Defying Fate (26 page)

Counting my breaths I try to relax my body. Braxton is yelling, no more like shouting down the roof through the phone. I breathe one big one, one last time and pick up the phone.

“I’m here. I’m here,” Slowly panting, I painfully add, “Its okay but I can’t look out the window right now.” I leave it at that.

“Why the fuck not? Iz, why can’t you look out the motherfucking window for me? Better yet, what the hell just happened to you?” The words come out angry, but I think the anger is more from being scared about me.

“Don’t. Don’t ask me things you are not prepared to hear the answers to. Just know I can’t do it, and before you ask me, I’m not okay. I’m hurt and trying my damnedest to stay healthy enough to ask you to do a few things for me.”

“What the hell are you saying? What things?” I can tell he must have winced at my request because his voice hitched.

With self-doubt, I am begging on the inside. “Please take care of Kara for me. Take care of…”

“WHAT THE HELL! No! Izzy, you are not going to talk like that. I’m going to get you. You hear me. Izzy: DO. YOU. HEAR. ME?” Pausing after each word, his tone is wild.

“Yes, but, but…” I can’t help but lower my head in shame.

“No, but’s honey. Don’t you give up hope? Don’t give up on me or you.” His voice full of desperation, but it’s his plea that touches me most. I cry harder, so hard I can’t breathe another word. My lower lip quivers with each whimper that escapes.

The phone is near my ear so I can hear Kara and Braxton shouting. Kara is telling Braxton that if Max was with me it meant only one thing, I’m hurt, and he had to patch me up. When those words aired, I could sense it tore Braxton apart. I could hear his pain and anger as he shouted what he was going to do to Dominic. It should have given me some comfort, but the only thing, it did, was scare me. The thought of Braxton showing up and confronting Dominic was not a welcome one. My brother did that and look where that got him, six feet in the ground. All courtesy of me.

As I fall apart listening to my favorite people shouting about me and what they wanted to do to a man who is like a living devil, Max takes the phone. I glance at him as he makes a slightly pained expression. He takes the phone and starts to talk.

“Hello, yes, my name is Max. I am trying to help here if Dom finds out? I am sure as fuck a dead man. Listen I need to talk to Liam, get him for me and make it fast.” Max is looking out the window, I‘m sure watching for Dominic to return.

Liam? How the hell does Max know about Liam?

“Hey Liam, I was told to contact you. Well, it seems we have a mutual friend, and he put two and two together so here I am. I wanted to call you as soon as I could.” Max paused looking at me with a pained expression on his face, and then pauses. “No she is not alright. Yes-yes, but tell him to shut the hell up so we can talk for a minute.” Max keeps glancing between me and the window as he holds the curtain.

I can imagine Max is referring to Braxton.

“I will call when I can figure out what our next move is. I need to get to her daughter somehow.” Pausing, Max raises an eyebrow and sighs.

“Yes, that might work. Good idea. Listen I think he is back, so I need to go. Tell him no, he can’t talk to her again. It’s not safe.” Click. Max hits end and deleted the history of the call on his phone.

“Wow, I can see why Dom is so frustrated and upset, your man is, well, let’s just say intense.” He says with a wild shake of his head.

“That is putting it mildly.” I burst out laughing.

Max leaves the room after making sure I was going to eat some soup before the pain meds’ send me into sleepy land. I have to admit the soup was amazing, definitely hit the spot. I drifted off shortly after, to the hushed voices of Max and Dominic.

My last thought, I sure hope we can trust Max.

He’s my last hope!

FOUR DAYS HAVE PASSED,
and I feel like the living dead. I developed a fever and Max realized I had a massive infection. I heard him arguing with Dominic about getting me stronger antibiotics, what Max was giving me was not helping. My illness has given me some damn awful nightmares and even worse hallucinations. Just about an hour ago I thought for sure there was a big ass spider in my room ready to eat me for lunch. Screaming and hiding under the covers did not help as Dominic never left my side, since my last outburst. It seems my mental incompetence brought out his gentle side. If only he knew, he was way, way too late to show this kind of compassion ever to change my mind about him. He did finally agree to send Max to get some stronger meds’. Sending Max out to expose him was not something he wanted to do, but if not, my death is another something he did not want as well. The only thing I knew for a fact; was I was going to die before he returned with a more potent medicine. Hell, right now I’d beg death to take me and put me out of my misery.

Being mad with fever and hallucinations is one thing, having Dominic the nursemaid was just going to put me over the edge.

Dominic kept ringing out the washcloth, and wiping it across my forehead. Never looking into my eyes, in fact, he did his best not to. Being this close to me like this, I could sense he was uncomfortable. It’s times such as these that I can see the kind and caring side of him. Call it wishful thinking, a moment of temporary insanity, but whatever it may be, it has me smiling at the devil who is my new nursemaid. His voice soft and sweet, he tended to my every need. I need to remind my brain that this is his entire fault to begin with.

“Izzabella, you are so dear to me. Do you realize how important you are?” Eyes are shining like diamonds. Dazzling, truly dazzling. With these words, he did in fact look into my droopy eyes. Moaning I close my eyes, because it hurts too much to keep them open. I faintly nod and make an hmmm’ noise. Not sure I actually hear what he is saying I just agree to whatever he says. I am in no mood to argue or dive into a long drawn out conversation. His touch is delicate as he strokes the hair from my face, it is wet from my fever and the wet washcloth. Running his fingers down my cheek, he traces my jaw from ear to ear. With my eyes closed, I dream of another man. It’s his fingers touching my face. It’s his soft angelic voice soothing me. I let the images of Braxton fill my head as he already has my heart.

