Lexi
Two weeks later.
My stay at the hospital seemed to last forever. I was never alone in the room; someone was always there visiting with me. Ethan never left the hospital, even at night. When someone else was visiting with me, he would wait in the waiting area.
“Ready to go home?" Ethan asks as he walks into the room. “All of the papers are signed, and they’ve given me the go-ahead to take you out of here.”
Taking my hand, he helps me to stand up. Oh yeah, that hurts a bit. I can still feel where I was stabbed, but the doctor said the pain will ease with rest and to not do anything that will pull any of the muscles. I looked at Ethan and laughed when she said that. Our three-day bet has now turned into a two-month bet—maybe longer. Ethan has told me enough times that he isn't touching me until he's happy I’m back to normal. I know better than to try to fight him when he uses his serious 'I'm the boss' voice.
“Yes, and do you know what I want to do first?” I ask him, placing my hands on his shoulders.
“What's that?”
“Sleep in our bed,” I tell him. The hospital beds are not horrible, but nothing beats your own bed. “I can’t wait for you to make me breakfast. I’ve missed your cooking, I’ve missed our shower, I’ve just missed home.” I stop as the nurse walks in. I don’t want them to think I haven’t appreciated them because I do, more than they'll ever know. They’ve helped me through the nights when I couldn’t sleep because of the nightmares. They helped me shower when I couldn’t even stand up. They’ve given me back my life.
“All ready to go?” the nurse asks, and I nod my head. “You have to change the bandage regularly. Otherwise, you could get an infection,” she says, putting the instructions for care of the incision into my bag.
“I don’t think this one will miss anything.” I start laughing.
“You won’t be leaving the bed until I’m happy you're fit enough to walk.” Ethan helps me sit in the wheelchair. I've told him I don’t need one and that I can walk to the car, but he isn't listening.
“You have a good day,” the nurse says as she hands Ethan my bag. “You take care of yourself, Lexi. Our phone number is on the paperwork if you need us.”
“Thank you so much.” I smile her way as Ethan rolls my chair to the exit.
The penthouse is finally finished. Ethan’s mom oversaw all of that to make sure it was finished by the time I got out of the hospital. Ethan’s pleased with it and said I would love it. I already knew I was going to love it. Who wouldn't love living in a penthouse? It doesn’t get much better than that.
The police came this week and questioned me. They wanted me to tell them everything about my past. I gave them every name I have ever used and told them what Sam did to my father. They already had that in the file as an open case since no one was ever arrested for it when it happened. I also told them about what I remembered about the day at the warehouse. Tanya had already told them everything, but I still had to relive it for them.
Ethan’s lawyers were there every time the police came. They’d gotten the judge to agree to let me be absent from the court proceedings, and I was so happy when they told me I didn’t have to see him. I want the court date to come and go so I can finally start living my life, and never have to look over my shoulder ever again. I can finally look forward and enjoy every second with Ethan.
“How are you feeling?” Ethan says, placing his hand on top of mine.
“Okay. I just want to get home now,” I tell him, as I rest my head on the seat. “I might take a nap when we get home.”
“Good, I'm glad we agree.” Ethan gives me a wink with a cocky grin.
Today is the first day Ethan has acted normal around me. For the past two weeks, he’s treated me like I’m glass and going to break at any moment. When he would kiss me, it was with the softest touch and then he would only gently hold my arm to help me up or to the bathroom. Other than that, he hasn't touched me at all, but today, he's holding my hand. Not to help me, but because he can.
I think it’s sweet that he worries about me, but I want him to hug and kiss me the way he used to.
***
“As soon as we get home, I'll make lunch,” Ethan tells me as he helps me walk slowly into the building. “And then you're going to bed.”
“Hi, Joe.” I'm so happy to see him. “Ethan, I’ll wait here while you make lunch. I have a lot of gossip to catch up on,” I say, holding on to the desk. Ethan looks at me incredulously. “What? I need to know what’s been happening, and on top of that, Joe has missed me.” I look towards Joe. “Haven’t you?”
“I have, but if Ethan says rest, then I’m not going to fight with him.”
“It’s only until he makes lunch, and I'll be sitting right here the entire time,” I say, pointing to the chair.
“I’m going to order a couch for you both since I can already see she will be down here all the time.” Ethan helps me sit in the chair. “When I’ve finished making lunch, you’re coming straight up without a word.” He leans down to give me a kiss.
“Promise,” I tell Ethan before turning back to Joe. “So, what’s been happening?” I move a little in the chair to get comfortable.
I listen to Joe as he tells me all the details that I’ve missed, and nibble on some of the lemon cookies his wife made. I still can’t eat too much without feeling nauseated.
“Are you worried about the court date tomorrow?” Joe asks me.
Ethan has been trying to avoid the subject. He knew it would stress me out, and the doctor told him to keep me away from stress as much as possible.
