Hey guys! Anabelgem14 here with another update. I'm so sorry I haven't gotten this up before now. Let's just say my schedule is pretty hectic now. But good new, I have the epilogue thought out! And who knows, maybe a sequel?
Whoa, slow your roll, hot shot. This isn't even the end and you're already getting sentimental. So without further ado, Chapter Ten.
By the time Dez realized that it was 11, he had also realized that he hated hospitals. The walls were white. He didn't bother watching TV, as the sound was on mute and he didn't feel like reading the captions. There wasn't anyone else in here. Even the receptionist had gone to get coffee about twenty minutes ago.
When he'd first arrived, someone had came over to get Macy's information, and he gave them all he knew. That was then it hit him hard- that he didn't really know Macy. He'd only met her a week and a half ago. He didn't know if she would stay with him after she got out of the hospital or if she would go home. He didn't even know if she would make it. Nobody was telling him anything.
Then again, he wasn't technically a significant person in her life. They weren't even dating, were they? Dez sighed. He just hoped that Austin would arrive soon, so that he could stop driving himself crazy with all the questions. He called his mother, too, but she didn't answer.
Dez stood, stretching his legs but also passing the time to when he could see Macy. The last image he had of her was her being carted into the ambulance. And he was scared to death of that being the last image he had of her.
Austin came skidding into the waiting room at 11:20, Ally and Trish in tow. "Dude. What the hell happened?" Austin's face was red, and Dez had to wonder if he and Ally had ever gotten to go on their date. Glancing at Ally, she didn't seem to be too dolled up, which he took as a no.
"It's a long story. John found her." Austin's face paled, but Ally and Trish's flashed confusion. Austin looked to Dez, who only nodded. He led the girls to the chairs, while Dez muttered about going to get a soda. He felt like it was going to be a long night.
The moment Macy's parents came into the room, Dez knew that's who they were. Macy was a unique beauty, a blonde hair, blue-eye, freckled girl. Her mother had fiery red hair, and there were freckles on every visible inch of her body. Her father had bright blonde hair, even with age, and both of her parents were very good-looking.
He stood, and walked over to the parents who were frantically asking the receptionist for information about their 'baby'. She told them to hold on, and Dez took this opportunity to speak up. He tapped Macy's mother on the shoulder.
"Mrs. McCallister?" She looked over, and he saw her tear-stricken face.
"Do I know you?" She sounded almost exactly like Macy, which struck him in the heart.
"Not exactly. I'm Dez Fisher. Macy has been staying with me." At this point, Macy's mother was already embracing him, sobbing into his shoulder. He caught the eye of Macy's father, who looked as sullen as he was sure he did. Dez continued. "I tried to stop him from hurting her, but I got there too late. I'm so sorry." His voice broke, and he stayed silent. He knew that if he spoke about her, he would break down.
Macy's mother was still crying onto his shoulder, just like Macy did the first night they met. "Honey, it's not your fault. You saved our little girl."
Macy's father came away from the desk and walked over to Dez and his wife. "She paged the doctor, so he should be out when he gets a free moment. Until then, we wait." He stuck out a hand. "I'm Ron McCallister. Macy's father."
Dez shook his hand firmly, and then looked back and forth between her parents. "Would you guys like to sit down?"
Ron led his wife to one of the chairs, where she continued to cry. Dez sat across from them, unsure what to do now. "Macy is a wonderful girl."
Her mom nodded. "She's our baby." Ally, Trish and Austin had gone to get coffee, and were just now returning. When they saw Macy's parents, they veered off course and went to sit down out of the way. Dez nodded slightly at Austin to make sure he got the message.
The doctor came through the doors then, scaring everyone. "Is the family of Macy McCallister here?"
Ron and his wife stood. "Yes, I'm Ron and this is my wife, Tiffany. How's Macy?"
He ushered them to follow him, and Dez was unsure of whether to go with them or not.
