Inseparable Strangers (21 page)

“It
hasn’t been easy living with Pam. I know she uses me for my money. I know she’s
never cared about me…or you, but I had no choice
but
to marry her.” He
roughly rubbed his thumb and forefinger in his eyes.” She lied to me. Claimed
she was pregnant.” He backhanded a picture I’m assuming to be her from his
desk, sending it flying across the room. “Lies. They were all lies. She
threatened to go to the police over your mother’s death if I didn’t marry her.
She was going to turn me in! Can you believe that?” He shook his head with
revulsion. “A month after we got married, she claimed to have miscarried, but
she was never pregnant. It was all just part of the plan to trap me. God, I was
so stupid!” His nose flared and hatred pierced his eyes.

Of
all my twenty four years, I’d never seen this side of him. It frightened me. It
terrified me more to know Pam was a bigger monster than I’d thought. When Aaron
had described the woman there when Dad put Mom in the trunk of his car, I
should’ve known it was Pam and that she had a hand in all of it. She probably
orchestrated the whole thing from the beginning. I looked at Mom and she
nodded. She knew what was going through my mind. “I know what you’re thinking.
I can tell by the look on your face. The scuffle Aaron thought he witnessed
wasn’t between your father and I, it was between me and Pam. He tried to break
it up, but it made matters worse. In the midst of our confrontation, I lost my
footing and…well, you know how it all ended.”

 His
voice grew loud and he stood from his desk. “You can’t tell, Lennox. I’m
begging you. Please! She’ll frame me. It will all come back on me.”

“I’m
sorry, Dad. I need time to let all of this sink in.” It wasn’t just what he
told me, it was what mom just told me too. “I just need some time alone. You
ca—”

“You
spineless bastard.”

We
all turned and looked when we heard her voice in the doorway. Pam was standing
there holding a pistol. She alternated between me and my father, contemplating
which one of us she wanted to take out first.

Aaron
stood behind her waiting for the opportunity to take her down. She had no idea
he was there.

“You
just couldn’t keep your mouth shut could you, Martin?” Her eyes were open wide
like someone who abused meth. She was mad. Crazy out of her fucking mind. It
took all the strength I could muster to not beat the shit out of her. There was
so much anger flowing through me, I could kill her and not feel an ounce of
remorse. My body was buzzing with rage and it scared me. Aaron saw the battle I
was having and nodded. He mouthed the words ‘not yet.’

“I’m
done, Pam. You win.” He plopped back down into his office chair with a loud
thud. “I’m sorry, Len, I’m so sorry it all ended up this way.” That’s when I
saw the end of the pistol peeping out from the top of the desk.

Everything
happened so fast, I wasn’t sure how it all went down, but as soon as I saw my
father bring the pistol up to his temple, I lunged for him with all the
strength my muscles had. Right as I fell into him, the gun fired.

“Lennox!”
I heard Aaron and my mom scream.

Then
everything went black.

“Lennox,
honey, wake up.”

The
sweet voice was distant.

“You
have to wake up. They need you.”

The
voice grew a little louder.

“It’s
time to wake up.”

Her
voice was the sound of a thousand angels.

“You’re
not ready yet. Honey, you’ve been given a gift and you can’t give it up so
quickly.  There is someone else who needs you more. Someone who loves you
beyond measure. You have to go back, and I need to cross over.”

“Mom?”
I struggled to say. Something was in my throat, blocking me from talking.

“Lennox?”

This
time the voice was deeper. Aaron?

My
eyelids opened to a small slit, but the light was too much so I closed them.

“Lennox!
Oh my God! She’s waking up!”

I
didn’t know who he was talking to but he was frantic. From what, I wasn’t sure.

Suddenly,
my ears exploded with a variation of sounds. An annoying beep, the shuffling of
feet, doors opening and closing, and muffled voices surrounded me. Somebody
squeezed my hand before releasing, then I had hands on my face, my arms, my
chest, and then the warm hand was back in mine.

“Lennox,
can you hear me?” This voice I didn’t recognize.

Giving
it another try, I attempted to open my eyes again. The light was still bright,
but I tried harder. I turned my head to escape the brightness. “Too. Bright,” I
tried saying. It was no use. Whatever was in my throat wasn’t allowing me to
speak at all.

“Dim
the light.” I heard someone say.

The
brightness suddenly fell dull and I was able to open my eyes wider.

“She’s
awake. Oh thank God, she’s awake.” It was Aaron’s voice again. It was filled
with extreme apprehension. “Lennox, baby, you’re okay. You’re going to be
okay.” Slowly his handsome face came into focus. He brushed my hair away from
my face as he kissed my forehead.

“Sorry,
sir. We need you to leave while we run some tests.”
No, I don’t want him to
leave.
My eyes widened and I looked around for Mom. All I saw were two
women and a man dressed in blue scrubs. It dawned on me I was in the hospital.
How
did I get here? Why am I here? What happened?

