Rooter (Double H Romance) (35 page)

Chapter 46
Seeing Things

Three days have passed since my conversation with Rooter and he hasn’t attempted to contact me once. The tone of his voice when he said goodbye told me I wouldn’t hear from him again. I asked him to let me go and that’s what he has done. I did the right thing. But it doesn’t make it any easier. The finality has hit me like a boulder falling from the sky. There’s no going back. Rooter and I are done.

But I can’t stop thinking about him. I constantly try to picture what he’s doing at different times of the day. Does he still wake up at six every morning for work? Does he still exercise after work like he always did on the days I work? Is he back to running first thing in the morning? Miranda told me he’s become reclusive. He goes to work, goes home, takes care of Dopey and that’s about it. Bear tried to get him to have drinks with him last night and he refused.

About an hour after that last conversation with Rooter, Miranda called me freaking out. Bear heard a ruckus and went to check on him. Apparently he obliterated his house. It was an ugly scene. He smashed a bunch of dishes, threw some tables and chairs, one of which went through a window. As bad as it sounds, knowing he’s hurting as much as me makes me feel better. It’s a retribution of sorts.

Ryan has been a saving grace for me. He finds ridiculous ways to make me smile and has even managed to get a few laughs out of me. The poor guy has next to no life now because he spends all his time with me trying to keep my spirits up.

This morning we hit a flea market for the hell of it. He thinks it’ll be a fun hobby for us to find old furniture to refurbish and sell online. An idea he came up with watching the home and garden channel a couple nights ago.

I told him I’d rather hit the gym and punch my frustrations away, but he thinks that isn’t a good idea since I’m hardly eating. It’s not on purpose. I just can’t remember to eat. It’s like my hunger switch is turned off. So he watches the clock and makes sure I eat at the appropriate times. If we’re not together he texts me a reminder. His way to motivate me to eat was by playing on my small boob insecurity. He said, “If you don’t eat you’ll lose what little boob you have and once they’re gone, they never come back.” It almost worked.

Miranda, God love her, has tried to be supportive. She calls and texts regularly to check on me. But every time we talk she ends up telling me how bad Rooter’s doing and that she really believes now Candace is out of the picture he and I’d be happy. Yes, Candace was our only real problem, but that doesn’t undo the damage that’s been done. Every time I close my eyes I still see him glaring at me with pure, utter hatred.

Since Sundays are the only day Ryan and I have off together we decide to go out and have a good time. He thinks I need to start living like a normal twenty-something. So we’re headed to the Red Door for dancing and drinks. Josh is coming along and I’ve invited Abby since she lost her job and doesn’t have anywhere to be in the morning.

By my third drink the Rooter sightings start. Abby and I are out on the dance floor when I swear I see his cut by the front door. I stop dancing, shake my head and try to focus, but it’s gone.

“You okay?” Abby asks.

“Yeah,” I say and resume dancing. “Just thought I saw something.”

I look to the spot where Rooter and I danced and am hit by a wave of new memories from that night. I remember being in his bed and him kissing me and the way he stared at me with lust filled eyes as I gave him the lap dance.
Stop thinking of him, Sophie.
I shake my head again trying to clear my mind.

“I need to go to the bathroom,” I tell her. I need to splash some cold water on my face.

“I’ll come with.”

On our way to the bathroom I see a guy go around the corner in the back of the bar and swear I see Rooter’s tattoo on his arm.

“Did you see that?” I ask Abby.

“See what?”

“That guy go around the corner.” I point in the direction of what I saw.

“I didn’t see anyone,” she giggles. “I think you should switch to beer.”

“You’re probably right.”

In the bathroom I splash water on my face and tell myself Rooter isn’t here. It’s all in my head because I miss him so much and this place holds memories for us. But on our way back to the booth I scan the area for him. He isn’t here, just like I already knew.

Ryan catches on to my funk and insists on another drink and more dancing. After downing a shot of Jack he drags me to the dance floor. Ryan is a ridiculously good dancer. Josh follows us out to the floor and the two of them dance together. I wave for Abby to come out and dance with me, but she’s chatting it up with a not so attractive guy.

