Waiting for Jo (20 page)

Scotty brings his hand to his bleeding
nose.

“Son of a bitch,” he says. He attempts to
bend over to get the knife, but Will advances on him and pushes him
to the ground before he can reach it. Will straddles Scotty and
attempts to pin him down, but even with his height and weight
advantage he’s having trouble.

“Call the police,” Will yells as he continues
struggling to overpower Scotty.

I run to the land line near the bed and dial
911. Just as the operator picks up, Scotty manages to free one of
his hands.

“Get the hell off of me,” he says. Scotty
uses his free hand to punch Will in the eye. Will is stunned, but
he retains enough composure to ball up his fist, pull his arm back,
and slam down on Scotty’s already bloodied nose. I’ve never seen
anyone get hit that hard in real life.

Scotty attempts to hit Will again, but I can
tell that he’s lost some of his strength and speed. Will is able to
dodge the punch. He then grabs Scotty by the collar, lifts it
toward him, and then lets Scotty’s head fall to the ground with a
loud thud. Scotty’s body goes limp in response.

Oh my God. He’s dead.

Tears run down my cheeks as the operator asks
me the address.

“You better send an ambulance too,” I say to
the operator. “Someone is very badly hurt.”

Will puts his ear to Scotty’s nose and mouth
and then checks his pulse. “He’s breathing and his pulse is strong.
He’s just out cold.”

Will gets off of Scotty and walks over to me.
He pulls me in his arms so that my head is against his chest and
hugs me tightly.

“I love you,” he says. “I’m sorry that I
didn’t talk to you for so long, and I’m sorry that it took your
life being in danger for me to realize it.”

“You don’t ever have to say that you’re
sorry.” I wrap my arms around him and squeeze like I’m never going
to let go. “And I love you too.”

“I don’t know what I would have done if
something had happened to you.” He bends his head down and presses
his lips to my forehead.

“I’m just glad you showed up when you did.
When you walked in, I had just decided to give up. I thought the
situation was hopeless, but you saved me. Did you know that
something was wrong?”

“I thought it might be. Things had gone
really well for me in New York, and I was excited to get back and
put some things in motion, so I left early. When I got off the
plane I forgot to turn my cell phone back on. I didn’t think about
it until I was almost home. When I did, I saw the text from you. At
first I thought that there was just some miscommunication, but then
it occurred to me that someone might be manipulating you.” Will
releases me, sits down on the bed, and pulls me onto his lap. “I
broke every traffic law driving the last few blocks.”

“If you hadn’t decided to come home early, I
could be...” I trail off, not wanting to complete the thought.

“Don’t say it,” Will says.

Will holds me on his lap and strokes my cheek
until we hear sirens in the distance.

“Did I tell you that I love you, Jo?”

I take his hand and kiss his knuckles. “I
love you too, Will.”

The End

Epilogue

I make myself a cup of chamomile tea and sink
into the big armchair in the living room. After a year, the
nightmares have mostly stopped, and I’m beginning to get used to
the Manhattan noise, but every once in a while I find myself awake
when I don’t want to be. Whenever that happens, I like to sit here
and think about how well things have gone and how lucky I am.

Scotty is in a hospital and is getting the
help he needs. He’s not a threat to me, and I have nothing to worry
about. I doubt that we’ll ever speak again, but I don’t wish him
any ill will. I hope that he recovers and is able to pick up the
pieces of his life.

Will forgave me for my indiscretions, and
we’ve dedicated a lot of time to working on our relationship. I’ve
managed to regain his trust, and we now share a stronger bond than
I’ve ever shared with anyone.

He has also managed to make a name for
himself in the New York art scene, and we live together in the
greatest city on Earth. He’s able to make a nice living doing
something that he loves. Sometimes I’ll sneak out of work early and
go down to his studio to watch him paint. It fills my heart with so
much joy to watch this amazing and talented man do something that
makes him so happy.

I’ve been working for the juvenile division
of the NYC public defender’s office which has proved to be exciting
and challenging, but I just recently found out that I’ve been
accepted to the MFA program at Parsons. This fall, I’ll start
working towards a Master’s in photography, and I couldn’t be more
thrilled.

My thoughts are interrupted by Will’s
footsteps coming down the hall. He approaches me from behind, puts
his hands on my shoulders, and kisses the top of my head.

“Did you have another bad dream?” he
asks.

I tilt my head back and smile at him. “Yes,
but I’m feeling a lot better now.”

“Why don’t you come back to bed then? I’m
getting lonely in there.”

I get back into our warm bed, fall asleep
with Will’s arm around me, and dream about our future.

***

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

Thanks for reading Waiting for Jo. I hope you
enjoyed it very much. Find out what happens with Will and Jo in the
second installment of the Josephine O'Shea Trilogy, due to be
published in late winter, 2013.

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ABOUT S.R. BRADSHAW

S.R. Bradshaw lives in St. Louis with her dog
Tuskegee. She enjoyes running, sewing, cooking, and spending time
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