28. Chapter 28
Chapter 28
Zach
W aking up in the morning, I feel groggy, but rested. Guess that’s what the aid of pain and sleep meds will do. I smack my lips together, my mouth feeling like the desert.
A cup with a straw is pushed in front of me, and that’s what I realize I’m not alone.
The green eyes that greet me look sorrowful and worried.
“Hey, Ma.”
She runs a hand down my face and pinches my cheek before pointing a finger at me again. “Don’t you ever scare me like that again, young man.”
A smile pulls up the corners of my lips. “I’m sorry.”
Before my surgery, the hospital asked if there was anybody else I wanted them to call, so of course I said my mom. But I wasn’t expecting her to show up this early. She was due to fly in tomorrow for the festival, and I was planning to be home first.
“How’d you even get here?” If I didn’t pick her up from the airport, who did?
“I’m fully capable of taking a taxi to see my only child in the hospital.” Her eyes land on my shoulder and her mouth presses into a thin line.
“Ma, I’m okay.”
“I just need a second okay. When you told me you wanted to be a police officer, I made peace with the fact that this might happen someday. Or worse. But to experience it, well, it’s a little different.” Though her eyes are dry, I can tell she’s been crying.
In one day, one action, I managed to put the two most important women in my life through hell. Hopefully, I’ll never have to do it again.
When the nurse brings around breakfast, Mom helps me eat, though I insist it’s not necessary. I still have one good hand. It’s more motherly than she’s been most of my life, and I take a moment to relish it.
Having Mom here is a nice distraction from who’s missing. Though I’ve told her I’m dating somebody, she hasn’t asked who or where they are. And I appreciate that because I’m not sure I’d be able to tell her.
At some point in the late morning, the doctor comes in and gives me an exam that has me wincing in pain as he lifts my arm and peels back my bandage to check the wound. A scowl resides on my face once he’s done, but it quickly brightens with good news.
“I’m sending you home today. Everything looks good on my end, and most patients heal better at home. Lots of rest, no use of the arm, sponge baths only until your stitches are removed. No lifting. I want to see you back in ten days to remove the stitches.”
“What about the sling?”
“That’s going to be quite a bit longer, I’m afraid. Minimum of six weeks.”
My head drops back against the pillow. I’m going to go crazy not being able to use my arm for six weeks.
“Before you’re discharged, a nurse will come in and go over bandage changes with you and anything to watch out for. Hopefully, we won’t see you again until it’s time to remove the stitches.” With a small nod, he leaves.
“Fuck.”
“Language.”
My head tips up as I look at my mother. “Really? At a time like this?”
She rolls her eyes and waves her hands at me as she turns away and starts cleaning up from breakfast.
What the hell am I going to do with myself for six weeks? Especially when I’m not even sure if I have Mazie anymore.
Steve was nice enough to drive me and Mom home from the hospital yesterday. He was also sent to deliver the news that I’m officially on desk duty until further notice, and only after I have my stitches removed.
Part of it is because I’m injured, but I’m sure it’s also disciplinary for disobeying a direct order from the chief in charge of the active shooter situation. I’m lucky to be getting out with just desk duty. Though, I say that before knowing how long I’ll actually be chained to it.
The only bonus is that I can spend tonight at the festival with Mom. She was going to meet up with some friends who still live in the area, but she doesn’t want to pass up the chance to be with me.
Town Square is packed, and vendors line the streets with their goods. While I’m trying to be present and listen to Mom talk, my gaze keeps dashing over to Three Sticks, which is completely alit.
Is Mazie in there? Are we over?
She hasn’t reached out since I sent her home, and it burns worse than getting shot.
I’m leaning against the back of a bench, sipping a bottle of water as Mom chats with one of her friends and waits in line to get a funnel cake, when footsteps pounding closer draw my attention.
I turn just in time for Mazie to barrel into me, dropping my water and wincing in pain.
“Oh my God, oh no. I’m so sorry. I wasn’t, I wasn’t thinking straight.” She holds her hands up in peace before linking her fingers on top of her head, eyes wide.
