His Every Choice (4 page)

She turned and was blinded by another series of flashes, but she was able to make
out a shadowy figure approaching.

The detective moved a little in front of her. “Excuse me,” he said. “We’re going
inside. Let us through.”

“Kallie, is Hunter alive?” the man asked. More flashes.

She finally put it together that this man was some kind of paparazzi or reporter.

“Just leave me alone, please,” she said, squinting and trying to move away.

“Just give me a picture. Come on. Kallie, Kallie, don’t be a bitch.”

Suddenly, Detective Phillips flew forward, grabbing the man by his shirt and shaking
him so hard that the camera fell to the concrete with a loud crash.

“Next time you take unwanted pictures, I’ll knock so many teeth out you’ll get mistaken
for a fucking Jack ‘O Lantern,” Phillips warned him. Then he let the man go, grabbed
Kallie by the elbow and quickly maneuvered her inside the hotel.

“That’s an expensive camera, fuckhead!” the man cried out as they went inside.

Kallie was shaking from the encounter. It felt like she’d been attacked physically,
and she was getting vivid flashbacks from her assault and the restaurant shooting.

“Just keep walking,” Phillips instructed. “I’m sorry I didn’t see that coming.”

Kallie put a hand up to shield the side of her face. Dimly, she could still hear
the man yelling from outside.

“I’m scared,” she whispered.

“Come on. To the elevator.” Phillips led her past the hotel café and the chairs
and couches in the lobby, all the way to the bank of elevators. He pushed the button
and they waited together in silence.

Finally the elevators came and he rode up to her floor with her.

She was wishing for Hunter. This was when he would hold her and tell her that everything
was okay. But having the detective here with her wasn’t the worst thing in the world.

She kept seeing Terrence and his eyes, filled with insanity and bloodlust. He’d been
ready to kill her, and having seen that, she could never unsee it. It was a split-second
vision that she’d been able to push out of her mind when she’d been dealing with Hunter’s
health. But now that Hunter was getting better, she couldn’t keep pushing what happened
out of her mind.

It was back with a vengeance.

She shuddered as the elevator doors opened and Phillips had to escort her out into
the hallway, to her room. “Are you scared?” he asked.

“I’m all right,” she lied. “I think I’m just overtired.”

At her door, he stood for a long moment. “I can stand guard out here tonight if you’d
like.”

“No. Don’t be silly.”

“It’s not silly. You’re white as a ghost.”

“I don’t want you to stand outside my room tonight, Detective.”

He nodded briskly. “As you wish.”

She opened the door and started to walk in. He was already heading back down the
hall. Kallie stepped out once more and called to him. “Detective Phillips?”

He stopped and looked at her. “Yeah?”

“If you could walk me to the hospital tomorrow morning, that would be nice.”

He smiled and nodded. “My pleasure, Kallie. Sleep tight, now.” And then he continued
walking away from her.

She went inside her room and shut the door, bolted it. Suddenly, she was wracked
by shaking and she sunk to the floor, sobbing.

Everything was playing out again in her head—the madness, the terror of everything
she’d witnessed. The sheer enormity of the violence was beyond comprehension. Hunter
had nearly been killed, and she’d also watched him murder a man with his bare hands.

She’d nearly died herself.

Kallie crawled across the floor, only instead of the carpet of the hotel room pressing
against her hands and knees, she instead felt the hard and gritty sensation of the
restaurant floor. The sting of broken glass, the blood. She held up her hands and
saw the deep, deep red—and her mouth opened to peel out a scream that never came.

She jumped up to her feet and ran to her bed. Then she was under the covers, whimpering
and crying as the darkness overwhelmed her.

She could see his eyes again—Terrence’s wild, mad eyes. He was like Charles Manson
reborn, those gleefully crazy eyes capable of anything and everything.

Kallie knew she would never, ever forget those eyes, as long as she lived…

But somehow, she did forget—or at least, she was able to drift into an uneasy sleep
where Terrence and his madness couldn’t follow her.

She awoke the next morning feeling refreshed and most of the anxiety and fear from
the previous night had drained away to almost nothing. It was like some bad dream.

