Shattered Chances: A Breaking Black Companion Novel (19 page)

“You need a doctor.”

“Randy, listen to me…”

“Not now, Chey… I’m here. I’m here for you. But we need to get you healthy.”

“Randy…” Cheyenne said breathlessly as she went limp, fainting to the ground. 

Panicking, I picked Cheyenne up off the ground and laid her in the back of Colt’s truck. Within seconds I was speeding down the driveway heading towards St. Catherine’s Hospital. 

***

I sat with my face in my hands as I waited on news from the other side of the emergency room doors. I had sat in agonizing impatience for hours, waiting for news. A nurse came out at 2 A.M. letting me know that they had pumped her stomach and were running blood work and they would take her treatment from there.  It was now 6:30 A.M., and I was losing my patience. Just as I was about to harass the emergency department clerk for an update, the double doors of the emergency room opened up. 

“Mr. Ford?”

My head shot up. A nurse with a stern look upon her face addressed me. 

“Yes?”

“Please follow me,” the nurse said turning her back on me and walking quickly through the double doors of the emergency room. I followed the nurse, trying to keep up but she beat a quick path with her white rubber shoes. She led me to examination room twelve and pulled the curtain aside to let him in. Cheyenne was lying in bed resting. She looked so much worse under the examination room lights, like she had been through a war – and rightly, she had. She was hooked up to an IV and a gauze bandage covered the slash on her neck. There were several improvements, though. She was no longer shaking and she was conscious.

“The doctor will be in shortly,” the nurse said as she exited the room. 

Cheyenne turned her head to face me. Her scope of vision had been reduced to a sliver, her eyes were swollen, making it difficult to see anything. 

“Randy…” she said with a relieved smile on her face. 

I took a seat in the chair next to her hospital bed, allowing my head to fall back into my hands. I let out a distressed sigh, letting some of the tension that riddled my body fall off of my shoulders. Cheyenne reached her hand over to me, letting her palm rest on the back of my head. Her fingertips swirled through my hair, gently moving through my blond waves. It was something she used to do, back before the floor let out, and all our good intentions went crashing straight to hell. 

I grabbed her hand and brought it to my mouth, brushing my lips across her knuckles. Softly, Cheyenne cupped my face and she was shocked when she found a tear streaking down my cheek. Quickly, I wiped it away. Emotions.
I don’t have time for that shit.
I looked at Cheyenne as I let out another heavy sigh. Grabbing her hand, I traced the lines in her palm as I spoke. 

“You’re going to have to go inpatient for a while.”

“I know. It was heroin and cocaine.”

“Chey-” I began with a pained look in my eyes. I was cut off by Cheyenne. 

“I know. We have a lot to talk about. I need a moment to explain to you. I would never cheat on you.”

“I know what he did.”

“You do?”

“It’s the same thing he did to Christine Campbell, that girl we went to high school with. He drugged her, raped her and threw her to the dogs.”

Cheyenne nodded. 

“Look. I’m here. I’ll be here. You’re going to have to work to get my trust back, though. But I’m all you’ve got.”

“You don’t have to. I know I hurt you,” Cheyenne said looking away. 

“Don’t give me that bullshit. You call my phone eight hundred times a day. If you love me you better say it. Go on… Chey. Say it. Because if you don’t, I’ll fucking scream. Every night I think about you. I’ve tried to move on… I’ve tried dating other women… It just doesn’t work. My life is empty without you.”

Cheyenne stared at me in shock. She had words but they just would not come out. 

“Did you hear me, Chey? I fucking love you and for the last seven years that fact has tortured my soul. I thought I lost you for good last night. My heart has been sitting in my throat.”

“You love me…”

“I was hurt. Bad, Chey… I couldn’t talk to you on the phone because I would crumble. I didn’t want to see you face to face because it was torture. I thought you cheated on me. I had an engagement ring. I went to Monument Avenue and I was going to propose. Broke my fucking heart.”

“I’m sorry, Randy. He cornered me that day, demanding money among other things. He had a gun to my back. He’s violent, you have no idea. The last thing I remember is him jabbing a needle in my arm. I didn’t want that. I had been clean for so long. That’s the last thing I wanted. You were really going to propose?”

“Yeah. I still have the ring.”

“Do you think we could make it work?”

I must have looked taken aback. 

“I need you healthy first, and I need to know that I can trust you. I know Trent put you in this situation, but still. I need the old Cheyenne back. But I don’t want you worrying about that right now. Your focus should be on getting healthy.” Just then, a doctor walked into the room with a clipboard in his hands. 

“Ms. West?”

Cheyenne nodded. 

“Sir, I need to ask you to step outside while I talk with Ms. West, here…”

“He can stay. Whatever you have to say, you can say it in front of him,” Cheyenne said, motioning for me to sit back down. 

I did as she wanted, and sat back down in the armchair. 

“Very well. We are going to keep you for another 24 hours for observation then we need to discuss transfer to an inpatient rehab center. One of the nurses will be in shortly to discuss options. You are very lucky. The amount of drugs they found in your system should have been lethal, but your adrenaline was up, and that could be what kept you alive. You’re fortunate that Mr. Ford got you to the hospital in time.”

