Finding Ever After (45 page)

           
Ace was persistent though, and the closer it got, the harder he tried to change
my mind. I was walking out of my last
krav
maga
class before Christmas. The ground was coated with a
few inches of snow and I was in a hurry to get into my car and out of the
freezing cold. I was still running off the adrenaline from class and I was
excited to pick Sadie up from the airport in the morning.
Vi
was already in Maine at her grandparents, so I was on my own, but everyone from
the class walked out to the parking lot together.

           
I was just putting my keys in the door when my phone went off with a picture
message. I grinned and slid into the seat, wondering what Ace had sent this
time. When I pulled my phone out and checked the message, I realized he hadn’t
sent a picture but a video. It was probably of someone running naked through
the
Trevi
Fountain, for some reason him, Spade and
Chris thought that was a necessary part of experiencing Europe.

           
I hit play and my heart stopped. It wasn’t a video of anyone running naked
through anywhere. It was taken through a partially closed door. Kyden was
sitting with his back to whoever was recording, I assumed it was Ace, and I was
also betting Kyden didn’t know he was there. He had his guitar in his hands and
was playing a song I didn’t recognize. When he started singing, it became
difficult to breathe because I knew right away that he wrote the song.
About me.

Hey
little girl

With
the ribbons in your hair

Head
full of fairytale dreams

That
the world tried to take

I
see the tears you cry

Clinging
for dear life

To
the angel who went too soon

Left
all alone in the dark

Nothing
but the sound of your breaking heart

Hey
sweet girl

With
the eyes like his

Hopes
crashing down

Needing
the love he won’t give

I
see the tears you cry

Can’t
understand why

You
try so hard but it’s never enough

Left
all alone in the dark

Nothing
but the sound of your breaking heart

Hey
pretty girl

With
the heart so afraid

Trembling
on the ground

Head
screaming in vain

I
see the tears you cry

Praying
in to the night

While
your soul bleeds out through the cuts he makes

Left
all alone in the dark

Nothing
but the sound of your breaking heart

Hey
broken girl

With
the love so strong

It
brings me to my knees

While
you’re begging me not to leave

I
see the tears you cry

For
the truth I keep locked inside

The
words I won’t say

Left
all alone in the dark

Nothing
but the sound of your breaking heart

I
want to take you in my arms and hold you tight

Through
the darkest part of your night

I’ll
watch over you and keep you safe

I
want to kiss all your fears away

Wipe
the tears from your eyes

Make
you feel the things that I can’t say

Show
you what you can’t see

There
will never be anyone else

You
own every piece of me

Hey
perfect girl

Ripped
apart and shattered inside

Still
fighting for those fairytale dreams

You’re
so much more than the scars you hide

I
see the tears you cry

Wasn’t
strong enough to try

I
left you alone even though I wanted to be

The
one to bring you out of the dark

If
only I could tell you how you’ve healed my broken heart

           
My heart was
racing,
I thought it was going to burst
right out of my chest. His words ripped me open, but they also completely
healed me. I wondered if I had hit my head in class and was now lying
unconscious on the floor in the gym dreaming, but then I hit play again and
again. It was real. Tears streamed down my face as I watched and listened over
and over gripping the phone like it was my lifeline.

           
I was so captivated by video that I didn’t think to lock my doors. That was a
mistake. I was on the third play through of the song when my door was ripped
open. One second I was looking at Kyden on the screen singing a song he wrote
for me and the next I was on the pavement looking up into the cold, menacing
eyes.

           
“Did you miss me sweetheart?”

           
The sound of Connor’s voice sent ice straight through my veins. I tried to
scream, but his hand was around my throat before I could make a sound. He
straddled my waist and with his free hand he grabbed both of my wrists and
pinned them above my head. The snow on the ground soaked through my clothes,
but I didn’t feel it. All I felt was sheer terror.

           
I was reliving my worst nightmare. My eyes darted in every direction as I tried
to jerk free of his grasp. There was nobody around to help
me,
the parking lot had emptied while I was sitting in my car watching the video on
replay.

