by S. Moose
“I’m good, thank you for asking. Everything here is beautiful.”
“Ahhh yes, they did a nice job didn’t they? Well you two go mingle and dinner should be served shortly.”
As we start to walk back, I see Dr. Henry talking to a group of people. I was going to go over and say hi but he looks busy. We make our way back to the table with Connor and Erin. “I am so happy for you!”
Erin starts to squeal. “I know! He is so sweet!” She gives my hand a tight squeeze. “Let’s have fun tonight. No drama.”
“No drama!”
The wait staff serves dinner to us, and everything looks amazing. We all have chicken and shrimp with Milanese sauce and grilled fennel with wild rice. Everyone is dressed so nicely and it feels great to be out in public. Right as we are about to finish dinner; Frank steps up to the podium.
“Good evening everyone. I would like to say thank you so much for joining us this evening.” There is a light applause. “I created Optimax four years ago and am proud to say we have expanded throughout the nation.” Everyone starts to clap. I can’t believe Adam’s family owns Optimax. A surge of anger starts to fill my insides. Why didn’t he tell me? After everything I told him and what we talked about, he kept this from me. I knew something was going on! I want to get up and leave but my body is stuck to the chair. I take in a breath and let it out slowly. I turn to grab my glass of water and see Connor staring at me. He raises his eyebrows and mouths, “Understand.” I take a sip of the lemon water and slowly turn to face Frank. “Thank you, thank you. Now as most of you know, last year I suffered a heart attack. Without the prayers from all of you and the strength of my beautiful wife and sons, I would not be standing here before you. My doctor said stress was a main factor. Who knew? I would like to say thank you for all of your kind words and wishing me well, but I have decided to step down as CEO.” There is a gasp and everyone looks confused. I look over at Adam and see a nervous expression on his face. I’m not sure why he looks nervous but I have a bad feeling. “Now I would like everyone to please put your hands together for my sons Adam and Connor Simpson, as they will take over the business.”
I look over at Adam, shocked. I can’t believe what I just heard. I quickly get up from the table and storm off to the balcony. Right when I get outside, I start crying. Was I chosen for the position on my own merits, or did Adam convince his dad to bring me on? Everything makes sense now. Adam always wanted to help me with my plans.
“Sophia?” He softly says. “Please don’t leave.”
I turn around with flames in my eyes. “What the hell Adam! Why didn’t you tell me? Did you convince your dad to have Dr. Henry hire me on?” I yell at him with such hurt and agony in my voice.
“Sophia, please stop and listen to me.” He walks toward me but I move away. “Sophia. I didn’t have anything to do with you being hired. You impressed Dr. Henry; and dad and I monitored your progress. We all agreed to have you come onboard. Dad thought it best not let you know what was going on and I agreed. You have to believe me.”
I shake my head. “No.” I turn back around and start walking away when he takes my arms and pulls me to his chest. “Adam let me go!”
“Baby, stop running, ok, I didn’t do anything wrong. Why are you being so complicated? I keep trying to make us work but it seems like you find any excuse to leave me. I told you tonight everything would be explained, and it has. I moved back from Boston because of what happened with my dad’s health, and to be with you. I’m here now and I’ve waited too long without you. You are my life. Why can’t you see that?”
“I do, but this all makes sense now. You lied to me Adam.” I try to wiggle out of his arms.
“Baby, I didn’t lie to you. I just didn’t tell you because everything was under wraps. Please stop trying to find excuses to leave me.”
“I’m not making any excuses Adam!” My voice is shaking and I feel betrayed. “You just don’t get it!” I push him away and start running down the stairs. I don’t know where I am going but I don’t care. I wonder what else he has lied about. All of a sudden, I feel arms around me lifting me up from the ground. “Ugh, let me go!” I try to wiggle away from him again. He carries me to a dark alley and finally puts me down. I shove him, “You do not get to treat me like a child, Adam!”
He takes my hands and looks at me. He grits his teeth, “Then stop acting like one, Sophia! I did not do anything wrong! Yes my dad started the company and yes I am taking over, but you earned this position on your own!”
“Let me go now,” I seethe. “I don’t believe anything you have to say to me. I don’t want this anymore. I’d rather be alone than be with someone who lies to me.” I yank my arms from him.
“Is that what you want?” My heart breaks when I hear his voice. I turn around and see the hurt in his eyes. “You want me gone, Sophia?”
“No Adam, it is not what I want, but I don’t know what to do. I mean I feel like you purposely kept this from me or something.” I throw my hands in the air and give him an exhausted look.
“Sweetheart, I know you’re mad right now but can we please just go back to the party and talk about this later? Please? Do this for my parents?”
I sigh and realize I can’t make a scene at their party. He takes my hand as we walk back into the party. The night flies by and I stand by Adam as several people congratulate him on his success. I put on a smile and pretend as if nothing happened. It is hard but it is what I have to do. “I’ll be back; I have to go to the bathroom.”
He gives me kiss. “Ok, pretty girl.”