She was smiling now, thinking of Hunter.

But she was also starving, realizing she hadn’t eaten in a very long time.

Kallie took a brief shower, and then dressed in her very last outfit combination.

After this, someone would certainly catch on that she was wearing the same clothes
over and over—she now officially needed a new wardrobe out here.

She went downstairs and decided to grab a bite to eat at the café before she met the
detective to walk to the hospital. As she was sitting down with a Danish and coffee
(and trying to ignore the stares of the other patrons), Kallie saw Lydia walking by.
She looked like she’d been out all night drinking and hadn’t even gone to bed yet.

When Lydia turned her head and saw Kallie, her eyes grew wide as saucers.

“You’re back!” she shouted, coming inside the restaurant. “Nobody knew where you
were.”

“What do you mean?” Kallie asked, lowering her voice and hoping that Lydia might take
the hint. No such luck.

Lydia wasn’t much for hints or subtlety. “I mean, Sean and your mom and dad have
been wondering if you were ever going to make time to see anyone.”

“I’ve been busy, Lydia. Hunter was in critical condition until late yesterday.

When did I have time?”

“I’m just saying, you’re down here now. Will you stay and see everyone for a bit?”

Kallie looked at the time on her phone. “I really need to go to the hospital.”

Lydia’s eyes narrowed. “If I tell them you were here and refused to even see them—“

“Don’t tell them, then,” Kallie said. But she knew it wasn’t right to blow her family
off. As crazy as it seemed, Lydia actually had a point for once.

“Please, Kallie. Can I tell them you’re here?”

“Of course,” Kallie relented.

Lydia smiled and made a fist like she’d just scored the winning goal. “Give me two
minutes. I’ll go round up the troops.”

“Great.” Kallie faked a smile, and Lydia ran out of the café.

Kallie went back to eating her Danish and pretending that nobody was staring at her.
It was so strange feeling known, realizing that there were news stories and newspaper
articles being written about her and Hunter. She wasn’t reading them, but she was
aware they existed and others were clearly staying more informed.

At one point, a young woman with striking red hair actually approached her table.

“Excuse me,” the woman said nervously.

Kallie looked up at her. “Yes?”

“I don’t mean to bother you. I just wanted to say that I am so moved by what you’ve
been through. You’re so courageous.” The red haired woman could hardly even meet
Kallie’s gaze.

“Thank you for saying that,” Kallie told her. “What’s your name?”

“Theresa.”

“Theresa, that’s a lovely name. Very nice to have met you.”

The woman smiled as if Kallie had just told her she was going to give her a thousand
dollars. “My thoughts are with you and Hunter,” Theresa said. “Thanks for talking
to me.” She gave a small wave and a self-conscious smile as she left.

“Of course. Of course.” Kallie watched her go, a sense of unreality washing over
her. Theresa had so much emotion in her eyes, and it was clear that speaking to Kallie
had been very important to her. Kallie was trying to fathom how it was possible that
she’d created this effect in someone she’d never even met.

It was strange. She supposed that if she ever met Meryl Streep, Kallie might be just
as nervous. Maybe that’s how celebrities felt when strangers came up to them with
the weight of so much expectation and emotion. How could you deal with all of those
intimate needs from so many people you’d never met?

She was thinking about that when she was confronted with the intimate needs of people
who she had known her entire life, as her parents and brother filed into the café
to see her. Lydia was leading the pack, jabbering away loud enough for all to hear.

“I couldn’t believe it when I saw her just sitting here by herself,” Lydia said.

What’s wrong with sitting alone? Kallie wondered. Some time alone was nice once in
awhile. Lydia was one of those women who’d never been to a movie by herself, or out
to a restaurant with just a newspaper or a book. Kallie had never been that desperately
social.

She stood up and gave hugs to her mother and father and Sean. Sean gave her a stern
look. “What am I now, chopped liver? Haven’t heard from you in days, sis.”

“I’m sorry. It’s been so busy and there were some tough moments. I didn’t have a
chance to stop and catch my breath.”

As everyone sat down, Kallie noticed that there was that same tension in the air,
left over from the other day when her parents had begged her to go back with them
to Ohio. She could see it written all over their faces, still.

