Southern Comfort

by Natasha Madison

  Casey sounds like he’s right beside me as I float away. “Olivia!” He yells my name, and then I hear more noise, almost like a stampede of people coming up the stairs while I fade off. I think back to how this all started.

  Watching the red elevator numbers go up one floor at a time, I felt my heart pounding in my chest. The brown box in my hand got heavier and heavier as the numbers got higher and higher. You can do this, I told myself, cheering myself on. It’s going to be fine. You need to just dump the box and go.

  The elevator pinged, and it took me back to two weeks ago when I walked down this exact brown plush rug toward Dominic’s penthouse.

  I tightened the strap on the trench coat that I was wearing over garters and a bra. My brand new Louboutins sank into the rug and pinched my feet as I licked my lips. Dominic had been gone all week, and he had just gotten back into town. He said he had a business meeting all night long with Chinese investors, but there I was, going to sneak into his penthouse and surprise him when he got back.

  My key slid into the lock, and I pushed open the door, expecting the penthouse to be pitch black and quiet. Except it wasn’t. The lights were on, and the whole open-floor concept was bright. From the doorway, I saw the empty living room, and the five open bottles of champagne on the kitchen island with five glasses. I walked to the counter, then heard the soft music coming from the bedroom. I knew I shouldn’t go down there. I knew in my head it wasn’t a good idea. Fuck, my brain was even telling me to turn around and walk out, pretending I didn’t see anything, but my feet, those bitches had a mind of their own. I was halfway down the hall when I heard moaning, and my stomach flipped, nausea suddenly running through me. “So good.” I heard a soft moan, and I knew that I was going to be heartbroken. Standing in the doorway of the master suite, I finally saw with my own eyes what my fiancé was up to. And if my feet didn’t feel like they were glued to the floor, I would have stumbled back at the sight. Dominic had four women on the bed that we shared, the bed I slept in half the time.

  He leaned over, snorting cocaine off a woman’s stomach, then moved over to a second woman to do another line. The other two ladies were straddling the women’s faces. He crawled over to one, grabbing her hair and pulling it back, then devoured her mouth, making her grind her hips even more. His cock was hard as a rock, and I had to wonder if he had taken anything since sex between us was usually a pitiful twenty minutes at best. “Who’s going to ride the cock first?”

  “Me,” the girl with the only mouth free said. “Last time, I was last, so this time, I go first.”

  “Last time?” I whispered, but my voice was a bit too loud because the girl who just spoke looked at me. She didn’t move or try to cover herself, though. Dominic, on the other hand, whipped his head to the door, his eyes going wide as he saw me standing there.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked, all flustered as he got off the bed. “You weren’t supposed to be here.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said to him. “I didn’t mean to interrupt your orgy!” I yelled at him. He walked toward me, but I held up my hand. “Please don’t come any closer to me.”

  “I can explain,” he said, and I laughed. Looking over at the bed, I saw that all the women were sitting in the middle of the bed just watching.

  “I think it’s pretty self-explanatory as to what is going on here. I don’t need you to explain it as well.” I pointed at the women and saw the drugs on the side table next to our engagement picture. The one he had taken when he got down on one knee in Hawaii in the middle of the beach with candles in the shape of a heart and rose petals.

  “I have needs, Olivia,” he said. “And I was very stressed.”

  “Oh,” I scoffed, “you look really stressed.” I turned to walk toward the door. “You looked so fucking stressed when you did those two lines of cocaine off those girls.” I shook my head. How the fuck didn’t I know he used cocaine? How the fuck was this right under my nose, and I never knew it? I’d been around this shit my whole life, so I knew all the signs. All of them.

  “You can’t just leave!” he shouted when I got to the door. I turned around to face him as he stood there naked, and I looked at him. He wasn’t that attractive, if I was honest about it. His balding head showed that he’d had hair plugs. His nose had obviously been fixed. His teeth were all capped.

