Friends
Lauren sometimes had dreams where the images and emotions were so vivid, she mistook them for reality. A lone tear escaped the corner of her eye. Hopefully, this was one of those times.
A warm hand squeezed hers. “Lauren?” The worry in her father’s voice sounded real.
Slowly, she opened her lids, blinking until her vision adjusted to the bright halogen lights above. As she stared at the ceiling, a blanket of sadness fell upon her chest. Lying in a hospital, her leg bandaged, she knew with clarity none of what she went through was a dream.
“Baby, can you hear me?”
Another realization hit her while she nodded her response. The left retina had degenerated some during her sleep. Which meant its visual field had shrunk, exactly like her right. Funny how up until this morning, the only thing important to her was her sight. Now it didn’t even make her top five lists of things to worry about.
“Jack.” She choked out his name, praying she was wrong.
Her father squeezed her hand a bit firmer. “He’s gone, baby.”
More tears escaped, dampening her cheeks, ears, until finally falling to the pillow beneath her head. Soon the only sound in the hospital room was of her sobs.
The one being on this planet that had never disappointed her was dead. As scary as the world had been for her, when he was by her side, she felt brave, strong. Never had he failed her. No, in the end, it was she who failed her best friend. Lauren gritted her teeth and tried to rein in her emotions, but the cries still pushed through.
Her father rested his cheek against her forehead and ran his fingers through her hair, soothing her. “I’m so sorry, baby,” he said over and over as she cried.
An eternity later, her body continued to heave, but the tears subsided. He stayed by her side, kissing her cheek and wiping her face.
When she squeezed his hand in gratitude, he sniffled and pressed his lips against her bandaged wrist. “You haven’t let me take care of you like this in a very long time. Thank you.”
Lauren rested her face in his palm and absorbed his warmth until her body calmed.
“How’s the pain?”
She rubbed the back of her neck. “Not too bad, actually. Did they give me pain meds?”
“Yup, the good stuff too. You shouldn’t be able to feel a thing.”
It wasn’t true. She felt a lot of things. Sadness over losing Jack. Regret about the choices she made, all of which were rooted in one central emotion—fear. There were so many things she needed to change. So many things she needed to accept.
“You’re pretty beat-up. We’re very lucky the injuries weren’t worse than they were.”
Memories of the kidnapper flooded her. She sat straight up and scanned the room. “He wanted Evan.”
Her father squeezed her hand. “Evan’s safe, honey. Everyone’s safe. The asshole who did this is dead. Gabe killed him.”
Lauren rubbed the edge of the bandage wrapped around her thigh and, when she wiggled her toes, realized her ankle was also wrapped up tight. She took long, soothing breaths and repeated her father’s words.
Everyone’s safe.
“Your mom and Sunny are on their way here.”
Lauren raised her brows. “Wait, how are you here if Mom’s not?”
He positioned pillows behind her and helped her lean back. “For the record, I sometimes do things without her.”
When she tilted her head, even more confused, he chuckled. “Gabe brought me. We were going over the renovation plans on the new house when I got the call you were missing. So I hopped in his truck and we took off. Figured the less your mom knew the better.”
A smile stretched across her face at the image of her father sitting in Gabe’s pickup. “Really?”
“Yes, and we made a good team too. He drove. I navigated.” He ran his finger around her wrist. “That bracelet we gave you saved your life.” The emotion in his voice tugged at her. “Speaking of which, I understand you’ve never been to Brazil.”
She laughed through fresh tears. “He told you?”
The bed dipped as he sat beside her. “Among other things.”
When her father wrapped an arm around her, she rested her head on his shoulder. “Other things?”
“For starters, you’re the smartest person to ever walk this earth.”
“If he was right, I wouldn’t be sitting in a hospital room now, would I?”
He tucked her head under his chin and squeezed. “The reason you’re alive is because you used your brain. Don’t ever doubt it.”
She didn’t respond, just savored his love.
“That’s not all he said.”
“Do I want to hear the rest?” The words came out mumbled because her father’s shirt was pressed against her lips.
“I think you should,” he said. “Did you know there’s nothing you can’t do?”
Her face warmed. “He didn’t say that, did he?”
“He absolutely did.” Her father paused for a second before continuing. “And if your mother and I want a real relationship with you, we need to start treating you like you’re all of those wonderful things.”
The room went silent.
“Gabe said those things?” she whispered.
He let out a breath. “When you realize you might lose the person you love, it makes you say and do a lot things you wouldn’t normally.”
Lauren’s stomach tightened. “He used the word love?”
“No, but I saw the look on his face. The man loves you. He’s the reason you’re alive.”
She fought away the moisture building behind her eyes. Gabe was a complicated person, and chances were her father was wrong. Instead of arguing with him, she changed the subject.
“Sounds like he laid into you hard. Sorry, Dad.”
“Don’t be. When you realize you might lose the person you love, it makes you listen and understand a lot of things you normally wouldn’t. I’m sorry it took almost losing you for me to say it, but Gabe’s right. You are strong, smart and beautiful.” He pressed his lips to the top of her head. “I am so proud to call you my daughter.”
How long had it been since she’d heard him say anything like that? Lauren blinked back the new surge of tears and tried to breathe through the emotion.
“Do you love him?” he asked.
Lost in thought, she fixed her gaze on the blurry white hospital wall. “I didn’t think I was going to live.”
Her father squeezed her a little tighter.
