Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 59120 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 296(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59120 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 296(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
He doesn’t move.
I sit on the edge of his bed and just start singing. It’s the only thing I can think to do. By the time I reach the chorus, my voice is thick and my heart hurts.
I have to stop.
“Keep going, Mischief,” a rasp has my head snapping up.
Chief’s eyes, glassy but open, are on me. I gasp.
“Daddy?” My whisper cracks so loud it echoes.
He coughs a little. “Hey kid.”
I scramble up, lifting the nurse’s button. I press it with shaking fingers, and the nurse bursts in a moment later, checking his vitals. I lean in and touch my forehead to his palm, unable to stop the tears. I cry so hard my body shakes.
“Hey now,” he croaks, eyes half-closed.
He pulls me onto the bed, wraps his arm around me. I bury my face in his chest, my tears soaking into the hospital gown. The nurse finishes her checks and slips out to call the doctor. I don’t move. I’m too scared to, afraid if I let go, this will all just be a bad dream and he won’t really be awake.
“I thought I lost you,” I croak, clutching him tightly, even though he is already hanging on to me tight enough I can barely get a full breath in.
“Takes more than a damn bullet to kill me.”
“I am so sorry for what happened, I should have warned you or...”
“No,” he cuts me off. “No, what happened was never, and will never, be on you. I should have protected you from him.”
Tears burn. “I’m here. I’m okay. That’s what matters.”
He nods once, slow and steady. “What happened after Bill came?”
“He saved us, but it was messy. You lost some men, I’m so sorry.”
He goes quiet for a long, long moment. “I got you. For that, I will be forever grateful.”
“It’s over now,” I say, my voice shaky. “You just rest. I’m going to find Mom. She has been pacing like a cat on hot bricks since you came in here.”
He chuckles, but coughs and winces after. “I can imagine.”
I climb out of the bed and text her. Ten minutes later, she bursts in, face pale and red, tears streaking her cheeks. I smile at him, then step back and watch. She crumbles in his arms as I did, and he holds her in a way that makes my heart explode. He strokes her hair, murmurs soothing nonsense, and they melt into each other. Their lips meet in a trembling kiss, her hands clutching his hospital gown. I slip away, letting them have their moment.
Down in the cafeteria, I find a vending machine, needing something sweet to get me through.
The only machine that has what I want is near the ER, so I head in that direction. There is somewhat of a commotion going on, and when I round the corner, I come to a complete stop. Travis is standing, Janice in his arms, yelling at a nurse. My chest seizes when I see her swollen eye, bruised cheek, hair in disarray.
“Trav?” I call, and he turns slowly, staring at me.
I walk over. “What happened?”
“He found her, and he beat her,” he says flatly.
I swallow. “At your apartment? I thought he didn’t know where it was?”
“Guess he fuckin’ found it.”
A flicker of suspicion gnaws at me, but now isn’t the moment. A nurse hustles Janice onto a gurney, telling her that she will get a doctor. She clutches Travis’s hand, eyes huge.
“Don’t leave me,” she whispers. “I’m so scared.”
I press my lips together when her eyes meet mine, because something in my chest is telling me this is not at all what it seems.
“I won’t,” Travis assures her.
“Trav,” I begin, but he cuts me off with a look.
“I’ll call you soon, yeah?”
He’s dismissing me.
And it fucking hurts.
I turn and walk away because there’s nothing I can say without sounding cruel.
I return to Chief’s room. He and Mom are sitting side by side, and she has this smile on her face, so big it makes my mood a little better. He pats the space beside him.
“Come here, Mischief.”
I walk in, sitting on the chair beside the bed. “What is it?”
Chief looks to Mom, then back to me. “I just asked your mom to marry me.”
My mouth falls open. Mom throws her head back and laughs, tears in her eyes.
“Wait, what?”
“I know you probably don’t like the idea of us getting back together,” Mom says quickly, “but after nearly seeing him die...he is where I want to be, Violet. He is where I have always wanted to be. Can you be happy for us?”
I stare at the two of them, and I can’t help it, my heart warms.
Maybe they are it for each other, just like Travis and I.
Sometimes, there is that one person, and there is no one else who can compare.