Chapter 6
~Thank-you to all of you who wished me a happy B-Day! I had a marvelous one and it was made better by your wishes.
Mahaja -thank-you for being patient to read my story and then being nice enough to leave a review I appreciate it!
Seletha-Thanks for pointing out his eye color, I completely forgot. Please forgive me everyone!
Rick's girl, MBooker, Buffelyn, Sassy, Kat G, Shelby, NeferBast, Thank-you all!
~*~*~*~*~
So it's better this way, I say
having seen this place before
where everything we say and do
hurts us all even more
its just that we stayed, too long
in the same old sickly skin
I'm pulled down by the undertow
I never thought I could feel so low
oh darkness I feel like letting go
~ Full of Grace by Sarah McLachaln
~*~*~*~*~
Evelyn gasped. She couldn't believe it. There in the stuffy old room was her husband. Her Rick. He was lying on the floor face down. "Rick?" she whispered. He didn't move. She saw the woman move toward her and she quickly spun on her heel and grabbed the woman's wrist before she had a chance. Just then Jonathan rushed in. "Jonathan get Rick." Jonathan went over to Rick and rolled him over. He took a quick glimpse at the woman that Evie had in a death grip. "Let me go you imbecile." she snarled. "You took my husband." Evie accused. "I did not." the woman snapped. "Oh than who did?" Jonathan had the woman securely in his embrace with no means of escape. "My husband did. Your husband's twin brother."
Rick took this moment to start moaning. "O' Connell, come on man you have to get up." Jonathan coaxed. "Your not real." Rick murmured. Jonathan gave him a questioning look. "Yes I am." he replied. Very slowly Rick shook his head, "No your not. Your an illusion." "If that's true why would you imagine me?" That must have gotten through to Rick because he really looked at Jonathan for the first time. "Evie?" "She's over there." Rick, with the help of Jonathan, got up and walked to where the two women were having it out. "Evie?" he called to her. She stopped and turned around looking at Rick. She ran to him and started to cry even harder.
"We need to get you out of here." she whispered. Rick simply nodded. Thanks to the hospitality of his hosts he was a little on the wiped-out side. Evie turned to where Jonathan was at near the woman. "Get her." she directed and Jonathan took the woman. But before they could get much farther Rick collapsed. "Call for the doctor." Evelyn screamed and Jonathan went running. "And you! If my husband dies because of what you've done, nothing will stop me from going after you!" The woman was startled. She had heard Rick mumbling about how strong Evie was and would never fall for her and Russell's plan, but she now believed it.
~*~*~*~
Rick was going to be all right. That was all that mattered. Soon after he was taken in the hospital had informed the police and they were soon in the O' Connell's room to get Evelyn. "Please. Let me stay. I finally found him. I..." "I'm sorry ma'm but you are going to have to come with us." "Let her be Frank. Mrs. O' Connell, we have Erika Spender with us. I hope you and your family will remain safe." Evelyn smiled at him. "Thank-you Gabriel." He took Inspector Brawns with him and they both left.
"So are you going tell me what happened?" Rick asked. Evelyn started... Rick gave a small laugh, but had to stop because it hurt. "I didn't expect you to be awake." "Well I am. So are you going to tell me what is going on?" "I think we should wait." "Why?" She looked at the ground not ready to tell him what had happened since he had left. She also didn't want to look at him when she told him. She knew. KNEW that this man was her husband, but deep down in the far reaches of her mind she couldn't forget what it was like to watch him attack their son.
It was with that thought that she started to cry. Ball really. She curled up on his good side and just let it all out. Crying over everything that she had lost that month. The pain of what she was feeling now was almost too much. "What is it Evelyn?" She buried her head even further into him not wanting to see him. "Nothing." was her barely heard answer. Rick knew better, but he couldn't push her. He himself was just starting to assess what happened to him.
~*~*~*~
"Are you finally going to tell me what happened?" Rick asked. It was two weeks later and Rick was finally home. Alex seemed to be doing just fine. His ability to get over what had happened remarkable. At first he had shied away from him, scared about what could happen, but when his father, his dad, held out his arms to his only son Alex went running into them. He knew that this man was dad and he didn't have anything else to fear. Evelyn on the other hand was having a very hard time of it.
"I guess." she muttered. "Would it be easier if I told you what happened to me?" She shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know. This is just so hard for me Rick. I know it was bad for you, but you didn't have to watch someone who looked exactly you attack and try to kill our son." Rick looked down at his chest. He had no idea what Russell had done, but after what he tried to do to him it really was no surprise. "I'm sorry Evie." Her head snapped and she looked at him. "You have nothing to be sorry about. It wasn't you, it was that other man, but it looked just like you."
"Did you... I mean did you think it was me?" He was on the verge of tears and so was she, "No, I did the first night he arrived. But when he kissed me that night, I knew something was off. It didn't feel like you. All the love that I knew we shared he didn't give it to me." Rick was trying to keep his anger from boiling over. That man had dared to touch his wife. "So what happened after that?" he pushed not sure he really wanted to know more. She took a deep breath, "Well for the week I just tried to keep my distance and search for you on the sly. Then Liam kept some of the Roarke shipment and I had to go beat it out of him." Rick smiled at that one.
She tried to smile, but it was just too much for her. She did not want to tell him what happened after that. It was killing her that she couldn't get past it. Her son, her nine year old son could get past it and was now just fine, but she just couldn't seem to do it. Every time she looked at him visions of him attacking Alex and her flashed through her mind until she dealt him the final blow. She started slowly, but Rick was giving her all the time she needed, "I...I... I came back the next day. I could feel that something was wrong. Terribly wrong. I heard shouting and I went to the stairs. At the top was Jonathan and he was slumped over. I ran to where I heard Alex screaming and saw him attacking our son with a sword. I don't remember what I did in the next moments, but I must have gotten a sword and when he said that you were dead and we would be as well I really started to attack him . He... He struck me and I." her voice faltered.
She just couldn't go any further. He brought her close to him, and rubbed her arm while he kissed the top of her head. "It's okay Evie." he whispered. She moved from him to look at him. "It is not okay Rick. I killed him. He was going to kill me and I plunged a sword into his stomach and killed him." She then broke down and started crying again. She never knew that she could cry this much. It seemed impossible, but it was the only thing her body could do. Rick held her close to him. "I love you Evie. I know that this must have been hard. We will work it out. I promise."
End of Chapter 6
Oh yes it will get better I promise. Could you please give me a review? I would be so grateful. Thank-you.