, it should only be that she should continue to get help to move through the past, and…that you will absolutely not change your life or give up what you have for her. If you leave any type of opening of hope between the two of you, she will only look for ways to continue to pursue you,” she warned Trevor.
“I can do that. I tried before, but she had a knife,” he sort of dry chuckled and the woman didn't crack a smile.
“Trevor I must warn you…well, advise you against this visit. Even more so, I absolutely have to forbid your wife from entering this room. She is the opposition and physically displaying what Lori wants most in this world. It could set her off and make our trip home more difficult than I'm willing to put up with,” she stated.
Symóne squeezed Trevor's hand, not wanting him to go in that room, at least not without her. She was curious to see what this woman looked like face to face. She needed to see for herself that there was no connection still there between her husband and his ex.
He turned to face her, holding her face between his hands. Looking into her eyes he sighed, “If I don't at least try to give her closure, I'll feel guilty and I just can't bear to let anything get in the way of our happiness,” he whispered to her.
Her shoulders dropped and she stepped away from his side.
“I promise, I won't be long,” he assured her.
He and the woman walked back inside the room and just before the door shut, Symóne could hear the excitement in Lori's voice.
“Trevor! I knew you'd come back for me!” she squealed with excitement. She reached for him, but was stopped abruptly by her restraints. He was taken off guard at the sight of her being tied up the way she was, just like a true mental patient.
“Hi Lori,” he said without a smile. Remembering what the administrator said about not giving her hope.
Symóne crept up to the door and peeked through the small window to get a look at this woman, careful not to be seen.
“Did you change your mind?” she asked him, practically bouncing on the bed.
“No. I just wanted to make sure that you survived the snake bite, and to let you know that it's a good thing that you are getting the help you need,” he told her.
Her face frowned, then she looked shocked.
“But, I…thought that you came to take me home with you?”
“No Lori. I have a life—a wife,” he exhaled. “I moved on a long time ago, and like I told you before, you need to move on as well. There's nothing I can or will do for you. It's been over for a long time and you have to go. Forget about trying to correct the past. That part of our lives is gone. You have to start fresh, somewhere else, with someone new,” he told her.
She looked down, sadness on her face. She turned her head away and sighed.
“Goodbye Lori,” he said, simple as that and turned to walk out of the door.
“Wait, Trevor?” she began.
He only paused and half turned to look at her.
“It will never be over! I'll be back…I promise!” she smiled at him, then looked past him to the window, spotting Symóne. She winked at her, then waved with a smirk on her face.
Trevor rushed outside the door and took Symóne in his arms and embraced her for a long moment. He took her by the hand and started out to the parking lot to his Hummer and they got in and headed home. On the way there, Symóne mumbled something under her breath, clearly upset. Trevor thought he'd heard her words, but wasn't quite sure.
“What was that?” he asked.
She drew in a gush of air, “I said…you should have just left her for dead! Now we'll be worried if or when she may escape again! Why do you always have to be so noble?” she complained.
“Babe, please don't stress. We have connections in Georgia as well. I'll have someone check on her status daily and inform me immediately if there is a threat.”
“It's always so simple for you. Just call in a favor and it's done. Just like that!” she snapped her fingers.
He reached over and took her hand in his and pulled it up to his mouth and kissed the back of it. Then he remained silent the rest of the trip home, which worried Symóne.
Was she angry at him or just hormonal? She just wanted to be able to relax and enjoy her marriage and bringing their children into a safe and healthy atmosphere.
Trevor turned into the driveway and parked, then got out and went around to open the door for Symóne. When she got out, he took her hand again and walked with her inside of the house. Still no spoken words, only loving gestures. As they entered, Trevor led Symóne up to their bathroom and ran a hot bath for her, filling it with relaxing bubbles and oil.
Symóne leaned back against the counter, waiting, curious of what his plans were. He leaned back against the counter next to her and folded his arms across his chest and watched as the water fill the tub.
When it was almost full, he walked over and turned off the water, then turned to face his wife. He stepped right up to face her and began undressing her, then led her to sit in the tub. Once she was in, he handed her a bath sponge and a new bottle of body wash then turned to leave the bathroom.
“Trevor wait!” she called out.
He stopped and turned to face her. “Yes?”
“I'm sorry…for snapping at you earlier,” she sighed.
“No, don't apologize. You have every right to be upset. Because of me, you have gone through some pretty horrible events,” he said with sadness. “Because of you, I'm going to fix it,” he said and walked out of the bathroom.
He went down to the kitchen and made brunch for her. Oatmeal with fruit was one of her favorites, and hot cocoa seemed to satisfy her craving for coffee. He put the bowl and cup of cocoa on a bed tray and headed back upstairs. Sitting the tray on a table by the window in their bedroom, he returned to the bathroom to check on her to see if she had finished bathing.
“Hey there, are you about finished?” he asked.
She nodded and stood to rinse the suds
from the bubbles off of her. He went over to help, then wrapped a large bath sheet around her, then suggested she get comfortable and back in bed as the doctor had suggested for the next couple of days.
She put on a cotton teddy from the dresser and moisturized her body, then crawled in bed—her face concerned.
“Trevor?”
“Yes babe?”
“What did you mean by fix it?”
“Just that. I'm going to fix it. You don't need to worry and I don't want you to worry,” he brought the tray over to her and placed it on her lap, then sat down beside her. He reached up to pull her now below the shoulder length hair behind her ears to get a better look at her face. She was everything to him, and nothing or no one was going to take her away.
Symóne began to eat, as she was starved from skipping breakfast at the hospital. All she wanted to do was get home and into her own clothes and bed. She finished the oatmeal then sat back to drink her hot cocoa.
“Do you want more?” he asked.
She looked up in thought, “Yes, I do,” she breathed.
He smiled at her, then took the tray back down with him and made more. Symóne got up and went to her closet bracing for the mess she had left when she threw the tantrum that sent her to the emergency room, but everything was back to normal.
“…Faye,” she smiled. Then turned off the light and went back to bed before Trevor returned.
The doorbell rang and Trevor went to answer it, seeing a courier from the firm standing on the other side.
“Good morning Mr. Harrison,” he spoke as he handed the package to Trevor.
“Good morning Devin,” he greeted, reaching for the package.
“Mike said that this was the same model phone as before, and that he installed all of your apps and contact lists. He also said that anything that went to your old phone before it lost connection, is on there as well,” he relayed, then turned to go back to his car.
“Thanks Devin,” he said, then closed and locked the door.
Hostile Vengeance Page 7