That
damn bright light shone back in each of my eyes. “All her vital signs look
normal.” The guy in blue scrubs who I assumed to be the doctor was talking to
one of the women in the room.

He
leaned over me so I could see him better. His hair was a spray of salt and
pepper, and there was very little of it. The little rectangular glasses he wore
sat on the edge of his nose. “Hello, Miss Collins. It’s nice of you to join us.
You had everyone scared for a few days.” His demeanor was light and friendly.
“Are you in any pain?” Until he mentioned it, I hadn’t noticed the soreness in
my chest and upper back.

I
tried to speak, but, again, something was blocking my throat, making it
difficult to talk or swallow. Reaching up, I felt for my mouth and found a
large hose in it. Just the slight movement of lifting my arm caused
excruciating pain to radiate throughout my chest. I winced.

“We’ll
give you something to help you relax. In case you’re wondering, you’re hooked
up to a ventilator. If you continue to breathe well on your own, we will remove
it by tomorrow.” All I could do was nod in response. “In the meantime, try to
rest as much as possible.” He didn’t have to tell me twice. Within seconds, I
was in dreamland again.

I
didn’t know what day or hour it was when I awoke. The room was dark and quiet.
The first thing I did was feel to see if the ventilator was still attached to
my face. It was gone. I opened my eyes to assess my surroundings and Aaron was
sitting in a chair with his head resting on the side of my bed. He looked so
gorgeous and peaceful, and most importantly, alive. When I lifted my hand, his
fingers were laced through mine. Sliding them very carefully from his grasp, I
reached up and scanted my fingers through his hair. His head popped up and a
lazy smile appeared on his face. “Hi, beautiful.” He took my hand and kissed
the tip of every finger, then pressed it against his face. “God, it’s so good
to have you back. I thought we had lost you.” He closed his eyes, squeezing
them tight as if the thoughts of it brought him agony. When he opened his eyes,
all traces of worry disappeared. He was trying to be strong in front of me. My
gut told me he was hiding something from me.

Aaron
stood up from the chair and perched his butt on the edge of my bed. “How are
you feeling?”

“Good.”
My throat was sore and scratchy leaving my voice sounding like a ninety year
old smoker. He was making small talk. I wanted to know what
happened.
Where was my mom and dad?

“Are
you hungry? They still have you hooked up to an IV but I can see if the nurse
could bring you some jello or broth. That should be easy enough on your
throat.” He was babbling. Simply avoiding the elephant in the room.

“No,”
I said shaking my head. “Mom?”

He
grimaced. My heart sank.

“I’m
sorry, Lennox.” He dropped his head and examined my fingers. “I’ve not seen any
sign of her since the…accident.” He said accident like it was poison on his
tongue.

My
brows furrowed with confusion.

“Do
you remember anything?”

I
nodded then shook my head. That night came back to me in bits and pieces, but I
couldn’t put it together.

Aaron
sighed. “Do you want to know or do you want to forget it all and move forward?
I’d prefer we start over from here.”

“Tell
me.”

He
shook his head with disappointment. “Lennox, if you don’t remember, it’s best
you leave it that way. You’ve endured so much already, baby.”

I
was scared to know more, but I needed to know where my mom and dad were. “Tell
me,” I asked again.

He
bent down and kissed me lightly on the lips. “I love you,” he whispered. Taking
my hand, he cupped it between both of his. “Do you remember going to your
father’s house?”

I
nodded.

“Do
you remember talking to your father about the death of your mother’s and mine?”

I
nodded.

Unconsciously,
he rubbed my hand repeatedly. It was a nervous gesture. “Do you remember Pam
showing up?”

I
nodded. “With a gun,” I said forcefully.

“Yes
and your father had one as well. Do you remember what happened after that?”

I
shook my head.

He
inhaled a shaky breath and his palms turned sweaty. “Your father tried taking
his own life. When you saw him with the gun, you lunged at him to knock it
away. At the same time, Pam fired a shot at your father and it hit you instead.
The bullet went through your back, punctured a lung, then exited out your
chest. Your lung collapsed and you lost a lot of blood before help arrived. By
the time the paramedics got there you were in cardiac arrest.” Tears danced
down Aaron’s cheeks. “I couldn’t save you, Lennox. I was your guardian angel. I
was supposed to protect you. I failed you and I’m so sorry.” His body wracked
with silent cries. It broke my heart to see him cry. Nobody had ever showed so
much love for me before.

I
rubbed his back, giving him time to release the guilt he had. He put too much
burden on himself for my injuries. Even if he were still dead, he wouldn’t have
been able to save me. I would never hold him responsible for what happened. If
I could talk without restriction, I would tell him this. Oh how I missed the
days of him reading my mind.

