Текст книги "Run"

Автор книги: Holly Hood

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Текущая страница: 14 (всего у книги 14 страниц)

JULY 28

TH

WHY WERE HOSPITALS so white?

Was the designer of hospitals anti-color?

Was it supposed to make us feel more comfortable?

These thoughts were on loop in my brain as I sat in the waiting room with my mom. I rested my head against my palm, trying to find a comfortable position in the hard chairs.

The hospital staff was nice enough to give me a blanket to keep me warm as I waited.

The only thing that I knew was that Mason was still in surgery.

So we waited…

I kept my eyes shut to avoid conversation with anyone. Of course, the only thing anyone wanted to talk about was the gun battle that took place at the bank. Everyone had their own version of what happened at the bank. Lots of speculation and gossip filled the air and no matter what I did, I couldn’t completely drown out the talk.

They were saying Mason fired first. I didn’t want to believe that. I couldn’t believe Mason would ever shoot anyone. But a nagging thought kept running through my mind that he’d done it on purpose—that he wanted to get shot. That thought made me sick to my stomach.

“Do you even think they will tell us anything when they’re done?” I finally asked.

My mom closed the magazine she was looking at when I sat up. Her expression was somber.

“His mom is in jail. They have to tell someone,” she said softly.

I thought she must be right. I stood up and walked a few feet to the water fountain. Mason was tough. I just wanted him to be okay.

I wanted another chance to look into his eyes, to hear his voice, to feel his kiss.

I replayed his smile in my mind over and over again. I didn’t want to forget a single thing about him.

The cool water hit my lips. I didn’t drink it. I just let it pass over my lips for something to do—something besides waiting and worrying.

“Kendall,” a tall man said.

I straightened up and wiped the corner of my mouth with my hand. He flashed his badge and quickly shoved it in his shirt pocket.

“Yes?” I asked, hoping to hear news about Mason. Maybe he knew something.

“Could I speak with you for a moment? I’d like to ask you a few questions,” he said.

I stared at him.

He was maybe thirty, well groomed, and taller than most. I wondered how much sympathy a guy like him would have for Mason—or me.

“Sure,” I said, following him down the hall to the vending machines.

“Are you hungry?” he asked, shoving some coins into the machine. I watched his hands shaking as he pressed the buttons.

“No, I’m not hungry,” I said. There’s no way I could put anything in my stomach at the moment.

He nodded with understanding and moved on. “Tell me a little about Mason.”

“What do you want to know?” I asked. “He’s a great guy. He would never harm anyone. Is he okay?”

“I think I am going about this all wrong. My name is John Rhodes.” He wiped his hand against his khakis and offered his hand. “Please bear with me, this is all new to me,” he said. He rested his soda on the ground.

“Hi, John,” I said, letting out a sigh. Somehow it made me feel better knowing he was nervous.

“As of right now they only told me Mason is still in surgery. There was a lot of damage.” He left it at that. I just wanted to know if he was still alive.

“But he’s not dead?” I asked.

“He is not dead. I haven’t heard that.” He shook his head.

He picked up his soda and cracked it open.

“What’s going to happen to him?” I asked. I knew if Mason made it out okay he still wasn’t going to be free.

“I can’t really say either way. We have a lot of people looking into things. Mason committed a crime. And that can’t be ignored. But we also understand there are extenuating circumstances—that he’s been through a lot over the years,” he said.

He raked a hand through his short brown hair.

“Mason and I never had a choice. He was forced to go along with everything that’s happened all these years. He’s a good guy. He’s the most caring person I know. He would never hurt anyone,” I said. I wiped my tears away.

“Those two women, Wanda and Payton, they’re the ones responsible for ruining his life. They’re the ones who should be shot, not Mason,” I interjected.

“Look, I know you’re young and I’ve learned a little about your past. I feel for you, I really do. But Mason is a bit older than you and he’s made some bad choices. Choices you may not even be aware of. If he pulls through this, he’s looking at some major legal obstacles. I’m not going to lie to you, Kendall, it’s hard to say if there’s a judge out there willing to forgive someone like him,” he explained.

It was true. People were going to judge him. He wouldn’t get any kind of sympathy or credit for trying to save me.

“I won’t keep you too much longer. I just wanted to know if you ever witnessed Mason committing any crimes.” He pulled out a notepad.

I really couldn’t believe this man’s stupidity. As if I would confess to all of our sins. All the things we did because we saw no other options.

