Little Bird

by Honey Palomino

  “Small world, huh, Doc?” He winked at me.

  I nodded slowly and handed him back the phone.

  “You going to tell him?”

  “No fucking way,” he said. “I helped Dove leave. I’ve had a tail on her for a few weeks now, just to make sure she was safe. That fucker put a bounty on her head. There’s a lot of crazy people out in the world.”

  “I see.”

  “As far as I’m concerned, Dove’s better off. As long as I have a say in it, Nate won’t get close to her ever again.”

  “Thank you,” I said.

  “Don’t mention it,” he said.

  I turned to go back in the room, but stopped and turned back to ask him one last question.

  “Tell me again why you stay, if you know this about him?”

  “I made his Mom a promise on her death bed that I’d take care of the bastard. That’s the only reason. Well, and now, I’m trying to make sure he doesn’t get close to Dove.”

  “Understood,” I said. “I booked a flight out first thing in the morning. I can’t stay here any longer.”

  “Can’t blame you. I won’t be around too much longer myself, I’m thinking.”

  I nodded and flashed him an understanding smile, before going back inside.

  I waited throughout the night on the couch, my bags packed beside me, until the sun began peeking out over the horizon. It was a beautiful day but it didn’t feel beautiful. It felt dark and screwed up and out of control.

  All night, I’d thought about Samantha. About how this must have effected her the last few months. He must have hurt her really badly for her to just adopt a brand new identity and start a whole new life based on lies.

  I’ll be honest. I wanted to kill Nate.

  I fantasized what it would feel like to wrap my fingers around his throat and squeeze until the life vanished from his eyes, taking his threats towards Samantha with him.

  Do no harm…

  Those three little words had such an impact on me as a doctor, hell, as a human. I felt like it was the price I had to pay to be who I was, to live the blessed life I’d lived. As long as I abided by that one rule, I always believed I would be okay, like the universe would take care of me as long as I was a good person.

  The things I wanted to do to Nate did not line up to that philosophy whatsoever. I decided in the end to leave it up to the authorities.

  Nate woke up not long after sunrise, walking out of the bedroom in his boxers looking like a disheveled hobo and I wondered how in the world anyone could worship the ground this guy walked on. It was all smoke and mirrors. There was nothing genuine or real about him. He wasn’t charming, he was a prick. Seeing him now, he wasn’t even handsome.

  There was something ugly about him on the inside and when the lighting and makeup weren’t camouflaging it — it showed up on the outside, too.

  “Hey, Doc,” he mumbled. “I feel like shit.”

  “You look like shit,” I said, using all my strength to not rise from my chair and unleash my fury on him.

  “Well, fuck you, too,” he chuckled, heading for the kitchen. “I need coffee. And booze.”

  “Have a seat, Nate.”

  He looked over at me in surprise. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

  “We need to talk.”

  “About what?” he asked, sitting down with an irritated wave.

  “About this,” I said, hitting play on my dictation machine that was sitting in front of me on the table. I’d turned it on in my pocket last night, knowing I’d need evidence to prove my allegations against the biggest rockstar in the country.

  The sound of voices filled the room as the recording began playing.

  “What the hell? Why do you have a gun, Nate?”

  “This is what’s waiting for Little Bird. As soon as I fucking find the cunt.”

  “You’re going to shoot Dove?”

  “Hell yeah, man. But finding her is my priority right now. Any updates, by the way? I haven’t heard from the fucking PI in weeks.”

  “He called me, Boss. Sorry, no leads.”

  “Just another asshole taking my money for nothing. The bitch has to turn up sometime. And I can’t wait till she does.”

  Nate eyes grew full of rage, his face flushing as he stood up suddenly, the chair falling behind him.

  “What the fuck is that?”

  “Sounds like a confession to me.”

  “You recorded me, you asshole? What do you plan on doing with it?” He towered over me, his fists clenched at his side. I stood up to face him full on, unafraid.

  “I’m going to the police, Nate. I’m telling them everything.”

  “Is that so?” he asked, turning away from me and pacing through the room.

  “Yes,” I said. “I don’t know what you did to Dove to make her leave you and just disappear like that, but I know she doesn’t deserve to die because of it. And I hate to say it, but I believe you. I think you would kill her. And I can’t let that happen.”

  “What do you fucking care? She’s just another cunt,” he said.

  “That’s where you’re wrong.”

  “Who do you think you are? You can’t do anything to me.”

  “All I have to do is give this recording to the cops. Or the media. Or both. And then, you’ll be done. Canceled, if not put in jail for years.”

  He paced around the room like an angry tiger, stopping behind the kitchen island and stooping down before quickly standing back up.

  I froze when I saw the gun in his hand.