I start to walk off of the dance floor but am stopped when a warm hand clasps my arm. My heart skips a beat. It’s silly, but the first thought I have is that it’s Rooter. He really has been here watching me this entire time and can’t help himself. He has to talk to me. But when I turn around, it’s not him. The cute guy asks if I want to dance. I turn him down. There’s only one guy I want to dance with. If I can’t dance with him, I don’t want to dance at all.

As we’re leaving the bar a car pulls out of the parking lot. It happens so fast, but it looks like the driver has a tattoo on his arm like Rooter’s. But his hair is longer. And Rooter hates cars. He definitely wouldn’t be driving a little girly car.

The next morning while I’m nursing a monstrous hangover my phone rings. When I see the number I feel a pang in my chest. It’s Camilla.

“Hello?”

“I hope it’s okay that I’m calling.”

“It’s fine.” I adjust the wet rag on my forehead.

“How are you doing, sweetie?”

“I’ve been better.” In more ways than one. I swear I’m never drinking again. If Rooter had been with me he would’ve seen to it that I ate and took ibuprofen before I went to bed.
Dammit Sophie, stop thinking about him.

“I’ve been worried about you. This whole thing with Candace. I’m flabbergasted.”

“Me, too,” I sigh.
I really don’t want to talk about her.

“What my son did to you, the things he said, were awful. He should’ve given you the benefit of the doubt.”

“Yes, but he didn’t.”
And I don’t want to talk about that either.

“I’m going to sound like one of those annoying mom’s begging you to forgive her boy. But, is there no way you can try?”

“Camilla…” I sit up. I need to brace myself for the rest of this conversation. “So much damage has been done.”

“I know, baby, I know. But is there anything he can do? Because he’ll do it.”

I shake my head, and immediately regret it because it makes the throbbing even worse. “What’s done is done.”

“Do you still love Jace?”

Her use of his given name catches me off-guard. I don’t bother to lie. “Yes.”

“He loves you so much Sophie. He hates himself. He was here for a little while yesterday. Barely ate. Barely spoke. I’ve never seen him this bad. My boy cried in front of me and he has
never
cried in front of me.”

“I’m sorry this is hurting you.” I put the wet rag around my neck. “But, no, I really don’t think there’s anything he can ever say or do to fix this.”

That’s not true. If he showed up right now and asked me to take him back, I would. In a heartbeat. I miss him and love him too much not to. Which is why it’s a good thing he hasn’t tried. If I tell her, she’ll tell him and then he will try. I don’t need that. It’s hard enough to stay away.

“When he left here yesterday, I was scared. For the first time in my life, I was scared for him. I wanted him to stay, but he said he couldn’t be here without you. He said he couldn’t be anywhere without you.”

All I can think about as I’m walking out of the pharmacy an hour later is my talk with Camilla. That woman really knows how to play on one’s feelings. She didn’t mean any harm. She genuinely believes Rooter and I belong together and thinks we’ll both be happier if we get back together. Perhaps she’s right, but I can’t ignore everything that happened.

As I open my car door I see a car exactly like the one from the bar. At least I think it is. I was pretty drunk so I can’t be sure. There doesn’t appear to be anyone in it.
Get a grip, Sophie. Rooter is not following you.
I can’t get over how entirely hung up I am on the guy. It’s ridiculous.

But later that night, I see what appears to be the exact same car parked across the street when Ryan and I are leaving work.

“I’ve been seeing that car since last night.” I point at the shiny, silver vehicle.

“It’s not him, Soph.” He unlocks the car and we both climb in. “There’s a million of those cars. They’re like the most popular car right now.”

“I’m sure you’re right.”

“I am.” He starts the car and puts it in reverse. “Can you actually picture Rooter driving one of those?”

“No, I can’t. I’m just losing my mind.” I stare the car down as we pull out of the parking lot. “I miss him.”

“I know you do.”

I see a similar car five times over the next two days and each time it’s either a young girl or old woman driving. Rooter definitely hasn’t been following me around in one of them. I’m just sad and completely pathetic.