“No, I didn’t. The only thing Mason did was try to break free from Payton. He wanted better for us. That’s all he ever talked about,” I said.

He nodded, jotting something down on his paper. “I will let you get back now. Thank you,” he said.

I turned to leave and stopped in my tracks. “Who will they notify of his condition when he gets out of surgery?” I asked.

He tipped his head to the side letting out a sigh. “He has no emergency contacts other than his mother who is currently in a correctional facility.”

“What good is that to him? I’m the closest person to him. I want to be informed,” I said. “His mother doesn’t deserve to know anything about Mason. Please, if you could do anything for Mason, don’t call her or his father,” I begged.

John hesitated and about the time I’d lost hope of getting any help from him, he nodded. “Let me see what I can do.”

I walked back to my seat. “I hope she rots in hell,” I said angrily. I plopped down next to my mom. She dropped her magazine in her lap.

“Wanda or Payton?” she asked, amused.

“Well, both. But Payton. He’s in there fighting for his life all because of her. He wouldn’t be in this mess if it wasn’t for that awful woman.” I sighed, closing my eyes, praying for Mason to pull through.

“Neither would you, Kendall.” She took my hand. “You have to have faith that things will turn out all right.”

I laughed. “I tried to have faith my whole life and it never got me anywhere. I don’t know if I believe that.”

She stroked the top of my hand with her fingertips trying to comfort me.

“I don’t know what to do. Mason screwed everything up. Did he do it on purpose so he wouldn’t be around to suffer the consequences?” I clutched my stomach, sick at the thought of it.

“Kendall, don’t talk like that. After all you guys have gone through, you have to hope for the best. Mason cared about you very much. He did this because he thought he was out of options,” she added.

“He was always thinking about me. I think he wanted to die,” I declared.

Two men and a woman walked out from behind the hospital doors. The taller one pulled off his gloves. He was covered in what I assumed was Mason’s blood. He looked almost irritated as he scanned the waiting room.

His eyes settled on me and my heart fluttered to life in my chest. I got up, knowing he was there for Mason. My mom stayed back and let me have my space.

“Kendall, I take it?” he asked. “I’ve been informed of the situation with Mason’s mother. I normally wouldn’t tell anyone but a family member about a patient’s condition. But I’m going to look past that rule this one time.” He took a quick pause and looked at me. “We did all that we could for him. But I have to tell you he did not make it.”

I swallowed the huge lump in my throat. Adrenaline rushed through my body as I waited for him to say something more, like that I was hearing him wrong, that he was mistaken.

“You can go see him if you like,” he said. He pushed the door open, letting me through.

Mom was quickly at my side. We followed the nurse down the hallway. Nothing was on my mind but getting there to see Mason.

“Are you okay?” Mom asked.

The nurse came to a stop at the end of the hall. She waited patiently for me to go inside.

“I really don’t know,” I said, scared of what he would look like.

She took my hand and walked with me through the door.

I forced myself to look at Mason.

And my heart crumbled into a million tiny pieces.

“So this is what he gets for having such a terrible life?” I asked as the tears escaped. “I never imagined this is what he would look like dead.”

Mom touched my arm, trying to comfort me. I moved closer, bringing my hand down on the table. It was him, but he was dead—it was obvious just looking at him.

My heart crashed in my chest. I was sure my heart would stop beating. I tried to hold it together. He was gone. My Mason was gone. I didn’t want to believe it. I just wanted him to wake up and look at me and say something Mason-like.

The flood of memories rushed through my mind. I thought back on the day I saw him for the first time after so many months and how he nearly crushed me in his arms. He had been so happy to see me. I had immediately felt safe again in his arms—no matter how much time I was away from him.

I thought about the moment I realized I loved him. I smiled at the moments he stood up to Wanda for me. Or how he always teased me. But no matter what he did, he did it for me. Me first—him second.

Now here he was laying in front of me, no longer able to hold up his end of our deal. The promises we made meant nothing now. I would no longer hear him tell me he loved me. There would be no more soft touches or smiles when he pressed his lips against my cheek or whispered in my ear.

“We tried everything we could but there was just too much damage,” the nurse explained. I wiped my eyes, nodding my head in understanding.

“I’ll let you have a moment alone,” Mom said from the doorway.

The nurse tried to object.

Mom stepped forward, her finger shooting out in front of her. “You listen here, this is my daughter and she needs to say goodbye. I don’t care what you or anyone thinks. Mason deserves a goodbye! He was a great kid! And Kendall will get her goodbye, so help me!” Mom’s voice broke. She pushed her hair from her eyes, wiping her own tears with the back of her hand. The nurse quickly left.

