“I came to give you a casserole Mom made for you. Are you okay? That cut looks pretty nasty.”
She lifted her hand to her face and scrubbed off some of the dry blood then looked at her hand and rubbed her fingers together.
“Huh.”
I grasped her chin to bring her gaze to me.
“Sweetheart, what happened?”
“Um. Someone attacked me when I was walking home last night.” She shrugged and walked back into the living room and sat down on the couch. I walked in, closing the door behind me and placed the casserole on the kitchen table. Then I sat down next to her on the couch and grabbed her hand. She hissed and tried to pull her hand from mine.
The first thing I noticed was that her hands were freezing and it was quite cool in the house. The second thing I noticed was that her ring finger on her left hand was swollen and she wasn’t moving it. She was just sitting there like there was nothing happening. I didn’t understand it.
I got up and turned up the thermostat and called Sean to come over. Then I went to the fireplace and started the fire. Sean arrived a few minutes later and I met him at the door and stepped outside to talk to him.
“What’s up, Cole?”
“Alex was attacked last night on her way home from the bar.”
“Shit. Is she okay?”
“I don’t know. It’s like she isn’t there. She’s barely talking and it’s like she hasn’t processed it yet. There’s just nothing going on inside.” I tapped the side of my head as I said the last part.
“Alright, let’s go talk to her.”
We walked back inside and Alex was still sitting in the same position on the couch, staring at the wall.
“Hey, honey.” Sean walked in and knelt down in front of her. “Cole says you were attacked last night. Can you tell me what happened?”
It was as if something finally clicked and she looked at Sean and smiled. “Hi, Sean. Merry Christmas!”
Sean smiled awkwardly and turned to me with a questioning look. I didn’t know what to say. It didn’t make sense to me either. Sean grabbed her hand and examined her finger.
“Maybe we should take you down to the hospital and have you checked out.”
“For what?”
I was starting to panic. This was not a normal reaction and I was starting to wonder how badly she hit her head.
“We’re just gonna take you in to have your finger fixed and the bump on your head checked out.”
She looked down at her hands and lifted her left hand to look at her finger more closely.
“Well that sucks.”
I put my hands behind my head and looked at the ceiling, blowing out a deep breath. Sean helped her stand and walk to the door. She swayed as she walked and Cole and I each took one arm to help her to the truck. I wanted her to ride with me, but Sean said it was better if she went with him. We got to the hospital and a nurse took her right away to a curtained off bed. Sean insisted that we be allowed to follow her back, explaining that she had been through a kidnapping and almost murdered and it would be best if someone familiar was around. The nurse got a sympathetic look on her face and took us back to stay with her. She was lying on the bed staring at the ceiling when a doctor came by and started asking her questions. Her answers were more of the same and it was like she didn’t realize it had happened to her.
“Can you tell me what happened?”
“Um. I was attacked walking home from work lasss-t night.”
“Okay. How did you get this gash on your head?”
“I fell and hit my face.”
“Can you tell me what else happened?”
She seemed to be trying to concentrate on what she needed to say and that made me nervous.
“He spit on my face and said something. Then he lifted my head and smashed it into the ground.”
“Okay. Did you lose consciousness?”
“Yeah. I think so.”
“Do you know how long you were out?”
“No. I just went home and sat on my…on my couch the rest of the night.”
The doctor looked in her eyes and examined her head and her finger.
“I want to take you up for a CT scan and make sure that everything is okay. We don’t want to send you home until we know how bad you hit your head, okay?”
“Sure, doc.”
She laid down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. Her eyes drifted closed every once in awhile and it was as if the strain was finally catching up with her body. The doctor wrote something in her chart and then called the nurse over to take her to radiology. After she was taken away in a wheelchair, the doctor turned to us.
“When did you find her like this?”
“I found her this morning,” I said, concern filling me.
“We’ll see what the CT scan says, but this reaction isn’t totally uncommon. It seems to me that she hasn’t processed what happened yet. She definitely has a concussion and that’s where the slurred speech is coming from. As long as there’s no bleeding, you should be able to take her home and keep an eye on her for the next twenty-four hours. I’ll check back with you when her tests are done.”
He walked away and Sean and I waited in the curtained off area for her.
“When she gets back, I need to ask her a few questions about the attack. She said he said something to her and then slammed her head into the ground. So what was the point of the attack? He didn’t seem to take anything from her or try to violate her, so what did he want?”
“I don’t know. Shit. I should have gotten her a car so that she wasn’t walking home at night alone.”
“Would she have taken it from you?”
“Probably not, but I could have tried. I was so focused on staying away from her that I didn’t consider it would be more dangerous for her.”
“Why have you been staying away? Is it because of the cellar? Ever since then you haven’t been quite the same.”
“When I saw that I knew she should never remember that place. Or anything that happened after that. Knowing that she was down there and what she went through, I don’t think I can ever get that out of my mind.”
“And you thought staying away would help you forget?”