“M? What are you doing here?” I put my hand on her shoulder and look around. It’s an especially busy year, and I know her anxiety has to be sky high with the crowd. But is that part of it? Is she going to break up with me in a very public setting to keep it calm?
“I had to see you. I called the hospital yesterday and they said you were getting discharged. When I didn’t hear from you, I assumed you were giving me space, and I didn’t want to interrupt because I knew your mom would be in today, but I needed to talk to you because—”
“M, I love you, but you’re killing me here. The point?”
A wide smile breaks across her face, and she bounces on her toes. “I love you.”
Relief makes my shoulders sag, but I’m still not sure where she’s going with this, so I try not to be too hopeful. “I love you too.”
“I’m so sorry that I hesitated for even a second. There’s not a single part of me that doesn’t want to be with you, that doesn’t want to make this work. I was just so terrified, and honestly, I still am. I don’t know that I ever won’t be. But it’s worth it to get to be with you.”
Now I'm smiling too. “Yeah?”
She bites her bottom lip and nods.
I close my hand around the back of her neck and pull her against me, crashing my lips to hers.
Her fingers delicately rest against my chest.
“Well, it’s about damn time.” We pull apart at the sound of Mom’s voice.
“Excuse me? Did you just curse?” My eyes narrow as I look at her, and Mazie curls into my left side, her fingers linking with my right hand against my chest.
“I’m your mother, I can do whatever I want. And yes. Because you two have finally seen what’s been written in the stars for ages. At least, I’m assuming that’s what that kiss and this canoodling is?”
I look down at Mazie, my eyebrows high in question.
Her beautiful sapphire eyes meet mine, sparkling in the moonlight, as she nods.
Dropping my forehead to hers, I close my eyes, breathing her in. For a few days, I was truly scared I was never going to be with her again.
“Do you want to go home? Or back to the café? I don’t want you to be out here if it makes you uncomfortable.”
She snuggles closer into my side. “I’m good right here.”
I kiss the top of her head and start walking again. The fireworks will be starting soon, and the park is about a mile up the road.
Mom snacks on her funnel cake for a minute or two before extending the plate in our direction.
“No thanks, Ma.”
“You need to enjoy the little things in life, son.” She takes another big bite, powdered sugar falling all down the front of her shirt.
“I won’t be heading to the gym for at least six weeks. I think I’ll avoid the fried food for now.”
“Six weeks? Is that how long the doctor said it’ll be?”
“About two for the stitches, and at least six for the collarbone.” I groan as irritation plucks at me.
“Oh boy. Going to be a long few weeks. You might have to take up some kind of hobby. I don’t think you can sit there with nothing to do for that long and not go crazy.”
“There are other things that will be more difficult for me in those few weeks.”
When her brows bunch together in confusion, I raise one of mine. Even in the darkness, I can make out the slightest tinge of pink her cheeks.
A chuckle shakes my chest, and I squeeze her into my side, kissing the top of her head. There’s a weightlessness in my body. It settled in the second Mazie told me she wanted this.
When we get close to the park, Mom perks up, waving a group of ladies who still live here from when she did. She was closest with Jenna, but they had a small group they used to get together with every now and again. Especially the first day of school.
“I’m going to go watch the fireworks with them.” She shoots a wink in our direction and heads toward her group of friends.
Mazie and I find a nice spot a little further away from most of the other people, but where we should still be able to see the fireworks as they shoot them off from the lake.
Sitting is more difficult than I anticipate with one arm. But I’m able to settle, pulling up my left knee and resting my arm over the top of it.
Mazie sits between my legs and leans into my left side, careful not to touch my right arm.
I’m dying to wrap my arms around her and hold her close, but I need my left arm to help keep me balanced. And I won’t be doing much of anything with the right for far too long. Either way, she fits against me so perfectly.
I lean forward a touch, about to talk in Mazie’s ear, when the first firework explodes above her head.
She jumps slightly, but then her face lights up with a bright smile and her eyes go wide. As nervous as Mazie gets around crowds, she’s always loved fireworks. At one point when we were younger, she thought they were magical. And in some ways, they are.
A few minutes pass by with the sky lighting up an array of colors and designs, oohs and aahs all around us, including a few wows from the amazing woman in my lap.
