My Beautiful Lies (Beautiful Nothing #2) (12 page)

“How are you feeling? The doctor says you were extremely dehydrated,” I ask her, tightening my hand around hers. 

“Is the baby okay?” is all she can stutter.  I knew it, it will kill her. 

“Yes, the baby is fine. Don’t worry everything will be fine,” I lie, I don’t know if it will be okay. All I can do is pray it will be. 

We end up cutting the vacation short after Laney is released from the hospital with instructions to take it easy and check-in with her regular doctor as soon as possible. Two days wasn’t what I was hoping for, but we have no choice. She needs rest and to take better care of herself. We pack up and say goodbye to paradise. The drive back home is quiet and lonely. She sleeps the whole way, never waking once. I feel so bad for her. She’s like this because of me once again. If I hadn’t gotten her pregnant, she would be okay. We hit our hometown at about nine in the evening. The headlights reflect off the house as we pull into the driveway. I get out first, then help her out. She pushes me off her, saying she can walk on her own. It feels like she hates me. She asks for the key; she wants to go in first. Instead of causing a fight, I hand her the keys. She places the key in and turns back to me before opening it. 

“I’m sorry, I am not feeling like myself. I ruined our trip, and it’s just one thing after another. I love you, and I’m sorry,” she says, turning around to hug me. 

I hold her for a few seconds longer and let go. She turns the door knob and pushes the door open. A bright flash lights up and a thunderous sound booms, breaking all the windows. I watch as another one goes off, sending Laney flying back as she hits her car with a loud crash and she’s out. I chase after her, but get hit and everything goes black. 

“Quick we need an ambulance and fire truck at 21 Massa Lane, Edgewater! Hurry, there are two injured pretty badly!” I hear a man’s voice yell anxiously. 

I can’t see anything, but I feel everything. My body is on fire, and I can barely breathe. Then the sound becomes muffled and I’m gone again. When I wake again, I can hear people working around me, the sound of feet and voices surround me. 

“Where’s Laney?” I croak out. No one hears me. I cough, sending lava through my body. I’ve never felt this much pain in my life. I just want to die. 

“James, I don’t know if you can hear me, but I’m Doctor Banks. You walked into a house laced with explosives. You have minor injuries but have been burnt from the flames that busted through the window you stood next to. We have removed all shards of glass and placed a cast on your arm you fell on and broke. You will not be able to leave the hospital for at least two weeks. I’m so sorry this has happened to you. But we will do our best to take care of all your needs,” she says. 

Where the fuck is Laney? Why can’t they hear me?
“And, James, you are heavily sedated by pain medicine, so you may not be able to open your eyes. We know you have tons of questions, and we will answer them when you’re able to speak clearly.” 

Great, I am stuck here in a hospital bed being circled by idiots.
They knew I came in with Laney, so why wouldn’t they tell me her condition? I hear voices and feet come and go, and it feels like years before I open my eyes. I open them and squint them closed even faster. The luminous room is bright, which hurts them. I try again—it’s the only way I can get used to it. It burns, but I finally keep them open. Looking around the white room, it’s eerie. Empty and hushed. The sun’s down out the window. I feel a sharp pain run up my arm, making me jerk to the location. One arm is in a cast, the other attached to an IV. 

The pain was the pain medicine shooting through my veins. I am covered in scratches and bandages. I move carefully, searching for the bed remote. I need answers. I need to know if Laney is okay. I push the red button three times, and seconds later a nurse comes in. 

“You’re awake! Let me page the doctor for you, sweetie,” the old lady says, leaving the room before I can speak. 

What in the hell is going on? She wouldn’t even let me talk.
I try to move, but I can’t get my legs to work, I’m too weak. A few minutes later the doctor comes shuffling in, with a folder. I assume she’s Dr. Banks, and ask her if Laney and the baby are okay. “Laney is stable, the baby, however, she miscarried before the explosion. I’m sorry, losing a child is one of the most painful experiences. I have had a few miscarriages myself,” she says, saddened. 

