Always Been Mine (33 page)
Authors: Elizabeth Reyes
Luke was about to say something when her phone rang. She read the caller ID and lifted her finger to gesture Luke to hold on. Her step-mom didn’t call her very often, and when she did, it was usually about her father. “Hi Norma.”
“Valerie, your father collapsed.” She was frantic. “The paramedics are on their way.”
Valerie’s heart nearly gave out, and her hand immediately shot to her mouth. “Oh my God, is he breathing?”
“Yes, but barely,” Valerie heard voices and then heard Norma yell out. “In here! Come quickly!”
A devastating weight pushed against Valerie’s chest. It was happening all over again. Her dad would be in the hospital. She could barely catch her own breath. Her hand shook now. She stood up, fumbling around her desk for her keys. “What hospital are they taking him to?” she cried.
She threw her phone on the desk as soon as she hung up and continued to search for her keys.
“What is it, Valerie?” Luke demanded. “Who’s going to the hospital?”
“My dad,” she sobbed, trying desperately to hold it together. “Where are my damn keys?”
“Probably in your purse, but you can’t drive like this, Val.”
“I have to!” Valerie grabbed her purse and fished for her keys.
After a few of the other people in the office who had heard Valerie insisted she not drive, Luke rushed to grab his own keys. “Let’s go. I’ll take you.”
They both rushed out into the parking lot. It wasn’t until they were halfway there that she realized she’d left her phone on her desk. “Damn it.”
“What?” Luke drove fast, swerving at times.
“I left my phone at the office.”
Luke pulled his off his from his belt holster. “Here, use mine.”
She took it and called her step-mom. “How is he?”
“They just took him in.” Norma sounded as emotional as Valerie felt. “Oh honey,” her voice broke and she sobbed. “They think he may have suffered a stroke.”
“No!” Valerie gasped feeling as if her heart had stopped.
“Get here fast, honey. I’m so scared.” Valerie had never heard her like this.
When she hung up she buried her face in her hands.
“It’s gonna be okay, Val.”
“No.” She didn’t care that she was crying like a baby now. “They think he had a stroke.”
Luke said nothing, just pressed down on the accelerator. Valerie dropped the phone on her lap and cried helplessly into her hands. “Please God, let him be okay,” she repeated over and over.
Luke dropped her off at the entrance to the emergency room. She’d already pulled off her shoes in the car so that she could run as soon as she was out the door. Sprinting through the doors, she searched for Norma and immediately spotted the red-eyed woman.
They rushed to each other and hugged. “His breathing is stable, and they’re putting him in the ICU.”
“Oh thank God.” She cried even more now squeezing Norma tight.
“But he’s not out of the dark yet. They’re watching him really close. He’s still unconscious.”
Valerie’s entire body shook. That’s when she felt it. Her stomach churned. She looked around. “Where’s the restroom?”
“Why, what’s wrong?” Norma asked, concerned.
“I’m gonna be sick.”
Expecting the dry heaves again, Valerie was surprised to throw up her entire lunch and breakfast. She stood breathlessly against the bathroom stall. She hated how her body reacted to her emotions. After washing up she went back to the waiting room. Luke was there now. She caught him up on her fathers’ condition and then turned to Norma. “When can we see him?”
Norma shook her head explaining, “They said as soon as they settle him into his room, but that may be a while.”
Valerie checked her watch. It was almost six. Alex would be home early tonight. He’d told her that this morning.
“Did you want to go back and get your things from the office?” Luke checked his watch also.
“No, I’m not leaving, until I see him.” She thought about calling Alex from Norma’s phone, but she knew he’d rush down, and she didn’t want Luke to be here. She’d been under enough stress being in the same room with them the night of the wine tasting. The last thing she needed was to go through that again, especially right now. “You can go if you want, Luke. I may be here all night.”
“No, I’ll stay for a while. I want to make sure he’s okay too. You’re okay…” Their eyes locked for a moment. Valerie glanced away, annoyed. Was he ever going to stop doing that?
Norma took a seat in the waiting room. There was no way Valerie could sit when she was worried. So, she paced, and Luke paced with her, at times rubbing her back for comfort.
***
Finally done with the payroll, Alex texted Valerie.
Can you talk?
He was feeling a little guilty about the night before. He’d been a little short with her after trying to get her to talk about Luke when she still didn’t mention anything about having had breakfast with him. They’d almost gone to sleep without making love. Almost.
Romero rushed into the office, closing the door behind him and pulling up a chair. He had a small pad of paper in his hand. “This is way worse than we were thinking.”
Alex tensed up at once. He hadn’t been expecting Romero today. This had to be bad.
“I haven’t had a chance to go through everything he sent me, but there are a few key things I think you should know right away.” He opened up the pad in his hand. “First of all, Valerie thinks she met this guy, and then he got all obsessed with her right?”
Alex nodded not understanding, and Romero continued, “Bruce set it up. He’s been following her way before that. He worked in the computer lab at her college. That’s where he first saw her. He was there, Alex, the night she caught you with the tutor. Saw the whole thing. Then he waited to approach her and woo her. He knew she was vulnerable and used it to his advantage.”
Every hair on Alex’s body went on alert. Bruce had been stalking Valerie for
years
? Romero looked down at his pad again, “His entries are especially vicious when he writes about you guys doing it. Like the night you left the bonfire with Valerie, that was your first night you were back with her right? He was furious.”
“He watched us?”