The doctor answered his question, almost as if he was reading his mind. "Macy also requested for a Dez Fisher to come back, as well."
Dez sighed with relief, and saluted to his friends before going back into the stark white hallways.
It seemed to take forever to get to Macy's room, and when they finally arrived, he was surprised to see her awake, and sitting up. When she saw her parents, she smiled. They rushed over and gave her hugs, and then backed away, bombarding the nurse with all sorts of questions.
Macy saw Dez next, bruises forming on his face, he was sure. She smiled weakly at him, and he took that as his signb to come over to her. Her body looked so frail, covered in the heavy hospital gown and her arms poked with needles and wires.
"Hey, Mace." He leaned down, glancing at her parents, and then placed a quick kiss on her cheek.
"Dez. Your lip." She reached up to touch it, and he had to stop himself from shivering at her weak touch. "Your all busted up."
He laughed darkly. "You should see the other guy."
Macy's eyes grew wide, but before she could speak, a police officer made himself known to the room.
"I'm Officer Clancy. I came here to ask Macy and Dez a few questions, since this is technically now a criminal investigation. Would you be up for that, miss?"
Everyone glanced to Macy, who now looked even paler than before. She threw a sparing look to Dez before taking his hand tightly and nodding. "I don't know if I'm completely ready, but I guess I sort of have to be." In assurance, Dez gave her tiny hand a light squeeze.
"I met John the summer before my junior year of high school. He had just transfered to town and was going to be a senior that year. I was at the mall with some friends, and so was he. I told myself I wasn't going to fall for him, but I lied. I had no idea why someone as attractive and friendly as him would be interested in a girl like me. I was nothing special, I told him. He always told me that I was everything special.
"We started dating soon after that, and everything was better than perfect. He was always nice to me and my friends and my family, and everyone loved him. It all started to change around Christmastime. I had been going to the mall, shopping for last minute gifts, when he started asking me where I was all the time. If I didn't answer my phone by the third ring, he would assume I was ignoring him.
"And then the accusations started. When I was out with the girls, he would ask me 'what his name was' and 'how long I'd been sneaking around'. And here my perfect little world started falling down. I thought maybe he just needed to spend more time with me, so I tried to include him in everything I did. But that didn't suit him, either. Nothing was ever good enough for him. If I bought him a drink, it wasn't the right kind. If I made him a CD, it wasn't the right songs.
"But still, I held on. It was around March when he started hitting me. I can't even remember what I did, and it was so little it could have just been me changing the radio station without permission. He would start in places that weren't visible, like my back or my thighs. But then he started grabbing me and squeezing me really hard. He left bruises on my arms, on my breasts, even on my neck once.
"I tried for a long time to get him to break up with me, since I knew that if I did it he wouldn't let me live it down. I didn't text him back, I didn't tell him what I was doing. I went whole weeks avoiding him in the hallways. And that only pissed him off more.
"It was the first week of May, prom weekend, and he had a really cute way of asking me. I thought, 'okay, maybe this is the turning point.' Everything went smoothly that night. He got the right color corsage and made reservations at my favorite restaurant. He even slow danced with me on all the right songs. It was right after they had annouced the Royal Court when he started saying that he wanted to leave.
"I was confused, because I told him and my parents that I was leaving with my friends and going to one of their houses. But he whispered that he wanted to leave, as in go park. And I was kind of scared, because we'd never done anything like that before. But he swore to me that it would be romantic, and he would stop if I asked him to.
"Yet another thing he lied about. We went back to a deserted field, and we parked. It started out great, but when I told him I'd changed my mind, all he did was tell me to shut up and take my dress off. I told him no, and he grabbed my arms. I tried to get out of the car, but he had locked the doors. I was begging him to stop, but he didn't. Not until he was done with me. He dropped me off at home that night, and I didn't come out of my room for a week."