  “Fuck you, Doc,” he said, coming around the counter, the gun pointed straight at me.

  “You’re not going to shoot me,” I said.

  “You just said you believed I’d kill Dove,” he said.

  “You’re a coward, Nate. You can’t face your own fears, let alone your own reality. If you pull that trigger, what do you think is going to happen? What will happen to your reputation? Your image as a squeaky clean pretty boy will be destroyed. You’ll lose all your money. Your fame. And then, who will you be? Just a nobody. A has-been. Washed up. Cancelled.”

  His hands trembled as he kept the gun pointed at me, his rage increasing with my every word. His eyes told me he knew I was right.

  “Rocco!” he shouted over his shoulder.

  Rocco opened the front door, his footsteps sounding on the marble floor until he rounded the door and stopped when he saw us.

  “What’s going on, Boss?” he asked, his voice even and low.

  “This prick recorded us saying we were going to kill Dove!”

  “I never said I was going to kill her, Boss. That was you.”

  “Whatever!” Nate shouted. “Get over here!”

  “Boss, maybe you should put the gun down and we can talk about this,” Rocco said, walking over to Nate slowly.

  “Fuck talking,” Nate said, handing the gun to Rocco. “Shoot him, Rocco!”

  I laughed, shaking my head.

  “You can’t even do it yourself, you weakling. You’re pathetic,” I sneered, anger coursing through my veins.

  “Fuck you!” he shouted. “Rocco, do it! Do it now!”

  Rocco stood looking back and forth between the two of us, and then slowly, he raised the gun, pointing it straight at Nate’s face.

  “Rocco!” he shouted, his hands flying up. “What the fuck?”

  The transformation that came over Rocco was mesmerizing. Gone was the aloof, mysteriously quiet and expressionless man, and in front of me stood a man that had finally allowed his anger to come to the surface.

  “Rocco, don’t shoot him!” I shouted.

  He trembled in anger as his face turned into a savage sneer.

  “I made your mother a promise a long time ago,” he growled, his voice a low burning fire, the words flung toward Nate like hot daggers. “She was a good one. And you were a horrible son. Selfish. Arrogant. Entitled. And still, she loved you. Because she was a saint. Yeah, she pushed you but only because she wanted the best fo
r you. And I’ve watched you treat every woman who came into your life the same way. She didn’t deserve that from you. And neither did anyone else. And yet, you never learn. You keep bringing the pain. The abuse. And all you think about is yourself. I saw what you did to Dove. I took care of her, cleaned her fucking wounds, the wounds you inflicted, you prick!” He cocked the gun, pressing it right between Nate’s eyes. Nate was shaking in fear, frozen in place.

  “Rocco,” I whispered, trying to get his attention.

  “Rocco, man, please, I’m sorry,” he pleaded.

  “No, dude. Enough is enough. I’ve seen you do things most people wouldn’t believe. Horrific things. I was the one that helped Dove leave. You need to know that before you die. You need to know that I didn’t just stand by and let you keep getting away with your bullshit. Someone needed to help her. Just like someone needs to help the rest of the world now. And that someone is me.”

  He moved the gun to Nate’s temple and pulled the trigger.

  “No!” I gasped, my eyes wide as Nate’s dead body fell to the ground, blood splattered on the walls and floor, time feeling as if it had stopped completely.

  Calmly, Rocco pulled a bandanna from his pocket, wiped down the gun, then leaned down and put the gun in Nate’s lifeless hand, wrapping his fingers around it.

  He nodded firmly once as he stood over him, then walked out of the room, calling back over his shoulder

  “You should probably take off, Doc. How about a ride to the airport?”

  Chapter 54

  SAMANTHA

  The news ricocheted around the hospital as soon as it was first reported.

  Nash had been found in his penthouse suite in Detroit, alone, with a gun in his hand and a bullet in his brain.

  I couldn’t believe it.

  He’d really done it.

  Was it really all over?

  It was hard to believe someone that self-absorbed would kill himself. I heard it in passing in the elevator first, then rushed to the nurse’s lounge, grateful it was empty, while I pulled up the news on my phone.

  All I could think about was Dane.

  Where was he? Why was Nate alone when he’d died?

  My heart raced as I quickly typed out a text message to Dane.

  “Where are you? Please call me.”

  I waited for him to write back, but it was too painful to wait. I called him, the phone ringing three excruciating long rings before he finally picked up.

  “Hey,” he said.

  “Dane!” I replied. “What happened? Where are you?”

  “Where are you?”

  “I’m in the nurse’s lounge on my floor. I just saw the news about Nate Nash. Are you okay?”

