Abby nods, disbelief marring her worried features, as she carefully regards the scared tears in Aliah’s eyes.
“He’s not in the clear just yet. They got him out of the car, but he took in a lot of water before they got him on land. They’ve had to revive him twice already. It’s a good sign. He’s fighting.”
Aliah shakes her head, as the tears come pouring out of her eyes.
“The doctors wanted to run some tests, to figure out why he’s not waking up.”
“I have to see him,” Aliah states. When she stands from her bed, her knees fail her. She drops to the floor, plucking the intravenous from her wrist. She wants to cry some more. Everything is so out of control. She takes a deep breath and stands on shaky legs.
“At least let me help you,” Abby says, grabbing onto her elbow.
Abby helps her walk down the hall and stops at the double doors that lead to the intensive care rooms. “I just need to use the restroom. The baby’s been putting so must pressure on my bladder these days. Wait for me?”
Aliah nods, but she has no intention of waiting for her. The second Abigail disappears into the bathroom, Aliah squirts the hand sanitizer into her palm and waves at the nurse on the other side of the glass who has just started her shift. Aliah quickly hides her bloody wrist and smiles at the woman, who watches her as she passes. Aliah walks quickly past her and ignores the other severely injured patients and their traumatized family members, searching for the room bearing Harley’s name.
When she turns the corner and stops at the room where Harley’s expected to be, she holds her breath and covers her mouth. She wonders if she’ll ever breathe again. It’s his room, according to the white marker board with his full name plastered across it.
David H. Gates.
But there’s no Harley there.
Tears flood her cheeks, as she assesses the room with a blood splattered floor and an empty bed. “No!”
Aliah means to scream, but it comes out as a heartbreaking whisper. Then she falls back down to weakened knees. The worst of all feelings balls in the pit of her stomach, squeezing on her insides with a death grip. She swallows to moisten her dry throat, but she is too terrified to speak. Does she want to know how he died? Was he in pain?
A nurse approaches her and shoves her aside, causing her to get to her feet. The woman pulls the curtains closed with a huff.
“You aren’t supposed to be in here. Please go back to your room, Miss.”
Bitch.
As if Aliah weren’t already cool from the slit in the back of her pale blue hospital gown, a chill overtakes her body, making her tremble violently. Abby comes running and grabs onto her arm.
“What’s wrong? You said you would wait.”
“I lied. Please take me to my room.” The breathless request causes Abby concern. Aliah can see it in her eyes.
Aliah mopes back to her room, preparing herself to ask Abby for the truth. She hopes the stitch in her side is not a sign of the truth. She crawls into her bed, ready to cry the rest of her life away, but tears don’t come.
“What is it, Ally? What did you see?”
“Blood. He’s gone.”
“What? Are you sure?”
Aliah turns away, to grieve in silence, but when she glances towards the door, Hannah’s standing there. She looks completely lost. Aliah smears her tears away and holds her hands out to her.
Hannah comes running into the room and latches onto Aliah with a hug that is so real. “I’m scared, Ally.”
Aliah closes her eyes, pinching her tears off. She smoothes her hand over Hannah’s hair. “I’m scared too,” she whispers.
Abby steps toward the door, instantly picking up on the connection. “I’ll give you two a minute.”
“I’m so sorry, Hannah. It’s all my fault. He’s dead and it’s all my fault.”
“What?” Hannah’s eyes light up. “No! He’s not dead. He’s awake!”
Aliah sits there in shock for a few seconds, taking in Hannah’s smiling face. “But the blood. The floor was covered in it.” As she inspects Hannah’s expression, she notices a few scratches on her face and a dark bruise forming on her neck.
“It was my blood,” she admits, looking horrified.
“Who? Abby told me the police had caught Brandee up the road.”
“Jillian.”
That name echoes through Aliah’s head for what seems like an eternity.
“It was Jillian all along,” Hannah explains.
Aliah becomes very confused. “I want to see him. I have to see him.” She moves the blankets aside, and drops her feet to the cold floor. “Where is he? Can you take me to him? Please?” she begs.