The past few days catch up to me all at once, making my heart pound and my head to spin. None of it’s from my injuries or the adrenaline crash, and it all has everything to do with Mazie coming back.
One corner of my mouth perks up, and I lean forward, resting my lips against her ear. “Marry me.”
Her whole body freezes, but she doesn’t move.
So I say it again, louder. “Marry me.”
She shrinks down slightly before spinning around, resting on her knees and holding my face between her hands. “Are you serious?”
“Extremely. I…I don’t have a ring or anything. But yes, I’m serious. Marry me.”
Before I’ve even finished talking, she’s nodding, and her eyes fill. She crashes her mouth to mine, a little too overzealously, knocking me backward so my back hits the ground.
I pull away to groan in agony, Mazie still on top of me, but she quickly scurries to sit next to me as I grab at my shoulder.
“Oh my God. I’m so sorry. I wasn’t thinking. Oh, no, Zach. What can I do?” Her hands hover over my body as she looks at me frantically.
“It’s okay. I’m okay.” The words squeak out through gritted teeth as I drop my head to the ground and stare at the sky for a minute. In the flurry, I’d forgotten all about the fireworks. I reach my hand out and grab Mazie around the bicep, pulling her down to my good shoulder.
She’s stiff and hesitates, but when I tighten my arm around her, she relaxes into my side. While we can’t see the actual fireworks at this angle, we can see the sky changing color and hue.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” She rests her hand on my chest as she tips her face up to look at me.
“Yeah. We just have to be a little more careful, is all. Plus, I’m probably due for my pain meds.”
“Then why are we still here? Let’s go get them.” With her hand on the ground, she tries to push herself up, but I keep her tight to my side.
“Not yet.”
“But you’re hurting.”
“I’ll be okay. I just want to lie here a little bit longer with you.”
She resettles into me, and a hum rattles her body.
The booming around us stops and people start to mill about. But we don’t move from our spot, and I let my eyes drift shut, enjoying the weight of Mazie against me and the warm summer breeze blowing through the park.
It’s not until I feel a presence looming over us that I pop my eyes open to find Mom standing with her hands on her hips.
“You two planning to spend the night here?”
I roll my eyes and sit up, gritting my teeth through the pain, pulling Mazie up with me. She looks at the ground, unable to meet Mom’s gaze.
As much talk as she had about being okay with the visit, she’s always been a little awkward with Mom. It only got worse when her parents died. She barely knew how to interact at the funeral, though I guess in that situation, most people wouldn’t.
Mazie stands and brushes off her fine ass, something I’m going to miss greatly over the next several weeks.
After some adjustment, I’m able to stand on my own, refusing the help of Mom or Mazie. Once I’m standing, I run my hand through my hair, getting it out of my face, slightly out of breath. Fuck, this is going to suck.
“I don’t want to interrupt anything, but I was hoping I could talk to Mazie for a minute. Alone.”
I tip my head to the side and look down at both of them. “Ma. Really?”
She holds her hands up in defense. “All good natured, Zach.”
Mazie turns to me with a tight smile on her face, resting her hand against my chest. “It’s okay. I’ll, uh, be right back.” She pushes up on her toes and presses a kiss to my cheek before walking away.
Though it’s pointed at the back of my mother’s head, a scowl is planted firmly on my face.
Thankfully, they turn to face each other, and I can see half of each of their faces. But the darkness is too thick, and even squinting, I can’t read their lips well enough to know what they’re saying.
Mazie nods frequently, not getting a chance to talk too much. At one point, Mom takes Mazie’s hands in hers as Mazie looks down and nods. That look, that stance. It’s something about her parents.
My spine straightens when I see Mazie’s shoulders shudder, but Mom pulls her into a hug, and I realize they’re laughing. It lets me release a heavy breath.
A moment later, they turn and walk back in my direction, Mazie putting her arm around my waist and snuggling into my side.
“What was that all about?” I look between the two of them with narrowed eyes.
“Just a little girl talk.” Mom lifts one shoulder like it was nothing.
“You’re really not going to tell me?” Glancing down at Mazie, sure she’s going to spill the details, I get a head shake and smile instead.