The mood in the room had changed just then, and everyone eye's were as big as saucers. Dez watched Macy try to finish her story without completely breaking down, and it was breaking his heart to watch her struggle with this. He'd known things were bad, but he hadn't known that he'd raped her. It made him feel that much more justified in what he'd done.
Macy took a shaky breath, and continued.
"John tried to pretend that it had never happened, or at least not the way that I rememembered it. I pushed it to the back of my mind, but I always kept it there in case I needed to hold it against him the future. I was done fighting to get away from him. I didn't have any fight left in me.
"Until I figured out I was pregnant with his child. Obviously, in his fit of rage on prom night, he hadn't used protection. I told my parents everything then, and they told me they'd figured as much all along. When I found out I was pregnant, I gained back just enough fight to get my spirit back. I didn't tell John for two months after I found out, and when I did, it wasn't pretty.
"Immediately, he told me to make an appointment to get rid of it. I told him no. That even if he wasn't going to own up to his mistakes, I was going to own up to mine. The mistake of loving him. Those were the words I used. He grabbed me, held me down and threatened to kill me if I didn't get rid of it. He threatened things like that all the time, so it didn't bother me anymore. But I knew that if I was going to protect my child, I had to get away from him.
"And then I got an email from Ally, saying that I was welcome to come down to Miami anytime, and I packed my bags. Everything was fine, until Dez and I got in the fight earlier today. I left, walking downtown and blowing off steam. I figured I would go to the Shack to grab a bite to eat, and then call a cab to take me home. When I got to the restaurant, John was standing outside. I tried to run away, but he grabbed me and pulled me into that back ally. He threw me down on the ground, started kicking my stomach and calling me a whore. I felt this excruciating pain, like none other, and all of a sudden, I blacked out. I think I woke up briefly, because I remember seeing Dez in the rain, and then the next time I opened my eyes, I was here.
"And now the doctors tell me I lost my baby."
Dez's world came crashing down during the last part. Not only had the prick gotten her pregnant, he didn't have the decency to own up to it? 'Get rid of it.' Like a bad sweater at Christmas. It was a fucking human being. Dez started to see red, and he had to remind himself that he was still holding on to Macy.
He couldn't look at her, because he knew that she was staring right at him. The doctor ushered everyone out but him, and closed the curtain.
The silence in the room was so loud that it was hurting Dez's ears. He needed to hear her say something. To know that what he'd just heard wasn't an allusion. That she'd really been torn up that much inside.
Slowly, he lifted his head to look at her. She was staring at him, tears freely flowing down her red face, with a look of pure desperation on her face.
Without a second thought, Dez lay next to her, wrapping her in his arms. Seeing her like this made his eyes water, and soon they were both crying, holding eachother. Nothing needed to be said. Everything they were thinking was displayed in their actions. They took turns wiping eachother's eyes and whispering words of comfort.
The tears dwindled, but still Dez held her. He held her like there would be no tomorrow, because who was really sure?
"Dez?" He had to look down at her to make sure she'd actually spoken. Her voice seemed so tiny and mousy after hearing her passionate voice while telling her story.
"What, Mace?" He was whispering just like she was, like they were afraid to be too loud.
"I would have named her Ava." Her voice broke, but no new tears came.
Dez sighed, and stroked her hair. "Ava Claire McCallister. She would have had a wonderful mother."
Macy nodded, and sniffled. He felt her cock her head to the side. "Hey, this is probably nowhere near the time or place for this, but..." She trailed off, unsure of whether to finish or not, and Dez had to nudge her.
"You see that painting over there?" Dez looked to the only painting in the room, which hung above the door. It was a spiral tree, with the words free flowing out of it.
"Yeah."
She was silent for a minute, and then she lifted up her wrist and pointed to it. "That is going right there. I think I finally found my tattoo."
Dez felt like smiling, but he only nodded. "I guess it came to you when you needed it most."
Deep chapter, right? Also note that I didn't proofread this, so sorry.
Until Next Time, Anabelgem14