Chapter Forty-One
I leave Reece and make my way back to my bike. I’ve spent enough time on this waste of space. It took everything in me not to snap and kill him right then and there. But I need to let Juni start her healing process, and I think revenge is a perfect way to start.
As I start the bike, “Words Are Worthless” by Sleep Theory starts playing as soon as my phone connects via Bluetooth.
Juni was only back in her room for maybe an hour when my phone started going off.
I guess I can’t trust Peyton and Brenden alone without trouble.
Peyton fucking set the trailer on fire… with Brenden’s help, of fucking course.
As soon as I got that handled, I got a ping on Reece’s phone.
That’s how I found out he had been hiding here in this gutted grocery store.
Deciding it’s probably a good idea, I take the bike home and swap it for my truck.
Luckily, my mom has been staying with Charlie and taking care of him while I stay with Juni.
I miss him like crazy, but we will all be under one roof soon.
They have been talking about letting Juni come home today…
home. A smile crosses my face. Soon enough, we will spend the rest of our lives together and, hopefully, live out the dreams that have haunted me for almost six years.
Just thinking of starting a family, rebuilding every single part of her that Reece broke…
fills me with so much hope. I know it’s not going to be easy; nothing ever worth having is.
The hour-long drive sucks, but soon enough, this will be all over.
I start tapping my fingers on the steering wheel, humming softly along to a song playing from the speakers as I make my way toward Route 75.
Deciding I need to give Brenden a call since they weren’t at the house when I swapped for the truck.
I tap his contact's name on the CarPlay screen, and the dial tone starts ringing.
“Hey, Twinkles, what’s up?”
“Where are you two? I’m heading back to Juni, our little problem is tied up and secure… I soundproofed the cooler so he can scream as much as he likes. No one will hear him.”
“Don’t say that too loudly; you’ll get Sweet Cheeks all excited again. I just got her calmed down.” Brenden starts to laugh, but it gets cut off when, I assume, Peyton hits him.
“First of all, fucking disgusting you, Чертов идиот.” ‘Fucking idiot’, “Anyway, are you guys staying home? Or coming back?”
“We will probably stay back, you said she should get discharged tonight or tomorrow morning, right?”
“She texted me a little bit ago, they said it’ll be tomorrow morning. You two managed to get her room all set up, right?”
“Gavin Dimitri! No one's got my best friends back like I do, of course, it's all set up and ready to go!”
“Jesus, Peyton, you don’t need to yell. I just needed to make sure. I mean, I leave you guys alone, and you burn the fucking trailer down,” I say with not an ounce of amusement.
“Yeah, sorry about that. My anger got the best of me, I guess.”
“I’m going to get off here. I’ll talk to you guys tomorrow. Please don’t destroy anything else. And thanks.” While talking with them, I merged onto Route 75. There is a little bit of traffic, but it’s not terrible. I just focus on the road ahead and keep listening to my playlist.
I feel so relieved by the time I pull into the hospital’s parking lot.
Finding a spot as close to the entrance as I can, I pull my truck in, put it in park, turn it off, and pocket the keys.
My long legs help eat up the distance to the building.
Once I’m inside, I don’t bother with reception; I just flash my visitor badge and keep walking.
I don’t stop until I’m outside of her room, the door is open, so I stand just out of the threshold and knock once.
Juni is sitting up in her hospital bed, even with all the bruising, she's the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Her hazel-green eyes widen at the sound of my knock. She immediately smiles when she sees I’m back. “Hey, Любовь, I’m sorry I was gone a lot longer than I wanted to be.”
“It’s okay, I was actually enjoying being alone for the time being. I’m not really used to being around so many people at once. But I’m so happy you’re back. I missed you.”
“I missed you, too, Любовь. So I need to tell you something, I found Reece… and I have him staying somewhere he can’t get out of.
Once you’re healed enough and you think you're ready to surprise him with a visit, we will handle it accordingly, then once you're finished, he will be dealt with permanently.”
“Are you sure this is worth it, Gavin? What if someone finds us or finds him? I’ve been thinking of this the whole time you were gone… I just got you back, I’m scared to lose you again and so soon.”
“Please stop worrying, we will have this handled. You need to focus on getting yourself better; that’s the most important thing.”
“I know, it’s just hard, Gavin. Can we just lie down and watch a movie? Maybe something funny, I need a good laugh.
“Okay, but the real question is… 21 Jump Street or White Chicks?” I ask teasingly.
A smile spreads across her face. “Now that’s just evil. You know they are both my favorites! But I’m going to have to go with 21 Jump Street, but! You can bet your sweet ass we will watch White Chicks tomorrow once we get home.”
Hearing her call my house a home does something to me, gives me some kind of tingling sensation, pure joy. “Absolutely, Любовь, we will watch White Chicks tomorrow if you can promise not to drool over Channing Tatum.”
“There is only one man I’d drool over, Один день.” ‘One Day’ “And he’s just standing there looking at me like I’m a porcelain doll.”
I cock my head with slight confusion and lock my eyes with her hazel-green stare. “Have you been studying your Russian to impress me, Любовь? Why did you call me one day?”
“Because you’re my one day. The gravity that keeps me grounded when everything else threatens to tear me apart, piece by literal piece, until I feel like I have nothing left to give.
Right now, we have nothing but an emotional, heartbreaking past, but one day we will have something beautiful.
We will look back and be so grateful we found each other again. ”
“Любовь, you have no idea the lengths I’ll go, I have so much to make up for. And I will make up for everything I promise.”
“You can start by coming to lie down with me and get this movie started, please?”
Making my way to her, I slowly sit down next to her, gingerly making sure I don’t bump her casted arm. Lying flat on my back, she instantly lays her head on my chest, settling her cast on my stomach.