  His body was mediocre, he rocked the dad bod like no one else I knew, and if I finally admitted it to myself, I was with him because he made me feel safe. He took care of me like no one else and made sure I was always okay. He put me first, and I put my head back. “We should discuss this.”

  “How long?” I asked him the only question I really cared about. “How long were you faithful?”

  “Olivia,” he said. “Baby face.” He called me by the stupid nickname I hated, making me cringe, but then the anger of what I just walked in on took over me. The little piece of sanity I had come undone.

  “How fucking long?” I shouted at the top of my lungs. “How fucking long have you been fucking other people?” I waited for it, just standing there. He was naked, and he just … I loathed him. But that was what I was going to end up with. It was what I was going to end up with all along, and to me, it was what I deserved.

  “That is not the point,” he said, and I shook my head and laughed out bitterly.

  “We’ve had unprotected sex!” I shouted. “So I think the point is, how fucking long, Dominic?” And then it all clicked into place. The all-night meetings he used to have. “Jesus.” I laughed again. “I was so blind.”

  “If it means anything…” He looked down. “They don’t mean anything.”

  Putting my hand to my chest, I said sarcastically. “That means so much.” I turned around, opening the door. “Goodbye, Dominic.”

  I walked down the hallway and waited for him to follow me, but he didn’t. I didn’t know why that hurt more than walking in on him, but it did. That night, I went back to my apartment, and I told Kallie it was over.

  She took one look at me and walked to the freezer, grabbing the full-fat ice cream and two spoons. “What are we watching?” she asked, and I put my head on her shoulder and ate ice cream.

  “We need to take her in.” I hear now, a groan comes out of me or at least I think I groan. I’m not even sure anymore. When I’m brought back down again into the blackness and the fog.

  The door was busted open, pieces of wood flying all over the place. I didn’t even know what was going on, but a gun was suddenly placed beside my temple while people were yelling all around me. “Get fucking down!” the guy yelled from right beside me. I didn’t know what to do, I wasn’t given a choice when he shoved me down to the floor. “I said on the fucking ground,” he said again, his gun didn’t move from the side of my head. This had to be a nightmare, I thought to myself as I was shoved down, the man got on top of me. His gun moved away from my temple, but the feeling was still there. “Hands behind your back.” He pulled my hands behind my back, and the cold steel handcuffs were placed on me, and just like that, my life would never be the same.

  “You need to let us help her.” I feel hands on me, and I want to yell out not to touch me. I want to hide in a corner and make sure no one touches me, but I can’t do anything. I can’t move anything. My head burns, and right when I think I’m going to open my eyes, I fade off again.

  Chapter Four

  Casey

  With my gun drawn, I aim for his right shoulder and shoot as soon as he turns around. Before the guy knows what’s happening, he stumbles back, and the gun falls from his hand. I watch as he advances closer, blood running down his arm, and the sound of him yelling fills the room. Reaching for the loose gun beside him, I keep my gun aimed on him, and I spot Olivia behind him. She’s falling to the side, her head hitting the floor with the biggest bang I’ve ever heard. Her name rips through me. “Olivia!”

  The front door opens. “Casey!” My father is yelling my name.

  “Up here!” I say, looking down at the gu
y who has caused all this havoc. He rolls to the side with his left hand over his shoulder, blood leaking through his fingers. He looks like he is going to try something, so I make sure he knows I won’t think twice about ending his life.

  “Don’t think I won’t put one between your eyes,” I hiss at him while he glares. The front door is smashed open again, and this time, it’s more than one person as I hear the boots on the stairs. Looking over my shoulder, I see my father holding his own shotgun as he takes in the scene, and fear rushes through him as he scans the man on the floor.

  “I’m good.” He nods at me but doesn’t put his gun down when he walks in.

  Jacob’s behind Dad with his gun drawn, wearing his bulletproof vest. Right behind him is Grady, his second in command. “Holy shit.” He looks over at Grady, who nods at him when he puts his gun down and talks into the radio on his shoulder. “We need medics over at Casey’s.”

