Chapter Twenty-Eight
A subtle beeping slowly woke me, bringing awareness to my surroundings. A bright light shone through my closed eyelids. I was really getting tired of waking up like this. I cracked my eyes open and the bright light stung my eyes. They felt dry and strained even though tears spilled from my eyes the minute the air hit them. I painfully looked around me, taking in my surroundings, already knowing that I was in a hospital.
I was also alone. My leg was elevated at the foot of my bed and cocooned in a hard cast. It ached, but it was easy to ignore it. My whole body seemed to ache. I groaned and moved my head to the side, looking around for anything – anyone – that could give me answers. I saw a remote attached to the hospital bed and inspected it before pressing a button that looked like it would call a nurse.
As I waiting for a nurse to appear, I focused on recollecting my memories of what happened. I remembered Cate and me struggling. But I didn’t remember who won. It had seemed like she had the upper hand, last thing I remembered. I bit my lip wondering how things had gotten so out of control. Where had Ethan been? He was supposed to be protecting me from her.
“You’re awake!” a woman with big, blonde hair and a bright, white smile came bustling into the room wearing navy scrubs. She winked, her blue eyes smiling down at me as she worked the machines next to my bed. “Dr. Stinson is on his way here. He’ll go over everything with you.”
I nodded and just stared back at her, unsure what to say. She stopped messing with the machines and stood at my bedside, looking down at me. “How are you feeling?”
I shrugged, “A little sore.”
She smiled, “That’s completely understandable. Well, Dr. Stinson will be here in just a moment. My name is Beth. I’m just going to go notify your visitors.”
“Ah, thanks,” I said and gave her a polite smile. She winked and walked back out the room. I lifted my arm to run my hand through my hair. My hair was a tangled mess. I could only imagine what I might look like. I considered getting up to go to the adjoining restroom. I sat up straighter in the bed, my vision swaying a bit in a dizzying manner from my sudden change in position.
“Easy there,” a voice called to me from the doorway as a man I could only presume was my doctor approached the bed. He had white hair and wore simple wire-rimmed glasses. He had a broad smile on his face that instantly comforted me. He came over to the edge of my bed and laid his hand on my shoulder. “You just woke up. You might want to wait a bit before launching out of bed.” He chuckled slightly.
I gave him a small smile and stilled my attempt to get off the bed. “Right,” I agreed. “Probably a good idea.”
“Well, I’m Dr. Stinson.” He removed his hand from my shoulder and grabbed a file from a holder on the wall and flipped through it. “So it looks like you have a bimalleolar fracture, which means you’ve broken a couple of bones in your ankle. The ligaments are also strained. Overall, you’ll need to stay off your ankle for a few months to allow it to heal and I’m going to recommend physical therapy.” I nodded. I had already assumed this assessment from the cast on my foot. Colton was going to be pissed about this.
“Also,” Dr. Stinson continued, squinting at the paperwork in his hands. “You have a few bruised ribs, but no lasting damage there. Should feel better in a couple weeks, at most. And the laceration on your neck didn’t require any stitches. I’d advise you to keep a bandage on it the next couple days, and then you should just need to keep some antibacterial ointment on it so it doesn’t get infected. Finally, there doesn’t seem to be any lasting damage to your abdomen. You'll have some soreness, though.” He snapped the file closed and looked over at me, smiling widely. “Overall, you should be able to get out of here today. How are you feeling right now? Is the pain manageable?”
“Uh, I’m fine, I guess,” I said. “Can you tell me what happened? How did I get here?”
“Ah yes, I can’t actually talk to you about it until you speak to the officers waiting outside,” Dr. Stinson gave me a sheepish smile. “I had to practically force myself past them to see you first.”
“Officers?” I asked, a little alarmed.
“Yes, I’ll just go get them now,” the doctor dropped my file back into its holder and left the room.
Of course the police were here. Cate had attacked me. I still don’t understand how it ended, but maybe these officers could give me some insight.