“Uh…” The smile leaves Hannah’s face in an instant. She doesn’t know what to say.
“What is it, Hannah? What’s wrong?”
When she doesn’t answer, Aliah pulls on a robe and heads for the nurses’ station. The woman there recognizes her, but she doesn’t look real impressed by the intrusion.
“I understand Harley, I mean David Gates, has been moved out of intensive care. You can tell him I’m ready to see him now.”
The nurse mulls over that information for a minute. “I’m sorry,” she pauses, choosing her words wisely. “You can’t go in there.”
Like hell!
“Then I’ll wait.”
“I’m sorry, but you’ll be waiting a while.” She is only being honest. “I really am sorry. But his visitors are restricted to immediate family only.”
Aliah hears the words, but it’s not computing. “Tell him I’m here. I need to see him.” Aliah moves to shove the nurse aside, but the woman plants herself firmly in front of her and softly clutches her wrist.
“Please don’t make a scene, Miss Brooklin. I need you to take a seat.”
“Why won’t you people just let me see my man?” Aliah throws up her hands and takes the first seat at the edge of the waiting room. If it means seeing Harley sooner, then she will suck it up and do it.
The nurse takes her hand this time, crouching down next to her. Aliah shifts with discomfort, but lets the nurse keep her hand. This can’t be good.
“I know how anxious you must feel. I can see how much you love him. But I have strict orders to keep you out of there. I’m so sorry, but he doesn’t want to see you.”
Aliah is flabbergasted, a blank expression coloring her canvass. That is the last thing she expects to hear. “That’s B.S. I’m going to see him. She rips her hand away and takes three fast steps in the direction Hannah had come.
“He’s suffered a serious trauma,” the nurse shouts after her. “Any distress will cause a serious setback.”
Aliah stops in her tracks and closes her eyes. She knows she’s a selfish person. She wants to ignore the woman and be selfish. She wants to run into Harley’s arms and tell him how much she loves him, but she can’t do that to him. She can’t hurt him anymore.
She can’t believe this is happening. This is all her fault. Maybe that’s why he doesn’t want to see her. She’s caused him too much pain. She’s pushed him too far. It’s over for her.
Aliah tries to open her eyes, but she feels like she’s floating underwater. She hears Hannah’s voice approaching her, but she can’t respond and it sounds so distant.
“Are you okay, Ally? My dad doesn’t know what he’s thinking.”
Those are the last words she hears before she collapses onto the floor.
Hannah manages to just barely break her fall, as a nurse rushes toward her with a wheelchair. Aliah is immediately returned to a hospital bed.
This time, when Aliah’s eyes reopen, he’s there. She must be dreaming. Maybe she’s dead.
“Am I in heaven?” she asks softly.
Harley chuckles, and it tugs at her heart.
She didn’t think she was ever going to hear that handsome voice again. She waits for him to say something, but he doesn’t speak and he doesn’t move.
“Maybe this is hell,” Aliah says aloud, n
ot quite trusting her eyes. “You don’t want to see me. You don’t care to talk to me.” She starts crying, having lost all her hardness over the past 24 hours. She hates being so weak.
Harley brings his hand to his chin, his finger pressing over his lips when he finally speaks. “I didn’t think it would land you back in a hospital bed.”
Was he talking to her?
Her spine stiffens, but she ignores him, and continues to talk to herself. “I can see why he wouldn’t want to ever see me again.” She clears her throat and smears away the tears. “I’d hate me too.”
He wheels closer to her. Her eyes flash forward and meet his.
She doesn’t know what is real anymore. Harley’s in a wheelchair?
“I don’t hate you, Aliah.” His voice is gruff. “Now quit talking like that.”
“But… you…” She can’t even spit out the words.
He doesn’t hate me!
“I thought it’d be best if I stayed away from you for a while. I damn near killed you. Someone else can do better by you.”