“No. What’s going to happen now, Zachary, is that you’re going to take me home, get your medication, and then take your darling home.” She points between the two of us as she talks. For someone who wasn’t around much of my childhood, she certainly speaks with a lot of authority.
“And why am I getting my medicine?” One brow arches as I look at her.
“Because you’re going to spend the night at her house. It’s good practice for the ‘in sickness and health’ part of the vows.”
I jerk back at her declaration. “How did you…” With a quick look down at Mazie, she shakes her head, mouth in a thin line.
“Oh please. I’m your mother. I know I wasn’t around a lot for you, working so much, but I knew you two had more going on than just friendship. My only hope was that you’d eventually figure it out, because I was sure once you did, it’d be forever. The only concern was when you two knuckleheads would see the reality.”
“Nice, Ma.” I sigh and run a hand down my face. “Okay. Let’s get going.”
While my shoulder is barking, and I’d really like to take the edge off, I mostly just want to curl up with Mazie and sleep. It’s only been two nights without her, but two nights too many. The only unfortunate thing, well, besides that I can’t bury myself inside her, is that I can’t really wrap around her either.
When we get back to my apartment, I let everybody in and walk to the bathroom to grab my pills. There’re a few different kinds, pain and anti-inflammatory and antibiotic. I move through to my room and grab a duffel from the closet, tossing some clothes into it. Nothing is easy with one hand, but I manage to make do.
“Are you sure about him coming home with me? I don’t mind staying here so you’re not alone.” I smile at Mazie’s kind gesture. It’s one I know Mom will refute, but I appreciate it all the same. Especially because I’m sure Mazie would rather be home.
“Nonsense. This place is much too small for the three of us. Besides, he snores so loud, I could barely sleep last night.”
“Really, Ma? Sheesh. Do you even love me?”
With a roll of her eyes, she walks toward me and pinches my cheeks. “Of course I do. But you snore, son. Like a train.”
I turn around to find Mazie covering her mouth and giggling. “The two of you. My goodness.”
“Oh stop. You know you snore. I’ve always promised to keep it a secret from your future whoever. I just never expected that to be me.” Mazie sticks her tongue out at me.
Dropping my bag to the floor, I walk into the kitchen and grab a glass, filling it with water and taking the pain pills out of my pocket. I’m truly not a fan of them, but right now, they’re necessary.
“You sure you’re good here alone?”
“Of course I am. I live alone, or have you forgotten?”
“I haven’t forgotten anything. But this isn’t your home. I just want to make sure you’re comfortable.” She really gives me a hard time for trying to be a good son.
“Everything is perfect. I’m going to watch some of my late-night shows, and then I’m going to go to bed. And hopefully I’ll get a restful night of sleep.” She winks at me, but I shake my head.
“Can we meet you at Three Sticks tomorrow? For breakfast? On the house.” Mazie’s trying to impress Mom; she never gives things on the house.
“That would be lovely. Just not too early. I like to sleep in these days.”
After a brief back-and-forth about time, I give Mom a peck on the cheek and put my hand on Mazie’s lower back, escorting her out.
She insists on carrying my bag when we get to her house, so in turn, I insist on checking the doors.
The second I step into her room, she throws her arms around my waist and squeezes, resting her head against my left shoulder.
“I missed you. I know it was only two days, and you’ve worked nights and been gone for almost as long, but this was just…different. And not just because I was worried about you having some sort of post-surgical issue.” I’m sure her mind ran rampant with fear.
“Well, the good news is, I have a little over a week before I’m even allowed back in the precinct. So, you’ll have to deal with me all day and night for that time.”
“Looking forward to it.”
It takes a few minutes for us to find a comfortable position to lie in. It was no easy feat last night either, but now I want to be holding Mazie at the same time. Once we’re finally settled, it doesn’t take long for her to drift off to sleep, her chest rising and falling gently with every breath.
Taking a curl in my fingers, I twist it gently.
There may have been a hole punched through my shoulder two days ago, and I may have a broken collarbone. But right here, right now, despite the lingering tinge of pain in my side, everything is right with the world.