Loud footsteps drew my attention back to the door. A couple of middle-aged men wearing black police uniforms filed into the room. The one leading the way stopped at the foot of the bed. The other held a pad of paper in his hands and drew up next to him.
“Miss Lewis,” the first cop said looking down at me. His icy blue scrutiny gave an impression that he was staring into my soul and could see all my secrets. I didn't even think I had any secrets, but if I did, this cop would definitely draw them out of me. “I’m Officer Burkhart. This is Officer Russell. We just want to ask you a few questions about your side of what happened.”
“Okay,” I said tentatively.
“Just start at the beginning. What were you doing yesterday? Why did you go back to your rental cabin so early?”
I went over my day with the two officers. I told them about how sleepy I had felt before deciding to go back to the lodge. I explained what happened when I awoke and everything I could remember. As I told my story, more memories came back to me. I finished my statement by describing how I must have passed out when Cate was stomping on my stomach.
“Thank you, Miss Lewis,” Officer Burkhart said. He looked over at his partner, “Did you get all that?”
“Sure did,” Officer Russell responded.
The men shuffled a bit as if they were getting ready to leave me. “Wait,” I said, reaching towards them. “What happened after that? How did I get here? Where’s Cate?”
Officer Burkhart sighed, “Well, your friend Michelle Matthews struck Cate on the back of the head with a baseball bat a couple times, knocking her unconscious. Then, she called the police and an ambulance. You arrived at the hospital last night. It's about ten in the morning now, so I'm sure you're tired. You've had an exhausting couple of days."
“Wow,” I said, shaking my head. “Sounds like the plot of a bad movie.”
The officers chuckled, “Well, you would know.” Officer Russell rubbed the back of his neck and stepped a bit closer, “By the way, I gotta say…my daughter is a huge fan.”
“Thanks,” I mumbled. “Is there anything else you need from me right now?”
“Whenever you feel up to it, if you wouldn’t mind coming down to Aspen Police Department. We need you to make an official statement and sign off on it. And we need to know if you’ll be pressing charges against Hayes.”
“Why wouldn’t I?” I asked.
“Just think about it,” Office Russell said. He gave me a smile and a wave before they both left the room.
I sighed, leaning back into the pillow behind me. Of course I was going to press charges. Cate was insane. She really needed to be locked up in a mental ward. I bit my lip and thought about that. Could I really carry that decision on my shoulders for the rest of my life? Pressing charges or even admitting that Cate was insane would ruin her. I could ruin Cate’s life.
Well, wait, no – she ruined her own life. She lost her way and went crazy over Ethan. She did this to herself. Her actions deserve consequences. She tried to kill me. If she hadn’t allowed herself to become so deranged over Ethan, then I wouldn’t be in a hospital.
Speaking of Ethan, where was he? He was supposed to protect me from all this. This was his problem.
As if I conjured him with my thoughts, Ethan burst through the doorway, reaching for me. His hair was disheveled and his beautiful green eyes were shadowed with dark circles. “Elle,” he said breathlessly as if he’d just run a long way. “Elle, sweetie, I’m so sorry.” He reached his hand towards me, threading his fingers through my hair.
He leaned forward and touched his forehead to mine. I closed my eyes, inhaling his scent that made me feel more relaxed than I had felt since waking up. With one of his hands still threaded through my hair and resting at the base of the back of my head, he used his other to gently stroke my cheek.
“I’m so sorry, Elle,” he repeated, his breath whispering over my lips. "So sorry." He lightly brushed his lips over mine, but pulled away before I could even process the kiss. Still holding his hand in my hair, he looked me in the eyes.
“Where were you?” I asked quietly. “Why did you go away?” Ethan’s eyes clouded over with pain and regret. “You were supposed to be there,” I continued, the decibel of my voice going up. “You were supposed to protect me from her.”