I touch his face but I am still upset. I don’t want to keep fighting but he needs to understand how I feel. I open the door to the bathroom and walk over to the sink to fix my hair and makeup. I go into my purse to grab some lip-gloss. When I look up again, Kyle is right behind me. “Kyle? Oh my God, what are you doing here?”
“I saw you with him. You just broke up with me Sophia and now you’re kissing him.” He takes my hair and pulls me back. “You’re mine and always will be.”
I try to get out of his grip but he has a strong hold on me. I start to cry. “Kyle, let me go please.”
He throws me on the floor and gets on top of me. “I told you that you can never leave me.” He rips off the necklace and throws it. I cannot stop crying and I am so scared. He starts to tear apart my dress. It takes every ounce of me to push him off. I get up and try to run out but Kyle is too quick for me. He takes my head and pushes it against the wall. I fall to the floor. Kyle starts kicking me in the stomach. The pain gets worse with each blow. I’m out of breath and try to push him away. I feel helpless. I scream as loud as I can but Kyle’s hand covers my mouth. I bite it, hard. That just makes him even madder. He punches me in the face a few times. My eyes are swollen and it is hard to see. “You bitch; you will never be anyone else’s!” His feet lands on my face and then I feel him get on top of me again. I open my eyes and suddenly his fist lands on me repeatedly. I start crying and whimpering but nothing is working to get him off. He punches me again and all I see is darkness.
Chapter 17
There is a garden full of lilies and roses. The smell is soothing. I look around and there is no one around. Just me, and I am not sure where I am, but everything seems peaceful and calm. I start walking around. I pick up a rose and breathe in the lovely scent. I close my eyes and feel nothing but light. I take my time to open my eyes and feel love. I feel safe.
“Hi Sophia.”
I know that voice-that beautiful warm voice that used to sing me to sleep when I was younger. That voice which would help me through the bad days. Mom. I quickly turn around, “Mommy?” She is standing in front of me dressed so beautifully in a white dress. I run to her and give her a hug. I am unsure how this is going on, but I don’t care. “Mommy… is it really you?”
“Oh sweetheart, yes,” she lets me go and puts her hand on my cheek. “You are so beautiful Sophia. I have missed you oh so much.”
“Mom I miss you too,
but what is going on?”
She leads me to the bench underneath the tree. “Sweetheart, you’re dreaming right now.”
“What?”
My mom starts laughing. “Oh honey. We don’t have long but I want to make sure you know that I am so proud of you. Look at you sweetheart. You’re graduating soon and landed your dream job. And you even got the guy.” She nudges my arm and winks. Hearing her say these things to me, gosh, I don’t even know how to feel. I make her proud. “I want you to live your life and be the woman I know you can be. I want you to remember never think that you’re alone. You have so many people who love you and want to be here for you. Sweetheart, I know I left you too soon but don’t let that stop you from living. Follow your heart sweetheart and just keep looking up in the skies for me. I love you so much Sophia.”
I start to cry. “I love you too Mom.”
She gets up and looks down at me. “Go back to your life sweetheart. It is too soon for you to be here. We will be together one day.”
I slowly start to open my eyes. I see machines all over and a needle in my arm. I feel strange and groggy. Everything around me is unfamiliar. I try to remember what happened but my mind is blank. I turn my head slightly to the right and see my dad and Sarah in the corner. Adam is sitting beside me sleeping. I take my hand and touch his face. He quickly lifts his head and I see the suffering in his eyes. “Hi.” My voice is hoarse and dry. I need water now!
“Sophia? Oh my God, baby.” He gets up and puts his head to mine. “You’re awake.” His longing gaze is on me. How long have I been unconscious? I try to stretch but everything feels stiff and tight.
My dad and Sarah run over and I see tears in their eyes. “What happened?”
“Honey you were found in the bathroom unconscious. Someone did this to you and I want to know who!” My dad’s voice is shaking. Oh no! I can’t believe this. I look at everyone and cannot believe what is going on. I remember Kyle on top of me. He is hitting me repeatedly. I can’t move or scream. “Kyle. He did this to me.” I turn my head away. I feel small again.
“I’m going to fucking kill him!” Adam pushes back the chair he was sitting in as I watch it fall to the ground. I pull in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Maybe if Adam sees me calm he will feel better too. Nothing can change what happened. There is a wave of tension in the air and I hate it.
“Adam stop.” I feel weak and try to get up but the horrible pain runs through my body. “Ow.” I feel the bandage around my body.
“Baby,” Adam sits down beside me. “I am so sorry this happened and that I wasn’t there for you.” I look over at my poor Adam and break apart for putting that look on his face. It is not his fault and I need him to understand that.
“Son this isn’t your fault.” My dad starts patting his shoulder. Sarah comes over and sits down next to me too. “You had me so scared, Soph.” Sarah kisses my forehead and I close my eyes. If everyone could relax and be calm, everything will be fine. I’m alive! Yes, I’m hurt and yes Kyle did this, but, I’m still here. I’m not going anywhere.
“I’m sorry.” I feel weak and tired. I just want to go to sleep. All of the commotion is getting to me. My anxiety rears its ugly head. I count to ten in my head and close my eyes. I find my happy place and feel the weight of the tension lift off me.
