Page 43 of Come Back to Me
“No, Mr. Parker they are not taking him to the same place. We understand the circumstances of your wife’s case, since it was ongoing. We have allowed your security to escort Mrs. Parker and we have officers on detail as well.”
I relax a bit, knowing she’ll be looked after while God only knows what will be happening to me.
As if on cue… “We are taking you in for questioning, Mr. Parker, but I have a feeling the D.A. will not be pressing charges. Technically this is aggravated assault, but considering the circumstances, I see this more as an impassioned response. You were caught up in the moment, right? You must have blacked out before it all happened…”Wow. Ok, officer. I’m happy to go down this path.
“Right,” I say, clearing my throat. “I’m happy to cooperate in any way, I really don’t know what came over me.”
“That’s what I thought,” the officer nods into the rear view mirror.
I spend four hours at the precinct, answering more questions than I have patience for, but I cooperate fully (much to the chagrin of my lawyer) and I am released with a simple warning not to leave town for a while. I call Foster and he informs me that Mia will be kept at the hospital for a few nights observation, due to a damaged trachea from strangulation. I head home and pack a bag for Mia and myself with enough clothes to last a few nights. I email my secretary, telling her to cancel my morning meetings and hold all calls until later in the week. I walk into our bathroom and look in the mirror, my eyes bloodshot and empty, and my hands still have blood on them. So does my dress shirt.I can’t see her like this. She’ll think I’m a monster.I run a hot shower, dress in clean clothes, and try to clean up the wounds on my hands. It is worth taking a few minutes to minimize the welts. No need to scare her more than she already is. And yet, I can’t wait to get there and be at her side.
I pull up to the hospital and can’t help a brief moment of fear that this will somehow be like last time. Will she know me? Will she have blocked it all out again?
Move your ass, Cole. Only one way to find out.I walk up to the nurses station. “Hello, I’m looking for my wife,” I say to an older, full figured nurse.
“Well, she said you’d be the good looking one. I figured she was biased or maybe a little manic… my mistake.” I look at her, confused, as Foster steps out from the door next to the desk and motions me over.
“What was that about?” I walk into the room and see Mia smiling and writing furiously on a board.
Did you meet Annie?
“Ahhh, the nurse with the raging hormones?”
“That’s the one… Maybe you could charm her a little?” She writes with a devilish smile.
“Very funny, I’m glad to see you haven’t lost your sense of humor.” I smile at her and scoot her over to lay on the bed with her.
Mia rests her head on my shoulder and our mutual relief is overwhelming. I almost lost her tonight,again. Will this insanity ever be over?
Foster walks in to inform us that Carter has been transported to a nearby hospital, and once released he will become a member of the psych ward until trial. “Don’t worry, boss. He is under lock and key, right where he belongs.”
“Yeah well, I’ve heard that before.”
Foster also tells us that they are tracking down the cousin who bailed him out, to question him. “Mia is exhausted. She doesn’t seem to remember any cousin, but there’s no reason why she would. She barely knows Carter, other than him being a former worker in Richard’s firm.”
Foster jumps in, “Well, I learned a bit about that also. One of the cops on the case let me peek at the file from earlier interviews with Carter. Mia apparently went to Richard’s office to meet for lunch one day about two years ago. Apparently, since they went to college together, he recognized her, that’s when he started to fixate on her. After that his twisted mind created a fantasy that Mia belongs to him, and it went downhill from there, until he saw her at the holiday party last year and well, you know everything since then…”
“Thanks, Foster. I think we’re all set for tonight. Thanks for everything. We’ll see you in the morning.” Foster leaves the room, closing the door behind him.
We lay there holding each other, both a bit stunned knowing that tonight could have gone a completely different way. We don’t speak about it. It’s as if we both agree without needing to discuss it that the time we have is precious and we don’t want to waste another minute in hell. It’s nearly 1am when Mia squirms and wakes me. I get out of the bed and cover her up, surprised the nurses haven’t kicked me out. It’s good that they knew not to try. Standing and looking down at her bruised neck, she looks so fragile. My feisty Mia. I am overcome with gratitude that she’s okay, that he didn’t get to hurt her.We got there in time.
Seeing that Mia is deeply asleep, I put on my jacket and walk out quietly to find Foster sitting right outside her door. “What hospital?”
“Reed Memorial. Go, I’ll be right here.” He rises to enter Mia’s room, and I know he will guard her with his life until I get back.
I walk into Reed Memorial and realize it’s the kind of establishment for those who have been forgotten. I breeze into the ICU as the one nurse on duty is busy with a patient across the floor. Two nurses at the nurses’ station are reviewing a chart over a med cart together, and I steal the lucky moment to walk directly into Carter’s room. He has no guards or protection. It’s just me and him.
“I’m here to end this, Carter,” I growl. He opens his eyes and with recognition they take on a clear expression of panic. The machines hooked up to him all start to beep loudly. It seems his blood pressure is going through the roof.Good.I hope he feels some of the torment he has caused.
“I want you to know why I am here. I am your reminder that what you did to my wife will never happen again. You will not hurt her or anyone else, ever again.”That beeping really is obnoxious.I reach up and turn the machine off, so I can focus on the matter at hand. I grab the pillow from the chair, and see Carter’s eyes grow huge because he knows what is about to happen.
“What are you doing? Excuse me, who are you? Guard!!”
Oh fuck! What am I doing? I have to get out of here.
I toss the pillow down to say, “Sorry, I was just checking on my cousin. I’ll go.”
I push past the nurse as she runs down the hall yelling for security. I leave the hospital quickly, looking over my shoulder to see if I’m being followed. When I make it to my car, I drive away calmly, as to not draw attention to myself. About a mile down the road I pull over and flip down the visor. Looking at myself, I realize without any doubt that I was going to take his life… I also realize that Mia deserves someone who won’t cause more harm than good. I drive my stupid ass back to Mia’s hospital and make my way to her room.I won’t tell her what happened tonight.