A Perfect Passion (8 page)

Chapter 13

Riverside General Hospital is only fifteen minutes from the site, so I haul
ass to get there, to check on Damien. The parking is in the flat lot right in front of the entrance. I stomp my boots into the concrete to knock off the mud that covers them. With my hands ahead of me, I bust through the double doors to the front desk to find Damien. The nurse behind the counter informs me that he’s having tests and scans done. It’ll be at least two hours before he’s assigned a room, he’s still unconscious, but all of his vitals are stable at the moment.

I’m fucking livid pissed. I’m having a hard time calming down, and it’s no
t these peoples fault. Whoever hurt Damien has a damn death wish. I’m going home to take care of business. This Ron and I are about to have a ‘go to church’ meeting, Texan style.

I toss my keys in the basket
and walk to the phone. Scrolling through the call history, I get the number. I push star sixty-seven to block my number and call it back.

“Hello.”

“Is Ron around?”

“Sorry, wrong number.” The man hung up.

My ass wrong number, really? I start pacing the floor. It’s the number that called our house, I know that’s the number, I took the call. And that’s his voice, it’s familiar to me.  I light a smoke and stare at the phone. This is bull-fucking-shit. I know that was his voice, the voice that called.  Why would he say it wasn’t? Our home number isn’t showing up, it’s coming from an unknown number. I write down the number.

After running upstairs to change out of the muddy clothes, my cell rings. It’s the nurse from the hospital, Damien is awake and in a room.
I grab the paper with Ron’s number on it, shove it in my pocket and sprint downstairs.

The bike…
I run out the garage door, and hop on my Hayabusa! And I haul ass to the hospital. I have to make sure he’s going to be okay.  I haven’t been this scared since my brother.

The door to Damien’s room is cracked, so I push it o
pen a little further. On the left wall, it’s full of shelves, a cabinet for hanging clothes, and a television rack up close to the ceiling. The bath is cadi-cornered between two walls, in the corner of the room. The other wall, on the right, is where Damien’s hospital bed is located, with a chair, and nightstand near. There are a bunch of hospital buttons and intercoms systems located behind his bed, and down the other side of the wall. Against the furthest wall, it’s taken up by a huge window with bench seats in the windowsill.

Damien is
sound asleep, so I sit in the chair watching him. Attached to one arm, there are two IV lines, one with fluids and the other looks to be an antibiotic of some sort. On his other arm, there’s a blood pressure cuff, and one of those finger pulse clips.

His hair is pulled to one side
and there is a bald patch covered with a bandage that stretches around to the back of his head. You can see the imprint from the staples holding his head together! He looks bad, real bad. He busted his head far worse than I could tell in the dark.

Oh GOD, help him!
I can’t fight the silent tears! He’s helpless. He needed me and I wasn’t there for him. It’s a repeat of my brother. This IS my fault. This happens to anyone I’ve ever been close too. I can’t and won’t let it happen to Damien, not after this. This is too close of a call. I should have been there.

Talk a
bout having some fucked up karma. I take the cake, eat it, and hurl it back out for the next victim. I didn’t mean to have feelings for Damien, they just happened, but it was too late to stop them. Now history is repeating itself. I got close to someone, now they’re lying in a hospital bed. I have to go now. I have to get away from him for good.

I’ll leave a
‘Dear John,’ letter on his hospital food tray, and then I’ll walk out of his life for good. I’m thankful for what Damien has shown me, this path in my life, but I’m also sorry I ever met him. If I wouldn’t have, he wouldn’t be here in a hospital bed. I think I could even fall in love him, but I bring trouble. He doesn’t deserve that.

Without him seeing me, or
me waking him up, I scribble a note, leaving it on his tray table. It’ll be there come next meal. I leave taking one last glance back at him.

On my way out, o
ne of the nurses tells me that when Damien was awake, he told the police it was Aaron who attacked him. It’s been filed now, they will handle it and arrest him.

My blood is boiling
at the news about Aaron. I can’t even think straight. Just let me run into him somewhere.

I hit the elevator button to take me down
to ground level.

Still livid about
Aaron and the whole situation, I stroll through the crosswalk to the parking area.

As I put my key in the ignition on my bike
, I take a glance around the lot. The dickbag is walking towards the entrance door. I pull my key out and stomp towards him. I quick-scan the parking area and it's all clear except for us.
Perfect!
I dodge through the parked cars and walk up quietly behind him.

I reach
out, and grab his shoulder, turning him to face me. When he sees me, his eyes bulge out, he knows what’s coming. Aaron tries to break loose, but I have a death grip on him. He’s not going anywhere. This motherfucker hurt Damien!

“Dax, I fucked up. I love him
, I didn’t know. I’d never do anything to hurt him. It was a reflex, heat of the moment. We fought and I left. I didn’t know he was hurt so bad.”