“Where’s your bodyguard?” her father asked, as a waitress came to the table and set
down coffee cups and a large pot for them.

“He should be down in a little bit,” Kallie said. “And he’s not really a bodyguard.

Just a detective.”

“What’s the difference? He’s paid to protect you,” Sean replied.

Her mother looked at her with sad eyes. “I’ve barely been able to sleep, I’m so worried
for you.”

“I know,” Kallie said. Silently, she cursed Lydia for bringing everyone down here
to start this same old song and dance. She didn’t want or need this kind of drama.

“You know, but you’re still going to stay on course,” her mother sighed.

“It’s what I want to do,” Kallie said, simply. “I don’t have any doubts.”

“Maybe you don’t,” Sean said, “but what about Hunter?”

“What about him?”

“Maybe he does have doubts. Have you talked about any of this with him?”

Kallie crossed her arms. “What Hunter and I talk about is our business.”

“Don’t get defensive,” her mother said. “We’re only saying this out of love.”

“I know that, but you’re not listening to me. I love Hunter and I belong wherever
he is.”

“You’re too young to know who you belong with.”

“I don’t agree.”

The table fell silent. Lydia tapped the tabletop with her fingernails. “Guys, this
is silly. Kallie’s a rock star. Why are we raining on her parade?”

Kallie hated Lydia’s fawning almost as much if not more than the rest of her family’s
disapproving commentary. “I’m not a rock star. I’m just a normal person who’s doing
the best I can.”

Her father smiled a little. “I was always hoping one of my kids would grow up to
be a rock star. I just thought that meant actually playing in a band, like The Beatles
or something.”

Everyone laughed a bit at this, and that seemed to break the ice. Normal conversation
resumed, with Kallie asking everyone about what they’d been doing the last day or
two, and explaining the emergency surgery Hunter had undergone that had helped discover
what was causing the infection.

When she was finished catching them up on everything, Sean gave her a brotherly pat
on the back. “I’m proud of you, Kallie. You hold up good under pressure.”

She grinned. “Thanks, Sean.”

Just when it seemed that the meal might end on a pleasant note, one of the hotel staff
entered the café and headed straight for table. “Miss Young?” he said, as he got
closer.

“Yes?” she replied, wondering what this could be about.

“Your fiancé has called the front desk, looking for you, ma’am.”

Kallie felt her face flush. She couldn’t imagine why Hunter hadn’t called her cell.

“Okay, I’ll be right there.” She pulled out her cell and saw that it had died. She
needed to charge the damn thing better.

“Kallie,” Sean said.

She looked at him. “Please, let’s not get into this right now.”

He reached out and took her hand roughly. “What the hell is that?” he asked, gesturing
to the ring Hunter had used to propose yesterday.

“Okay,” she said, wrenching her hand free. “We’re engaged. Hunter proposed to me
yesterday and I accepted.”

“Oh my God!” Lydia squealed. “That is so fucking awesome!”

Kallie felt like sliding under the table. Everyone was staring at them now.

Her parents looked like she’d just told them she had contracted a fatal disease.

Sean’s face was red. “Yeah, really awesome. Congrats.” He said it without a hint
of genuine happiness for her.

“Thanks,” she said, sarcastically. “The support is appreciated.”

“Kallie,” her father said. “You know we support you. We’ll always support you.

We love you.”

Her mother nodded. “Just because we’re concerned, doesn’t mean we aren’t happy that
you’ve found someone you care about.”

“Well, I don’t support it,” Sean told her. “I mean, I know Hunter’s a good guy and
he risked his life for you—but that doesn’t mean I think you should marry him.”

“This isn’t a democratic decision,” Kallie said. “I make my own choices. I didn’t
put it up for a family vote.”

“You tell them, Kallie,” Lydia said, nodding.

“Now I really need to take Hunter’s call, if you would excuse me.” Kallie stood up
and went to the front desk. The concierge handed the phone over to her.

“Hunter?” she said.

“Babe.”

“Are you okay?”

“Dr. Walsh just came by and looked me over. Said I might be released as early as
the day after tomorrow now.”