           
My lungs were burning for air. My vision started to blur, from the lack of
oxygen and the tears that were filling up my eyes. I panicked and struggled
harder to roll him off of me, but it was no use. His weight was too much and I
was trapped. All I succeeded in doing was digging the gravel further into my
back.

           
Just before I lost consciousness he finally released his grip around my neck
and I sucked in a deep, painful breathe trying to pull as much oxygen as I
could into my tortured lungs, but he quickly covered my mouth with his hand. He
brought his face down to mine and grinned wickedly. He buried his nose into the
crook of my neck and inhaled,
then
he pressed a trail
of rough kisses up my throat to my ear.

           
“You’re going to pay for sending Daddy after me. You’re mine, and not even he
is going to keep me from you.” I tried to turn my head away from him but he
just laughed and held it in place. His hand was still muffling my screams and I
was choking on my cries. The more I tried to fight him the more he got off on
it. I could feel him pressing into to my belly. Bile rose in my throat. I
couldn’t believe it was happening again. I had to stop him.

           
I tried to calm down, to clear my head so I could find a way out of this.
Escaping would depend on being able to focus and wait for the perfect moment to
make a move. I stopped struggling. I let him think I was defeated. I’d
practiced this a thousand times in my different classes. I inhaled deep breaths
through my nose and readied myself. He would make a mistake, give me an opening
and I would have my chance.

           
It came when he went to pull me to my feet. He kept the one hand tight over my
mouth but lost some of his grip on my wrists in his effort to bring us both up.
As soon as I was standing I was able to yank one arm free and I immediately
thrust the base of my palm up into his nose. He was caught off guard and
shrieked in pain. His head snapped backward and he lost his hold on my other
arm and my mouth.

           
I reached both my hands up and gripped his bicep with one, and the base of his
neck with the other, digging my hands into his skin for purchase. His eyes lit
with fury and he tried to charge me but I had my forearm pressed into his
windpipe and I was able to pull him down using his momentum against him as I
thrust my knee upward into his gut as hard as I could.

           
He dropped and I turned and ran with everything I had, but the ground was slick
and I wasn’t fast enough. I was trying to catch my breath so I could finally
get out a scream but something slammed into me from behind and I crashed onto
the pavement. My head struck the cement before I could break my fall and
everything went fuzzy. The pain was almost enough to make me pass out. I could
feel his weight on my back, but the fog that was clouding my mind made it
impossible for me to focus. I felt him yanking me up again, but this time I
didn’t do anything to stop him, I couldn’t. It was taking everything I had just
to stay conscious. If I blacked out, it was over.

           
He had one arm wrapped around my head, covering my mouth again, and one pinning
my arms to my side. He started dragging me back into the parking lot, but not
toward my car. He must’ve had a vehicle waiting. I knew I couldn’t let him get
me into a vehicle. I had to get away now or I never would. I waited until we
stopped moving, we had to be at his car. Before he could turn and get a door
open I slammed my head back with as much force as I could muster and felt the
crunch of his nose again. He yelled and stumbled backward. I slipped in the snow,
and in my attempt to get away from him I fell forward, my knees and palms
slammed into the ground.

           
My head was still throbbing and I could feel my body about to give in to the
pain. I tried to get to my feet but I was dizzy and slipped again. I started to
crawl, but then his hand wrapped around my hair and he yanked me back. I was
finally able to get enough air into my lungs to force a scream from my throat
as he drug me backwards through the snow by my ponytail. I tried to get my feet
underneath me, but continued to slip in the snow. He stopped again and jerked
my head roughly to the side sending me to my knees. He stepped around to face
me.

           
“Stupid bitch.”
His fist came down hard on my face. I
was knocked backward and my head struck something behind me.
His
car?

           
I slid the rest of the way to the
ground. I was on my back looking up at him while black spots danced through my
vision. Blood ran down his face and there was so much hatred in his eyes as he
glared down at me. I knew I was going to suffer for breaking his nose. I tried
to shuffle away from him, but he lowered himself onto me and I was trapped
again. I reached my hand out for anything to use as a weapon as his weight
crushed me. I felt something hard and cold, roughly the size of my fist.
A rock.

