Cowboy Casanova

Chapter 53

"If I could hear the girls, see them, or feel them, I would do it." I remember.

"We have no choice but to put in a feeding tube." The doctor tells me. I nod.

"Alright." I say. He pats me on the back and shoots me a sad smile. I look back to Tim, who's laying lifeless on the bed. I wish I could just shake him until he wakes up.

I've been out of the hospital for about two months. I was only in it for about three days. They only worried about the concussion, but it proved to be minimal, because he didn't hit correctly.

Two of the men are both dead. I don't remember how Matt died... The doctors tell me that Tim had beat him with the wrench until he was barely breathing. He wanted him to suffer...

I get nightmares about it every night. What would've happened if Tim hadn't come? Would they just have left me alone? The reality is, I would probably be dead. They would've killed me, rather than let me go with the risk of telling their superviser.

Kendricks walks into Tim's room, giving me a sick feeling to my stomach. I look up from Tim to see him standing at the foot of the bed. He grins at me.

"Hey baby." He says, sending chills down my spine. I cringe, as he brushes the side of my cheek with his knuckle.

"Get away from me." I say firmly. He grabs my neck.

"Or what? Are you going to hurt me? I mean really, honey, you're not that scary." He says. I shut my eyes tightly and try to put myself in a happy place.

"Leave." I say, slowly opening my eyes. He laughs.

"I'm sure there are many other doctors I can get to take care of you, just like last time. Except, your little hero can't save you this time, now can he, sweetheart?" He says, grabbing my jaw tightly. He crushes it between his fingers. "Or hell, why don't I get someone different to take care of your little husband over here. Maybe I'll assign myself to him." He taunts. I feel like a child. Like I have minimal authority. I can't intimidate him if I try.

"John..." I start. His evil smile fades. "Stop, please..." I beg.

"Did you tell anyone... Does he know?" He asks.

"He doesn't know. I only told them about Jason and Matt." I answer. "John, please. Just stop this now, alright? I don't want anything bad to happen to you, but if this continues, I won't have a damn choice but to tell them." I try to play a new angle. He nods.

"I guess we'll have to see." He says, walking out of the room a little less strong than before. I look back down at Tim, and begin to cry.

"Wake up... baby, you have to wake up..." I cry, laying my head by Tim's side. I listen to the ventilator pump. I prop my head on my hand and look at him. He has so many tubes and wires on him... He has drains everywhere for his internal bleeding. He has the ventilator, so he can actually breathe. He has heart monitors everywhere. I can't look at a single part of him that doesn't have a wire or tube on him. He has braces around his legs, so he doesn't get a blood clot while he lies.

"Alright, the OR is ready for him." A nurse walks in abruptly. I nod and kiss Tim on the forehead. They take him up to the OR.

Tim's eyes are open, but the nurse says that he isn't responsive yet. He stares straight foreword at the door. He has yet to look at me. I guess, that's in part to him not being fully there yet. The feeding tube is on now, giving him some mysterious liquid. I held his hand the other day, and I swear he squeezed my hand. The doctors say that he probably just had a spasm, but I'm trying to tell myself it's something more. He's going to wake up.

The girls come and go. They haven't seen their Dad out of the hospital in about six months. The doctor says that they shouldn't see him when his eyes are open, because that could confuse them. I agree. They, of course, argue with me on it.

I kiss Tim on the forehead and head down to the cafeteria to grab some cheap, watered down coffee. I stand in the back of the line leading to the coffee stand. I hear a familar voice behind me.

"Well, look at that." Kendricks says.

"John..." I warn. He grins.

"We need to talk." He says. I nod. He grabs my hand and takes me to his office. He shuts the shades, and locks the door.

"What did you need to talk about?" I ask hesitantly. He smiles at the ground.

"Where you and I stand." He says, looking up at me. He carries himself much like Tim does.

"You and I don't stand anywhere." I say. He nods and smiles once more.

"I don't think so, darlin'." He says, making me feel a chill.

"It's over, alright? It was a mistake." I say.

"Uh huh. Well, Fatih-" He starts. "it's not over that easily."

"What do you mean?" I ask, beginning to lose my temper.

"You know what I mean." He suggests.

"You blackmailed me into this. I never wanted part of this." I say. He slides my sleeve off of my shoulder and proceeds to kiss it. I feel sick. He kisses up my neck, and then ending at my lips. My hands remained glued to my sides, knowing the protocol for this kind of situation.

"Faith, you had a choice to walk away. You made the choice to stay, you understand? You can't pin this all on me. You said we'd run off once he was dead. We made plans together. You can't just tell me that I made those on my own." He says. I feel tears well up in my eyes.

"I wasn't thinking." I say. He laughs.

"That's not a good enough excuse. Faith, if you end this, I will make sure everyone on this planet knows." He says. I stand, literally inches away from him. I'm stuck. I have no choice anymore....

"Fuck you." I say softly under my breath. He smiles as he moves in for a kiss.

"I thought you'd say that."