I have no time for this shit I don’t want to hear anythi
ng that he spews out of his mouth. I step up to him and swing with all my might. He drops straight to the ground. He moans and I kick him in the ribs.

“You hurt someone I care about!” I deliver another ki
ck, knocking the wind from him. “I should fucking kill you, you know that?”

I kick repeatedly, making the last kick straight to his face.
I snap and realize my anger has never been this bad, I stop. Blood pours from his head and face. He’s still breathing and god damn lucky for that much. I turn and walk away.

I crank my bike and pull out of the
parking lot. I have no particular place that I’m going. I just have to go away. Being with Damien was great, but I just can’t do this. I can’t believe that I allowed myself to have real feelings for someone, I know better than that. It was by accident, and I never meant too, but they crept up on me without me even realizing it.

What happened with Damien just brings back too many memories of my brother, and I can’t go there, it hurts.

It’s just time to disappear
.

Chapter 14

The nurse barges through the door and half of her equipment crashes to the floor. Startled, I sit straight up in bed, trying to focus, and get a grip on exactly where the hell I am. The nurse apologizes and comes over to the bed. She immediately pushes the blood pressure machine and it begins to clamp around my upper arm. She places her hands on my eyelids lifting each one up and looks into my eyes.

“How are you feeling
Mr. Davis? How is your eyesight?”

“I can see fine, but
I have a monster headache though.” I reach for my head.

The nurse
yanks a little notebook from her shirt pocket and copies the numbers off the blood pressure machine. I scan the room looking for a sign of Dax.

“Do you
remember what happened Mr. Davis?”

“
It’s Damien, no not really.” I touch the bandage around my head.

“What is the last thing you remember?”

My head starts banging when I try to think. “I was at the site working. Wait, Aaron showed up, and we argued. That’s the last thing I remember.”

“One minute, let me get the police officer on your case
to come take your statement. You seemed to have hit your head on a concrete rock, we had to staple the incision, and you have a concussion. I’ll send the doctor in later to speak with you. Let me get the officer.”

Police officer?
She walks out the door and returns with a cop holding his clipboard. He passes me his card with a case number on it.

“Hello there, Mr. Davis.
How are you feeling?” He looks out the window, ignoring me.

“
Confused, and I’ve got a horrible headache. I’m starving too.” I knew he didn’t really give a flying fuck how I felt, but I gave him an answer anyway.

“So
, tell me what you remember about tonight.”

“
I remember being at the site, and arguing with Aaron.”

“Who is Aaron? Did you have an actual fight with him?
” He jots down notes.

“A physical figh
t, sort of. We had an argument and there were a couple of punches thrown. He’s my ex.” I look back to him, to watch his expression.

“
What exactly happened?”

I explain the whole situation to the officer, and all I get in return is an ‘I see.’

“I’m still not sure why I’m in the hospital though. Where is Dax?”
I have to find him.

“
I’m not sure where Dax is, but we’ve already taken his statement. Dax is the one who found you and called for help. It appears that you were punched and fell hitting your head on a concrete rock.”

“Wait, you’re telling me you
think Aaron left me there, unconscious and bleeding? And Dax found me?” I’m really confused now.

“It seems that way, yes.”

“So, what happens to Aaron now? He just left me for dead? Amazing!”
What the fuck?

“Well,
we’ll be filing charges on him for assault with bodily injury.”

“What exactly does that mean? What will happen to him?”

“It’s when a person assaults someone. They can be charged if they intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly cause bodily injury to someone else. What will happen to him depends on his past record. If he’s had other assaults, then he could be facing prison time behind this, along with a hefty fine.”

“
Where is Dax?” I scoot up into a sitting position and my head starts throbbing.

“I’m not sure. I
need to speak with him. At the time, we didn’t have enough to hold him, but we thought it possible that he was involved.”

“
No, no way. Nurse, has anyone been here to see me?”

“
Yes, tall, blonde man, tattoos, and a strange name. He was here earlier, but didn’t say when he’d return. Let me get the doctor to come in, so you we can get you something to eat.” She gives me a smile and walks out of the room with my file.

“Mr. Davis
, one last question, do you have an address where Aaron can be located?”

“Yes, he’ll probably be at his brothers or his parent’s house. Or at the very least, they will know where he is staying.”

“Okay, thank you very much. I’ll be in touch.” He walks out of the room.

I honestly cannot believe that Aaron
just left me there, I could have died. How does someone just snap like that, he was there pleading his love, yet he didn’t bother to get me help or anything? What kind of person does that? I guess no matter how well you think you know a person you never truly understand everything about them.

I
need Dax. I want to see him, to thank him for putting two and two together, and coming for me. I could have died out there, Dax saved my life. God, how do you repay something like that?

The doctor enters, does his once over and okays
me for release in the morning. He also gives the thumbs up for food, and gives me a shot for pain.

Now, if
Dax would bring some of his manicotti, since I didn’t get to make it for the dinner he prepared, everything would be great.

