Forever and Always (Book 2)

Free at Last

              My eyes fluttered open, a bright light blinding me. I tried to move my arm to shield my face against the light but my arm wouldn't move. My vision adjusted and I was in a room filled with monitors. An annoying beeping echoed the room, giving me a headache. All I wanted to do was sleep but found myself in an uncomfortable position. I glanced down to see an IV stuck in my arm. I was in a hospital. What had happened? My brain slowly started to process what had happened. When I tried to sit up, there was an excruciating pain in my stomach, reminding me exactly what happened. I cried out, clenching my stomach, hoping the pain would go stop. I was shot...for the second time in my life.

             I remembered two officers arriving at Gary's house and then there were shot fired. One of them hitting me in the stomach. Kyle had been there, trying to stop the bleeding but eventually gave up. What happened to him? Where did he go? How was I even alive right now? I looked down my hospital gown to see a white bandage wrapped around my stomach. I remembered that Dole was also shot in the process. What had happened to him? Was he alive?

             "I was thinking of getting you a bulletproof vest." A voice echoed, causing me to jump.

              I looked up to see Robbins standing in the doorway of my room, a smile plastered on her face. A smile grew on my face as she entered the room. She walked over to my bed and I wrapped my arms around her, holding on tightly as if she would disappear at any moment. I never wanted this to end. I was worried that she would have gotten hurt in the shooting as well. She still had bruises on her face and arms but they were healing. She looked exhausted but pretended that it wasn't bothering her.

             "Robbins! You're okay." I whispered almost in disbelief.

              "How are you feeling?" She asked.

              "My stomach really hurts but I'm fine. Where's Kyle and Dole?" I asked, needing to know.

              "I'll let the doctor know you're awake. You've been asleep for two days now. I'm okay, I wasn't the one that was shot." She grinned. "Dole's in recovery but should be fine. It was only his leg that was shot. But Kyle managed to escape." She said frowning.

             "You didn't get him?" I asked, tears filling my eyes.

               My heart rate started to spike on the monitor, causing it to start beeping loudly. What if he came after me again? He could be anywhere by now, even in the hospital. Tears trickled down my cheeks as Robbins squeezed my hand as she said, "Don't worry, we'll find him. He probably thinks you are dead because of the way you were before he escaped."

            "What do you mean?" I asked.

            "You were losing a lot of blood, we almost lost you. Another minute later and you would have probably bled to death. We had to rush you here for emergency surgery." She said, looking down at me with guilt in her eyes. This wasn't her fault.

           "Where's Aunt Catherine and Uncle Jim?" I asked.

            "I'll go get them and the doctor." She said with a smile as she turned to leave the room.

            While she was gone, I started to think about everything. I was free. The abusive was over with. Then a horrid thought came into my mind. Tears started to stream down my face as I remembered I had no one that was close to me. My boyfriend and best friend were dead. They were the ones who I always talked to about my kidnapping from a year ago. Reality finally hit me hard since I wasn't trapped anymore. This was real. Their deaths were real. It seemed impossible to believe at the time but now it was crystal clear.