Alyssa's Desire (22 page)

    The nurses came over and told Alyssa that she would be released whenever she wanted to go, but that she could wait for Jack in the area designated for family of surgery patients. They told her that the police had taken her dress as evidence and they wanted to know if anyone could bring her some clothing. Alyssa started to cry and she told them that Jack was the only person who had access to her things and that now that her
mother was gone, she didn't really have anyone to call. The nurse told her that they did keep some donated clothing on hand for this type of situation. She asked Alyssa what sizes she wore and then she left to see what she could find. She came back with a ratty pair of jeans that were two sizes too big and an old t-shirt that sported the name of the seventies punk band, The Ramones and a pair of old sneakers. The clothes sucked but anything was better than the open exposure and downright humiliation of a hospital gown. Alyssa got dressed and then she sighed at how dumpy she felt in these clothes. It was a big change from the elegant attire she came in with.

    The nurse brought over Alyssa's release papers and then they escorted her to the waiting room. The nurse said she was going to tell the surgery staff that she was
there so that someone would keep her updated on Jack's condition. Alyssa self-consciously sat down next to another woman who was clearly in distress as well. The woman just stared out the window, through tear filled eyes. Alyssa started at her feet. The sneakers were filthy and they didn't even have laces. Last night she looked like a movie star and today she looked like a hobo. The nurse came back a few seconds later and she handed Alyssa a wrapped turkey sandwich and a bottle of water and she told Alyssa to try to eat to avoid fainting again. Alyssa started to eat the sandwich when she glanced up at the TV. The news showed the police chase of the car that had shot Jack! Alyssa focused her full attention on the pursuit.

     They were now racing down the highway at speeds over 120 miles per hour. The whole road had been shut
down and there were nearly twenty police cars involved in the chase. Alyssa could do nothing but watch and hope and pray that they caught the bastard that did this to Jack. She watched the chase for about forty-five minutes until the black car reached a point in the road where the police had laid spike strips. She watched the live feed from the news helicopter as the car hit the strips and went flying end over end into the shoulder! Debris flew in every direction as the car rolled before coming to a smoking stop! Alyssa held her breath as she watched the police surround the car with their guns drawn. There was no movement from the car, only the steam and smoke from the wreckage. The police moved closer and then the camera switched to a reporter who informed the viewers that the police had requested that the cameras be shut off until after the suspect was apprehended.

     "Fuck!" Alyssa yelled out loud and she flung her turkey wrap against the wall. She was furious at the news for breaking away. She wanted to know what was happening. The other woman in the room turned her attention away from the window and stared at Alyssa. Clearly the bout of profanity was enough to disturb this woman, even in her current state of distress. Alyssa felt the need to explain her outburst.

  "That car on TV, that's the guy who shot my fiancée. I just wanted to see them catch him, to know that it was over. I'm sorry for my behavior," said Alyssa.

    "Is your fiancée all right?" the woman asked.

  "I don't know yet. That's why I am here. How about you?" Alyssa asked.

   "My son was in a motorcycle accident. He's hurt pretty bad, internal injuries. He's only nineteen years old!" she blurted out and then she started to cry.

   Alyssa was starting to say that she was sorry when the nurse came in and took the woman to the recovery room to sit with her son. Alyssa wished her and her son the best as they left. The nurse told Alyssa that they were finishing up with Jack and that the doctor would be out to talk to her soon. Alyssa only had to wait about ten minutes until the surgeon came out to speak with her.

    
"Alyssa Snyder?" he asked when he entered the room. Alyssa walked over to talk with him. The doctor smiled when she walked up.

    "Mr. Coleman is out of surgery and everything went great. His vitals are real strong and he is doing very
well. At this point we are fairly confident that he will make a full recovery," the doctor began.

   "Oh thank God!" Alyssa interrupted, but the doctor wasn't finished.

    "The bullet missed his heart, which was very lucky because it was close. It made a clean exit to the other side. He did have an arterial tear though, so he lost a lot of blood. He'll be in intensive care for the next twenty-four hours before being moved to a recovery room. It will be several hours before you can see him, but once he is awake and we have checked to ensure that there are no signs of infection, we will bring you back for a few minutes. You will have to wait until he is in recovery before you can spend an extended amount of time with him, but like I said it looks really hopeful right now. It will take a while but he will be okay in time."

