Blinking open my eyes the halogen lights temporarily blind me. Feeling slightly disoriented it takes me a moment to comprehend I’m no longer naked and bound to the diving board and that my worst fear is about to become my reality. The tubes in my nose feeding me oxygen help me realize I am safe and the nurses surrounding me prove I am in a hospital.
I try to speak but my mouth is dry.
“Hi, Ms. Monroe, I’m Dr. James do you remember why you were brought in?”
Thinking about the question, I close my eyes and playback the events that led me to this moment. The face of the man that took me from my uncle’s house flashes before me. Next, I remember waking up in the solarium. The man who took me is nowhere to be found and I come face to face with Vladimir Yankovich for the first time. It was then he ordered his men to strip me of my clothing. I remember preparing myself for the worst. My mind drifted to a safe place, to a place where evil didn’t live.
To Linc and our five-year plan.
To the little apartment we’d get in Brooklyn and the yappy little poodle I couldn’t wait to meet.
To the nights when he’d come home after a long day with his club and we’d eat tacos on the living room floor before we worked on another part of that plan.
I thought of how it would feel finding out I was pregnant and what Linc’s reaction might be.
Would we have a son or a daughter and would we have more than one child?
As I continued to think about the perfect ending to a beautiful song, Yankovich’s men tied me to the diving board. To my surprise, no one touched me or tried to violate me. They left me there terrified, facing my biggest fear and wondering if Linc knew where I was. If he would rescue me or if this would be the tragic chord he dreaded.
I realized I never should’ve doubted the man I love as he came storming into the solarium with his brothers behind him, ready to do whatever it took to save my life. The scene played in slow motion and I wasn’t sure where to look. I wanted to scream, I wanted to tell him I loved him and whatever the outcome I would always love him. More than all of those things, I wanted him to know this wasn’t his fault, and that I didn’t blame him.
The words never came. Mainly because I was gagged but also because it was then that Yankovich delivered my fate. His hands felt like fire on my body. It was degrading, and it was vile. Horrific is what it was. I was almost relieved when he threw me into the pool and decided drowning was my pardon.
But, that wasn’t how it was meant to end.
I always said I belonged at Linc’s side but, where I belonged was in his strong arms. It’s his embrace that was my home. The place I felt most safe. A place I knew I was loved.
It’s those arms that I wanted to spend the rest of my life in.
He rescued me from my biggest fear and in turn, faced his own.
I don’t remember much after that but, I remember staring into his eyes and knowing I was safe.
“Ms. Monroe?”
“Yes, I remember,” I say hoarsely. “We’ve started an IV to keep you hydrated, and the oxygen is more of a precaution. Are you in any kind of pain?”
Pausing, I assess my body noting my wrists and ankles are sore from being tied together but, that’s it.
“No, I’m just tired,” I tell him.
“Well, that’s understandable after what you’ve been through,” he says empathetically. “I will be back once I have the results of your blood work. The authorities are here and would like to question you but there is no rush.”
Waiting for him to mention Linc, his words go in one ear and fade out the other.
“What about my boyfriend?”
“Mr. Brandt I’m assuming?”
“Yes,” I rasp.
“He’s been waiting outside,” he says. “I’ll send him in.”
Watching him walk away, I rest my eyes and promise myself I won’t fall asleep—not without seeing Linc first. It’s almost as if the air changes because the moment he walks into the room, I feel him. I feel his warmth, his love, and his adoration. They envelop me before he even touches me.
Taking my hand, he laces our fingers together and I force my eyes open just in time to watch him brush his lips across my knuckles.
“You’re really okay,” he murmurs against my skin. Noticing he’s in a wheelchair, my throat tightens.
“What about you?”
“I’m better now seeing you,” he rasps, squeezing my hand.
“The wheelchair,” I say.
“My legs are beat, baby. They took x-rays though and everything is good. I just can’t stand right now.”
Breathing a sigh of relief, I close my eyes.
“I’m tired, Linc.”
“Close your eyes,” he coaxes. “I’m not leaving your side.”
“Always and forever,” I whisper.
“Until my dying day,” he promises.
Keeping my eyes closed, I remember Igor Yankovich’s words.
“He called us Romeo and Juliet,” I rasp.
“Who?”
“Yankovich’s brother,” I reveal.
“We’re not Romeo and Juliet,” he says after a beat. “Their story was tragic.”
“A tragic chord,” I murmur.
“That’s not what we are,” he says huskily.
“I know,” I say, smiling. “I’ve always known. I was just waiting for you to realize it.”
“We’re so much more,” he replies. “We’re a songwriter’s dream.”
My smile widens.
“Hey,” he whispers. His thumb draws circles on my wrist. “They asked me if there was a possibility you could be pregnant.”
My eyes open at that.
“What did you tell them?” I question hoarsely.
The hope that burned out years ago, flourishes. It dances inside me as I watch his lips quirk.
“I said yes,” he replies, squeezing my hand. “Pinky, do the math,” he rasps. “It’s been almost five years since we made our plan.”
Staring at him, I smile knowingly.
“You want me to be pregnant,” I declared.
“I do,” he says, swallowing. “I want the pink dog too and as soon as we get the fuck out of here, we’re going apartment hunting,” he adds, leaning closer. “And, if that test comes back negative, we’re going to start trying. Really fucking trying. I’m not waiting anymore, Kelly. It’s our time now. It’s time for our dreams. It’s time to put that five-year plan in motion.”
“I’m ready,” I reply. “I’ve always been ready for you.”
“Close your eyes, Pinky. Dream big and I promise I’ll make them all come true,” he swears, pressing another kiss to my hand. “I love you, my little troublemaker.”
“Oh, but, I’m your favorite kind of trouble,” I tease, closing my eyes.
“Always and forever,” he says.
We were two lonely people, trying to find our way.
Searching for purpose, we found something neither of us could’ve expected.
We found solace.
We found love.
We found the other half of our souls.
In a world of ugly, we too, found our beautiful.
“Sing me a song, music man,” I plead, fighting sleep.
His voice sounds low in my ear and the soundtrack of us begins.
Just a small town girl, livin’ in a lonely world…
THE END
Praise Jesus! Glory Be! Halle-fucking-lujah! Pass the Booze!