I moan out his name. I couldn’t help it.

“Braxton. So, nice.” I dream his face and turn my head to lean it into the hand caressing my cheek. It never occurred to me what I had done until after his name escaped my lips. The moment of clarity came to me, and my slip-up came crashing down.

The hand that was stroking my cheek sweetly stopped moving. His fingers tightened so much I open my eyes. “Dominic what are you doing? Leave me alone, I don’t feel well.”

His face is stone cold. “Don’t ever mistake me for him again.”

“What are you talking about Dominic? Jesus. Paranoid or something?” I realize my mistake, but no way in hell I am going to admit it.

Wiping my head with the cloth, his smile does not match his sadistic tone. “I won’t like it if you ever do it again.”

I was too tired, too sleepy to give a shit. If I called him by another name, well so be it. I’m spent and have no energy to fight with him right now. My body knows who it wants, and it’s not him.

“As soon as you are well, we are leaving. The sooner,” he huffs, “the better. You need to leave this place, need to leave him. It would be wise for you to realize you will never see him again.” His voice cold and calculated, yes, now the Dominic I know and don’t love is back. This side to Dominic I can relate with, the sweet side of him? I have no idea what to think of that guy.

“Max is back, I’ll send him in. We’re leaving in a few days; better or not. I hate this place and need to get back home. Feel well Izzabella, I have plans for you.” He leaves the room with a backward glance.

He leaves the room, and I can finally breathe. He will be the death of me, I know it. I can’t see how Braxton could ever get me out of this horrible situation. Death just seems an easier escape.

Max enters my room in a hurry, closing the door, he presses a finger to his lips as to silence me. He sits and takes out three bottles of pills.

I sense urgency with his fast movements plus, he looks nervous. “Izzy, can you understand me right now?”

With my inability to focus right, I simply nod.

“Listen, I’ve spoken to Liam and Brax while I was out. We came up with an idea, well I should say Liam and I came up with a plan. Your man is flat out against it, he wants to come in guns blazing. I assured him that his idea was a sure way to get you killed in the process. Dom will take you out before you leave him again.”

“What’s the plan?” My voice is feeble at best.

Rubbing his hand on his pant leg, Max leans closer to my ear as if to whisper.

“In a nutshell, I’m going to fake your death. I am going to put you in a let’s say, a temporary coma. I then tell Dom you passed away and then get your body the hell out of here and into the hands of Liam and his brothers. Once you are safe, I will come to wake you up.” Staring at me, he pauses for my reaction.

“You're what?” My eyes go wide and about bug out of my head. “How the hell can you put me in a temporary coma and play it off as if I am dead, then turn around and wake me up? What if something goes wrong? What if I don’t wake up? Jesus, it feels like I’m already knocking on death’s door.” My energy is spent, I’m fatigued and hurt everywhere. Learning of Max’s brilliant plan I’m now panicking with fear.

“When are we doing this?” I don’t have the energy to open my eyes and look at him anymore. I might be delusional and sick, not even in the right frame of mind, but this idea is beyond wicked.

Sensing Max is moving around quietly, I use my last breaths before I drift off to sleep.

“Wh…when, are, we, doing this?” My words are getting harder to speak. I need sleep, I need to rest.

I feel a pinch in my arm, but I’m too weak to wince or yelp. I can feel his face close up against mine. His lips place a tender kiss on my forehead. He gets close to my ear, and I can feel his breath against it.

“We’re doing this right now!” That was all he said.

WHAT? My brain heard him. But what the hell does it mean? OH SHIT. LET ME LIVE THROUGH THIS.

Then the darkness came.

Peaceful.

Quietness.

Tranquility.

I’m aware my body is being moved, I don’t feel any more pain. Voices are getting louder, not sure what the hell is happening. I vaguely recall talking to Max before things got fuzzy. Oh my, whatever Max gave me it’s definitely working. I haven’t felt this at ease in a long time. I have no sadness or sorrow, I just feel, peaceful. God, what a great feeling, if these voices would just stop shouting, they are interrupting my peace. Jesus! Let me have a moment of serenity.

IT’S A BEAUTIFUL WARM
summer day, I’m sitting on a grassy hill overlooking the lake. All the horror of the past few months is now just a distant bump in the road of life, a way to better times, and the road that led me to Braxton. Laying my head back, I take in the heat of the sun, the distant laughter of Eve fills my ears. I smile at how at ease I am with her and Braxton in my life. It’s like we were meant to be this, us together. The other laugh of a little girl makes me damn right giddy, I can barely see a tired Braxton as he is chasing them tirelessly on the beach.

“Eve,” Braxton huffs out loudly, “Willow, I’m too damn tired to chase you all over the beach. I tell you what, you stop running from me, and I’ll let you bury Iz in the sand.” He chuckles as his idea will no doubt have the girls over the moon excited to bury me in the sand. The last time they did, I had sand in places, well let’s just say, places where sand should never hide.

It’s the manly grasp of a hand on my shoulder that snaps me out of my peaceful retreat.

“Looks like that did it, now I can sit back and relax,” chuckling he sits down next to me. “All at your expense, the girls sure love to get you under the sand. But I just like to get you cleaned up afterward.” Leaning into me he lightly brushes his lips to mine. The minute his wet lips connect with mine, my animalistic nature takes over and I grasp his neck pulling him on top of me. Taking ownership of his lips, he moans his approval.