Once she’s settled, I can hear her taking a deep breath; she’s said before that my scent calms her. Softly, I start tracing circles on her back as I pull up 21 Jump Street.
Slowly opening my eyes, I’m blinded by the sun's rays pouring through the window. You’d think a hospital would have blackout curtains as standard decoration, but no.
Juni is softly snoring into me. Goosebumps litter my arms as her breath fans across my bare chest. Turning my head enough, I’m able to see it’s 8:00 am.
The nurses should be starting their rounds soon.
Once that’s finished, I’m hoping they will start the discharge process.
I know she’s ready to get out of here, and I am too.
“Hey, Любовь, it’s just a few minutes past 8, we should probably get you ready for the day, okay?”
She answers me with a groan. “Yes, you're right. I just don’t want to move from this spot. You're so warm, but I should take advantage of it and get up and take a shower. Think you can help me since I can’t get my cast wet?”
“I’ll do anything for you, Любовь. Alright, come on, up you get.”
Her bruises around her eyes are solid deep purple and yellow. Every time I look at her, I get angry again. I cannot wait to get my hands on this stupid mother fucker. I cannot wait to watch the light drain from his fucking eyes.
Walking into the bathroom, we both strip down to nothing.
Placing the shower chair to face the wall, I help her sit.
Turning on the shower head, I point it toward the wall as the water heats up.
Once it hits temp, I ask her to lean back toward me.
Once I finish wetting down her hair, I grab the bottles of shampoo and conditioner Peyton grabbed for us from the trailer.
Squeezing a good amount into my hand, I start massaging it into her scalp, but still trying to be gentle.
Making sure the suds are gone, I grab the conditioner.
Repeating the process. I think she likes the pressure I’m using while massaging her. She softly releases a relaxing sigh.
Grabbing the washcloth the hospital had issued, I pour some of her body wash onto it and begin running it over her neck and back. “Okay, Любовь, do you want me to finish helping you wash up, or would you like to try it on your own? I’ll do whatever you want me to.
“You can finish helping me. My arm is still so weak. I need my next round of pain meds here soon. I’m starting to feel a dull pain.”
Turning the shower toward me, I start running the washcloth over her neck and chest. Her deep bruises staring back at me.
Leaning down, I capture her eyes with mine.
“Every time I see these bruises, it takes everything in me not to go back to where we are keeping Reece and kill him right there. How could he have done this to you?”
“It wasn’t always like that... we were pretty normal until he hurt his back.
He was in recovery when we met, but he did not disclose that.
And after controlling me, he got me to marry him not long after we started dating.
That should have been a red flag. But I was blind.
I was still trying to force myself to move on from you. I waited so long.”
“I’ll never stop apologizing for hurting you, Любовь. I’ve had so much guilt. Suppose I had never pushed you away in the first place. We wouldn’t be here.”
“Gavin, you need to stop blaming yourself. It’s in the past, and it happened… We need to start looking at the future. I’m only going to get better from here, I promise you.”
Leaning down, I softly capture her pillowy lips—a promise. I pull away before I’m ready. We need to finish her shower so we can move on with the day. Once I’m sure the rest of the conditioner is gone and all the suds on her body are gone, I grab the two towels hanging on the back of the door.
Securing one around my waist, I help wrap the other around her and tighten it.
I pick her up and carry her back to her room.
I help sit her down in the recliner and get her dried off before walking over to the bag Peyton sent me.
Once she’s dry and changed, I pick her up again and walk her over to the bed.
Placing her down closer to the edge of the bed.
I get myself redressed before I sit behind her with a brush in hand.
I softly start brushing out any knots that have formed from her shower.
I start messaging her scalp again for a few minutes.
Gathering her hair, I start to braid it.
I watched a video on how to do it. It’s not perfect, but I think it looks okay. And now her hair is out of her face.
A few hours pass, and we are finally discharged and heading home.
The drive home is pretty quiet. Music playing in the background fills the silence.
I think we are both nervous. Our lives are changing for the better, but it’s still scary.
She’ll be so close to me, yet so far away.
“Car Crash” by Colorblind starts playing, causing me to almost chuckle to myself.
Because it’s true. Every lyric almost describes us completely right now.
I can tell how tired she is during the drive; it could be pain meds or the toll her body has taken in the past few days.
I’m just thankful she’ll never deal with this again.
No man will ever lay another hand on her.
She is mine, and it’s going to fucking stay that way.
Pulling into my development, her eyes widen as she sees the trail of houses as we drive by.
She lets out a little gasp when she sees her Cabrio already in the driveway.
“Brendon and Peyton got all of your things out of the trailer, and then she drove your car here. She also set up the guest room and has it all ready for you.”
“Wow, you all have been busy,” she says, a real smile appearing.
With a laugh, I say, “Welcome home, Любовь,” leaning over, I kiss her forehead.
I get out first like I always do. Opening her car door, our eyes meet. “Are you ready, Любовь?”
“More than ready to start having somewhat of a normal life.”
Once I help her down, we make our way through the garage.
“ Charlie might try to get overly excited to see you, but once you sit down on the couch, I think he will just lie next to you.” I swear he heard me say that.
Charlie gets up and comes to us as we open the door into the house.
“Charlie, be a good boy for daddy. Juni is hurt, and you don’t need to make it worse. ”
“Do you always talk to him like that?” She asks with a giggle.
“Of course. He’s my child, we have been through so much together.
” Walking into the living room, I get her settled on the couch with a blanket, and of course, Charlie makes himself comfortable and lays his big head on her thigh.
I rush to the kitchen, returning with drinks and snacks, I sit next to her and settle in.
Pulling up Netflix, I search White Chicks and hit play.
This feels so natural, like we have done this every night for years.
Just think, Любовь, our one day is so close I can almost taste it.