Inhale, Exhale (23 page)

My shoulders slumped as all my anger turned to fear. Fear for her. Fear of a future without her in it. I needed to see her, needed to make sure she was okay. But that wasn’t possible now. The only thing I could do was wait. Sit and wait for whatever way this turned out.

Because no matter what happened, by the end of tonight my life would never be the same again.

The police arrived upon hearing the shouts of the fight. Two officers stepped between us, demanding to know what was going on. Christian sat still on the floor but didn’t say a word. It was JT who finally stepped up and began to fill them in.

“This is Jillian’s ex-boyfriend. He’s the one who sent the guy to her house. He’s a drug dealer, and Jillian found his stash of product last week. When she flushed it, he hit her. Then this morning, like a little bitch, he told his supplier what she did, essentially sending the guy to go kill her. He’s the one you should be arresting.”

The shorter of the two officers looked at Christian, battered and bloody, and then at me. “And where do you fit in?”

Christian, Mr. and Mrs. Mayfield, and the officers turned to me, awaiting an answer. It was a complex answer. I wasn’t sure how I should reply, but it wasn’t necessary. JT stepped in again.

“My boy here was outraged when he heard what this punk did to Jillian. He was just tellin’ Chris he needed to turn himself into the cops and tell you guys everything he knows, wasn’t he, Chris?”

Christian nodded and slumped his shoulders. He knew his fate was sealed. “Yes, that’s what happened.”

The officers didn’t buy that I was totally innocent in this for a second, but no way would Christian press charges. After an awkward silence, the short officer leaned over and grabbed Christian by the arm, hoisting him up.

“Son, seems like you have some information pertinent to this case. We’re going to need you to come with us to the station.”

They paused as they passed by me. “And we’ll need you to be available in case we need to speak with you later as well.”

I looked the officer in the eye. “I’ll be right here. I’m not going anywhere until I know Jillian’s going to be okay. No matter how long that takes.”

The officer nodded in understanding and led Christian away. I sat back down and let out a breath.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Mayfield. I shouldn’t have gone off like that. I don’t usually go around starting fights, but I lost it when he showed up.”

Mr. Mayfield scoffed. “Son, if you weren’t going to hit him, I was. And I don’t know if I would have had the willpower to stop.”

Things quieted down after that, everyone reverting into their own thoughts and worries. For several hours, the room was silent save for the sounds of sniffing, pacing, and nervous drumming.

The silence was deafening, and the lack of any news from the doctor was driving me absolutely fuckin’ insane. I needed a distraction. JT was on the couch, an arm slung comfortably around Trish. He caught me eyeing him, and I tilted my head in indication to follow me. He stood and followed me to the hallway, where I pretended to get a cup of water.

“What’s up with you and Trish? You guys were all cuddly last night, but I didn’t realize it would last longer than that. Most of your relationships don’t.”

JT smiled sheepishly. “I don’t know, man, I really like her. She’s got a wicked sense of humor, and she’s a lot of fun to be around.”

“Well, I’m happy for you then. I was surprised, she’s not the type you usually go after.”

“Yeah, you’re right. But the usual girl I go after hasn’t worked out for me so well.” He paused, looking over at Trish, who was sitting with Ava flipping through Cosmo. “But look at her. That lush little body has curves in all the right places. And God, can she work them. Did you see her on the dance floor? So fuckin’ hot.”

I did see her. Trish exuded more self-confidence than most girls her age, and it looked great on her. But for me, Jillian outshined them all.

“Just don’t hurt her. ‘Cause then that’ll hurt Jillian. And then I’ll be forced to kill you.”

JT laughed. “Nah, I’m not letting this one get away so easily.”

We filled a few cups to pass around and headed back. Just before we crossed the threshold, JT stepped in front of me.

“You know she’s gonna be okay, right? That girl’s a fighter. And she just got her hooks into you. She won’t give that up so easily.”

I smiled. “Damn right she’s not getting rid of me so easily.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

A while later, the doctors finally came out to give us news. Almost eight hours had passed since Jillian had been attacked, and I was going out of my mind. I needed some news, some update on her condition to wash away the worst-case scenarios.

“She made it through surgery.” The doctor’s words were met with happy tears, hugging, and all around sighs of relief. “But she still has a long road ahead of her. She suffered a compound fracture of her tibia, six cracked ribs, and her clavicle was fractured. We went in and repaired the collapsed lung and had to remove her spleen. The MRI showed some slight swelling on her brain, so we’ll have to monitor her for several more days still.”