    Alyssa thanked the doctor and then she sat back down to wait until she was allowed to go and see Jack. She felt like a tremendous weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. Jack was going to be okay! She started to cry and to shake, but it was partially due to relief. Her tears were interrupted though by an update on the news. The man driving the car did not survive the wreck and his identity had been
confirmed. The man who shot Jack was none other than Sam Masterson! The news report told citizens that they could rest easy because not only was the high speed chase over, but the notorious serial killer was no longer at large.

    Alyssa cupped her hands over her mouth. She could hardly believe her ears. Masterson had been the one
who shot Jack, not someone who was trying to avenge Trevor Barnes! Alyssa was shocked. She had no idea why Sam Masterson would have had it out for Jack. After all Jack had been the one who had gotten Masterson sent to a hospital rather than prison. In any case though, Alyssa was glad that both Masterson and Barnes were dead.

Chapter Twenty-One: Recovery

   
Jack started to open his eyes but he quickly shut them again. A blinding square shaped light was all he could see. He squeezed his eyes shut, watching the colored outline of the light dance around behind his closed eyes. He shook his head and tried to see again. Everything was blurry and he felt dizzy and sick to his stomach.
What the hell happened? Where am I?
Where's Alyssa?
These thoughts entered his mind and then quickly faded again as Jack slipped back into a deep state of unconsciousness. The darkness came again, and it was comforting and quiet. There was no pain in the darkness. Yet the light, the light kept trying to break its way in. Jack could see it creeping underneath his eyelids like a thief determined to steal his silence. The light was cruel as it brought tremendous pain. Whenever Jack started to see the light he felt like his chest was being burned from the inside out. The burning soon gave way to the most intense pain that Jack had ever felt. This time it didn't fade when he closed his eyes, instead it held him captive like a tortured prisoner.

    Jack wanted to scream or run away or at least move in an effort to alleviate his pain, but he couldn't. He wondered if he was paralyzed. He couldn't move his arms or his legs. The only thing that he seemed to be able to control was his head. He shook it back and forth, trying to get the rest of his body to move along, but it was like he was strapped down and confined. Once again he tried to open his eyes. He
could see the square light again, only this time it was less blinding and he could see that it was a light fixture on a white ceiling. He could hear a steady and rhythmic beeping near him and voices speaking softly in the distance. His mouth was gummy and dry like the cottonmouth feeling of a hangover. Jack moved his tongue about and licked his lips, trying to revive a little moisture. He turned his head to toward the beeping sound and he realized that he was hooked up to hospital monitors.

   
The pupils of his eyes dilated as his mind suddenly remembered the shooting. He had just proposed to Alyssa and they were waiting outside the restaurant for a cab. A black car pulled up slowly and as Jack turned to look at it, he recognized Sam Masterson. Then he saw Masterson hold up the gun and fire! The deafening sound was embedded in his memory.
Oh God, there were two shots! Where is Alyssa?
Panicked ripped through Jack's body and it overcame his pain and his apparent paralysis. He fought against them both with violent and desperate intensity. He managed to raise his shoulders and move his arms enough to shake the bed, which alerted the nurses.

    "Now Mr. Coleman, I need you to try and relax. You just underwent an intensive surgical procedure. Your body is still recovering from the anesthesia. That is why you can't move. You need to give it some time to wear off," said the
nurse sternly. She was a woman in her late fifties to early sixties. She had pursed lips and an annoyed look on her face, not unlike a mother scolding an unruly child.

 
"Alyssa. Alyssa," Jack said twice in forced whispers.

   "She's fine, Mr. Coleman. Once you are cleared from Intensive Care, we can bring your fiancée in to see you,
but if you fight you are going to prolong the process. So please calm down a bit, alright?" The nurse walked over and tucked the blankets tightly around Jack, adding to his already impaired mobility.

    The nurse walked away with her hands on her hips and she made her way back to her station, where she sat down to file her fingernails. Jack breathed a sigh of relief, Alyssa was alive and she was there. He lay back down for a while and tried to rest like the nurse had ordered, but the pain was incredible. Tears streamed down from his eyes, despite his best efforts to hide them. About half an hour later, the stern nurse returned and she noticed the tears.

    "How are doing Mr. Coleman? Can you move your fingers yet?" she asked as loosened the tight blanket just enough so that she could see Jack's hands. Jack was able to move his hands and his arms partially.

    "That's very good, Mr. Coleman. Are you feeling any pain yet?" she asked, watching his body language carefully. Jack clenched his fist and squeezed his eyes shut as he nodded his head.