“No. I thought staying away would help her never to remember. I was afraid that if she stayed with me, I would eventually trigger something and she would remember. She’s already been through so much. I just can’t imagine how she would react to remembering that stuff. Would it send her over the edge?”
“You’re a dumbass, you know that?”
I jerked my head up in surprise. He was shaking his head at me with a look of contempt on her face.
“She has been through enough and you just made it worse for her. You could have been helping her through all this and instead you pushed her away. Do you know her neighbors told me that she wakes them up almost every night screaming?”
“Why haven’t you told me this?”
“Because you didn’t want to know. You’ve been keeping your distance and I knew there was some dumbass reason behind it. I’m not gonna guilt you into going to check on her.”
“Shit.”
I rested my elbows on my knees and dropped my head into my hands. I felt Sean rest his hand on my shoulder.
“You can’t decide to stay away for her own good. Talk to her and tell her what’s going through your mind. If she agrees that you could be a trigger and she doesn’t want to go down that road, then you stay away.”
An hour later, Alex was back from radiology and the doctor came down to talk to us. Her scans were clear and after her finger was splinted, we were allowed to take her home. We headed back to her house and got her inside to rest on the couch. We had spent all day at the hospital and Alex was exhausted. The casserole my mom had made was still sitting on the table and I doubted we could still eat it. I called mom and asked her to bring some leftovers after I explained what had happened. She agreed and showed up a half hour later with a bag of food. She didn’t stay beca
use Sean was talking with her about her attack.
“So, what did he say to you?”
“Um, he asked if I thought I could get away with it and then said I would never escape him until I was dead.”
My spine stiffened as I heard that. Get away with what?
“Have you had any problems at work with any customers? Meet anyone that seemed to get upset over something?”
“No. I don’t remember anyone even giving me funny looks. It just doesn’t make sense.” Her brows furrowed and she bit her lip in thought. Then she looked at me. “At first I thought it was you behind me.”
“What? Why did you think that?”
“Someone had been following me home every Saturday night. I thought it was you. It started that night you talked to me in the hallway of the bar. When you asked me if I was feeling okay. I thought you were worried about me and followed me home. So last night I thought I would confront you about it, but when I called your name you didn’t answer. That’s when I knew it wasn’t you. You would never scare me like that.”
Her lips started to quiver and tears started to leak down her face. I went over to her and pulled her in my arms as she cried. I was relieved that she seemed to be processing what had happened to her. I didn’t want to see her cry, but I couldn’t stand the blasé attitude she had towards the situation. Sean quietly let himself out and I stayed with Alex on the couch and held her until her crying ceased.
“I’m sorry I left you,” I whispered to her.
She pulled back and looked at me questioningly.
“I left because I thought me staying would be bad for you.” I stood and walked over to the fireplace to light it again. I had put it out before we went to the hospital and it had cooled down significantly since then. “After you told me you didn’t love me, I started going on long walks to clear my head. I started thinking about how you had escaped and that it had to have been close by because you wouldn’t have been able to run very far in your condition. Sean and I went searching for the cabin and we found it.”
I looked over to her and tried my best to mask what I was feeling. “I saw the cellar where he kept you and it was…awful.” My throat felt like it was closing up and the emotions I felt when I was down there started to resurface. I took a few deep breaths to get myself under control and looked back up at her. She had tears in her eyes and was clutching her stomach. “I never wanted you to remember that. I knew that if I stayed with you there was a chance I would trigger your memories. I thought that if I stayed away you might never have to remember any of it.”
She stood up and walked over to me. She wrapped her arms around me and hugged me. The relief I felt was so intense my knees almost buckled. I was so afraid she would hate me.
“I’m sorry I didn’t say it sooner, but I love you. I think I always knew I loved you, but I was scared. I should have told you when I came to see you, but you seemed hell bent on cutting me from your life. I didn’t think it would make a difference,” she said quietly.
I bent down and kissed her gently then pulled back to look into her eyes. She looked exhausted and I thought it would be best to get some rest, but we had to eat first. I took her over to the table and set out plates of food.
After we had eaten I took her back to bed and laid down next to her, pulling her close. I had missed her so much and couldn’t keep my hands off her. She rested her head on my shoulder and snuggled in close. My hand was draped over her waist and I ran my hand up and down her back. I felt her breathing even out and she was soon asleep. I dozed in an out, but kept waking to check on her. Each time I woke her, I was relieved to see that she didn’t seem any worse. I had given her some pain killers after dinner and I hoped that made her head feel better. She slept all night with no bad dreams and I was relieved by that.
The next day, we lounged around her house and I waited on her hand and foot. I was scared she was going to collapse at any moment or have a panic attack, but she was fine the whole day. She told me that during the attack she remembered some of being taken the first time and a few flashes of being in the cellar. She mostly remembered being lonely and feeling like she was ready to give in. She didn’t remember him coming to visit her and I was grateful. She knew that something horrible had happened because she had seen the marks on her body. She never asked me about it and I was grateful I didn’t have to help her relive it.