"Elle, I know," Ethan said. "I got a tip from my PI that we might be able to draw her out and I could confront her about everything." He leaned back and sat down in the chair next to my bed, releasing my head but reaching to hold my hand. Ethan stroked the top of my hand with his thumb and looked at the floor. "It didn't work though. It was a stupid idea. She was just waiting for me to get away from you before she went after you.” He shook his head. “I should have never left your side.”
I watched him momentarily without saying anything. He was beating himself up over this. I could only imagine the guilt eating him up. I tried putting myself in his shoes. If my psychotic ex had tried to kill him… I couldn’t even imagine. I mean, I’d never had a psycho ex before, but it was just a ridiculous situation we were in.
“Ethan.” I tightened my grip on his hand until he looked back up at me. “You couldn’t have ever predicted this. None of this is your fault.”
His eyes softened. I noticed how bloodshot his eyes were. He either had been crying or hadn't had any sleep in a while. Probably both. "Elena, it is my fault,” he whispered. “You are the most important person in my life and because of my decisions, you were hurt.”
“It’s really not your fault,” I repeated. He sighed and lowered his face to our linked hands resting on my bed. He kissed the back of my hand, his lips lingering on my skin, spreading tingles across my skin. “I don’t blame you for any of this, Ethan.”
He looked up at me, fighting back tears. “I don’t deserve you, Elle.” He shook his head. “God, I don’t deserve you. I’ve wanted to be with you for so long, but I’ve been fighting it.” I held my breath watching him intently. “It’s always been you, Elle.”
He swallowed, but sat up straighter. His voice was huskier and spoke with more urgency. “I’ve loved you for so long… so damn long now. But I couldn’t put you through the mess that is my life. With Cate haunting my every move and my … my … I don’t know how to describe it… my inability to have a meaningful relationship. I couldn’t risk losing you.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I took a breath. “But what about—” I tried.
“Elle, I don’t want to lose what we have. You’ve seen every side of me and you never left my side. Not until I pushed you away.” He lowered his head again. “And that was so goddamn stupid of me to push you away. But I knew you needed someone to be the right man for you, and I was so…” he trailed off looking back into my eyes with a vulnerability I’d never seen from him before. “I was so afraid that if I put myself out there and told you everything I wanted us to be, that I would never be able to be the man I wanted to be with you. The man you deserve to be with.”
He shook his head and dropped my hand, leaning back in his chair, running his hands through his hair. “I’m not making any sense,” he muttered more to himself than to me. He looked across the room from me, lost in thought.
I swallowed and bit my lip. “I think I understand,” I finally said into the growing silence in the room. Ethan turned to look me in the eyes again. His eyes were wide and waiting, flicking back forth between each of my own eyes. “You want to be with me?” He didn’t say anything just watched my eyes. I continued, leaning forward so I was sitting more upright on the bed, closer to him, “You love me? You’re in love with me?”
“Yes,” he said firmly, looking unblinkingly into my eyes, leaning even closer. “I’m so in love with you, Elle. The thought of going another day not telling you is …unimaginable.” His eyes flicked to my mouth, where I was fiercely biting my lip. He shook his head and groaned. “If you keep biting your lip…”
Without finishing, he closed the distance between us and crashed his lips into mine. His hands reached up to hold my face in his palms as his lips moved across my own. I kissed him back, my mouth opening as his tongue caressed my lips. I closed my eyes feeling as if I was floating as we passionately kissed. His hands were in my hair, on my neck, everywhere.
He stood up, pressing his forehead against mine and we kissed with such intensity and built-up passion. An urgency I'd never felt before exploded within me and I needed him. I needed his lips, his touch, his smell enveloping me. Only when his hand slid down my neck and traveled down my side did I pull away with a sharp gasp, his hand brushing over my bruised ribs.
“Oh god,” Ethan said, pulling back. He pulled his hands away from me, holding them up in front of him. “Did I hurt you? Are you okay?”
I nodded, my lips feeling swollen and buzzing from being kissed so strongly. By Ethan. We kissed. “You love me,” I said disbelievingly, ignoring his questions.
He sat back down, his thumbs stroking the tops of my hands. “I love you,” he said.