Aliah scowls at him fiercely. “I don’t want someone else. I want you, Harley. Don’t you get it?”
Harley looks stunned. “After how I’ve hurt you? I can’t be trusted.”
“That’s it?” She tries to make eye contact with him, but her eyes don’t quite reach his. “You just expect me to turn my back and walk away? What, you don’t want me anymore?”
“I never said that.” He answers as if Aliah has accused him of something horrible.
“No, you said you don’t want to see me. You want to stay away from me. But here you are.”
“Here I am.”
Aliah presses her hand against her forehead and instantly regrets it. There’s a rather large bump there and what feels like a handful of stitches. She drops her hand to the bed, leaving her tired eyes shut.
“What are we doing here? It started out all in good fun, and I’ve tried hard – really hard – to stay detached. But I think it’s clear that we’ve gotten a little closer than either of us ever planned,” she admits.
“Maybe a little,” he teases, with a growly voice.
“I’m glad you find this so funny. That sound you just heard is my heart breaking. This, after I promised I wouldn’t do this.”
Harley smiles, but his face turns serious as he lifts his body out of the wheelchair and moves closer to her. “You don’t find love, Aliah.”
She looks away, terrified to see the heat in his eyes, but he lifts her chin with his index finger until her eyes meet his.
“It finds you.”
His mouth looks warm and inviting, and when he touches his lips to hers, she confirms that it is. She tries to erect a hard expression on her face, but she finds herself softening beneath him as he touches his tongue to hers. The more his mouth moves, the harder her heart hurts. She can’t possibly live without this.
Depression tugs at her hospital gown. What she really needs is a stiff drink and a drunk Harley moving inside her. There’s no insecurity when she finds that place.
A nurse enters the door and starts shouting at them, as their kiss grows more emotional and demanding.
“Mr. Gates! You’re in no condition to be standing.” The nurse rushes to the bedside and pulls him back, parting their lips, as she helps him into the seat of his wheelchair. She gently rolls him away from the bed like a scorned elderly man. His angled smile is breathtaking.
“Miss Brooklin can really use the rest. She can’t handle what you have to offer her right now,” the nurse insists. “If it’s a matter of the heart, then it will wait.”
Aliah presses her lips together, not quite allowing her smile to show through, as her man is escorted out of the room. She’s almost afraid to be left alone, not knowing how many more crazy bastards are out there to harm her. Who else is in on this conspiracy to get her and everyone she loves?
When Mitchell knocks quietly at the door, she gladly welcomes him.
“What was that all about?” he asks.
Aliah shakes her head. “Don’t ask.”
Mitchell comes right up to her bedside and takes a seat on the edge. He’s so heavy she feels the bed slant toward him. “I think I need a break from all of the drama in Rose Arbour. Do you want to come with me?”
Aliah smiles. The idea sounds great, but the thought of moving away from Harley rips at her heart. “What do you have in mind?”
Mitchell smiles, loving that she’s considering it, even if only to appease him. “I’ve been thinking about opening a new night club in Collingwood. I’d have to spend some time there to get it up and running anyway. Now’s probably as good a time as ever to do that.”
“That’s where Abby’s ex is moving. You must know Cameron Clarke. It’s definitely a nice place.”
“So, you’ll come with me?” He sounds wistful, but he already knows her answer.
“I think I have some unfinished business here that needs attended to.”
Mitchell sighs, admitting to himself that she’s taken. “I figured as much.”
“We’ll miss you here,” Aliah insists.
He smirks. “I really don’t think Harley will miss me at all.”
He’s got that right!
“Okay, then I’ll miss you.” She really will. Who will be there to give her free drinks and a friendly ear when he’s gone?
Mitchell shares a really big smile with her. “I’ll miss you too, Ally. What are you going to do without me?”
“I really don’t know.”
“This thing you have going on with David Gates, is that something you see turning more serious? You two have been seeing each other for a while now. I’m sure you’ve thought about it.”
Aliah smiles softly. “I try not to. I’m afraid I’ve jumped a little too high, too fast.”
