Chapter 15
DAWN AWOKE SUDDENLY, her brain flat in battery as the exertions of last night took a heavy toll on her.
Being caught in a marathon of erratic problem-solving, she had gotten little to no sleep and her phone wasn't any help either as it went on with ringing relentlessly.
She groaned in distress, turning away from the egg yolk sun and shooting her hands out on the table to grab her phone. Had it been a call from work or Becky, she would've ignored it, however, it was Tanner's name that flashed on the screen and he seldom called her except on rare important cases.
"Hello?" She spoke drowsily into the phone but there was no reply and after a passing second, she pulled the phone away from her ears to double-check the ID.
"Tanner, are you there?" She asked again, picking up rapid breaths from the environment.
"Turn on the news Dawn" he finally spoke, his voice heavy and grim. It made her crease her brows in worry.
"Did anything happen?"
"Just turn on the news"
"Okay. Give me a minute"
She slipped out of bed and reached for the remote control and when she turned on the Tv what she saw made her gasp.
It was David's car, its exterior bashed beyond recognition.
Her eyes widened and her hand immediately flew over her mouth.
What had she done?
"You need to get to the hospital before the press gets here" Tanner advised before ending the call immediately.
With no time left to think, Dawn tossed her phone to the side and hurried around, fitting herself into the first dress she laid her hands on and rushing out almost immediately.
She didn't care if she had messy hair or wore the wrong set of shoes, her urge to see her husband pulled apart her reasoning. She launched a car and drove as fast as it could take her and all the while she drove, she felt hurt — it was her fault and It hurt so bad, so awfully bad that she just wanted to scream and in fact, she did.
She screamed, smacking her hand on the horn and cursing at every car that obstructed her way.
Even with all the humidity and breeze, she felt suffocated, angered by her action. If only she hadn't let herself go. If only she hadn't given in to her deepest desires. If she hadn't hurt him, her husband wouldn't be going through such a traumatic experience.
She felt useless and powerless and the tears just kept pouring until she arrived at the hospital and immediately ditched her car, not caring if she'd locked it or not.
She ran inside and when she approached the reception, Luke stood there, his face deprived of sleep and his suit partly stained, no doubt with David's blood.
She rushed to his side and desperately tugged on his shirt.
"How is he? How is David?" her words merely made it out in one piece and it was understandable. The minute she waited for answers her heart sank. Deeper and deeper.
Luke exhaled deeply and wiped his paranoia away. "He's fine," he said more to himself than her.
"I want to see him. Take me to him" she begged, wiping off the tears that continued to fall from her eyes.
"Dawn" Tanner called, drawing her attention to him. He looked even more messed up and his eyes looked like they could give up any moment. He staggered slightly and leaned to rest on the wall, his body equally stained with dried blood.
"Tanner..." She rushed to his side and pulled him into a comforting hug, not minding if the stench of blood almost made her nose fall off and run.
Tanner brushed her hair lightly. "He's gonna be fine"
***
ABOUT AN HOUR LATER the doctor walked out and Dawn lunged at him, almost taking him by surprise.
"Doctor. Is he okay?" She questioned worriedly.
"Are you family?" He asked first and she nodded quickly.
"I'm his wife and they're his brothers" she pointed in Tanner and Luke's direction.
The Doctor glanced at them and then looked back at her. He released an exasperated sigh and tilted his glasses up. "Although the car accident was rather severe, we were able to stabilize him. Aside from the minor sprains and soft tissue injury, everything is in place"
"So he's alright then?"
"We did run a few x-ray examinations and the test wasn't a 99.9 percent success. I advise you keep a close eye on him and if anything pops up, he should see a doctor immediately"
Daw felt herself breathe down a sigh of relief, all she needed to know was that he was okay.
"When can he be discharged?" Tanner asked, getting up and standing beside Dawn.
"He is going through trauma and we've given him local sedative. He should be fine for discharge in the next coming hours. "
Dawn mustered up the courage to smile. Even if it was a weak one she smiled, feeling the weight in her shoulders lift.
Everything was going to be okay.
Tanner shook the hands of the doctor and asked a few questions before finally letting him go and breathing down.
"Well that was something" he wheezed a chuckle, bending forward and resting his palm on his knees.
"You stink" Luke mocked, walking forward.
"Not as bad as you do. Pig" Tanner snorted and Dawn chuckled.
"I'm afraid I'll have to be on my way now, I think we can all agree that its been a stressful day and as David's legal attorney, I need to meet with the insurance company and then make sure the news report doesn't reach the papers nor Amanda" he groaned at the mention of her name and they all concurred with an equal sigh.
"I'll have security guards assigned to his door and the dry cleaner will send in fresh clothes later" he tapped Dawn's shoulders gently "keep a good eye on him okay?"
Dawn smiled in response and waved as he walked away.
"You look like you could use a nap. Go home, I'll keep watch" Tanner urged but Dawn shook her head softly.
"I want to be here when he wakes. You go. You look like you need the rest more than I do"
Tanner chuckled softly and shrugged. "I guess I'll have to take you up on that offer. I don't want him seeing me in this state"
"See you later then?"
"Yes," he tapped her shoulders lightly and picked up his coat before walking away.