“I’m just happy that Ethan’s lawyers got the judge to say I don’t have to be there in the courtroom. I think I would’ve been in worse shape if I had to see Sam,” I tell Joe, my words coming out in barely a whisper.
Even though I don’t have to see him, I still worry because I know anything can happen tomorrow. Ethan told me that he's not going to tell me anything because he doesn’t want me to worry or get upset about it. He said there wasn't any sense worrying about something I had no control over. The fact that he would take on the stress of everything to keep me from worrying about it makes me love him even more.
“You look like you're doing better, but I can see you’re a little on edge. When doors open, you look to see who's walking through, and you’re still constantly scanning your surroundings.” Joe gives my arm a rub, and I take a deep breath. “Let’s get you upstairs.” He stands up and takes my arm to help me up.
“Maybe Ethan’s right. The chair isn’t really that comfy to me," I say with a giggle. “You watch and see. There’ll be a couch here in the morning.”
“Morning? I give it until the end of my shift.”
I start laughing, knowing that Joe is probably right. Holding my stomach, I try to suppress the laughter. “Laughing will have to wait until this pain decides to leave me alone.” We walk into the penthouse, and I look around, impressed by what I see. “Wow! They really did a good job with this place,” I say, talking to myself but Joe voices his agreement.
I see Ethan walking toward me. “You should’ve called me. I would’ve come down and helped you," he says as he stops in front of me.
“I’m sorry, but I needed a strong man to help me.” I look over at Joe and give him a wink.
“You're never going to stop with the teasing and the sarcastic comments, are you?” Ethan looks at me as Joe helps me to the couch.
“Where would the fun be in that?” I ask him.
“Joe, a couch will be delivered today before the end of your shift,” Ethan tells him, and I start laughing.
“It’s a good job I didn’t put money on it.” I look behind me at Joe who's laughing as well. I look back at Ethan. “Thank you, the chair isn’t comfy at all,” I say, lying through my teeth. “Joe, I would love some lemon cookies,” I say, smiling at him.
“I'll get some for you in the morning.” Ethan walks over to the couch and kneels down in front of me. “But, I'll bring them up to you. I’d like you to relax for a few days,” he says, kissing my cheek. “I'll come see you before I go.” I nod at him then hear the door click shut.
“Lunch is finished. Are you ready to eat? I can bring it in here for you.”
“Please. Can I have a blanket? I’m getting a little cold.” Slowly sitting back up, I take Ethan’s fleece jacket off the side of the couch and put it over my shoulders.
He walks out, and I look around the new sitting room. You can tell that Ethan had no say in this place. There are beautiful photos on the wall, the couch has pillows, and there are candles all around the room.
“You mom did a beautiful job with this place,” I tell Ethan as he walks back over with a blanket. “I can’t wait to see the bed you picked. I just hope its comfy.”
“There are things that I would have gotten, but her words were, ‘Lexi is living with you, now. You have to make it more homely.’ So, just for you, I’ve kept it the way she had it. But, if you don’t like anything, we'll get it changed.” He kisses me then walks over to the kitchen.
“No, I like it.” I move my feet around the footstool trying to bring it closer.
“What are you doing?” Ethan’s voice gives me a jolt. “If you need something, then ask me. Do you think I don’t want you to get better faster?” Setting the plates on the table with a little too much force, he brings the footstool in front of me. “Please, just ask me. I’m here for a reason," he tells me, handing me my plate.
I watch him as he sits down next to me, then I rest my head on his shoulder. “Sorry. I promise it'll be only rest for me until I get better.” As I look up at him, he gives me a kiss. “You know there’s a plus to me being home. I get to see you shirtless when we go to sleep. I hope you haven’t been slacking on looking after yourself.” I know I’m in no shape to do the things I want to, but that doesn’t mean I can’t look and enjoy the view.
Ethan starts laughing. “Only you would think like that when you're still recovering from major surgery." He turns his head and kisses me again. “I’m confident you’ll be happy,” he says giving me a wink before turning on the TV and taking a bite of his food.
“Can I ask you something? I know that you’ve already taken a lot of time off work, but I was wondering something.” I take a small bite out of my sandwich.
“I’m the boss, and I’m paying Travis to keep the place running until I get back, so what do you want to ask?”
“Once all this is finished, I’d like to go home to see my dad. I haven’t been back since his funeral and…” I wonder if he will think I’m crazy to say that I saw him when I was in the hospital; that he spoke to me. “I just want to talk, that’s all.”
“Spit it out. What are you thinking?” he asks. I turn to face him. He keeps a straight face without even a twitch in his eye.
“You’re going to think I’m crazy.”
“Already think that.” Ethan puts his lips together to stop him from smiling at me. “Come on, tell me.”
“I saw my dad. He's the one that helped me. I was ready to give up, and he's the one that…” I look over at him. “I just want to go see him, that’s all.” I end the conversation. It sounds a little crazy to me when I say it out loud, so Ethan must think I’m insane.