“When can I see her?” Mrs. Mayfield asked.

“She’s in recovery, but I’ll have a nurse come and get you as soon as she’s transferred to another room.”

“Thank you, Doctor. Thank you so much.” Her mom and dad hugged each other tightly, and I sank to the floor, unable to hold back the tears.

Most everyone left to get some sleep and some food, preparing for a long day again tomorrow. But I couldn’t leave her. Around three in the morning, a nurse came out and took mercy upon me.

“Do you want to go in to see her? You can only stay for a minute, but I know your type. You won’t leave until you’ve laid eyes on her, held her hand. Am I right?”

I nodded, standing as the nurse led me toward Jillian’s room. “Thanks. I won’t disturb her. I only want to talk to her for a few minutes.”

“She’s a lucky girl to have someone who loves her so much.”

“I—I don’t—” I started to object, but the nurse stopped me.

“Darlin, you’re only foolin’ yourself if you deny it.” She stopped outside of one of the rooms in the CCU. “She’s in there. Go on in now. You’ve got ten minutes.”

Do I? Is this love? Maybe, but I can’t be sure.

I couldn’t even begin to process the nurse’s assessment of our relationship, so I stepped inside the room. The scent of antiseptic and chemicals was overwhelming, drowning out the beautiful coconutty aroma Jillian usually exuded. I walked toward her bed and stood in front of her. She had an IV in her hand, and her arm was in a sling. There was a cast on her foot, and she was covered in bruises.

The sight broke my heart. I sat in the chair next to her bed, taking her hand in my own and kissing it gently.

“I’m so sorry, Jillian. I didn’t protect you. I should have stayed. I promised that you’d be safe with Christian out of your life, and I failed.” I stroked her soft wrist with the pad of my thumb. For a long time I sat silently staring at her, watching her chest rise and fall and listening to the steady cadence of her heart.

The nurse peeked her head in the door. “Time to go.”

I bent and gently kissed her on the head. “I’ll be back in the morning, Cupcake.” I brushed the hair out of her eyes, tucking a loose strand behind her ear. Finally, with a loud sigh, I walked out the door.

When I arrived the next morning, no one was in the waiting room. I diverted and walked down the hall to her room. JT and Trish were standing outside, holding hands.

“Hey,” she greeted me. “Jillian’s awake. She’s been asking for you.”

I swallowed hard as emotion flooded me. I started to walk inside, but JT grabbed my arm to stop me.

“One more thing you should know. The police were here this morning to get her statement. They said her description matches the guy Christian gave them. They were on their way to pick him up. Jillian said she scratched the guy’s arm before she fell, and they were able to collect the skin from under her nails. As long as they find the guy, it should be a no-brainer to nail him.”

“JT, I could kiss you. That’s the best news I’ve heard in a while.”

“Why don’t you go kiss your girl instead?”

“I think I’ll do just that.”

When I went inside, Jillian was wide awake and sitting up in bed. I was surprised to see her looking so alert, but it thrilled me. She was flanked by her parents and drinking juice out of a small container like we used to have in elementary school. I stood by the door, taking in the sight of her smiling and laughing so soon after almost dying. Her resilient spirit never ceased to amaze me.

Jillian paused as she eyed me watching her. “Grant,” she breathed.

I lost all of my tough guy swagger at that one word, rushing to her side. Her mom and dad glanced between us and quietly stepped out of the room.

I bent cupping my hands around her face and kissed her lips gently.

“There has never been a more beautiful sight than your bright green eyes looking back at me. I was so afraid, Jillian. So afraid I’d never seen you again.”

She cleared her throat. “I’m not going anywhere.”

I sat in the chair next to her, and for several long minutes I leaned my forehead against hers. My hands fingered through her soft hair. I kissed every inch of her I could reach: her fingers, her nose, her ear, the inside of her elbow.

“The whole time I lay there after I fell out of the window, it was your face I saw. I couldn’t die, because we were supposed to have a date.”

I laughed. “Oh, Cupcake, we’ll have that date. I promise you.” I brushed the tiny hairs from her forehead, watching her eyes fight to stay open. “Sleep now. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

“Promise?” she mumbled.

“Je te promets.”