Dawn sat, bowing her head in her hand as she sighed of relief. The nightmare was almost over and after few more hours of patiently waiting and receiving solacing messages, Dawn was finally allowed to see her husband.
As the nurse led her to the private room, her heart thumped and her palms secreted more sweat than usual.
She was nervous.
David woke up to the pungent smell of bleach and hospital disinfect, invading his nostrils.
Slowly, he started to blink, squinting his eyes in a desperate attempt to uncover the blurred visions before him and as the blinding light slowly subsided, he scrunched his eyes at the, closing it momentarily before finally taking a good look around.
He was at a hospital — a pristine clean room with shiny tiles and long corridors. He chanced a sideways glance across the room. The place looked nothing like a room where a patient could be motivated to get better. If anything, the murky room made him even more nauseous.
He couldn't quite remember how he had landed there but he knew for sure that he wanted out as soon as possible. Preferably right there and then.
He pulled on the IV line and felt a sharp pain spread across his body and along with it came a loud exclaim — the familiarity of the voice jolting his memory back to life.
It all hit him with a bang. The recollection of how it all started occupied his thoughts — the emotional trauma, the pain on pain, sirens wailing and people screaming — he instantly fell back onto the bed. His body engulfed in wholesome pain.
Dawn rushed to his side, her eyes brewing up a new set of tears as she looked down at him.
"Don't do that David Please" she begged, beckoning on the nurse to couple back his IV and when she did, David settled back in the bed, laying there pathetically and waiting for the pain to wash away as the doctor who walked in, concluded with checking his vitals.
"How do you feel Mr. Argent?" He asked pleasantly and David groaned, his body still finding it hard to let go of the shock.
"Never better" he muttered with clear sarcasm.
"Well," he flipped the file in his hand, "after running a few more tests. I'm happy to say that you are a free man but I advise you allow yourself quality time to recover from the trauma. For now, your muscles need resting and cardio therapy"
After finalizing the papers and giving his last remarks, the doctor walked out, and once he left, David's eyes went back to Dawn who bit hard on her lip and played with her fingers.
He might have been the one in an accident but she looked like she got ran over by a trailer. She was an absolute mess and the thought of what she might have gone through emotionally made him feel a little tinge of remorse.
When he suddenly coughed, her eyes shot up and he turned away quickly.
"Are you alright?" She asked instantly.
"Can't you see how splendid I look?" He threw another sarcastic comment and Dawn almost rolled her eyes at him.
She got up and searched around for a jug of water and when she found it, she poured him a glass.
"Here, drink this" she prodded, placing the glass on the table close to his bed.
David turned away. "I don't need your help, Dawn. You've already done enough"
There was a moment of silence in the room as both parties battled with their thoughts.
Dawn cleared her throat. "I'm sorry for everything" she started, taking few steps closer and inhaling deeply.
"I'm sorry for the things I said, I'm sorry for being a nag. It was stupid of me and you were right, I was acting like a child" she paused and watched him. He didn't move but rather just stayed there, staring at the white ceiling.
"I know I hurt you David and I'm sorry. You should be disappointed in me right now and frankly, I deserve the worse treatment" as a matter of fact, she did, she deserved everything she got and her heart broke knowing David might not forgive her for it.
"Truthfully, I couldn't sleep last night. I stayed awake waiting for you to return to me, I spent most of the hours crying because I felt so foolish, and my heart shattered because I missed you, I know it was quite selfish of me but I missed you so much David and I hate myself for putting you through all this"
She inhaled and exhaled a shaky breath, speaking nothing but her sincere truth. However, David didn't seem to care.
"You're just enough for me and I'm sorry it took so long for me to figure it out. You mean more to me than anything else and I don't want to lose you"
By the time she finished, she cleaned her eyes, not noticing the tears until it stained her dress. All the while she talked, David didn't as much as spare her a glance and although it hurt, she knew he wasn't ready to listen and she was in no position to persist. At least not now that he was unwell.
She got up and sniffed. "I love you David" was all she spoke before picking her and attempting to walk out but David's voice halted her.
"You know" he began, turning towards her direction. "It's actually quite funny. The fact that I was on the brink of death yet all I could think about was you. It took me 6 hurting ribs and a fractured bone to finally realize that I'm not ready to lose you Dawn, and frankly. I'm never going to be"
"David..."
"Nonetheless," he continued " You will no longer leave the house without my permission and there will be no sex or intimacy between us until the image of his filthy hands on you leaves my memory"
Dawn stared at him for a near second, she didn't a rocket scientist to know that he was far from joking and if she didn't give a reply in the next coming minute she was going to lose her shot at his forgiveness.
"Deal" she muttered softly and David turned to tap the space beside him, gesturing for her to sit.
When she sat, he wrapped his free hand around her, wincing a bit but not audible enough for her to hear.
Dawn smiled and basked in his warmth. She would never give this up for anything.
"I'm sorry for making you worry" he muttered, tucking a loose strand of hair back in place.
"It's fine. You're good now"
He kissed her shoulders. "You belong to me Dawn, only me. You are not just my wife, you are my life, my most precious possession. I love you."
"I love you too David. I love you..."
