All of Me? The Trust Me? Trilogy (22 page)

“It’s alright, Mike, I don’t think he’ll hurt me,” she says.

“I’m coming with you just in case,” Mike says as they both walk over to Alistair.

“Alistair, are you alright?” Callie asks, hesitantly sitting down next to him.

“Oh, Callie, we should get married. I love you so much,” he says as he takes her hand.

Mike and Chris edge closer, making sure that if he tries anything they can get to her.

“Alistair, we’re already married. We married years ago and now we are now separated.”

He furrows his brow. “I… I don’t know what you mean. Callie, I’ve only known you for a year or so.”

Mike takes out his cell phone.

“Who are you calling?” Callie asks.

“An ambulance. I think there is something wrong with him,” he says while he dials nine-one-one.

“Alistair, we’re getting you some help,” Callie says. Alistair’s eyes search around the room, his face taking on a confused look.

Aiden kisses my forehead. “Baby, it’s going to be alright,” he says, as I try to recover from the attack.

Mom sees red, walks over to Alistair, and starts to continuously slap him. Chris holds her back as Alistair cries.

“No, Father, don’t hit me,” he says, cowering into the sofa.

Bree brings me a glass of water, and I drink it, soothing my sore throat. Sarah sits on the floor next to me.

“
Father, don’t hit me
,” Alistair yells out. He crawls in to a ball on the sofa, and Callie places her hand on his leg.

“Mommy, make him stop hurting me, please,” he says, cuddling into Callie who has an empathetic look. There’s a knock at the door and Mom answers. Two EMTs come in. One heads straight to me and the other goes directly to Alistair.

“Hello, my name is Mandy,” she says, squatting down beside me.

“Can you tell me what happened to you?” she asks kindly as Aiden wipes the tears from my cheeks with his thumb.

“My soon to be father-in-law choked me,” I say very quietly.

She immediately looks over to the other EMT and then back at me.

“Did you pass out at all?” she asks while she wraps a blood pressure cuff around my arm.

I shake my head.

“Sweetheart, can you breathe properly through your mouth? Are you getting enough air?”

I nod, and she continues to check me over.

“I think you’re going to be alright physically. I’ll check your blood pressure now, and we’ll go from there,” she says kindly. She pumps the cuff and as it tightens around my arm it’s almost painful.

“Your blood pressure is too high. We’ll need to take you to the hospital and have you checked over by a doctor. It’s better to be safe than sorry,” she says, putting her hand on my knee in reassurance.

“Can you stand?”

Aiden stands up, taking me with him, but I stumble as I feel weak and light headed, like I might pass out. My mouth is dry and I sway on the spot, but Aiden holds onto me tightly.

“Mandy, we need to get Mr. O’Connell to the hospital as soon as possible,” the male EMT says.

“Jeni, are you okay?” I hear Sarah ask just as the room turns black and I collapse into Aiden’s arms.

***

I wake in a small, brightly lit room. My neck is hurting, and I move my hand up to feel it. Aiden is quickly by my side.

“You scared me for a moment there,” he says while stroking my hair. I blink a few times and look around the room and notice that I have an audience. My throat feels dry and coarse when I cough. Aiden hands me a glass of water, and I sip through the straw, soothing my throat.

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine,” I whisper. “Where’s your father?” I ask and Aiden looks at me.

“He’s being tested for Alzheimer's. The doctors think that his regression back to childhood, his confusion with recognizing people, and his sudden change of mood are all contributing factors. He’s always been grumpy but never violent and sadistic. They think that the testing will see Alzheimer’s as a probable outcome,” Aiden says.

That explains a lot. I never thought of Alistair as being sick. I knew he was sick and twisted, but not mentally sick.

“Are you alright, Aiden?”

“You’re the one in the hospital bed, and you ask me if I’m alright? You always surprise me with your selflessness,” he says, leaning in to kiss my nose.

“It makes sense now. If his diagnosis is positive, then we can get him some help.”

“Jeni, sweetheart, do you need anything?” Mom asks me.

“I have everything I need right here,” I say, gesturing to them all. After a few hours of monitoring, I get the all clear from the doctor and Aiden takes me home.