I close my eyes
and doze off for a bit. The nurse returns with a food tray and moves the rolling table stand over my bed.

There’s a note with my name on it. I recognize the writing, it’s from Dax.

Chapter Fifteen

Unfolding the letter, I feel a bit uneasy about it. Why would Dax need to write me a letter, when he could just come here?

Damien, I’
m so relieved that you are okay and that I was able to get to you in time. If I would have gone with you in the first place, this would have never happened to you. This is the kind of thing I explained to you, why I have a hard time being in any kind of relationship. I really care about you a lot, and it’s also the reason I have to say goodbye to you. I don’t want anything bad happening to you ever again, and when I’m around, that is certain to happen. It’s the story of my life. It always happens to people I care about. I can feel myself falling hard for you, even though it hasn’t been long, the fall is still hard. I wish nothing but the very best for you Damien, and I also would like to thank you for all you have given me, and shown me.

With Love ~ Dax

Fuck no! This is not happening. My heart just grounded out in my stomach. This isn’t his fault. He doesn’t have anything to do with what’s happened, that’s all on Aaron. There is no way I’m losing him. I reach for the phone and dial his cell number. It goes to voicemail. I call the house number, but it’s the same.
Shit, how do I get a hold of him?
All my other numbers for him are at the house. I need to get home.

The nurse removes
the tray of food and brings in a dose of pain meds. I get drowsy again. I can’t keep my eyes open.

***

One of the nurses enters with a breakfast tray. Food doesn’t even sound good, I can’t think of anything but Dax, I even dreamed of him. Surely he doesn’t really want this, for us to be apart, does he? I try his cell again, but still no answer. I send a text message.

Please don’t do this Dax!

An hour later there is no return text
. The doctor has come and gone, and now I’m just waiting for the nurse to unhook the IV’s from my arm. The phone in the room rings, it’s the cab downstairs waiting for me. The nurse hands me the paperwork and sends me on my way.

The
cab pulls up outside my house. Dax’s truck sits in the driveway and I’m really excited to see it.
Thank God!
I peel off forty bucks for the driver and get out.

I try to rush to the front door, but I’m still a little light headed, and have to slow my pace, or fall out in the yard. Granger greets me as I open the door. I toss my keys in the basket and holler out for Dax.

Not answering, I head up the stairs, and push his door open. Nothing! Only a small suitcase on his bed. He has clothes packed in the smaller suitcase but his big one is gone, and some items are missing from the closet.

Back downstairs, I check
the garage. His bike is gone.
Fuck!
Okay, okay…this means he has to come back to get his things at some point. Yes, he’s not going to up and leave like this, not completely. What I have to do is convince him to stay when he comes for his things. How the hell do I do that when he thinks this is his fault?

In the kitchen I open the fridge and pull out
some left overs to eat. The manicotti Dax made sits on the top shelf, so I fix a plate, nuke it, and sit at the table.

Why can’t I even sit here without thinking about every con
versation we ever had right in this spot? I know Dax thinks that somehow this is his fault, but it’s not. He guilt trips himself about his brother, and runs from getting close to people, I just need to show him it’s okay. Everything is safe with me. I’m not going anywhere and he doesn’t have to be afraid. I yank out my cell and text him again.

I’ll never let you down, don’t be afraid.
I hit the send button.

Fifteen minutes passes and nothing, again. Dammit! I
put my dishes in the sink, kicking my feet up on the couch, and grab Dax’s shirt that hangs over the end of it. I wad it up in my hands, bringing it to my nose. His smell is intoxicating, it reminds me of his kisses, and his gentle hand. For someone so manly, he’s still so loving and tender. It brings back more memories. Nope, there is no way I’m letting him go this easy, not without a fight. I text again.

Please don’t do this to us. Let me know you are okay!
Send.

The phone beeps,
and I press the icon for text. It’s Dax.

I’m okay. I’m sorry
Damien!

Can we talk?
I send back.

I can’t.

You don’t have to do this Dax! Just come home.

I miss you
and I’m about to break. I just can’t.

Come look in
to my eyes and tell me that.

You don’t understand Damien! I’m not running from you, I’m running for you.

If you have to run, then run to me instead. I need you.

Ditto, but I can’t. This hurts, you don’t understand Damien.

YES I DO DAX!

He doesn’t respond back. I
know he’s scared, but I am too. I’m scared of losing him before we ever get started.

I can’t make him listen, when he can so easily turn his phone off, or not respond.  I have to make him understand, make him listen to me, but I don’t know how.

I don’t feel right when he’s gone. I feel broken and torn. We’ve been together such a short time, but I know him, I understand what he’s going through. This isn’t right! I need to see him, to show him.

My heart feels empty
and stepped on. He refuses to back down out of fear that he’ll hurt me, but he’s hurting me now. I have to make him see this.

Nighttime comes, and I take Granger and head to bed. My thoughts are going crazy, missing him. He has to come back
.  We have to work this out.