  “Roger that.” I hear as Grady walks over to the man who I refuse to let out of my sight. Even though my head is intent on getting to Olivia, my gun doesn’t move.

  “Do you have him?” I ask Grady. When he nods, I rush over to Olivia, who is slumped over.

  “Olivia.” I say her name softly while I take her in my arms. I hear her moan, but her eyes don’t open.

  “Is she hit?” my father asks, bending down next to me. I look over at him, he just looks into my eyes, his own eyes filling with tears. I ignore the burn creeping into my eyes as I hold her in my arms.

  “I don’t think so.” I look for blood on her body, but there is none. But when I feel her head, I find a huge bump in the back. “She’s got an egg-shaped bump on the back of her head,” I say, holding her in my arms as close to me as I can, feeling her heat rush through me. “Olivia, darlin’.” I say her name softly when I hear people coming up the stairs again. Two paramedics rush in, holding their medical bag.

  “We have a gunshot wound on him,” Grady says, pointing at the asshole in front of him. “And an unconscious woman.” He points at Olivia, who is still in my arms.

  One paramedic goes to the man, who is now sitting up with his hands cuffed behind his back. “You might have to take the cuffs off him.”

  He looks at Grady, who just shakes his head. “I checked him before you guys got here. The bullet went right through, so you can cut the shirt off him.”

  “That’s inhumane,” the man whines, and if I didn’t have Olivia in my arms right now, I would show him how inhumane I can be. My hands start to shake with anger and rage.

  “Relax, son,” my father whispers from beside me, and I look at him. We share a look, and he nods. The second paramedic comes over.

  “What do we have?” he asks, and I look at him.

  “I think she hit her head, but I’m not sure.” I look back down at her, pushing her hair away from her face.

  “You’re going to have to lay her down so I can check her out,” he says to me. I just look at him and then at Olivia in my arms. “I won’t hurt her. But I can’t do anything to help her if you don’t let me.” I place her down gently, hoping that she wakes up, but she doesn’t. She just lies there limp. When I hear more footsteps on the stairs, I look up at the ceiling. Kallie appears in the doorway with tears in her eyes when she sees Olivia lying there.

  “Olivia,” she says, putting her hand to her mouth. The two of them have been best friends for a while, and they work together. She’s about to take a step into the room when Jacob stops her.

  “Kallie,” Jacob says to her. “You shouldn’t be here. It’s a crime scene.” She glares at him. The two of them have loved each other for a long time, but eight years ago, she ran away after he got one of his best friends pregnant. She left town the day after she found out and has not been back nor has she spoken to him since then.

  She finally came back to town with Olivia. Everyone knows how hard it was for them to be face-to-face again. They have worked so hard to get back together, and I just hope that this time it sticks.

  “This is my brother’s property,” she says. Turning to look at me, she hesitates to come into the big media room. “Mom is fit to be tied.”

  “I’ll go to her,” my father says, getting up and looking at me. He puts his hand on my shoulder, squeezing it. “She’s going to be okay, son,” he tells me, and I have nothing to say. I think I’m numb. I know I’m numb. I don’t move from Olivia’s side while the paramedic takes her vitals.

  “We need to take her in,” he says when Kallie kneels beside me. Her hand reaches out to touch Olivia’s.

  “Let’s get him up,” the other paramedic says. Grady leans down and pulls him up by his arm, making the guy wince. I watch him walk out of the room, not saying anything. My eyes stay fixated on the blood stain on the throw rug. I make a mental note to get it cleaned before Olivia comes home. Home. Is this even her home? This is only temporary, I know this. She is here only until it’s safe for her to go home.

  “We are going to transport her via ambulance to the hospital. The other victim will be going with Jacob.”

  “Victim?” I repeat the word. “He isn’t a victim,” I hiss, and Kallie puts her hand on my arm.