With that, the doctor walked out, leaving Cheyenne and I alone with the weight of our future looming over our heads. 

“I don’t want to go…” Cheyenne said as her emotions got the best of her. 

“You have to. No rehab, no Randy.”

“You’ll forget about me while I’m gone.”

“Have you heard nothing I’ve said? I have not had a peaceful night of sleep since finding you with that asshole in my bed! You’re going!”

Cheyenne gave me a look of frustration. 

“And Cheyenne?”

“Yeah?”

“I’ll be there waiting for you when you get out.”

64.

Randy

While I was making sure Cheyenne got the medical attention she needed, hell had broken out at the ranch. Jimmy, hell bent upon getting his claws into Averi, bit off more than he could chew. I got a text message in the emergency room waiting room from Colt.

It’s done.

That’s all it said. Jimmy was launched from a third story window after threatening Averi’s life.  Trent was dead. Dave Grisham – dead by shot gun blast. The Devils numbers had decreased significantly and the one’s who weren’t dead were now behind bars. I felt bad that I had to leave in a moment of great need, but a woman I love, and would forever love, was in great danger. My father used to say that the love of a good woman can change you. I can definitely see the wisdom in his words.

We had lost friends, too. Friends that stood up to fight for us. Torian was gone. So was Will. The gratitude I felt to have people in my corner was tremendous. Especially when I knew that not everyone had people that had their back. Look at Cheyenne. She had it worst of all. She was raped. I misread the situation and now I feel like the biggest jerk of them all. I would make it up to her though. I just needed her to get well, first.

65.

Cheyenne

A month later…

I inspected myself in the mirror as I prepared to leave the rehab center. I looked healthier and more radiant than ever before. I pulled a tube of lip balm across my lips and combed out my hair which was back to my natural dark brown hue. I wasn’t wearing anything fancy, just a pair of skinny jeans, sneakers and a black and white striped sweater, but I felt amazing. I had never felt so healthy or rejuvenated before. There was something plaguing me though. The nurse told me that they called her point of contact and that they would be here at noon. I hoped like hell they called Randy and not my mother, who I had not received a single letter from since I went inpatient. 

Putting the rest of my toiletries into a plastic bag, I packed the rest of my belongings and prepared for the nurse to retrieve me. While sitting on the bed, I pulled the photograph of Randy and I dancing together at our Senior Prom from off the wall. I had taped it up there to remind me of what was waiting for me on the outside. I hoped like hell he hadn’t changed his mind. I asked him to write to me, and he did, once every week. The letters weren’t long, but he gave me the strength I needed to get through detox and rehabilitation. As Nurse Garrett entered my room, I greeted the woman with a smile and let out a deep breath. It was time.

I was escorted from the ward with all my belongings packed into a duffel bag. I followed the nurse to the elevator and the trip down from the third floor seemed to take forever. Finally the elevator dinged at the first floor and we stepped out, but Randy was not in the waiting room. My heart sunk. I was extremely nervous now. 

“Ms. West, I just need you to sign off on this paper. Initial at the x and sign at the line,” the nurse said passing me a pen. I didn’t even know what I was signing off on, all I could think about was Randy. 

The nurse continued to give me instructions on after care, how to avoid relapsing and information on group counseling in the area. I took several pamphlets from the nurse and as the nurse wished me well, me eyes locked on Randy. Standing outside, through the double doors of the rehab center, Randy stood against his pick-up truck with a welcoming smile. My breath was shallow, my heart beating like a drum in my chest. All I could think about was him in this moment. I ran, leaving my bags on the floor of the lobby, I bolted towards Randy who stood waiting for me with his arms spread wide. I rushed him, a wall of sensual fragrance that he knew too well, the sweet fragrance of my perfume combined with the clean scent of my shampoo. It was heaven to Randy. He had told me many times. Brushing my hair off of my shoulder, he put his hands behind my head and pulled me in, kissing me like he had when we were teenagers. Our tongues rushed, our lips swollen, we couldn’t get enough. Finally, when our lips parted, Randy ran his thumb down my blushing cheeks. 

“You look amazing…”

“I didn’t think you’d come.”

“I told you I would and I’m taking you home.”

“Home?” I asked looking nervous. 

“Yes. Home.”

“Please. Anywhere but home.”

Randy suddenly understood what I meant. 

“No. Home with me.”

Randy left me at the truck with my mouth gaping open. He collected my bags from the lobby of the facility and threw them in the back of his truck. Opening the passenger side door for me, he helped me up into the truck. Before he slammed the door shut, “I told you I’d take care of you. And I will, whether you like it or not.” Randy smirked as he said it. As I looked back at Randy, I realized, he was the only true friend I ever had in Oakeley. 

Randy climbed in the driver’s side and pulled me from my thoughts. 

“But first, let’s go get some breakfast. I’m starving.”

“You’re always hungry.”

“Be quiet. You sound like my sister.”