“Shh…shh.”
This sucked. There were so many things I wanted to say, but right now my love
was all I had to offer. I tapped on his shoulder and he looked up at me with
wet, clumped up lashes and shiny, green eyes. They were enough to melt my
heart. I mouthed, “I love you.”

A
lop-sided grin spread over his face. “I love you so fucking much I feel like my
heart is going to burst. If I knew loving you felt this damn good, I would’ve
looked for you years sooner.” He shifted his weight on his arms and hovered
over me. First he kissed the left side of my cheek. “I love you.” Then he
kissed the right side. “I love you.” After that, he kissed my forehead. “I love
you.” Lastly, he kissed me on the lips. It was a closed-mouth kiss but it was
more sensual than any open-mouthed kiss could ever be. “I love you. I will
never be able to say those three words enough to you.”

A
smile the size of Texas, and tears took place on my face. I used to think I was
a happy person, but he brought a whole new meaning to the word.

With
every deep breath I took, I could tell my body was growing tired. Sleep battled
with my eyelids, but I fought it off, I wanted to know more about what
happened. Aaron still hadn’t told me where my mom was and if my father didn’t
die, why hadn’t he been to visit me?

“My
mom? Dad?”

“Lennox,
I don’t know where your mom is. I was so worried about you I didn’t pay
attention to anyone else. It wasn’t until I was in the waiting room alone when
I realized I hadn’t felt her presence.” He was back to rubbing a raw spot on my
hand. “She has enough power and knowledge now that she can give me a sign to
let me know she’s here.” He shook his head with aggravation.

“I
heard her,” I said, trying to swallow away the pain in my throat. “She was
here.”

His
eyes widened. “Was she in this room?” he asked pointing at the floor.

I
shrugged my shoulders. It sounded like she was here but maybe she was with me
while I was sedated. Wait. What if I had died and she was coercing me to go
back?

“Pen…
and paper… please?”

Aaron’s
face lit up when the realization of my request went off in his head. He jumped
to his feet and came over to the other side of my bed where the small table
was. He found a pen and a paper printed with some sort of instructions or
something from the hospital on it. He flipped it over to the blank side, rolled
the over bed table in front of me, and handed me the pen.

The
first thing I asked him was if I had flat-lined. He nodded. I then proceeded to
write down my possible theory about how Mom talked to me.

“You
could be right, Lennox. She knew your time here wasn’t over.”

I
jotted down, “but where is she? Why hasn’t she come back?”

He
shook his head, “I don’t know, baby. She might have made peace with her past
and crossed over. If neither of us sees her again, we can believe that’s what
happened.”

There
was a growing pain in my chest but it wasn’t from the gunshot wound. My heart
ached for my mom and the possibility I may never see her again. “But she didn’t
say goodbye.” My chin trembled as I fought back the tears.

Aaron
embraced me the best he could without getting tangled up in the cords and
hurting my injuries. “Oh, Lennox. She didn’t say goodbye because she knows she
will see you again someday. Always remember she will be with you just like she
was before whether you are able to see her or not. She will always live in your
heart.” He kissed me on the forehead reassuring me everything was going to be
alright.

Nodding,
I agreed. It pained me to move forward without the thoughts of her by my side,
but I knew in spirit she would always walk by my side.

I
took comfort in Aaron’s arms for several minutes. When he sat back down on the
edge of the bed, I jotted down my next question — “where’s my dad?”

He
blew an exasperated breath. “He’s in custody. After the cops showed up, he
confessed to everything. I wanted to go see him, but I couldn’t bring myself to
leave your side. I nodded and mouthed the words, “it’s okay.”

My
last question was about the bitch who I hoped was burning in hell. “Where’s
Pam?” It wasn’t so much that I cared where she was at, but I was concerned for
my safety and for Aaron’s. If she deliberately shot at me then who was to say
she wouldn’t try again?

He
poured himself a small cup of water and took a sip while watching me over the
rim. I could see a smile form behind the clear, plastic cup. “I think it’s safe
to say you won’t ever have to worry about that bitch ever again. After your
father confessed, he also provided plenty of proof to send her to prison for
many years. Sadly, he’ll probably serve some time too for aiding and abetting,”
he explained. “I’m really sorry, Lennox.”

I
scribbled down, “don’t apologize. It wasn’t your fault.” I gave him a
reassuring smile.

“If
there’s any consolation, the cops are opening your mother’s murder case back
up. I know without a doubt justice will be served this time.”

“What
about your death?” I wrote.

He
chuckled as if any of this was a laughing matter. “Interesting you ask that.
Your father wasn’t the one who ordered my death, it was Pam. She orchestrated
the entire thing without your father’s knowledge. Hard to believe he took the
blame to protect her.” He shook his head again with repugnance. “I hope she
rots in hell, but first, I hope she lives a torturous life in prison.”