    "Is it a lot of pain?" she asked watching as more tears streamed down his cheeks. Jack nodded again vigorously. The nurse told him she would ask the doctor if it was okay to start his morphine drip. Shortly thereafter a doctor came back and did essentially the same test and then he had the nurses set Jack up with some pain medication in his IV. About half an hour later, Jack was able to move fairly well and he was in less pain. He felt really drugged up, and he still hurt but it was much better than it had been when he first woke up. The doctors came to check on him again and they determined that he was well enough to be moved to a regular hospital room. Jack asked when he could see Alyssa and the doctor promised that as soon as he was settled into his new room that she could stay there with him.

    
After what seemed like forever, two nurses came to move Jack to his new room. The first one changed the dressing on his shoulder and his catheter bag and then they wheeled him down the hall and into an elevator. Then they went down the hall and into a private room. There the nurses set him up with a fresh IV and a new medicine bag. Then they hooked him up to series of monitors. One of the nurses brought out extra blankets and pillows. Some she gave to Jack and some she sat on a recliner that was next to his bed. The nurse told him that his fiancée could stay there for the next few days if that is what they wanted. Jack thanked her for that and he told the nurse that he hadn't seen her yet. The nurse smiled and said that she would look for her.

   
Alyssa was still sitting in the same room watching the news when the nurse came in. She was delighted to hear that Jack was awake and that he was doing so well that they had moved him to his own room. She broke into tears and hugged the nurse when she told Alyssa that she could stay in Jack's room with him. Then the nurse told Alyssa to follow her. She pointed out various markers and things to look for along the way so Alyssa could find her way back to Jack's room without getting lost. Alyssa was grateful for that as well. When they knocked on Jack's door, Alyssa was so nervous. She had no idea what to expect, but she dying to see him. Then the nurse opened the door and walked inside with Alyssa meekly walking behind her.

    "Look who I found," the nurse said in a sing-song voice. Then despite the pain, Jack smiled when he saw Alyssa.

   "Alyssa!" he said excitedly and then he started to cry despite himself. She started crying too as she made her way to his bedside. She ever so gently hugged him, being careful not to bump the bandages or pull on the wires. Jack reached up and wiped her tears away. Alyssa was so choked up that she could barely speak but she managed to say "I love you" and then she leaned in and kissed him on the forehead. Jack reached around to cradle her head and he returned the kiss and then he hugged her again until it just hurt too much to move his arm that way.

   
Alyssa stayed in Jack's room for the next few days. The only time she left was to go home to take a shower and pick up some of her own clothes while Jack was visiting with his son. Alyssa figured that would be a good time to leave because she didn't want to take away from their time, plus she didn't want to see Jade. She had been through enough without listening to that bitch's nasty comments. She did go down to the cafeteria every now and then to get something to eat, but she generally stayed by Jack's side other than that.

   
Jack's condition seemed to improve every day.  He was soon able to get up on his own and even shower and use the bathroom by himself. The doctor said that he would go home in about a week. Only one of Sam Masterson's bullets had actually hit Jack and since it went straight through without damaging any organs, Jack was recovering pretty quickly. The other bullet had hit the side of the restaurant and it had been recovered by the police who were the first on the scene.

    Alyssa told Jack that it was Sam Masterson that had shot him. Jack said that he knew because he had remembered recognizing him right before he saw the gun. The police had given Alyssa an update on the case. Apparently Sam Masterson's cousin, the one who had helped him escape, had disclosed some information as to why this had happened. Sam Masterson had told him that he was angry at Jack for not winning the case. Sam had these delusional ideas that since he was from a wealthy family, that a high priced lawyer could just make his charges go away. When Jack had told Masterson that the best he could hope for was life in a mental facility, he accepted it but he was angry. He
wanted Jack to at least make an attempt to set him free, and Jack's refusal to do so infuriated Masterson to no end. Alyssa shared this information with Jack, who responded that at least he knew why. Jack was pleased to learn that Masterson was dead though. That way he couldn't hurt anyone else.

     Alyssa talked a lot about the sick irony of everything. About how they had lived in fear of Trevor Barnes for so long, only to be attacked by someone that they never knew was a threat. Jack just told her that all of it was finally over. It just had to be over at this point. Barnes was dead and Sam Masterson was dead, and Alyssa and Jack were both alive. Then he told Alyssa to stop dwelling on the bad things that had happened that year and to start looking forward to the good that would come in the future. Jack would make a full recovery
and they would be married. Together they would start a new life and from this point forward, they would only have good memories.