“She looks beautiful, doesn't she? Despite the fact that she's bedecked in a hospital gown and her hair hasn't seen a brush for ages.” Sandra mused. It had been five weeks since Marie had been moved from the hospital to the house and though Dr. Terrence and his team were watching her closely, there had been no improvements.“She does.” He managed to say, offering Sandra a weak smile. She smiled warmly at him and squeezed his elbow. The past month had been torturous on so many levels, and Sandra had been there through it all. It was like the flirty, tactless woman had disappeared and left in her stead this loyal, warm and friendly woman. She had even offered to cook the other day when he couldn't sleep and had crashed into the kitchen at midnight. Not that he had taken her up on the offer. A burnt house was the last thing he wanted while Marie was still stuck in a coma. He missed Marie at work as much as he missed her at home. His calendar had gone from organized and efficient to chaot
“Shoot. Are you okay? Oh my, you're bleeding.” Steven said as he glanced down at Sandra's bloody fingers.“You should hurry and go to the station. I'm such a clumsy fool sometimes. Don't let me delay you.”“Are you sure? At least let one of the nurses take a look at that before it turns nasty please, I insist.”“The most important thing is for you to go to that station and find out the asshole that did this to my friend. I wish I could come and punch his face to the pulp.”“You should probably get that checked out first. I’ll tell one of the nurses to check on you, on my way out, okay?”“You're too kind, Steven King. Now go go.” She said, urging him towards the direction of the door. He bounded down the stairs in nervous anticipation. Had they actually caught Agent Smith or anyone who could lead to him? Were the puzzle pieces finally coming together?He backed out of the driveway with the speed of someone possessed with madness. He called James who answered on the second ring.“So, I’
“You should kiss her.” The confident voice on the other end of the phone said.“I'm not sure a coma works in the exact same way Aurora's s did, buddy.”“Well, have you tried?” Rick asked in that long suffering voice Steven had missed so much.He had not in fact done more than kiss her temple since the day she had been brought home. How long since he had kissed those warm lips of hers whose taste sent him into sweet oblivion?“I haven't.”“Good. Try it.” Rick said“Will do and let you know how it pans out.” Steven said, smiling. Silence filled the air for some seconds before Rick spoke again.“Uncle Steve?” Rick“Yes, little buddy.”“I hope Mrs. King wakes up soon.”“Me too, buddy. Me too.” Steven said as he let out a long sigh. How long since he had seen his wife's emerald eyes or heard her melodious voice spreading through the house like a midsummer’s dream? Rick had a few other words to say before promising to call soon and hanging up. Steven stifled a yawn as he rolled into the gar
“Do you own a clock?” Steven whisper-yelled into the phone as a fresh wave of pain assaulted his forehead.“Quit whining, City Boy. It's almost dawn.”“You call 3:30 AM almost dawn?”“Yes. Now do you want to hear what I have to say or is your precious sleep more important?”“Fine. I'm listening.” Steven said, as he struggled to sit up in bed.“I did some snooping and I've been able to confirm that the guy the cops have locked up isn't our guy. Three days ago, someone wired 300,000 dollars to his mother's account. You’ll never believe who?”“Agent Smith?” Steven asked, all traces of sleep having disappeared from his voice.“Yup. But not him directly. He used a third party but I followed the trail and discovered it was him.”“Okay, James.”“That's not all.” James said“What? You want me to beg for it?”“Are you above begging?”Steven sighed and said nothing else.“I had a nice little chat with the third party and he gave me a location.”“You mean a place where Smith might be?”“Bingo.”