  “I’m okay, babe,” he said, his soft voice like a caress coming through the phone. “But I gotta go. I’ll call you right back.”

  He hung up and I just stared at the phone in my hand. I had a million other questions, but he’d answered the most important one of all. He was okay. That was all that mattered.

  I sat on the couch with my head in my hands, tears falling down my face. I had no idea why I was crying. I was glad Nate was dead, wasn’t I? Now, I could come clean to Dane and my new friends. I could tell him everything. I could call my Mom. And Violet.

  And I could be me again.

  And, maybe, just maybe, Dane would forgive me in time.

  The door opened behind me and I quickly wiped my tears from my face. I wasn’t ready to explain to anyone why I was crying. I had so much left to process. So much left to understand and comes to terms with before I could go on.

  I stood and turned to walk out of the lounge, and stopped short when I saw Dane’s smiling face looking back at me sheepishly.

  “I wanted to surprise you.”

  I nodded, the tears falling again, as I ran to him and threw my arms around his neck.

  “I’m so glad you’re here. I’m so glad you’re back!”

  “Me, too,” he said, caressing my hair and holding me tightly. “I missed you.”

  “Dane,” I said, pulling back and peering into his sweet eyes. My heart ached so badly I thought it might explode. “I have so much to tell you. I’m so sorry. I haven’t been honest with you.”

  He reached over and placed a finger on my lips. “Shhh, babe. It’s okay. I know everything.”

  “No, I you don’t understand —.”

  “—Dove,” he whispered, smiling gently at me. “I know everything.”

  “Dove!” I gasped, my heart skipping a beat. “You know?”

  “I know.”

  “Oh, Dane, I’m so sorry —.”

  “—You have absolutely nothing to be sorry about. You did nothing wrong. You’re strong and beautiful, Dove, or Samantha, or whatever you want to be called. A rose by any other name smells just as sweet. And a bird by any other name soars just as high. I love you, babe. You’re safe now.”

  “Oh, Dane,” I whispered, my eyes searching his and finding exactly what I’d been looking for all this time.

  Love.

  Acceptance.

  Honesty.

  He bent his head to kiss me gently, his lips setting me free.

  Epilogue

  DOVE

  Nash’s memorial was a star-studded affair.

  Celebrities from all walks of life flew from around the world to attend, and the next evening his peers put on a concert to raise funds for Nash’s favorite mental health charities.

  They made him out to be a martyr.

  A hero.

  A legend.

  Nobody came forward to taint his perfect image, at least not at first, brushing off his suicide to being a tortured artist, and those that had worked with him praised his professionalism and creativity. Throngs of fans created shrines outside of his glass mansion in Hollywood, leaving thousands of letters and flowers for him, some even camping out on the sidewalk, just to be close to his spirit.

  His music sales soared and his father started a suicide prevention charity in his name.

  A few months later, Sophia made a fortune after writing a juicy tell-all book that unfortunately left out all the violent stories about Nash, allowing his reputation to stay as untarnished as possible.

  Even in death, he was protected.

  Only a handful of people left in the world knew the truth about Nate — Dane and myself, along with Mike and Phoenix and Rainbow, and the countless other women he abused.

  And of course, Rocco, where ever he was now. He’d simply disappeared into the world, never to be seen again after dropping Dane off at the airport.

  Dane told me everything when he’d returned, allowing me to ask questions and cry and grieve in his arms as long as I needed to. When I found out it was him that left the flowers for me, I cried.

  He never judged me.

  He just let me simply be me.

  And slowly but surely, I healed a little more each day.

  The life I’d left behind had found a way to mesh with the life I’d been forced to build anew, and I lived every day free to tell my truth.

  “Are you ready, Dove?” Mike said, as we stood on the edge of the crowd, the wedding march playing in the background.

  “I am,” I said, lifting my veil and putting it over my face, before hooking my arm through his.

  My Mom and Violet stood waiting for me at the end of the aisle and I smiled at them, so happy to have them back. My glance turned to Dane standing next to them, his face full of wondrous love.

  My heart swelled as I walked towards him, the love I felt for him unmeasurable and indescribable. Mike kissed me on the cheek, handing me off to him with a respectful nod.

  We said our vows under a trellis of white roses, hand in hand, with happy tears in our eyes.

  “You may kiss the bride,” Rainbow cried afterwards, waving her hands extravagantly as Dane leaned over, his lips tenderly meeting mine for the first time as my lawfully wedded husband.

  The crowd cheered, Charlotte and Emma’s voices rising about the rest
, and Phoenix opened a box behind us — releasing two beautiful white doves into the air.

  We watched in awe as they soared overhead, flying in circles before taking flight on their new journey — happy and joyful and free.

  Also by Honey Palomino

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