Wednesday night rolls around and Ryan’s at work. Miranda calls to invite me out to dinner with her and Bear. I’m honest when I decline and tell her it’d be too hard to be a third wheel with Rooter’s best friend. She says she understands, but she misses me so we make plans to do a little shopping together on Sunday.

I put a bag of popcorn in the microwave and pour myself a soda when there’s a knock on the front door. I look at the clock. It’s after nine. Who would be here at this time of night? Rooter would definitely show up at this time of night. But I know it’s not him.

I walk to the door and look through the peephole. I gasp and smack my hand over my mouth when I see who is standing on the other side.

Chapter 47
Stay With Me

This cannot be happening. My shock sends me stumbling backwards and I nearly fall to the floor.

“I know you’re in there,” Mike taunts. His slow speech tells me he’s either drunk or high or worse yet, both. “I could see you in the kitchen from the street when I pulled up. Looked like you were making popcorn. You know how much I love popcorn.”

What should I do? Should I respond? I run to the kitchen counter, grab my phone and call the first person I think of.

“Sophie?” Rooter answers on the first ring. He sounds so happy that I’m calling.

“Mike’s here,” I whisper. “I’m scared.”

Mike beats on the door. “It’s really rude to leave me out here! Open the damn door!”

“Oh my God, he’s kicking the door.” I stand frozen, staring at the door.

I hear commotion on the other end of the phone. “Stay on the phone with me. We’re on our way.”

But he doesn’t know where I am. “I’m at Ryan’s. He lives on—”

“I know where it’s at.”

Mike shouts through the door. It sounds like he’s ramming his shoulder into it now. “You’re going to pay for what you’ve done. You’ve taken everything from me!”

“I don’t know what to do,” I mutter into the phone with a shaky voice.

“Grab your gun and lock yourself in a room,” Rooter instructs. “The more barriers you put between you the longer it’ll take him to get to you.”

My gun! Why didn’t I think of that?

My self-defense instructor told me that in an actual attack most people freeze from fear and forget a lot of their training. I was sure I wouldn’t be one of those people. This makes twice I was wrong. Thank God for Rooter. I run to my purse and grab my gun. Ryan’s bedroom has a master bath. That will put two extra doors between us. I lock the bedroom door then run into the bathroom and do the same.

“I’m in Ryan’s bathroom,” I whisper even though Mike can’t hear me from here, but I can still hear him. He’s yelling about how I broke his heart, took his home and his sister away. “I can hear him screaming. He’s going to break in.”

“Stay where you are and keep your gun at the ready. If he gets into the bathroom before I get there you fire immediately. Do you hear me?”

“Yes.” My voice cracks. As scared as I am that Mike will hurt me if he gets to me, I’m not sure I can shoot him. I’m not sure I could actually shoot anyone, but especially not someone I grew up with.

“Sophie, he’s dangerous. He isn’t the Mike you used to know.” It’s as though he can read my mind.

“I know.”

“I’m only ten minutes away. Hold on, babe. Everything will be okay.”

I can’t wait ten minutes. I need him here with me now.

I hear a crash in the living room and Mike’s voice is suddenly louder. My entire body is wracked by tremors. I hold the gun with shaking hands and point it at the bathroom door.

“He’s inside the house,” I cry.

“Stay calm, Sophie. Remember the night when those guys broke into your house? You were so calm and collected. I need you to be that way now.”

“I was only calm because you were there.” Now I’m alone and terrified.

I hear several loud thuds and the sound of busted glass as Mike screams about how he’s going to make me pay for everything I’ve done to him.

“I’m driving as fast as I can,” Rooter tells me. “Just hold it together until I get there.”

“Please hurry.”

“Baby, I’m coming.” His voice is gentle and soothing.

Mike’s voice gets closer and then I hear him kicking the bedroom door. “No sense hiding from me, Sophie. You might as well face what you’ve done.”

“He’s kicking Ryan’s bedroom door.” I can feel my heartbeat throughout my entire body.

“I’m going to fucking kill him,” Rooter seethes.

I hear another crash followed by Mike cursing and begin to hyperventilate. I grip the butt of the gun so tightly I lose feeling in my fingertips. “Oh God, he’s in the bedroom.”