Steven had gotten so used to having Sandra around that he hadn't thought about the toll that her absence would have had on her relationship.“You don't think it's odd that her boyfriend is okay with her living with you, barely two rooms apart?”“Come on, James.” He said, waving away what his friend was insinuating.“I'm not sure why she can't move out now, though. Except you’ve gone and gotten dependent on her.”“Because she wants to be close to Marie's side!” Steven said.“Doesn't seem like it's just Marie's side; she wants to be close to me.”“What are you talking about? You don't even live here.” Steven yelled.“You're right. I don't but that doesn't stop me from seeing the fact that you're about to do something incredibly stupid.”“James!” Joanna called out as he rose and planted herself between the two of them. As younger boys, he and James fought each other all the time. Maybe she was scared of a repeat happening.“What are you insinuating, James?”“That you’ve become so vulnera
How had he managed to stay away from the farm for so long? Before Kazuko Inc. became a prospect he grew obsessed with, the farm had been his place of solace. A place where he could be just Steven, not billionaire or CEO. He caressed a corn stalk as James sat in a lawn chair, looking up at him.“You haven't been here in a while, huh?”“I haven't.” He responded, letting out a long sigh before stuffing his hands in his pocket.“Does Marie know that this place exists?”“Yeah, I mean she's co-ordinated lots of stuff for the farm for years but she's never seen it.”“You’ve never brought her here?” James asked.“I guess I was still holding out a little bit. This place's always been just mine.”“I respect that, Steven. You don't have to do anything you don't feel ready for.”Steven nodded and sat in the lawn chair beside James. Although the night was fairly young, Steven could only make out James’ silhouette in the dark and he was glad for it. If they were going to continue the unpleasant con
“You can't just show up alone at a secret location, Steven.”“What do you mean I can't? It's Cadence. Of course I'm going.”“Fine. Then I'm going with you.” James said, taking a huge gulp of his coffee.“Absolutely not. She so much as suspects the fact that I'm not alone, she’d be out of there before I hear anything she has to say.”“Listen to yourself, Steven. And if it's a trap?”“It's not. Cadence wouldn't do that.”James gave a sardonic laughter and shook his head. Steven let out a deep breath as he chewed on his bottom lip. He was so tired of all the arguments.“So are we going or not?” James asked, folding his hand over his chest.“It's too risky James. I'll have to do this on my own. I don't have time for this argument.” Steven said as he walked out of the kitchen. He could hear Joanna telling James to calm down. If Cadence had any information and he didn't get to her quickly enough and she left, what would he do then? The elevator door unlocked and Sandra stood before it beami
After Steven got off the call with the 911 operator, he thought about what to do next. He couldn't go home to Marie in this state, knowing that her suffering was caused by him. Nor was he in the mood to face either James or Joanna. He couldn't go to Alden's as that meant endless lectures he wasn't ready for. He knew the only thing likely to get him through the next couple of hours. He turned off his cell phone and drove off. Thirty minutes later, he parked outside Ziggler’s. The tiny, nondescript bar was exactly as he remembered it. He hesitated for a minute before heading in. He had promised James that he wasn't ever coming back here and for over ten years he had kept that promise. But there was no turning back now. A woman was dead because of him, another was in a coma fighting for her life. He needed this, if only for a few minutes. He opened the door, alighted and walked in before he could lose courage. Inside the tiny bar was exactly as he remembered it. How long since he had sat
“What?” Steven asked in a voice so phony that everyone turned to stare at him.“Is that blood, uncle Steve? It is. There's blood on your shirt.”“Shhhhh, buddy. Don't make a big deal about it. I cut myself.”“You did? Cool! Let me see.” Rick exclaimed, as though he was being given front row tickets to a fun show.“Richard! Get back to class!”“But granny…”“Now!” Amelia boomed as a disgruntled Rick turned in his heel and headed towards the stairs, waving to Steven as he went.“You may want to get that cleaned up before leaving.” Alden said to him as he wheeled himself into his room.“Hand it to me.” Amelia said.“Oh? I didn't actually cut myself.”“I know. I’m not stupid. Alden keeps sneaking off in his wheelchair and I've seen some funny looking characters hanging around. I don't want to know what all this is about but I hope you're both not being stupid. And he's finally getting the exercise ”“Ah.” Steven replied as he took off his shirt and handed it to Amelia. He walked with Stev
Maybe it was the fact that the guy was a psychopath who had put his wife in a coma or the fact that he had such a punchable face but Steven didn't stop until Smith stopped laughing and started to cough.“Oh, I could go on for hours. I'm only just getting started.”“Kill me, please. I’d love to see how you get the answers you want.” Smith saidSteven snarled as he shook his knuckles.“Oh, make no mistake, Smith. You are going to die. You're going to pay for what you did to Cadence. I’ll make sure about that even if it's the last thing I do.”“I keep telling your stupid old man. I didn't kill Cadence Steele.”“The same way you didn't run my wife over?”“Exactly. I mean I know about it, make no mistake. But I neither authorized nor did it.”“You know what Smith, you're full of crap and I'm tired of doing this with you, so start talking. There's no use stalling too because you're not getting out of this till I'm satisfied.”“Look, I know you think I'm the one you’re looking for but I'm no
“What do you mean?”“I mean I've never seen you so affected by anything, Alden. Not even when your own son got into an accident.”Alden’s eyes hardened as he grunted.“That wasn't an accident. It was a stupid decision made by someone who should have known better.”Steven fought the urge to roll his eyes. Of course Alden would say that about his father. Alden had never cut him any slack.“Right, but you're deflecting the question. Why do you act like she means so much to you? What's this about?”“The only person that can give you the answers you want us is your wife, Steven.”What did that mean? Was there something about Alden and Marie he didn't know?“I don't understand what you mean, Alden.”“Are you ready to leave now?” Alden asked, pushing his chair backwards as he averted his eyes from Steven. Steven sighed and walked ahead of his grandfather. It was funny that Alden would rather die than let Steven touch his wheelchair while he allowed Amelia to help him all the time. He also kn