Sarah takes my hand and shakes her head, “Stop honey, this isn’t your fault.”
My dad places his hand on my shoulder. “Honey, I’m going to get the doctor. Sarah come with me sweetie.”
They leave the room leaving Adam and I alone. I look up and see tears in his eyes. “Hey it is ok. I’m fine.” I take his hand and gently squeeze.
“Sweetheart, you were in a coma for four days.” What? Four days! What the hell happened to me? “I was so scared. When I found you lying on that floor I fell apart. I’m sorry for fighting with you.” He thumbs my cheek and I lean into his hand. This is my heaven, Adam. “Please tell me you’re still mine?” I hear the plea in his voice, the want and need is so profound. How could I ever leave him? We are in this together, forever Adam. Open your eyes and realize that throughout all the shit we go through, we will always find our way back to each other. No more running and no more hiding, this is it. This is me. This is us. His words hit me hard. We were fighting before this happened and I could have died. I do not want our last memories to be of us fighting. “I will always be yours Adam.” I bring his hand down to mine as we hold our look. There are mixed feelings of sadness and happiness in his eyes and I want to take that sadness away from him. I want him to understand that he is it. “Shhhh, it is ok, I’m here now. I will never leave you. Please no more fighting.” I struggle to talk but I need him to hear me. “I’m sorry that I freaked out on you. I just hate that you didn’t tell me everything.” I take in a deep breath. “But can we start over? No more fighting please?”
He takes my hand again and caresses my face, “Of course.” He kisses my hand and keeps his lips on me for a while. I didn’t mean for all of this to happen. I did not want him to worry about me. “Soph, I am not going to let anything bad happen to you. Do you understand? I’m yours forever and I will protect you from any pain and evil from now until the day I die. I love you.”
“I love you too.” I respond back without hesitation. The heart monitor speeds up and we start laughing. God, I love this man. I cannot ever get enough of him.
He puts his head on my shoulder as I gently stroke his head. A few minutes later, a nurse walks in. “Hi darling. My name is Nancy. Sophia, how are you feeling?”
“I’m ok but I um… need to use the bathroom.” I look at Adam and he gets the point.
He points to the door and has a sly smirk on his face. “I’ll just be in the hall.”
When he leaves, Nancy readjusts me and gets me ready to get up to use the bathroom. This is so uncomfortable. After the most embarrassing few minutes of my life, she helps me get up and leads me to the bathroom. After I’m done, I look in the mirror and am horrified. There are bruises all over my face and my cheeks are swollen. How could Kyle do this to me? I look away. I can’t look at my reflection. I cry alone in the bathroom. My hands grip the sink and the white in my knuckles start to show. “Calm down Sophia. It is not worth it. Breathe.” My voice is low. I don’t want Nancy to hear me. The sound of my own voice calms me. I cannot let this get to me anymore. I need to fight back.
I open the bathroom door and Nancy helps me back in bed. “Thank you so much.”
“Oh honey, my pleasure. Now if you need anything just press this button. Now Dr. Hendricks will be right in to give you an update. Feel better honey.”
I smile at her as she leaves the room. Adam and Sarah come in and sit beside me. “How are you feeling, baby sister?” Sarah looks exhausted. I want everyone to understand that I’m ok. The most important thing is I’m alive.
“I’m still sore but I’m ok.” I look at both of them and need to tell them to stop worrying. “You guys I’m ok. So please stop.”
Sarah starts to cry out. “You aren’t ok! You could have died Sophia. Why didn’t you tell us Kyle was like this?”
Feeling like a child that is being scolded by their parent; I lean back on the bed and close my eyes. This is not what I want to deal with. “I don’t know. I don’t want anyone to worry about me.”
Adam holds my hand tighter. “He is not coming near you again, baby. He will pay for this.” I know Adam cannot let go of this but he cannot put his focus on Kyle. He needs to focus on our future and us. “I can’t believe I didn’t protect you.”
I close my eyes again and look away from everyone. “Please stop.” I whisper. This needs to stop. I cannot live like this anymore. “No, stop please. No more drama, I just want to move on with my life!” The tremble in my voice startles everyone. I lean back and keep my eyes close. Everything will be better, it has to be.
Dr. Hendricks comes in the room with a clipboard. “Why hello Sophia, how are you feeling today?”
I slowly sit up
a little so I can talk to him, “A little sore, but ok.”
“Well that’s normal. We ran many tests and I would like to let you know you haven’t suffered any permanent damage. Your ribs are still bruised, so we will need to keep them bandaged but other than that you should be all right. Now you will experience some headaches but if you start to feel dizzy or vomit, please come right back.” He comes over to the side of my bed and does a quick examination. “You will be released tomorrow, but for now get lots of rest.”
“Thanks doctor.” He simply smiles and walks out of the room. “Alright guys, see I am fine!”
“Well you won’t be until we find Kyle.” Adam starts to say. “I don’t want you to ever be alone.”
“Sophia do you understand that? Sophia you are not to be alone at all until he is found, ok?” Sarah’s unsteady voice starts to make me nervous.