           
He tried to pin my arms but before he could I brought the rock up and smashed
it into the side of his head. It was enough to knock him off me. I started to
rise so I could run again but my body was in so much pain that it wouldn’t move
as quickly as I was telling it to. Halfway up a sharp, searing pain ripped
through my side followed by a second one in my abdomen. I felt something warm
spreading over my stomach. I got out one final scream before my body slid to
the ground.

           
“Looks like I’m going to have to say goodbye a little earlier than planned.
That’s too
bad,
I really wanted to play with you
first.” He hovered above me on all fours, hands and knees on either side of my
body, and he smiled down at me. His face inched closer and all I could do was
watch in agony as he pressed his lips to mine and forced his tongue into my
mouth. Everything about the kiss was wrong. His lips were nothing like Kyden’s.

           
Kyden.

           
I was going to die without ever getting to tell him how much I loved him. That
sent a whole different kind of pain tearing through me. At the end it’s not the
things you did with your life that you
regret,
at
least it wasn’t for me. It was all the things I left undone.
Unsaid.
I felt the chill creep into my bones as I laid there on the cold, wet cement
while all of the life drained out of me and Connor disappeared. Somewhere I
thought I heard my phone ringing and then everything went black.

         
My entire body ached like I’d been
tossed into the cage with an MMA champ. I didn’t know where I was. I tried to
remember anything, but my mind was so groggy that it was like trying to wade
through peanut butter. There was a heaviness pressing down on me, I couldn’t
open my eyes or move. I thought I felt pressure on my right hand, like someone
was holding it, but when I tried to turn my head, my entire body protested and
I let out a groan, then winced at the pain in my throat. I thought I heard voices
around me and the pressure on my hand increased, but before I could make
anything out, sleep washed over me.

           
The next time I woke up the pain was still there, but I didn’t feel so weighted
down. I still couldn’t open my eyes and frustration coursed through me. I
wanted to scream or throw something, but I couldn’t even manage to blink. I did
succeed in letting out a noise that was half whimper, half groan.

           
“Princess?”
Everything inside of me responded to that
sound. I
knew
that voice. My heart sped up in recognition. It sounded
too far away though, I couldn’t get to him. I wanted so badly to open my eyes
and find him. It was all coming back to me, the song, the attack, bleeding out
in the snow.

           
The memory of facing down Connor in the parking lot sent a wave of terror
radiating through my body. I needed to get
up,
I had
to open my eyes so I could get away. My heart was racing and all I knew was the
fear that Connor was going to kill me.

           
“What’s happening to her? What are you giving her?” There was that rich,
soothing voice again, pulling at my soul like a magnet. Then I heard another
voice, soft, female, and unfamiliar to me.

           
“It’s just a sedative to calm her down until she’s ready to wake up.”

           
He said something else to her, but he was getting farther away from me, I tried
to hang on to his voice, it was my life raft in the middle of a hurricane, but
it slipped away.

           
The first thing I noticed, when I finally came to, was the fluorescent lighting
and then a steady beeping sound coming from somewhere close by. I was in a bed,
a hospital bed. There were needles in my arms hooked up to different tubes.
Things were still a little hazy, which is why it took me a second to realize that
the pressure and warmth I felt against the side of my body was someone’s head.

           
Kyden.

           
I hadn’t dreamt him, he was really
here. I tried to sit up, but gasped at the pain in my abdomen and collapsed
back down on the bed. Either the movement or my cry woke him because his head
shot up and he blinked a couple times, like he was afraid what he was seeing
wasn’t real.

           
“You’re awake.” His voice was soft and almost reverent. I tried to speak but my
throat protested and it came out a harsh croaking sound. “Don’t try to talk.
The doctor said it will hurt for a while, the bruising was pretty bad.” My
fingers moved up to my neck and I remembered the feel of Connors hands there,
choking me. I shuddered at the memory.

           
“It’s okay. You’re safe now.” He reached up and pulled my hand away, taking it
in his. With his other hand he reached over to the stand beside my bed and
grabbed a glass of water with a straw. “Here, just take a small sip.” He held
up to my mouth so I could drink. The cool liquid soothed some of the burn, but
swallowing was difficult.

