A few hours later, a nurse I hadn't seen before came into Alex's hospital room, bearing a bouquet of daffodils. "Ms. Rogers, these were just delivered."
"Who are they from?" I asked before Alex could say anything, feeling a lump in my throat hearing her referred to by a name that wasn't hers.
She glanced at the note attached to the flowers. "From a Jonathan Bachman."
Alex began to tremble in my arms and her face turned white. "Throw – throw them out," she whispered.
"Ms. Rogers –"
"Now," I said, and the nurse nodded.
"Of course."
She left the room, and Alex turned to me, still shaking. "He found me. Oh, God, he knows I'm here. He's going to hurt me again. He's –"
"Alex," I said quietly, rubbing her arm in an attempt to calm her, "I need you to calm down. I promise you, he's not going to hurt you ever again. I'm here. I'll protect you, baby. I won't let anyone hurt you, not Jonathan Bachman and not Cesar Velez. No one will ever hurt you again."
She shook her head. "He's going to be here. He was here. He knows where I am. Oh, God, he's going to hurt you, Liv –"
"Baby, no one's going to hurt me, I promise. We're safe here."
"Oh, Liv. No, we're not. I have two people out there who want to kill me."
I held her closer. "I promise you, baby, it's going to be okay. I'll make it okay for you. For us."
Alex just sighed.
That night, Alex tossed and turned restlessly in my arms, unable to sleep. My poor baby was still terrified that Jonathan Bachman was going to find her, but I had other things on my mind. Such as Hammond. I knew that he'd probably traced my call and knew where we were, and he'd probably be showing up in the morning, wanting to move Alex. I couldn't let him take her, not without me, but what was there for me to do? It was true that she was in danger, and that I had further jeopardized her safety by coming, but she needed me now, and there was nowhere else I'd rather be than by her side.
She woke up around three in the morning after sleeping for half an hour, whimpering like a beaten dog. I tried to soothe her, pressing kisses to the crown of her head and smoothing her hair back from her forehead, but her trembling didn't abate. I took her hands in mine, finding them icy and damp, and brought them to my lips. "I'm here, Alex," I said, kissing each of her fingers. "I promise, I won't let anybody hurt you."
She shivered and looked away. "His hands, Liv . . . they were all over me, I tried to fight him, but I couldn't, he was too strong –"
"I know, baby. I know. It wasn't your fault."
"You wouldn't have let him hurt you. You would have left him. But at first, I was just so lonely, I missed you so much, and there he was, and I thought he could give me . . . company. But then things got bad, and I was just too scared – I'm sorry, Liv, I'm so sorry."
"Alex, I know you didn't want this. It's okay. I love you." I gently rubbed her back, careful not to aggravate the welts I could feel through her thin hospital johnny.
"I love you, too," she whispered, squeezing my hand tightly.
I could feel the tension in her muscles as I continued to caress the soft skin of her back. It broke my heart to see her hurting so much. "Baby, do you want me to buzz one of the nurses and have her bring you some more medication, to help you sleep?"
She shook her head. "Just stay with me. Please."
"I'm not going anywhere, princess. Don't worry. Do you think you'll be able to sleep, though?"
She shook her head. "I don't want to. If he comes –"
"Alex, he won't. And I'm right here. I won't let him near you. I promise, I'll keep you safe."
"You can't, Olivia. You couldn't before."
"I know, baby, and I'm sorry. I wish I could have protected you then. But now, I promise I won't let anyone hurt you ever again. I love you."
She turned her head away and mumbled something that sounded like, "That's not enough." And my heart shattered.
I awoke to the sound of the doorknob turning and instinctively tightened my grasp on Alex. Hammond, I thought immediately, and sighed. This wasn't something I wanted to deal with right now.
But when the door opened and a man rushed in, I didn't recognize him. He has taller than Hammond, his shoulders were broader, his hair was a shade lighter. Jonathan Bachman. Shit.
It all happened so quickly. I could feel Alex shaking in my arms as Jonathan stepped beside the bed. His eyes widened when he saw me. "Emily, who's this?"
I was on my feet in an instant, stepping between him and my Alex. "Get out."
"I heard my girlfriend was in the hospital and I thought I'd come see how she's doing. Who are you?"
"She doesn't want you here. Leave."
He looked past me to Alex, whose face had gone white. "Is this your sister, Emily?"
"Mr. Bachman, if you don't leave right now, I'm going to call security and have you removed. And if you lay a hand on her, I'll arrest you myself."
"What happened to my girl?"
"She's not your anything, and you know damn well what happened to her. You raped her, you bastard."
He looked genuinely surprised for a moment and reached out to touch Alex's arm. "I did no such thing."
Alex cringed and whimpered, and I grabbed Jonathan's arm and pulled him away from her. "Get out of here," I said through clenched teeth.
"What the hell are you doing? She's my girlfriend."
"Not anymore."
I could hear Alex's muffled sobs from the bed and glanced at her. She had both hands pressed over her mouth and her eyes were wet and wide with fear. I brushed her hair back from her forehead, hoping to soothe her tears. She flinched away and pulled herself into a sitting position, wincing at the pain it caused her. "Jonathan, I want you to leave," she said, and closed her eyes for a moment, as if to ward off dizziness.
I reached out instinctively to touch her shoulder to steady her. "Lie back down, sweetie. It's okay."
Jonathan's eyes narrowed in confusion. "Sweetie? What the hell is going on here?" Then I could see in his eyes that he made the connection. "Oh, my God, you – bitch! You fucking bitch. You were cheating on me, weren't you, with a woman? Fuck –"
Alex slid over to the other side of the bed, burying her face in her hands. I grabbed Jonathan's wrist and started to lead him out of there. "If you ever lay a finger on her again, you will be sorry. Do you understand?"
He tried to pull out of my grasp, but I had him in an iron grip. I wasn't going to let him anywhere near my Alex.
I ignored the obscenities he muttered as I escorted him out of the hospital. This was for Alex. I had to keep her safe.
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