Romero lifted his eyes from his pad. “I guess. He doesn’t actually write what he saw but he definitely knew you had done it. This one might piss you off a little but it’s important. The only time he actually wrote and I quote ‘I almost killed her today’ was the morning after the first time she slept with Luke. He stayed the whole night outside of Luke’s house and followed her home the next morning. He was so pissed that he dated her for almost a month and never slept with her then she starts going out with Luke and week two, he nails her.”
Romero may as well have given him a flying kick to the gut because that’s what it felt like. He felt the air literally sucked out of him. He wasn’t sure what was worse, that Bruce had actually considered killing her, or the visual of her sleeping with Luke.
He gulped hard. The pulse in his ears throbbed. He blinked, thankful he was sitting, because he thought he might actually be lightheaded. Romero had never been one to pussy foot anything. He sure hadn’t this time. Alex’s mind was still stuck on those last five words.
Week two he nails her
.
“Did you hear what I said?”
“No,” Alex barked.
“He’s more hung up on Luke than he is you.”
“And why would that be?” Alex almost didn’t want, to know but he had to now.
“Because you cheated on her, and Valerie told him she was in love with Luke. This was just before you two got back together. She may have told him that just to get him to back off. He keeps trying to figure out why she’s with you now. But he’s noticed Valerie’s inconspicuous meetings with Luke and he’s getting frantic about it.”
Alex clenched his teeth. That made two of them. His phone rang. It was Hank. The only time Hank ever called was if…
Alex grabbed it and stood up. “What’s up, Hank?”
Romero was on his feet next to Alex the second he heard Hank’s name.
“Have you talked to Valerie?”
“No why?”
“Well, I don’t think anything’s happened to her, but I just thought you might want to know she’s in the emergency room.”
His murderous mood, quickly replaced with dread, then annoyance. “What do you mean you don’t think? Weren’t you watching her?”
“Yeah, I was. I was right outside her office. So, was Steve. She walked out with that Luke guy, and they got in his car. So, we followed them. He dropped her off at the emergency room, and she ran in.”
Ran in
? “This happened right now?”
“About fifteen minutes ago.”
“And you’re just now calling me?” Alex’s voice thundered.
“Well, Luke parked and didn’t seem too worried when he strolled in. So, I didn’t know what to think.”
Alex squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath. “What hospital, Hank?”
After getting off the phone with Hank, Alex filled Romero in on what was going on. He called Valerie a few times. Each time it went to her voicemail. Feeling even more annoyed, he grabbed his keys and headed out.
“Are you telling her about Hank and Steve?” Romero knew Alex well enough to know where he was headed.
“If I have to.”
“You sure that’s a good idea?”
Alex wasn’t, but he was done with the guessing games. He’d get to the bottom of this today. Why was Valerie in the emergency room not answering her phone? And more importantly why the fuck was Luke with her?
“I better go with you.” Romero hurried along side of him.
Alex passed Sal on his way out. Sal followed him out the back door as Alex explained he was gone for the day and got in his truck. Romero jumped in the passenger side.
The more he thought about Valerie and Luke the more he felt like punching something or someone. Maybe it was a good thing Luke was in an emergency room. It might come in handy.
Alex tried Valerie’s phone again. With a grunt, he hung it up when it went to voicemail again. Why the hell wasn’t she answering? Maybe she
was
hurt. The dread crept through him, overpowering any other emotion. He sped up. Suddenly nothing else mattered. He just had to make sure she was okay.
They pulled into the parking lot and jumped out as soon as they parked. Both of them hurried through the parking lot, Alex’s heart pounding in his chest. He saw them before he entered the emergency room through the sliding glass doors. They were facing the other way, but from behind she appeared to be fine. Then it happened. It was subtle or inconspicuous as Bruce so nicely put it. Luke’s hand touched her neck. Valerie let her head fall back and he massaged it.
Just like that Alex felt ready kill again. The sliding doors opened. Romero must’ve sensed the need to interrupt Valerie’s neck massage. He cleared his throat excessively loud. Both Luke and Valerie turned at the same time.
There was no hiding the bewilderment in Valerie’s expression but most notably the unease in Luke’s.
“What is this, Val?” The jealously finally manifested, taking over any kind self-control or common sense Alex might’ve normally had. He wasn’t thinking straight anymore, but he didn’t care. “Why the hell are his hands on you?”
Romero took a cautious step in between Alex and Luke. Valerie glanced around. Alex knew people were watching. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was that he got the truth. She’d slept with this guy and lied about it. Did she really expect him to just deal with her being around him all day, touching her whenever he felt like it?
Like hell
.
“What are you talking about, Alex?”
“You don’t think I know about you rushing out to meet up with him for breakfast twice this week? I asked you last night about your day. You told me everything but that. Why?”
Valerie stormed past him out the sliding room door. Alex followed her. “I can’t believe you came here
now
to make a scene about that. How did you know I was here anyway?”
“Just answer the question, Val. Why are you keeping things from me? Why does he think it’s okay to put his hands on you? ” The more he thought about it the angrier it made him.
Luke stayed inside, a good thing too, because at this point Alex might’ve slammed him against the wall and asked him instead.
Valerie seemed completely puzzled. She shook her head. “You knew, and you didn’t say anything?”
“Because I’ve been waiting for you to tell me, Z! I know everything. I know you slept with him too. You spent the night at his house. Were you ever gonna tell me about that?”
“What!”
He was done with the bullshit. She’d gone crazy on him when she thought he was cheating on her. Now he had every right. There were too many unanswered questions. He was beyond livid. He was ready to explode. “When you met him the morning of the rehearsal, he held your hand. What the fuck was that about?”