Chapter 28
"Dean you are talking nonsense. Please calm down. Let's talk about this." I pleaded with him.
He just continued to pace the room floor, completely ignoring me. I have never seen him this furious. I just sat there waiting for him to calm down. He finally turned to me.
"What is there to talk about?" he asked
"I don't want you to do anything stupid. Please. Come sit next to me." I asked. He stopped pacing the floor and came to sit next to me. I tried to sit up, but it hurt too much.
"Nicole. You should not be moving around so much," he sighed as he kissed my hair. We sat there in silence, as he tried to calm down.
"Dean please don't do anything stupid. I know that what she did to us is unforgivable, but I need you here with me, not in jail for hurting Delaney. I don't know who it is you called, but call them back and say you changed your mind." I spoke as fresh tears began to swell up in my eyes. I pulled myself up and faced him so that I could see his eyes.
"Nicole she needs to pay for what she did. We were doing so well. We were going to have a family. She took that away from us."
"Yes, we lost our baby. But this is not the end for us. We can still have another child and start our family. Hell, we can have as many children as you want. But we won't be able to do anything together if you go out and do something that will hurt our future together." I explained. I wanted nothing more than to have this man's child. Yes, we lost this one, but we can always have more.
"You still want to be with me?" he asked in disbelief.
"Of course. Why would you ask such a question?" I was a little taken aback by his question.
"It is my fault that you are laying in this bed. It is my fault that we lost our baby. All of this happened because of me," he said in a panic. Tears began to roll down his face. How could he think that it's his fault? I grabbed his face firmly in my hands.
"None of this is your fault. How were you supposed to know that she would come after me? Please don't blame yourself for this." I had to make him see that this was not his fault.
"But it was my job to protect you and the baby. I failed. I failed you both," he sobbed against my hands.
"Dean Tomlinson, you need to stop this foolishness right the fuck now. You did your job looking after me and the baby. You made sure I ate right, you made sure I got my rest, even to the point where I thought I was going to punch you in the face for being so overbearing. You are a great protector. And you will be a better one once we try to have another child again. I don't want you to blame yourself, or think you failed us because you didn't"
I pulled his face close to mine. Our lips barely touching "I love you so much, and I will never leave you. Don't you ever forget that," I said as I kissed his lips? I felt him relax under my hold. He pulled away from me and gazed into my eyes.
"You are such a strong woman Nicole. You have more faith in me than I do myself. I am so lucky that I met you." he said as he kissed my forehead. He then rose off the bed and grabbed his phone out of his pocket.
"I will call them back and tell them I changed my mind. I don't want to jeopardize our future." he kissed me and began to dial.
I sat there listening as he asked the other person did they find Delaney. By the conversation, the answer was no. That struck fear in my heart. What is she tries to come back? I continued listening as Dean called off the search for Delaney. He told them that he was going to inform the police about the incident. He ended the call and smiled at me. Oh, there is that smile. I felt my need for him growing inside me.
"Oh no you don't," Dean murmured.
"What?" I asked.
"That look. Don't give me that look, Nicole," he laughed as I shrugged my shoulders.
He walked over to me and kissed me firmly on the lips. I missed his lips. I wanted to get lost in the kiss, but he pulled away from me. I groaned, wanting to continue the kiss. He just smiled at me and shook his head. Suddenly there was a knock at the door.
"Hey, guys. Can I come in?" Tracy said as she opened the door.
Bryan was with her. Her face saddens at the sight of me. I tried to wear a brave smile for her sake. I was truly happy to see her, but to see her so sad nearly broke my heart.
"Of course Tracy! Please come in." I said. She ran over to my bed, nearly knocking Dean out of the way.
"Oh thank God you are ok Nikki! I am so glad you are ok!" she sobbed as she threw her arms around me. I winced at the pain.
"Tracy! You have to be careful," Bryan and Dean scolded her. She immediately jumped back with an apologetic look in her eyes.
"Sorry. Did I hurt you? How are you feeling? Have you eaten?" she bombarded me with questions as she sat down on the edge of the bed.
"Tracy calm down. I am ok," I laughed.
"Glad to see you are awake Nikki. Tracy has been worried sick about you. She would not go home and rest until you woke up. We are both glad you are alright," Bryan said as he shook Dean's hand.
"Thank you." I smiled at him
"We are so sorry about the baby Nikki," Tracy said as she took my hand.
I could feel myself wanting to cry again. I looked over to Dean for support. He smiled sweetly at me, letting me know he was here for me.
"Thank you. We are sad too. But at least we will get the chance to have another child," I said.