           
“I need to go tell the nurse you’re awake, but I’ll be right back.” I didn’t
want him to leave me, my hand started trembling with fear and I squeezed his
tighter. I knew I was being irrational and he needed to get the nurse, but I
didn’t want him to let go of me. “I promise I’ll be right back. I’m not going
anywhere.” I finally released my grip on his hand and nodded.

           
Just like he promised he returned less than a minute later, followed by a nurse
and a man who I recognized as the same doctor who operated on Shane. “It’s good
to see you
awake
Jaxyn. I imagine you’re still in a
quite a bit of pain.” I just nodded again. They stayed about ten minutes
checking and poking various things, they explained what they were doing, but I
didn’t pay much attention.

           
My eyes never left Kyden’s as he stood across the room watching me, while the
doctor told me I would have to stay another few days to make sure everything
healed without infection. I didn’t care how long I had to stay as long as
Ky
stayed with me. It still felt
unreal that he was here, but I wasn’t going to question it.

           
When they finally left us alone again, after upping my pain meds and telling me
to talk as little as possible, Kyden took his seat at my side again.

           
“What happened?” I managed a whisper. “I remember he stabbed me and then that’s
it.” He grabbed my hand again and pressed his lips to the back of it.

           
“A couple of guys, I think you know them, James and Drew, they said they were
instructors in your
krav
maga
class, found you in the parking lot. They were walking past to get to their
cars out on the street, but they heard a phone ringing and didn’t see anyone so
they went to check it out. That’s when they saw you laying on the ground. You
had been stabbed twice and left there.” He faltered.

           
“Connor was already gone, but thankfully you hadn’t been lying there very long.
James put pressure on your wounds which slowed the bleeding while they waited
for an ambulance.” My eyes stung and I blinked back the tears trying to escape
at how close I had come to dying.

           
“Hey, hey.
It’s alright.” He brought his hand up to my
face and cupped my face, rubbing his thumb gently over my cheek. “Everything is
okay now. You’re safe and he’ll never touch you again. He’s gone.”

           
“Gone?”

           
“Yes. Your father was here yesterday. He found him. Connor’s not coming back Princess.
I promise.” I couldn’t contain the relief that washed over me, it was
overwhelming. The tears I had been holding back spilled onto my face. He wiped
them away with his thumb, but they kept coming. Kyden’s lips brushed over my
cheeks, following the trail of tears until they ceased. I was having difficulty
breathing but for an entirely different reason. I never thought I would feel
the caress of his lips again. I didn’t want to ruin the moment, but I had to
ask the question that had been on my mind since I woke up and found him at my
side.

           
“What are you doing here
Ky
?” For a moment he didn’t
respond, his forehead remained pressed against mine and I thought maybe he
wasn’t going to answer me. Then he pulled away and I could see the pained expression
on his face.

           
“Ace was trying to call you that night, but you didn’t answer. He thought you
were upset about something he sent you, so he kept calling. Finally Drew
answered.” He paused for a moment, his breathing ragged and his eyes watery.
“When Ace told me you were hurt . . . I’ve never felt so scared in my entire
life.” He squeezed his eyes shut but I could still see the moisture leaking
out. “I thought I was losing you.” He choked out. I ignored the pain in my
stomach and leaned forward to bring my face to his and I pressed a kiss just
under each eye, I could taste the salt of his tears on his skin. He brought his
arms around me and gently pressed my body into his.

           
I rested my head in the crook of his neck while he placed soft kisses in my
hair. He started to release me but I tightened my hold on him.

           
“Please just lay here with me.” He pressed one more kiss to my forehead and
then climbed up on the bed beside me. I scooted over to make room for him and
then he gently tucked me into his side and I laid my head on his chest. The
exhaustion swept over me quickly. I thought I heard him singing my song just
before sleep fell over me again, but it could have just been in my head.

           
“I don’t think they’re allowed to do that.”

           
Spade?

           
“I’m not going to be the one to wake
him up and tell him that, but if you want to then be my guest.”

           
Ace?