“Wait, she lost the baby before? How’s that? We were just at the hospital yesterday, and they said everything would be fine!” I say, raising my voice. I can feel a tear sneak out and roll down my cheek. 

“Oh, honey, she lost the baby a week ago. When she was brought in she had already had bled out prior to the explosion. Where were you before you came home?” 

“We were in the Poconos on vacation, she fainted and had to go to the ER. They said she was fine to go home! They said she just needed rest,” I shout, gripping the bars on the side of the bed. 

“I’m sorry, sometimes things happen, and there’s nothing we can do to stop them. She must have lost it on the way home. I’m so sorry, I wish I could fix it, but I can’t provide miracles, I wish I could.” I let the wall I’ve built over the years come tumbling down. I let every tear I have ever held go and just cry. I want to punch a wall but I’m stuck in this shitty bed. 

“Laney is okay?” I ask closing my eyes tight, trying to stop the tears. 

“Yes, besides losing the baby, Laney was thrown back against a car pretty hard. She suffered a mild concussion, one fractured rib, and was also cut by shards of glass. She is actually doing better than you, physically. She’s been awake for a week longer than you have.” 

“Can I see her?” I beg her, staring directly into her worried eyes. 

“I suppose, she is awake. James, I think it’s best that you know. She knew she was losing the baby before everything happened. She is coping pretty well with it. I have had a counselor in to see her a few times.” Okay, she knew she was losing it. She didn’t want to break my heart and tell me. That explains why she was so moody. A nurse brings in a wheelchair and another nurse helps her get me into it. 

“You ready, big guy?” the little nurse says. I just give her an annoyed look and let her wheel me to Laney’s room.

When I see her, my heart starts beating again. I would lose the good in me if I ever lost her. She has a wrap around her head. Almost matching scratches and cuts covering her face and arms. 

“Hi,” she whispers, her eyes filling with tears. 

“I am so sorry, baby, I’m so sorry I couldn’t protect you. I love you so much, and I’m so fucking sorry,” I say next to her in my chair. I bury my face into her arm as she runs her fingers through my hair. 

“This is not your fault, James; this is Jake’s fault. All of it. Why couldn’t I’ve met you in college, there would never have been a chance for him. I wish I could find the words, but I can’t. We will make it through this. We can make it through everything, as long as we have each other,” she says, lifting my chin to look at her. She’s right, we can get through it and we can handle Jake by getting one step ahead of him.

When he comes for us, which he will it’s just a matter of when, we will be ready and we will fight until the game ends. Not all fairy tales have a happy ending, not all bad guys can be redeemed. But one thing I do know is we will fight for it.

TWO WEEKS LATER

The whole front of Laney’s house is gone, blown to pieces. As for the rest of it, it went up in flames. We have no choice but to go to my countryside home. Yes, there were obstacles, but I figured a way around it with Harry’s help. He agreed to live in the basement with Lindsay, to keep her quiet until we figured away to get rid of her and Jake could go down for it. Laney is oblivious to it all. She is still recovering from losing the baby and stays in my room for the most part. As far as she knows, the basement has all my family’s stuff in it and is off-limits due to how bad it hurts. We shop for new clothes and get her settled in. We have had a long ass day, and I order pizza and stay in my room. We lie there when we finish eating and she starts asking questions about Jake. 

“What if he comes here and you’re not here to protect me? What if he blows up your house too?” I start thinking about what she asks and come up with an idea. She’s right, she needs to protect herself when I’m not here. So I reach into the bedside table and pull out my Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum handgun. I push the cylinder back showing it to her, then push it back in. 

“This is how you’re gonna protect yourself. I will take you out back tomorrow and show you how to shoot. Will that make you feel better?” I ask her, handing her the gun to get the feel of it. 