  “Casey,” she says, “let them take care of her.”

  “I can carry her out.” I bend down, putting one hand under her legs and one under her back. She lies there in my arms with her head against my chest, and I shield her as I walk out of the room with her.

  The whole time, I’m secretly begging her to open her eyes. I’m ready to do whatever needs to be done. “Darlin’,” I whisper, “you need to open your eyes so I can see you.” Holding her close to my chest, I say, “I just need to see your eyes.” I walk toward the ambulance as the gurney waits for her. I shake my head, refusing to let her go. “I’m going with her.”

  “Okay, but it’s best if we monitor her on the way to the hospital,” the paramedic says. “You can be right by her side.” I nod as I place her gently on the gurney, still hoping she wakes up.

  “Casey.” I turn when I hear Jacob call my name. “We are going to follow you there. I have him in Grady’s car,” he says, and I look around for the first time. There are six cars in my driveway, all parked haphazardly with their police lights still on.

  “If I see him …” I look straight at Jacob.

  “I know.” He nods. I’m about to get into the ambulance when I hear my mother shout my name.

  I look over at her, seeing her being held by my father. “Let me go, so help me God, Billy.”

  “Woman, you can’t just run over there. This is police business,” he tells her. I know that nothing he says will calm her, though. “Let him take care of Olivia.”

  “It’s fine, Dad,” I say, and she runs over to me. Her face is streaked with tears as she takes me in her arms and sobs. “I’m fine, Mom,” I tell her, my eyes still on Olivia as they get her situated. “But I need to go.”

  “Okay.” She releases me. “We’ll meet you at the hospital.”

  “You don’t have to,” I say, and she just looks at me.

  “Casey Christopher Barnes, don’t you dare tell me what to do.” I know I’m not going to win an argument when my mother uses my full name. It also doesn’t help when she folds her arms over her chest because then you know she’s waiting for a fight.

  “I’ll see you there.” I lean down to kiss her on the cheek before turning to get into the ambulance. I watch as they take her blood pressure, but the whole time, she doesn’t stir. “Is that normal?” I ask, sitting next to the paramedic. “I mean, for her to be out for so long?”

  “It depends on how hard she hit her head. It could be a number of things. But it could be that her body has gone into shock,” he says, and I just nod, taking her hand in mine. Her soft, small hand with perfect fingers, the same fingers that I held when we walked out of the bar last week.

  “You want to hold my hand, cowboy?” she said with a glimmer in her eye.

  I didn’t answer her then, but I would answer her now. I bring her hand t
o my mouth, whispering, “I want to hold your hand, darlin’,” then kiss the tips of her fingers.

  Ever since she came to town, I’ve wanted to touch her all the damn time, and I even kissed her a couple of times. Each time, it was harder and harder not to keep kissing her. I have been itching to do so again. I try not to touch her as often as I want, knowing that one touch will not be enough. But something about her just makes me do things that I know I shouldn’t. Having her in my house and all around me means the little touches happen anyway. Even though I try not to think about it now. Feeling her hand in mine, I wonder why I haven’t done it more.

  “We are five minutes out,” the driver says. When we get to the hospital, everything happens so fast, and I don’t know where she’s going. Two nurses and two doctors are waiting there for us, and they take her out so fast, I have to run after them. When they rush past two swinging doors, one of the nurses stops me from entering.

  “You need to stay here, and I’ll come out as soon as I know something,” she says, and I’m about to walk past her. “I know you want to get in there, but all you’ll do is get in the way. She is in the best hands right now, so let them do their job. I promise you that I will let you know when we know something.”

  “She’s been unconscious this whole time,” I say. She nods, then turns to walk back through the doors. I look through the little glass window as she runs to the room where they have taken Olivia. I stand here, and my eyes don’t move from the room where I know they are working on Olivia.

  “Any news?” Kallie says from beside me, and my head just shakes. I don’t even know how long she’s been standing there.