We took a few small naps and she called into work telling them she needed to take a few days off. After explaining what happened, they agreed and told her to come back New Year’s Eve because that would be the busiest night. We spent the rest of the week at my house because I had to go home anyway. She packed a bag and came to stay with me. We talked about our relationship and where it was going. She still wanted to live in her house for a while and I was fine with that as long as we could have sleepovers. We both slept better when we were together so it was only a matter of time before I convinced her to move in with me.
Her attack was really bothering me. I couldn’t figure out who would want to come after her and what they thought she got away with. She was convinced that it was a case of mistaken identity. Still, Sean looked at the traffic cam footage, but he couldn’t find anything. The part of town she was in was not heavily monitored, so they didn’t even get her on camera. Henry Jones was still in jail, though his lawyers were working to get him released. There was really nothing more to go on so the best I could do was keep an eye on her. I told her from now on I would be driving her to and from work. Thankfully, she didn’t protest.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Alex
Things were going great with Cole. We spent the whole week after Christmas together and I felt closer to him than ever. My reservations about our relationship seemed to vanish. I think that my time away from him made me realize how much he had meant to me and how I played a role in sealing my fate with him. When he told me why he pushed me away, I think I fell in love with him all over again. To have a man give me up to protect me from my own memories was a very selfless thing to do. I still think it was stupid of him, but it made me warm and fuzzy inside to know he loved me that much.
I was going back to work today and I wasn’t looking forward to it. I was enjoying being in my bubble with Cole, but I didn’t want to rely on him. As sad as I was to be alone the past couple of months, I felt relief in being able to support myself again. I had been alone for so long, it was hard to be so reliant on others. Now that I was back to work and earning money, I felt like I could move past what had happened to me.
I got ready for work and Cole drove me into town and dropped me at the bar, promising to be back in later with everyone. I came in early to help with setup and making sure the bar was properly stocked. We would be handing out a lot of champagne at midnight so we had to make sure there were plenty of bottles chilled and glasses washed. My boss, Hank, decided that we could decorate for New Year’s Eve, so we hung streamers and banners all around the bar giving it a festive feel. One of the other bartenders brought in party hats for us all to wear.
Hank always shut down the kitchen at eleven-thirty and he asked all the kitchen staff to come out and help serve champagne at quarter to twelve. I was relieved because it would take the pressure off the bartenders. The crowds started coming in at about seven and we were packed by nine. Cole showed up with everyone around nine-thirty and I barely had a chance to say hi to everyone because I was so busy.
Around ten, it was my turn to take a break, so I made my way over to Cole’s table. He turned to me with a big grin and kissed me silly. Slinging his arm around me, I sat and listened to banter around the table and took everyone in. Logan brought a woman named Cece along. She was beautiful and had so much charisma. She was dressed very sexy in a black, strapless dress that came to mid thigh and hugged her curves. I was a little jealous that I didn’t have the kind of confidence to pull off something like that.
Sean brought a woman named Vira, short for Elvira. I suspected that wasn’t her real name, but didn’
t want to be rude and ask. She had long, black hair that touched her butt and a gorgeous tan. She was dressed similarly to Cece, but her dress was fire engine red. Sean seemed to really like her and it was the happiest I’d ever seen him. Ryan and Sebastian came to the bar solo and said they were looking for women to go home with tonight. I had seen them come to the bar a few times and order drinks for some women that were hanging around them, but I didn’t see them now.
Drew came with Jack and Harper and seemed perfectly happy to hang out with them. I never saw his eyes wander from their group to check out women, though plenty walked up to him to get his number. He always seemed sad except when he looked at Harper. His eyes would light up and he was always hugging her. I wondered what the story was and decided I would ask Cole about it later.
As usual, Jack and Harper only had eyes for each other. Harper made some joke about playing darts and gave an evil look. I could only assume she was referring to her throwing a dart at Jack. Apparently they were something of a wild couple when things got tense between them.
My break was almost over so I told Cole goodbye and gave him a kiss. He grabbed my arm and pulled me back into him. His lips met mine in the most soul shattering kiss I had ever experienced. I was dizzy with lust as he trailed his hand up into my hair and held my lips to his. His other hand trailed down my back and grabbed my ass, then trailed back up to my waist. I felt him grab my right hand and slid something on my finger. He leaned in and whispered in my ear and I felt his hot breath caress my skin.
“I know this is the wrong finger, but the correct finger is out of commission.”
I sucked in a breath, understanding dawning in my mind. His breath continued to tickle my skin as he whispered for only me to hear.
“I want you to be my wife. I love you and I know this isn’t the most romantic proposal, but I can’t wait anymore. Say you’ll marry me.”
He pulled back and I saw the sincerity in his eyes. I was done running from this man and ready to start running to him.
Cole: A Romantic Thriller Novel (For The Love Of A Good Woman Book 2) Page 22