I looked back at him. “I love you, too,” I admitted, smiling slightly. I couldn’t believe this was happening.
“She’s alive!” a loud voice cried from the hallway causing us both to jump. We looked towards the door where Colton was bursting through. He wore sweatpants and a long sleeve shirt, looking nothing like he usually did. “You’re alive!”
Colton swept over to the side of the bed, and nudged Ethan out of the way with his hip. Ethan rolled his eyes, but stood up and stepped away. Colton dropped dramatically into his vacated seat while Ethan went to sit in another chair by the window.
“You cannot imagine what you put me through,” Colton said, wiping the back of his hand across his head. “How dare you.”
“Yeah, sorry…” I mumbled, and glanced over at Ethan. As happy as I was to see Colton, I couldn’t stop thinking about this life-altering confession between Ethan and me. My heart was still racing from that earth-moving kiss.
I looked back at Colton who narrowed his eyes at me. “You must be seriously hurt. You’re acting weird.”
“Well, she did almost die Ethan mumbled from across the room.
Colton turned his head to him, “Well, I know that. Thank you very much.” He turned back to me. “Did you hear you almost died?”
I smiled, “No way. You must be thinking of someone else.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Colton nodded and smiled at me. “Probably some lame actress looking for attention.”
I laughed loudly, my ribs aching slightly, “Right. That’s exactly what it was all about.”
“So where is this bitch?” Colton asked, looking around like Cate was going to walk right into the room.
I shrugged, “I guess in jail? I don’t really know.” I looked over at Ethan for clarification, but he only shrugged.
“Well, you better not go off on your own again until we know for sure,” he said.
“I won’t be leaving her side,” Ethan told him while looking over at me giving me a seductive smile. “Not again.” I smiled back at him, almost shyly. I felt so lucky that he could look at me like that. All these years of pushing away my attraction, when we could have been together…. it was unfathomable.
“Okay, what’s going on with you two?” Colton asked looking between Ethan and me. “You’ve been looking at each other with heart-eyes for about a minute now and sneaking secretive smiles at each other since I walked in. I’m not blind, you know.”
“Ah,” I said, looking down. “Well, I’ll tell you later.”
“No,” Colton argued standing up and crossing his arms. “You’ll tell me now.” He glared at me. “Do you love each other?” he blurted out bluntly.
My mouth dropped open and I looked over at Ethan who was fighting a smile. Colton gasped dramatically. “Oh my god, you do.” He looked over at Ethan. “You finally had the balls to tell her?”
“Wait! You knew?” I asked.
“I suspected,” Colton said shrugging. “Well, thank God you’ve finally crossed that bridge. But what about Anthony?”
“Well, I guess I still need to talk to him,” I mumbled. “But last time we spoke, it seemed like he was more into Jane than he was into me." I peeked over at Ethan who had crossed a leg over his knee, a hard look on his face.
“Want me to talk to him?” Colton asked. He whipped his phone out of the pocket of his pants and started tapping on it.
“No,” I said, reaching forward and swiping Colton’s phone out of his hand. He had pulled up his messages and was typing up a pretty blunt text to send Anthony. “Hang on, how do you even have his number?”
Colton gave me a pointed look as if I just asked a stupid question. “It’s my job, Elena. I control you.”
“Okay, that’s a bit extreme,” I laughed.
“Maybe,” Colton shrugged and grabbed his phone back. “Anyways, you want me to send this to him or not? I can guarantee it’ll get him to leave you alone.”
“No,” I sighed and leaned back on my bed. Exhaustion started to weigh me down. “I’ll take care of it later.”
Ethan stood up and walked over to me. He ran a hand softly down the side of my cheek as I looked up into his deep, green eyes. “You need to rest,” he said softly, his fingers sending shivers through my body causing my eyes to drift closed. “We’ll be here when you wake up.”
“Yeah, Your Majesty, get your rest,” I heard Colton’s voice whisper before I fully drifted off.