“I didn’t know you had a gun,” she says, shocked, lining up the barrel to the bad guy on the TV. She closes one eye and pulls the trigger and jumps when she hears the click. 

“Of course I have a gun; I’m a guy.” I laugh at her, taking the gun from her hands and placing it back in the drawer. I climb on the bed with her, and she snuggles up to me. She lays her head on my chest, rubbing small circles on my side. She focuses all her attention on Law & Order on the TV. Every few minutes she asks me questions about crime, and how I can tell who is crazy and who’s not at my job. 

“Thank you. I mean, thank you for showing me the gun and talking to me more about you. I love you, and I know that you would always protect me. It’s just sometimes, I want to protect myself. If Jake or any of the others show up at your door, I want to hurt them. I want to hurt them like they hurt me. What they did was kill me, they took everything away. Before I met you, I was ready to give up. I was ready to let them take everything I have ever worked hard for away. They took a piece of me, James, a piece of my soul. I don’t think I will ever get it back. But with you there’s hope,” she says, and it’s the most serious talk we’ve ever had.

When she reaches up to kiss me, I feel loved, I do everything in my power to return that feeling. I turn over, laying her softly on her back. I lift her t-shirt up over her head, then roll her panties down until they hang off one ankle. I start at her neck, licking and lightly kiss her. Moving down to her stomach, then thighs, worshipping her body with each touch. I climb back up her body until my cock reaches her opening. I push in easy, then pull out, teasing her and making her moan quietly. I pull her arms up above her head and hold them in place. I bury myself inside her in a sudden thrust. I gently move in and out of her as her legs shake around me. When she closes her eyes, I ask her to keep them open and she watches me watch her. I move lazily making it last longer and make it more intense. I let her bring her arms down, and I reach up to her throat, grabbing it but not too hard, just enough to trigger more excitement. She wraps her legs around me and her back lifts slightly with every movement I make. Her eyes never leave mine, even when she hits her peak. I watch a single tear roll from her eye as she thrashes under me. I move faster, chasing my own climax. When it hits it sends waves of numbness down my spine to my toes. 

I roll off her, falling on my back. We lie breathless, our hearts beating in sync with each other’s. When I get up, my legs tingle but in a good way. I get a wash cloth and slowly wipe between her legs, cleaning up our juices, then grab a towel to dry her. I lie back down next to her, both on our sides, staring at each other. We don’t need words to know how beautiful the moment was. 

***

The next morning, I wake to my phone buzzing to the edge of the night stand until it falls off, waking me up when it hits the hardwood floor. I sneak out of the bed to not wake Laney, grab my phone, and go down to the kitchen. Harry messages me that he needs to get a break. I argue with him back and forth until I win. He stays put until we leave. I throw together a quick breakfast, bringing it upstairs. Laney is awake watching TV with the bed sheet wrapped around her naked body. She does things to me. I just can’t shake the feelings she gives me. Feelings of wanting to be her husband, to be the man she needs me to be. We eat, get dressed, and I take her out back to get her training started. She flaunts out of the house like a natural bad ass, and I tell her she should lay off the Law & Order show. She just laughs and tells me to shove it. Who would’ve thought that I would be bonding with her over shooting guns? It’s the most fun I’ve had with her. She seems to enjoy it just as much. 

“All right, now that you know how to load it, and unload. Let’s try to not put your finger on the trigger until you’re ready to shoot. If you pull the trigger too soon, that could be the moment your plan backfires. Giving the perp enough time to knock you down and take it,” I tell her, moving her fingers to the correct spot until it’s time to fire. 

“Like this?” she asks, lining up her target—a soda can about ten yards away. She closes one eye like she did last night and pulls the trigger. It jerks her back. It scares her, but quickly recovers and asks to do it again. We practice half the day away until we get hungry because we skipped lunch. 

“Go shower, we can go grab a bite to eat at the café,” I tell her as I start cleaning up the yard and packing up the supplies.