“As soon as the doctors give you the all clear, I'll get Selena to book us a flight,” he says. Without another word, he gets back to his sandwich.
I'm not sure what Ethan is thinking, but I know I don’t really want to talk about it anymore. I know that it’s a lot to take in, and right now, I just want to sleep. The painkillers the doctor gave me make me so tired.
“I might go to sleep for a bit,” I tell Ethan. He takes my plate before taking the blanket off me, then slowly helps me to stand. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” he replies as he helps me walk to the bedroom.
This is the first time I get to see the bedroom with everything in it. “This is beautiful.” I look around and my eyes fall on the huge bed. The grey, and hint of yellow in the room are perfect. “I love this room.”
“Very happy that you approve. I'll have to call my mom to let her know.” Lying in bed, Ethan pulls the covers over me. “I'll wake you for dinner.”
My eyes are too heavy to even answer him back. This bed is so comfortable, I fall asleep right away.
***
“Ethan?” I yell his name as I am getting out of the shower. “Can you change my dressings, please?” I ask as he walks over to me.
“Sure,” he says, taking the bandage roll from my hands. I’m not sure which one of us is more anxious about today.
“Are Travis and Tanya at court?” I try to make some eye contact with Ethan, but he keeps his head down.
“Ummm.” He looks at me in question. I nod my head. “Do they hurt when you touch them?”
“Not as much as it hurts when I cough or take a deep breath.” Ethan pulls my top down. “Will Travis call you and tell you what’s happening?”
“He will, and I'll tell you anything you want to know. Or, I'll tell you what I feel you need to know.” He puts his hands on my waist. “But, all I really want to tell you is what happens at the end.”
“Then just tell me the end." I know he doesn’t want to talk about this anymore, and I don’t really want to talk too much about it if it’s going to upset him.
“Breakfast?”
“Please,” I say, resting my head on his chest and closing my eyes for a moment to just think about nothing.
“After today, everything will be good and you can finally stop running, and live the rest of your life with me.” Ethan kisses the top of my head.
I smile up at him, loving his affection. “And I can’t wait for that to happen. What did you make for breakfast?” I ask, pulling away from him to sit back down on the bed. I still can’t stand for too long.
“Pancakes. Do you want me to help you walk over? It seems like you're getting a little fed up?” Ethan sits on the bed next to me.
Resting my head on his shoulder, I sit and think about it for a second. “Breakfast in bed sounds nice,” I tell him. I just want to lie in bed and not move. It hurts too much to move around a lot.
“Get in. I'll bring breakfast to you.” He pulls the bed covers to the side for me to get in. “I just have an email to look through, then I might join you.” Giving me a wink, he walks out of the room.
Ethan spent the morning with me in bed. Even though he isn’t at work, he's still working. Travis sent some emails over yesterday, and then Selena had a few questions for him this morning. Since Travis is in court, Ethan was the only one she could talk to. I can see that he's starting to miss work, so I've tried not to bother him. It’s nice to just have him close to me while I make a full recovery. Plus, the girls have been in and out visiting with me. Ms. Jackie calls to check on me every day, and Dan and Jon have been calling. Then they call Ethan right after they hang up to make sure I wasn’t lying about how I was feeling.
“Hello,” Ethan answers his phone. “Yeah, she’s with me.” He looks over at me, then puts his phone on speaker. I take Ethan’s hand, waiting for Travis to say something.
“Courts finished. You won’t have to see Sam ever again. The judge gave him life without the possibility of parole,” Travis tells us, and an enormous weight lifts from my shoulders.
“Are you coming over?” Ethan asks, taking him off speakerphone and I look at my phone buzzing on the side table. I watch Ethan walking out of the room.
“Travis beat you to it,” I say, wiping my tears.
“Good. We’re all coming for dinner. It’s finally over, Lexi,” Dan says, and at this moment, I don’t know what to do with the information.
I’ve been running for so long that I don’t really know how to live without looking over my shoulder. “See you in a bit." Ending the call, I wipe the tears from my cheek. Sam's been put away and I never have to worry about him again. I’m finally free.
I look toward the door, as I hear Ethan walking back over. He's smiling and it looks so good on him. I haven't seen it for a while and I've missed it.
“Why are you crying?” Ethan sits on the bed and wipes my tears away, taking my hand in his.
“I have no idea. I think it’s just that the weight has finally been lifted from me and I don’t know what to do or how to feel,” I say, as I look down at our hands. “I never thought there would be a day that I wouldn’t have to look back to see if he was coming after me.”
“Well, it’s here, and you can now enjoy every day, knowing he can’t get close to you.” Resting his forehead against mine, he gives me a soft kiss. “You never have to run again.” He gives me another kiss. “Everyone is coming over to celebrate, so you rest for a little bit, okay?”
Now I can finally be in one place and enjoy life, and I've decided to enjoy it with Ethan.