“Where are you?”“Hello to you too, Alden.” Steven said as he honked at the driver in front of him. Did people drive with their brains turned off these days?“I'm at your house and Dr. Terence tells me you’re not here.” The accusation in his tone spoke volumes but Steven chose to ignore it.“If you’d let me know you were coming over, perhaps I may have been ready to receive you.” Steven answered in a cool tone.“When you asked for this leave, you did say it was so you could remain at your wife's side, not gallivant around town.”“What do you want, Alden?”“No, listen to me young man. You're the one who’ll get down here fast if you want to hear what I have to say.” He answered before hanging up the phone. Steven exhaled as he massaged his temple. The last thing he wanted was Alden sticking his nose into how he was caring for Marie. Twenty minutes later, he pulled into the house and headed to the room where Marie was. Alden was in conversation with Dr. Terrence and didn't notice at firs
Dr. Terrence met him outside Marie's room and was about to say something but Steven held up his hand to forestall any comment.“I need everyone to leave for a few moments.”“Okay, Mr.King but if I may…”“Now, please.” Steven repeated as frazzled nurses began filing out of the room. He wasn't sure if he could stomach any more bad news so whatever Dr. Terrence had to say would have to wait.Dr. Terrence nodded and exited the room. Steven looked down at Marie and smiled at her. Even in a coma, her beauty took his breath away.He let out a long sigh and sat beside her bed before taking her hand in his.“You know, for the past few weeks, Marie. I’ve been mad at myself. Thinking about where I went wrong and how I could have failed you so much.”He squeezed her hand and checked to see if there was any reaction on her face. Her eyes remained blank and unfocused as they had been.“I’ve been mad at myself for letting you go through so much pain. For the fact that you're stuck somewhere between
Steven's mind whirled with thoughts as he heard the sound of Zed Norton's car backing out of his driveway.He ran a hand through his hair as he thought about what had transpired between Sandra and him. How on earth was he going to explain this to Marie when she came out of the coma? He could just imagine the look on his face.“You know when you were stuck in a coma fighting for your life? Yeah well, I slept with your best friend. And I don't even remember doing it.”He let out another curse and Sarah tossed him a concerned glance. He let out a sigh and plunked into the chair.“Any special orders for lunch, Sir? The chef wants to know…” She askedThe thought of having any food right now made him want to puke. Whenever he closed his eyes, all he could see was Cadence lying in a pool of her own blood.“I'm not hungry, Sarah. I’ll head out and probably eat something.”“Okay, Sir. Do I make any provisions for Ms.Rakes?”“No, Ms. Rakes wouldn't be returning anymore.” Steven replied as she
“What are you doing?” Steven whispered as he jerked away from Sandra. His head was reeling from pain. Had she really kissed him?“Sorry. I don't know what happened…You looked so sad and I wasn't thinking.” She said as she abruptly got on her feet and cleared her plate. She grabbed the glass and was about to take the bottle of wine with her when Steven dragged it from her.“You can't drink the whole bottle, Steven.” She said in a quiet voice.“Get out.” He said, in a voice harsher than he intended. She glared at him for some seconds before wilting and walking out of the room.He took a swig of the bottle and sighed. Did she deserve such hostility from him for a mistake? She had only been trying to help him after all. It seemed all he was capable of these days was messing up on a grand scale. His actions kept hurting the people he called friends and family even when he didn't intend for them too. Tomorrow, he'd apologize for being bitchy to her. For now, he had only one thing on his min
“Thank you for calling me. I’ll drive him home. The last couple of weeks have been very hard with his wife being in a coma, you know.”Steven could hear Sandra talking to someone. He tried to remember calling her. Had he done that himself or had Tony called her? What time was it? She was looking at him now with something akin to disappointment on her face. Well, he didn't bloody care.“Come on, let's get you home.” She said, as she tried to help him to his feet. Steven chuckled as the both fell back on the leather seat. What was she thinking? That her tiny body could support his weight?“Is something funny, Steven King? You should be ashamed of yourself. You’re drunk. No one's been able to reach you all afternoon. James and Joanna left after breakfast and have been trying to get across to you. Your cell was switched off. And then I get a call that you're wasted in a bar!”“Arghhh. Stop talking in my face.” He mumbled. Her voice was beginning to give him a headache. He wasn't that drun
After Steven got off the call with the 911 operator, he thought about what to do next. He couldn't go home to Marie in this state, knowing that her suffering was caused by him. Nor was he in the mood to face either James or Joanna. He couldn't go to Alden's as that meant endless lectures he wasn't ready for. He knew the only thing likely to get him through the next couple of hours. He turned off his cell phone and drove off. Thirty minutes later, he parked outside Ziggler’s. The tiny, nondescript bar was exactly as he remembered it. He hesitated for a minute before heading in. He had promised James that he wasn't ever coming back here and for over ten years he had kept that promise. But there was no turning back now. A woman was dead because of him, another was in a coma fighting for her life. He needed this, if only for a few minutes. He opened the door, alighted and walked in before he could lose courage. Inside the tiny bar was exactly as he remembered it. How long since he had sat