“He’s probably going to make it to you before I get there. Do not hesitate to shoot him.”

There’s a light tap on the bathroom door. “Sophie, if you make me bust through another door, I’ll be really pissed off.”

“Tell him I’m on my way,” Rooter says.

“Rooter’s on his way, Mike. He’ll be here any minute. You better leave before he gets here.”

Mike’s laugh is an evil sound. “Yeah right. He doesn’t want anything to do with you. He left you high and dry like I knew he would.”

“I’m serious Mike. I’m on the phone with him right now.”

“Well, it won’t matter because you’ll be dead before he can get here.” He kicks the door and I flinch. “Now open the motherfucking door!”

“If you hurt me, he’ll kill you!”

Mike laughs again. “Like it would even matter.”

“Mike, please don’t do this,” I cry.

“I didn’t do this. You did,” he says and rams the door.

“He’s going to break the door down,” I cry to Rooter.

“Put the phone down and aim. You shoot the moment he comes through the door.”

I do as I’m told and lay the phone on the sink counter. I aim the gun at the door. My pulse races and I hold my breath. I can’t steady my trembling hands. The quaking door will give away any second.

“I have my gun.” I holler. “I swear I’ll shoot you.”

Mike laughs and then I hear a loud bang. The shower door glass shatters behind me. I scream and Mike laughs. His shot barely missed me. I fall to the ground and squeeze my trigger. The sound is ear-piercing in this enclosed space. The wood of the door splinters as Mike fires three more rounds and I continue to pull my trigger until the gun clicks in my hand.

I stay crouched on the floor and listen, but hear nothing. Panicked, I scramble for my phone. Rooter is shouting when I put it to my ear.

“I shot him through the door. I can’t hear anything.”

“I heard over five shots. Are you okay?”

“Yes. He didn’t hit me.”

He breathes a sigh of relief. “I’m almost there. Can you see him?”

I peek through one of the holes and see Mike’s body. There’s blood on the floor. “He’s on the floor, not moving. I think I killed him.” I clasp my hand on my mouth and fall to the floor, gasping for air. “Oh my God, I think I killed him.”

“It’s okay, Sophie. Stay put until I’m with you.”

“O-kay,” I choke on a sob.

I hear the sound of tires screeching to a halt followed by the sound of Rooter and Bear’s voices.

“Sophie!” Rooter hollers as he makes his way into the house.

He’s so close. I want to run into his arms where I’ll be safe. “Rooter!” I swing the door open and run out of the bathroom.

And then it all happens in slow motion. Rooter appears in the doorway and our eyes lock. Something must catch his attention because his eyes twitch to where Mike lays behind me.

“Sophie!” Rooter yells and reaches for me.

He pulls me forward, spins us around. I hear two loud bangs and Rooter’s body falls to the ground before me. I scream and drop to my knees at his side. Several more shots are fired from behind us and I watch as the life disappears from Mike’s hateful eyes. Bear crouches to me and Rooter and hollers, but I can’t focus on what he’s saying.

“Rooter!” I cry and clutch his body.

A small pool of blood forms beneath him. Pain is etched on his face as he smiles at me.
Why is he smiling?
He tries to reach for me, but he’s weak.

“Call 911,” I yell.

“No.” Bear refuses. “The hospital is less than two miles from here. I’m not waiting on an ambulance.”

Rooter groans as Bear hoists him up. I try to help as Bear hurries him to my car. We won’t all fit in Rooter’s truck. I run into the house and grab my keys. Bear Props Rooter up on his side in the backseat. There are two gunshot wounds in his back.

“Keep pressure on the wounds,” Bear orders.

Rooter’s body is limp, seemingly lifeless, but his eyes are open and fixed on mine. He tries to say something but I put my lips on his to stop him.

“I love you,” I cry. “Stay with me. Don’t leave me.”

The drive to the hospital seems to take a lifetime although it probably isn’t any longer than four minutes.

Twenty minutes later, Camilla, Mick, and Isa come running to us in the emergency room. They’re all three frantic.