           
“Hey look, I think she’s waking up.” I blinked my eyes a few times and felt
a hard
warmth beneath my head. I couldn’t stop the smile
when I remembered that the hard warmth was Kyden. His arms were still cradling
me against him. I would have completely forgotten about hearing the other
voices and buried myself deeper in his embrace, but then someone cleared their
throat.

           
“I think you two have had enough alone time, it’s our turn now baby girl.” I
looked up to see Ace and everyone else grinning down at the two of us. Even
Sadie was there. Before I could try to speak, I felt Kyden’s chest rumble
beneath my head.

           
“Go
away,
I haven’t had nearly enough time with her.
You jack asses can come back in a few days.” He growled.

           
“I don’t think so. You’ve been with her for the past five days straight, and
you were supposed to call us the second she woke up. We still wouldn’t know if
Chris’ dad hadn’t requested to be notified personally by her doctor. So who’s
the jack ass now?”

           
Five days.

           
I didn’t know what was more shocking
to hear, that I had been out for five days or that Kyden had stayed with me the
entire time. I shifted in his arms so that I was resting on my back. Any
movement still sent sharp pains through my stomach, but I didn’t care about
anything except the arms around me and the people in the room.

           
“You don’t know how good it is to see you
awake
Jazz.
We’ve all missed that smile so much.” It was so good to see him too, but Bas
looked wrecked, liked he hadn’t slept in . . . five days. In fact looking
around, there were a lot of red eyes and disheveled faces.

           
“Just so you know
,
I’m never letting you out of my
sight again baby girl.” Ace declared.

           
“Same here.
Sorry
Ky
but you
better get used to having us around, because I don’t care if you two are
getting it on, we’re not even taking the chance that she could bump her head
against the headboard.” Spade joked. At least I hoped they were joking.

           
“In all seriousness Tink, this has been the scariest five days of all our
lives. I’m glad you’re okay. We all love you so much.” My eyes watered as
Chris’ admission.

           
 “And you‘re not allowed to go anywhere until I say.” His brother
continued. “So basically never
Jazz
.” I didn’t know
how I had any tears left, but I did. I wasn’t the only one either.
Vi’s
cheeks were streaked with her own, and Sadie’s makeup
was smeared all around her swollen eyes. I noticed that Ace was gently rubbing
his hand down her back. I wondered what was going on with that. I raised an
eyebrow at him and he just winked and smiled back. Just then there was a knock
at the door and three more faces joined the crowd around my bed.

           
“I’ve got someone here who really wants to see you.” Shane spoke up and a
squealing Izzy came running to the bed side. Kyden reached down and scooped her
up into his lap. She wrapped her little arms around my neck and whispered in my
ear.

           
“I’m so glad Santa heard my wish. All I wanted for Christmas was you to wake
up. This is the best Christmas ever.” My eyes widened at her words and I pulled
her in tighter.

           
“Yes it is.” Kyden agreed with her. “I know I didn’t wish for anything else
either.” When they said five days I should have put it together, but I didn’t
until just then.

           
“It’s Christmas? You guys shouldn’t be at the
hospital,
you need to be with your families. And you guys, you’re supposed to be on tour,
are you going to get in trouble for being here?”

           
“Shut up Jax.” Leave it to
Vi
to be the blunt one. “We
wouldn’t be anywhere else. You are family.” They all voiced similar sentiments
and I had never felt so loved in all my life.

           
Every one of them stayed until the doctor came and kicked them out. Apparently
they exceeded the number of visitors allowed at one time. He also admonished
them for keeping me from my rest. You’d think having slept for five days would
be rest enough, but not according to the doc.

           
Everyone filed out, after a procession of careful hugs and kisses on my
forehead. Then it was just the doctor and Kyden left. When he gave Kyden a
pointed look it was just returned with a fixed glare. The doctor just shook his
head and left the room. I got the feeling it wasn’t the first time that had
happened.

           
Even though the doctor told me I needed more sleep, I didn’t feel tired in the
least. It may have had something to do with the person in the bed next to me.
My body was buzzing at his closeness. I don’t know if it was that energy
humming through me, or the almost dying that made me brave, but I had to get it
out. I didn’t ever want to regret not saying it. I was
laying
on my back and Kyden was on his side looking down at me.