"Thank God Mike found you when he did," Tracy said.
"What? Mike found me?" I asked. I looked over at Dean, who just nodded his head.
"Yes. Hasn't Dean told you?" she asked. I just shook my head.
"We haven't had much time to talk about who found me. We spent more time talking about who pushed me down the stairs," I said through clenched teeth.
"What the hell do you mean? You were pushed?" she and Bryan both said.
Dean sat down in the chair next to my bed. I sighed as I began to tell them about what happened to me. They sat and listened with horror in their eyes. I did not like reliving the story myself. I remember the look in Delaney's eyes as I turned to see her push me down the stairs. Her eyes were so cold, so full of hatred.
"If I ever see that bitch, I swear I am going to choke the life out here," Tracy yelled. She had so much anger in her voice.
"Nikki I am really sorry. Who would have known that chick was certifiably crazy," Bryan said. I looked over at Dean and saw so much sadness in his eyes. He was blaming himself again.
"Well, she will get what's coming to her once we report this to the police," I placed Deans' hand in mine, and gave it a gentle squeeze. There was another knock on the door. It was another nurse.
"Hello, Miss Hamblen. My name is Renee. I will be your nurse for the night. Now if you guys will excuse us, I need to check Miss Hamblen's vitals and bandages. I am going to have to ask you guys to step out into the hallway for a moment.
"Tracy I think it is ok if I take you home now. You really need to rest. I will bring you back tomorrow to see Nikki." Bryan said to Tracy. Tracy looked to me as if asking if it was ok if she leaves.
"It's ok Tracy. I need to rest and so do you. I will be fine," I said to her.
She kissed my cheek. She and Bryan said their goodbyes and left. I am so glad that my friend came to see me.
"That means you too sir," the nurse said to Dean.
He was about to argue when I gave him a stern look. He was not to make a scene here in the hospital. The nurse was not going to harm me.
"Fine! But I will be right outside the door," he growled. He can be such a baby sometimes. But I loved him.
The nurse checked my vitals and my bandages. She helped me to the restroom so that I could change my robe and my overly large menstrual pad. I guess you still bleed after you had a miscarriage. She helped me back in the bed and gave me some pain medicine.
"Try and get some rest. I will be back to check on you in a few hours," she said.
As she was walking out of the door, Dean and Mike both came in. I was completely shocked to see Mike. Even though there was a sense of tension between them, they were not trying to kill each other.
"Mike," I whispered as he came and sat next to me in the bed. He leaned over and hugged me. I held on tight, not wanting to let go. I have missed my friend so much. I began to cry against his neck.
"Hey don't cry. I am happy to see you too," he whispered in my ear.
We were sitting there holding each other. I almost forgot Dean was in the room. I let go of Mike and looked over at Dean who was sitting in the chair with his jaw clenched. I turned my gaze back to Mike.
"So I hear that I have you to thank for finding me," I murmured.
"I guess so. I saw you walking to class and decided we needed to talk. I wish I had not hesitated, otherwise, you wouldn't have been pushed down the stairs. Sorry, I didn't get a chance to save your baby," his voice was full of regret. How does he know I was pushed?
"You know Tracy's big mouth can hold water," Mike said answering my thoughts.
"Well we both thank you," Dean said.
"I agree. I am thankful to you," I said as I took his hand. If it wasn't for him, there is no telling how long I might have been lying in that stairwell.
We sat and talked. It felt so good to talk to Mike, to see him. It felt like a piece of my heart was put back together. He apologized to Dean and me both for how he acted. He said he should have never forced himself on me.
His apology was so sincere. Even though I could still tell he had feelings for me, I could tell that he would never cross the line again unless I asked him to. He left shortly after and promised to check on me tomorrow. We said our goodbyes.
I was so tired. The pain medicine the nurse gave me was kicking in. I just wanted to sleep. Dean crawled in the bed next to me and held me in his arms. I slowly drifted off to sleep. I dreamt about a pretty, curly black-haired little girl. She had blue eyes like her dad.
When I woke up. It was morning, and I was starving.
"Do you want me to order breakfast for you?" Dean asked
"Yes, please. I can not believe how hungry I am," I said to Dean as I stretched out on the bed.
It hurt to move. But I didn't want my body to become stiff. Dean picked up the phone and was about to dial for my food when I had visitors come into the room.
"Momma, daddy," I whispered. What was she doing here?
I looked over at Dean. He smiled and gave me a wink. He knew they were coming today. Oh, I am going to smack him. I looked back at my parents. My mother ran over to me.
"Nicole, sweetie. I am sorry for everything," she cried.