“How is my boy?” Camilla cries and I throw myself into her arms.

“We don’t know yet,” Bear tells them. “He has two bullet wounds in his back.

“What happened?” Mick asks.

I pull away from Camilla. “Mike, my old roommate, showed up at my house and I was scared so I called Rooter. I shot Mike and thought he was dead. When Rooter got there I ran out of the bathroom to him and he saw Mike was going to shoot me so he spun us around and took the hit.”

“Mike’s dead now,” Bear says.

Mick nods. “I knew that fuck was going to be a problem.”

Mick’s words leave me feeling guilty. If I’d let Rooter handle things his own way when Mike vandalized my car this might not have happened.

Isa runs into Bear’s arms and sobs. He wraps his arms around her and tells her everything will be okay.

We give our statements to the police. They’re classifying it as self-defense and will get Rooter’s statement when he comes out of recovery. Evidently, Mike was arrested a week ago for assault and possession of narcotics.

“Someone needs to go to Miranda,” I tell Bear. “I don’t want to leave Rooter.”

“I’ll go. She should hear this from me anyway.”

He is, after all, the one who fired the kill shot, even though it was in defense of Rooter and me. She’ll want to hear from him exactly how it happened. I hope she’s able to understand the gravity of the situation and why Bear shot him.

“This is all my fault.” I turn to Camilla after Bear has gone. “I should’ve never called Rooter.”

Camilla takes my hand and leads me to a set of chairs so we can sit. “If something happened to you and he hadn’t been there, it would’ve killed him.”

I shake my head adamantly. Being there is what could kill him. She shouldn’t be consoling me. She should hate me. I hate me. “This was my problem. Not his.”             

“Sophie, he loves you. Your problems are his problems.”

I point toward the doors leading into the emergency room. “That should be me in there,” I cry. “He would’ve been better off never knowing me.”

Camilla takes me firmly by the chin and glares into my eyes. “That isn’t true. My son had never been happier than when he was with you.”

I collapse into her arms. “Rooter has to make it. He has to.”

“He will.” Mick asserts and rests a comforting hand on my shoulder. “My son is strong. He will survive this.”

An hour passes and we still haven’t heard anything. Camilla tells me this is good news. It means he’s hanging on while the doctors work on him. I don’t care if it’s good news or not, I want answers. I sprint to the information desk and inquire on his condition.

“Are you family?” The nurse asks. “I can only release information to his family.”

Camilla is now standing by my side. “She is family. She’s my daughter.”

“Oh, I wasn’t aware Mrs. Russo. I’ll make a note of that.” The nurse turns back to me. “What’s your name?”

“Sophie.” I huff. “Now can you please tell us how he is?”

The nurse pulls up his information on the computer. “It shows he’s still in surgery. I don’t know anything more.”

I pound my fist on the counter and shout. “Then find someone who does!”

“Miss Russo, I’m sorry. I’ll see what else I can find out. Please give me a few minutes.”

The nurse’s few minutes turns into an eternity. It feels like days have passed when she finally appears before us.

“Jace is still in surgery. They estimate he’ll be in for another three hours. They’ll move him to the ICU when they’re finished. You can go there now. The doctor will find you there after surgery.”

“You can’t tell us anything else about his condition?” Mick asks.

“Not at this time. I’m sorry.”

It’s amazing how when something happens to someone you love all you can think of is the good times you spent together. You forget all about the arguments and bad days. All that matters is how much that person means to you. A crisis like this has a way of revealing what’s most important.

Rooter and our love is what’s most important to me.

I close my eyes and cry, remembering all the time we spent together. How I laughed so hard when he kept falling off of the paddle board. The way it felt to be in his arms after making love the first time. The taste of our first kiss. I can remember every single detail about every single second of the time we spent together right down to the taste and smell.

The time passes excruciatingly slow. I check the clock every ten to fifteen minutes feeling as though an hour has passed each time. He can’t leave me. Not now. Not like this. We need more time together. I need more time with him to hear his voice and his laughter. I need to feel the safety of his arms around me and hear him tell me he loves me. Most importantly, I need him to tell him how very much I love him.