Trusting You (Second Chances #2)(67)
The room grew quiet and they could tell I didn’t want to talk anymore about what happened. Wary, Claire and Mason both tried to smile and left the room while Brett took a chair and moved it beside the bed. Taking my hand, he kissed it and held it in between both of his.
“One day, the pain will be less,” he murmured gently, leaning over to brush the hair away from my face. “But I’ll be with you every day to make sure you get through it until it does. I can promise you that.”
Smiling, I captured his hand with mine and held it to my face. “Good, because I’m going to hold you to that promise. I hope you know what you got yourself in to. I can be a little hard to handle sometimes.”
He chuckled and stood up to kiss me, tracing his tongue lightly over my lips. “Oh, I’m always up for a challenge, firecracker. I look forward to it.”
Me too.
Thirty-Six
Before leaving the hospital, I did something I didn’t think I would do or wanted to do for that matter. I went to see Daniel. Claire told me what room he was in and offered to walk in there with me, but I wanted to see him alone. Brett pushed me in the wheelchair down the hall to the room designated for him and once outside the closed door, I licked my dry lips and hesitated. What reason would he have to want to see me after everything he did?
Brett helped me up by grasping my arm gently, and other than feeling weak I was fine. There was a guard by the door who was stout like an ox, all bulky in his uniform, with a shaved head and kind smile. He nodded at us as we approached and moved aside so I could have access to the door.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Brett asked skeptically.
Heaving a resounding sigh, I nodded my head and faced the door. “Yes, I’m sure. I’ll always wonder what he wanted if I don’t.”
With my hand on the knob, I turned it slowly and opened the door, little by little. I walked in, taking quiet steps, until I could see the foot of Daniel’s bed. Carefully, I turned the corner and gasped when his face came into view. His head was wrapped in gauze, his eyes were swollen and black, and his nose was crooked from what I assumed was from a punch by Brett’s fist. Shockingly, he was actually breathing on his own.
I sat in the chair beside his bed and watched him. His eyes were closed and his breathing was even. For about fifteen minutes I sat there waiting on him to wake up, and when he didn’t, I quietly ambled over to the door, not getting very far. I froze immediately when I heard the sound of Daniel’s voice, all raspy and hoarse, calling out my name.
“Melissa,” he whispered.
Turning my head ever so slowly, I gazed at him from over my shoulder. His face was toward me, but with his eyes so swollen I didn’t know if he could really see me. He repeated my name again in his gruff and beaten voice, “Melissa.”
I blew out a shaky breath and answered, “I’m here, Daniel. Claire told me you had something to say so I’m here.” My eyes pooled with unshed tears, and in a way I knew I shouldn’t feel sad with the way he landed himself all broken in a hospital bed. It was his fault he made terrible choices in life, but …
I couldn’t forget how that same man was one I had married and was happy with, if only for a short while, I did love him and he loved me. Sometimes love just isn’t what it seems.
“I’m sorry,” he choked out. “Mel, I am so sorry.”
A tear escaped the corner of his blackened eye and his shoulders shook with each sob. I had never seen him break down before, and even though I wanted to hate him, I just couldn’t. He was a screwed up individual, and deep down I prayed that he’d get the help he needed to get his life back on track.
I let my own tears fall freely when I gazed over at him. They were the last tears I’d ever cry for him. “Good-bye, Daniel.”
He stared at me for the longest time, his cheeks moist with tears, before saying, “Good-bye, Melissa.”
One Month Later
It was a week before Christmas and there was so much to do. When my parents saw me on the news right after I’d been taken they came straight home from their travels and refused to leave. It went from talking to them once every couple of weeks to talking to them every day. It was kind of nice having them around. However, the night was just for me and Brett, but there was one stop I had to make before going to his condo, which had now become my home for the time being.
After selling everything I owned, I had a nice giant sum of money that was going to help me with my new adventure. An adventure I couldn’t wait to begin. So many things were going to change once the New Year came. Once everything settled down after the whole Daniel debacle I had chosen not to go back to work for the rest of the school year. There was so much going on that I knew I wouldn’t be able to focus on it. It hurt my heart to leave, but it was the right thing to do.
My last stop for the day was the one place I never wanted to see again. When I pulled into the driveway of my old house, the one I’d shared with Daniel, my realtor was waiting for me in her car. It was mid-December and very cold for this time of year which was odd. I parked my new yellow Jeep Wrangler, which I bought after selling my Lexus, beside my realtor’s SUV. Before climbing out of the car, I wrapped my scarf around my neck and buttoned up my jacket.
“Good evening,” Amy said, walking around the front of her car to meet me.