She kept talking, pretending not to hear his sniffles. “My thoughts went straight to you, and Mom, and Sunny, and Jack, but then to him. It took that moment for me to realize I loved him and had never told him.”
He cleared his throat. “I’m not going to tell you what to do. I’ve done way too much of that and you never listen anyway.”
Lauren laughed and nodded.
“You need to understand, I support you and whatever decisions you make. But, promise me if you ever decide to get married again, you’ll let me know? And I mean before the wedding, not after like last time. I’d like to, at least once, walk my daughter down the aisle.”
She rolled her eyes and giggled. “I’m not getting married, Dad. By the way, where is he?”
“Still at the police station.”
When she started to pull away, he held tighter. “Don’t worry, I’ve made some phone calls. He should be getting out soon.”
In a matter of hours so much had changed. “I wish I could go back in time and fix things. Not let Jack out of the house. Not let that man inside. Erase all my mistakes today.”
The door to her room squeaked open as she spoke.
“If you did, Evan would most likely have been kidnapped,” a familiar voice said.
She smiled. “Hi, Ben.”
Her father rose to greet his once son-in-law. This was their first meeting since the divorce. Unsure of how the interaction would go, Lauren held her breath.
“Hi, James. How are you?”
“Better, now that my daughter’s safe. I heard about all you did. Thank you.”
She watched the two blurred shapes shake hands. “I wish I could have done more.”
Metal scraped against the floor when Ben pulled up a chair. He took her hand and held on tight.
“Jack’s gone,” she choked out.
His thumb traced circles against her skin. “I know. I saw him.”
Lauren slammed her eyes shut and tried unsuccessfully to block out the memory of his agonized cry. “He was in pain.”
Ben leaned forward and wiped her tear before it ever hit her cheek. “He’s not hurting anymore.”
He pressed his palm against her face. “You know what I loved most about him?”
She shook her head. Ben loved Jack as much as she did. If anyone could understand her grief, it would be him.
“How much he loved you,” he whispered.
Lauren’s lip quivered.
“And I saw the way he was with Evan. He loved the kid too.” Ben handed her a tissue. “I know it’s not fair to weigh the value of one life over another, but I want you to consider something. Raymond West’s plan was to kidnap Evan. Jack saved his life, and if the dog had the chance, we both know he’d do it again.”
A cell phone rang. “It’s your mom; I’m pretty sure she’s lost. Ben, if you’re going to be here a while, I’m going to step out and take this.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Ben said, continuing to run his thumb over her cheek. “I shouldn’t have left you this morning,” he whispered after her father left.
“This isn’t your fault.”
“If I hadn’t left…”
She didn’t let him finish. “Like you said, Evan might be gone. And you’re right, Jack wouldn’t have done it any different.”
“Ever since I got your voicemail, I’ve been in hell.” He grazed a finger over her cheekbone where the kidnapper had punched her. “Seeing what that asshole did to you, I want to beat the shit out of him. But the good news is, he won’t ever hurt another woman again.” He dropped his hand and leaned back in his chair. “Thanks to Gabe.”
Lauren cringed at the tinge of jealousy in his voice.
“This thing with him, it’s not a one- or two-night fling, is it?”
She lowered her eyes and shook her head. “I love him.”
The room became painfully quiet. Ben shifted in his seat. “You don’t say that very often.”
“I’ve only said it about one other man.” She searched for words to make it better but came up with nothing. “I don’t want to hurt you, Ben.”
“I know. It’s okay.”
Although he said the words, the sadness in his tone told her it wasn’t.
“I want you to be happy. Not knowing if you were dead or alive made me realize something. It doesn’t matter if you’re with me or not, as long as you’re alive.” His voice cracked. “We’ve always been close. It’s what’s made these last five years so hard. Every time something good or bad happened in my life, I wanted to talk to you. Even when Chloe was born, you were the first person I thought to call. Stupid, I know, considering everything leading up to her birth.”
He blew out a breath. “What I’m trying to say is I need you in my life, Cat. I need to know you’re okay, we’re okay.”
“And if I’m with someone else?”
He took in a lungful of air and, after slowly releasing it, answered her question. “I’ll deal with it. We were friends once. If nothing else, it would be nice to have my friend back.”
“As long as you remember she already has a best friend.” She jumped at Sunny’s words. Lauren had been so absorbed in his sadness, she didn’t even hear the woman enter. “And the one she currently has is about to beat the living shit out of her.”
“Hey, Sunny,” Ben said.
“Sorry, dude. You two were having a moment and all, but up until twenty minutes ago, I thought she was dead.” Her voice quivered as she spoke.
“Obviously, I’m still alive.”
“Barely. I mean look at you.” She sniffled, pulling Lauren into a tight hug. “You stupid, blind, arrogant freak. What the hell is wrong with you?”
Lauren spit out the lock of Sunny’s hair currently wedged in her mouth and rubbed her friend’s back. “I love you too.”
Her best friend held her tight and cried for a long time before releasing her. Sunny blew her nose and kissed Lauren on the forehead. “Okay, much better now. You look like shit by the way.”
“Thanks.”
“Listen, there’s a tall, dark and sexy detective out there by the name of Casey Johnson. He wants to talk to you. Should I let him in?”
Lauren nodded. “As long as you two stay with me.”
Ben squeezed her hand while Sunny answered, “I did mention tall, dark and sexy right?”