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I look over at Hudson and he clutches a hammer. His nostrils flair as his face is hard as stone. When the end of the hammer is slammed down onto his groin, Joe’s high-pitched cries makes me even clench my ass.
Max can sense when I’ve had enough. He calls off Hudson and hands me his gun. I don’t waste a second as I walk up to Joe and pull the trigger.
The blades of the chopper turn. Tonight’s events run through my head. The last couple of hours have been a blur. I look out the window into pitch blackness except for the flames of the little house lighting up the darkness. Fitting for the Devil himself. I take a deep breath in and blow it out slowly. That was the easy part.
Max and I hop out of the helicopter when we reach the hospital. Max stops me before we walk through the doors.
“You okay?”
I exhale loudly. “No.” I shove my hands in my pockets. The sting of my raw knuckles reminds me I need to wash up. I pull them back out and look down at them.
“She’s tough. She’ll pull through this,” he says.
“Max,” I howl. “I’ll do everything in my power to help her through this, but you and I both know what this does to a person. We’ve seen it. The destruction from the pain.”
“Time, brother. Just give it time.” He grips my shoulder as I hang my head.
“I’ll give her an infinite amount of time.” My hand covers my face as my sobs wreck through me. Max embraces me, holding me up. I take a deep breath, pulling myself together, and stand. I can do this. I can be strong for Addison. Max glances at me, tilting his head in question.
“I’m good.”
As we walk down the white, sterilized hallway, I lean into Max and quietly say, “Remind me never to piss off Hudson.”
Max nods. “He was definitely a crazy, pissed-off motherfucker.” He jerks his head toward the bathroom so I can go clean up.
When I walk into the waiting room, Amy and Ted stand. Amy wraps her little arms around me and her body shakes. “Thank you for finding Addison,” she says through muffled cries. I swallow hard trying to keep my emotions at bay.
Ted looks at my raw hands and our eyes lock. His jaw clenches, and he nods slightly. He’s been in law enforcement his whole life. He’s not stupid. He already knows that Joe wasn’t found in the raid. He also knows there was a reason I wasn’t here when he got here. I know what he’s asking without it being asked. Did he suffer? I grit my teeth and nod. He drops back into the seat, sitting forward with his elbows on his knees, and drops his head into his hands. I’m sure he was holding in the worry of Joe still being out there. His emotions flow freely now.
Now
“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” I scream into the empty car, beating the steering wheel with my palms. I can’t believe that asshole told her I was dead. No, I can believe it. Psychopaths play mind games all the time, but when it’s the woman I love being lied to, being told that I’m dead, it makes it hard to see straight. I pound on the wheel a few more times before I fall into it and let it hold me up. I dig my head into the leather. What am I going to do?
I roll my head to the side when I hear tapping on the passenger window and grunt when I see Max. I’m really not in the mood to talk to anyone. There’s a reason I’m out here alone.
“If you don’t unlock it, I’ll do it myself,” Max says, smirking. I flip him off then press the unlock button. I roll my head back, sighing. Max gets in and shuts the door but stays quiet. I take a few deep inhales and exhales before sitting back up.
“I don’t know what to do,” I say, looking straight ahead. The wind is strong. I watch a couple walking to their car, the woman gripping her dress preventing it from flying up.
“Like I said before, it’s going to take time, Aiden.”
“Before I didn’t think she thought I was dead. Who knows how long she’s had that in her head messing with her.”
“Well, you’re obviously not,” he says, matching my snide tone. “So she just needs time to process it.”
“When I was holding her hand while she was asleep, I felt like everything was going to be alright. She’s a fighter. She’s been through so much that I thought she’d be able to get through this. Then when she opened her eyes and realized I wasn’t dead, I felt every singe of betrayal radiate off of her. I felt helpless. And then seeing her cry without being able to comfort her, killed me.”
“She is a fighter.” Max grips my shoulder. “And she’ll need all the help she can get from everyone to help her fight. Including you.” I sigh heavily and nod in agreement. “Let’s go get something to eat, hospital food sucks.”
I wake when a nurse comes into my room to check my vitals. The sun is barely peeking over the horizon and emits a soft glow into my room. I told Amy to leave my curtains open last night. I like knowing that I can focus on my tree when bad thoughts start to creep into my mind. The wind has died down so the leaves barely shift.
My body feels so much better as fluid runs through me. If it weren’t for my broken rib, sitting up would be easy. Unfortunately they took out my catheter, so I have to walk by myself to the bathroom. As much as my body is thankful for all the fluids, my ribs hate me right now. I walk slowly with the help of the nurse.
“Would you like to take a shower?” she asks quietly. A shower sounds wonderful, but I’m not sure if I’ll be able to stand for that long. I groan with frustration. “I could help you if you want. If you want to sit on a chair, I could wash your hair for you.”
My first thought is Amy can help me. Then I think about all the bruises on my body that I’d rather her not see. “Yes, I’d like that,” I whisper as my emotions stir within me. A tear falls down my face. She glances at me and smiles warmly.
As awkward as it is having someone wash me, I feel amazingly better afterward. Amy brought me some pajamas so I won’t have to wear the hideous hospital gown and my breakfast is a success; I finish my entire Jell-O cup and my stomach doesn’t protest. Proud of myself, I lie back and watch TV. I look toward the door as it opens, hoping it’s not Aiden.