Aiden carries me to the sofa and turns on the TV for me to watch while he prepares drinks. Mom, Callie, and Mike also come back to the house. Mom sits next to me on the sofa.

“Thanks for being here, Mom.”

“Honey, you were attacked. I wouldn’t be anywhere else,” she says.

Aiden brings us over a warm cup of tea for both of us to drink. He sits down next to me, and I cuddle into his side.I spend the rest of the night being comforted in his arms.

CHAPTER 18

I turn to look at Aiden and find him staring at me. He runs his finger gently across my neck, tracing the bruises. I swallow and he moves his hand from my neck to my cheek. He leans in and kisses me softly.

“I have to go into O’Connell Finance today to deal with the accounts that Father was meant to be handling, but you should stay home and rest.”

“No way. I’m coming with you,” I say, not wanting to let Alistair’s attack get the better of me.

“Alright, you can come with me, but I’m not happy about it—I’d rather you stayed home. If you want to come home we will.”

We get dressed, have breakfast, and Aiden insists on me having an extra glass of juice for energy. I don’t bother to argue. We head out the front and Mike is waiting for us, but he seems surprised to see me. He looks at Aiden and raises his eyebrows.

“I tried to get her to stay home, Mike, but she doesn’t want to,” Aiden says, answering his unspoken question.

We arrive and make our way to the office. Bree is working at her desk, spots me, and seems stunned. I wish everyone would stop looking at me that way.

“I wasn’t expecting you. How are you, Jeni?”

“I’m fine; I just want to keep busy.” I see Aiden glance at his sister with a concerned look. Brielle winks at Aiden giving him the ‘
I’ll look after her’
signal. I roll my eyes and we continue into his father’s office.

“Baby, you can use my laptop and stay in here with me rather than sit out there. I want to be able to see you and make sure you’re safe. I was so scared he was going to kill you. I don’t want to let you out of my sight, ever,” he says.

“Aiden, I can sit at my old desk. I’m fine, just a little bruised.”

“No, no arguing! I want to be able to see you. I need you in here with me, baby. This is for me, not you. I need to know you’re okay every second of the day. Plus, you’re really pretty, and I like to look at you,” he says, pulling me in close for a kiss.
How can I argue with that?

Brielle comes in with a sad face.

“What is it?” Aiden asks as he wraps his arms around me.

“Just had a phone call from Mom. The tests came back positive for dementia. They’re suggesting we get a nurse to watch and care for him. They’re saying it’s a very fast onset, and he’ll need round the clock care. They say he also is suffering from major depression.”

“As much as I don’t give a
shit
about him, it’s good to know.”

“I’m not defending him or sticking up for him in anyway, but he’s your father, and although he’s a very bad example of a father, at least you have one. He’s sick and he might need your help, Aiden,” I say.

“You’re right. He is a very bad example of what a father should be. Look at what he did to you, to the woman I love. You are so precious to me. He can’t help himself, sick or not, I’m not going near the old
prick
.”

Bree winces. She obviously feels sorry for her father.

“I’m going to go see him and make sure he gets the best care. Now that Father is mentally incapable of running the company, I guess this makes you president of O’Connell Finance, if you want it,” Brielle says, bringing us to the same realization.

Aiden frowns and looks down at his hands.

“You need to go and help with your father’s arrangements. I can ask Mike to take me home, or I can go and see Callie until you’re done,” I say.

“No, I won’t leave you again.”

“I’ll be here when you get back. Well, not here, but maybe at home with Callie and Mike. I’ll be fine.”

“No, I can’t. I’m sorry, Bree. You’ll have to ask Blair to help you. I’m not leaving Jeni again. She needs me and I need to be with her.”

Bree nods and leaves.

“What would you like to do?” Aiden asks me.

“Let’s go home. I feel safe and loved there.”

He picks me up, cradling me in his arms and carries me out of the office.

“You know, you don’t have to carry me everywhere.”

“I know,” he says, carrying me into the elevator. I think he’s going to put me down, but no, he carries me through the main foyer with everyone looking at us, and down the stairs to the parking garage. Mike opens the car door, and Aiden slides me in. I snuggle into his side all the way home. We spend the rest of the day relaxing on the sofa and watching television. He never leaves my side.