“Jumped? Or fell?”
She shoves at him. “You know what I’m saying.”
“What you’re saying isn’t jiving with what’s in your heart. I hope for his sake that you can overcome it.”
“I don’t know if Harley’s looking to settle down. It’s been fun, but maybe that’s all he was meant to be for me. A fun little detour in my life.”
“You don’t mean that.”
“But I do. This is probably just a sign to remind me that my life is a train wreck. There’s no need for anyone else to crash and burn with me.”
Mitchell looks thoughtful. But he really does care. “I hope it works out for you, chicka. But can I give you a suggestion?”
“Give ‘er.”
“If you’re all in, tell him so. No man takes well to being strung along.”
She nods, but her breath is cut off. She finds it difficult to speak. “Thank you,” she whispers.
Why do I think it’s such a bad thing to fall in love with Harley?
Mitchell collects her in his arms, and she sheds a tear that she flicks away with a laugh.
“Look what you’ve got me doing, Mitchell!”
He smoothes his hand over her hair. “It’s going to work out for you. I just know it. It has to.”
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
Jillian enters the courtroom, dressed in a blue jail-issue jumpsuit, with a white t-shirt underneath. She fidgets during the entire bail hearing, keeping her eyes glued to the floor, not even glancing up at duty counsel when he whispers in her ear.
Harley’s leg is bouncing, as they await the decision, having left the hospital against the doctor’s orders to make this trip.
“Bail is denied,” the judge announces, granting her no leeway for the heinous crimes she has committed.
Hannah turns her head and buries her face in her father’s shoulder. Even after begging her to stay away, she’d insisted that she be there to hear the verdict. Harley gently pats her back in an attempt to calm her.
“The Order is to go as asked by the prosecution,” the judge announces. “Miss Briscoe, you are a danger to the public and I question whether you are fit to stand trial. Do you understand th
e serious nature of your charges?”
“I haven’t done anything wrong,” she screeches. Her voice echoes across the otherwise silent room, as she picks Hannah out of the crowd and points at her. “Her! She is the one that should be sitting here.”
“That is enough, Miss Briscoe. Counsel is ordered to arrange for a psychological assessment forthwith.”
Wesley Carver, the newest recruit to the prosecutor’s department nods his head and takes note of it.
“Miss Briscoe shall abstain from communication directly or indirectly with Miss Aliah Brooklin, Miss Hannah Gates and Ms. Brandee Hawkins while awaiting trial. Bail is denied,” the judge repeats.
The judge slams his gavel and Jillian responds hysterically. She immediately flashes a glance at Harley. He scowls at her, causing her to shout out to him.
“I never wanted you to get hurt, David! Please don’t let them do this to me. I love you!”
Her hysteria has the entire crowd stirring in their seats, mumbling their disapproval to each other. When the bailiff seizes her, she starts to kick and scratch at him.
“Get her out of here,” the judge insists, as the bailiff takes her forcefully by the elbow and escorts her to the door in a very unfriendly manner.
When Harley grimaces, Aliah squeezes onto his arm. He presses his forehead against hers. “At least we know she’s in pre-trial detention. She’s in the custody of the court now. That alone should have you rest better at night.”
“Next on the docket is Brandee Hawkins.”
The bailiff continues to speak, but Harley drowns it out with his thoughts. Aliah can’t take her eyes off of Joshua Bailey, who stands and takes his place at the table next to his scumbag client.
“I still can’t believe he’s taken this case,” Harley grumbles, while scowling at Aliah’s ass-hole boss. “Bailey deserves to be shot.”
Harley scrubs his hand over his five o’clock shadow, knowing the police weren’t able to get a confession out of her. The prosecution relies on Aliah’s testimony, but he knows Bailey will tear that apart. Wesley Carver, an old co-worker of Aliah’s, had told them in preparation that her word alone is hardly enough when her boss is sitting on the other side of the table rooting for the Defendant.
Twisted Desire (The Twisted Series) Page 23