“When do you want to see the counselor again?” Aiden asks. “I’d like you to see her as soon as we can get an appointment.”

“I’ll call tomorrow,” I say. “So, do you want to be president of O’Connell Finance?” I ask.

Aiden shrugs. “I guess it would be easier than starting our own business. With Father out of the office, it will make working there bearable again.”

“So Mr. President, what are you going to do about a vice president?” I ask curiously.

“I was thinking of giving it to Brielle, if she wants the position. She knows the industry inside and out, she’s qualified, and she knows how everything works. I thought I might give her the chance that Father never would. This way we can keep it a family business.”

“I think she’ll love that,” I say.

***

Aiden and I decided we would take the entire week off work. So today, seeing as Sarah and Chris are both off as well, we all decide to spend the day together. Aiden and Chris are out playing a round of golf.
Could anything be more boring?
And Sarah and I are hanging out at home, doing girlie stuff like watching
The Notebook,
crying like babies.

We’re in the theater room half way through watching gorgeous Ryan Gosling doing swoon worthy things to Rachael McAdams when Sarah starts to cry. I look over at her and giggle slightly. I know the breakup scene is coming up, and we know the movie so well that she is pre-empting the scene. I take her hand.

“I know. I hate this next part, too,” I say. She bursts into a full on, river of ugly face crying tears.

“Oh, hun, what’s up?” I say, trying not to laugh at her.

“This is
fucked
up,” she says, making me laugh.

“Don’t laugh, it’s not funny,” she says being completely serious.

“It’s a little funny, Sarah, how many times have we watched this movie? You’ve never been this upset about their breakup... well, except for maybe the first time we watched it, but this is like the seventeenth time,” I say, giggling again.

“It’s not about the stupid fucking movie,”
she yells, making me take notice. I look at her confused. Oh, she is actually really crying. Sarah never cries, she sulks and whines, but never cries.

“Hey, what’s going on? I didn’t realize you were really upset. Talk to me.”

“I think…”

“Yeah?”

“I think I’m late.”

“What, for an assignment? That’s okay, I’m sure the teachers will let you turn it in a little late,” I say, hoping she doesn’t mean what I think she means.

“Jeni, don’t be stupid. You know what I’m talking about.”

I bite my bottom lip—
Shit! “
How late are we talking?”

“I’m not sure exactly. I can’t remember when I had my last period, but I know it was definitely more than a month ago. But you know me, I never keep track of that stuff,” she says.

“Okay, well, let’s not panic. C’mon, up you go,” I say, dragging her up from the recliner.

“Where are we going?”

“To the drugstore, we need a test.”

“Oh,
fuck
no. I don’t want to know. Can’t I just pretend like this isn’t happening?”

“Sarah, c’mon,” I say, dragging her through the kitchen. I grab my bag and keys on the way out.

I drive us to the local drugstore and find a parking space close to the doors. We want to buy what we need and get home before the guys get back. I get out of the car, and Sarah stays in the passenger seat. I know how she feels; when I first thought I was pregnant, I was terrified. I walk over to her door and open it.

“C’mon, Sez, let’s buy what we need so we go home,” I say. She huffs and gets out of the car, slamming the door. I take her hand and walk with her into the drugstore, walking quickly along the aisles, looking at the signs to find the right section. We finally find the ‘sex section’ as I call it where everything sex related is shelved—condoms, lubricants, flavored massage oil?
What the?
And pregnancy tests. Sarah stares at the packets aimlessly. I can see she’s struggling, so I pick up a packet and start to read. She grabs a packet and looks at it, and then grabs another one of a different brand, and then another. She keeps pulling packets from the shelves until her arms are full.

“Um, Sarah, I think you only need one test.”

“No, I’m getting one of each brand that way I know for sure. C’mon, don’t just stand there. Grab some!” she says as she starts to hand them to me. She picks up one of each brand—about ten in total—and we race to the checkout. People are looking at us with eyebrows raised as we rush to the checkout, but Sarah doesn’t notice. She’s too busy trying to get through. The look on the checkout assistant’s face is priceless. Of course Sarah had to pick the one with the pre-pubescent male. He looks embarrassed as he swipes all the pregnancy tests and places them into a plastic bag.