“Take all the time you need, Kendall.” Mom shut the door, leaving me alone with Mason.

I ran a hand through my hair. The tears flowed quicker now. I lifted Mason’s hand.

He was still warm.

“I don’t even know what I’m going to do without you.” I sobbed, squeezing his hand. I stared at him. “And it scares me to my core to even think about a life without you.” I ran a hand through his hair. I just wanted him back. I tried to smooth his hair, make him look like the Mason I remembered.

“I wish you could tell me what to do, Mason. I didn’t see this coming. I wish you’d have told me. I wish you weren’t so stubborn and always thinking about saving me. We could have saved each other.” I dropped my head, sobbing. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t move. I couldn’t leave him all alone. He was going to be alone.

It was the most horrifying thing that ever happened to me. Nothing compared to losing Mason. I would have lived the rest of my life with Aunt Wanda if it meant I’d still have Mason.

But now, because of him, I didn’t have to. I lifted my head and stood up.

“You saved me when I couldn’t save myself. I wouldn’t be here if it hadn’t been for you.” I leaned down and kissed his forehead. I touched his cheek, lingering for a few seconds more.

Taking him in for the very last time.

“I love you, Mason.” I blew him a kiss. My hands trembled as I grabbed the door knob. “Goodbye, Mason.”

I bolted from the room and into my mom’s waiting arms. She held me tight, but it couldn’t compare to a hug from Mason.

“Kendall, I am so very sorry,” she said, smoothing my hair. She let me cry.

I was unable to speak. I was all out of words. But I was full of pain and in absolute misery as I walked away from the one person who had ever made me feel whole.

We’d seen so much together. He taught me how to love when I fell in love with him.

Sometimes, the only choice you have in life is to move forward. I knew that was the only choice I had left.

I realized how very lucky I was to have survived everything I’d been through.

I was lucky to have made it out alive.

Yeah, I was bruised and a bit broken. I was screwed up and I would probably never be okay again. But, I was still Kendall. And I was sure I could make it through anything now. And no matter if I liked it or not I would keep making it because I knew that was what Mason wanted.

And there was one thing that would always be most important: Not letting Mason down.

 

ONE YEAR LATER

I PACKED UP MY BOOKS and laptop, securing all of my things into my backpack, and followed after several other students down the stairs of the classroom.

Who would believe I would be in college? It wasn’t something I would have ever imagined.

“I hope all this studying will pay off,” Cara, one of my new friends, said as she caught up with me in the hallway.

“Yeah, same here,” I told her.

“See you this weekend maybe?” She was talking about the party we were both invited to. I never went out much, but I promised myself if I could get in just a few more hours of studying I would let my hair down for the sake of my sanity.

“See ya,” she said, taking off down the opposite end of the hallway.

I crossed the courtyard for my dorm, digging my cell phone out of my pocket before I was even there.

“Hey, girly,” my mother said, happy to see my face.

I smiled—something I never thought I was going to do again after losing Mason.

But now I was on my way to a career and so many better things in my life. I wanted to be a nurse. I wanted to help people instead of hurt them like I had seen my whole life.

“Just got out of class,” I told her. “I have so much work to do, my head already hurts.”

She was happy, I could see it in her eyes as we video chatted with each other. “You are going to do perfect. I am so beyond proud of you already.”

I’d made a lot of friends since college but my mother had become the best friend I had always needed. We shared a bond that I never imagined would be possible.

“Hold on while I open the door,” I told her, unlocking my dorm room.

I brought the phone back up. “Okay.”

Dixie jumped into view. “Kendall! I miss you.” She showed me all her new Barbies and told me about school.

Finally, Mom was able to speak to me again. “I am going to let you get settled in for the night. Give me a call tomorrow, okay?”

I assured her that I would and ended the video call, putting my phone on my desk.

I lifted the mail off of my desk. I hadn’t bothered looking at it the other day because I was too busy with work.

Another payment receipt from the good state of South Carolina for their fault in my abduction and nightmare of my life. If not for them, I wouldn’t be in college now.

I folded it up and pulled the giant scrapbook out from under my bed. I ran my fingers over the laminated newspaper clippings of Aunt Wanda and Payton’s trials.

The judge handed down the harshest of punishments to the both of them for all of their crimes. He didn’t go easy on either one of them for what they put Mason and me through.

Payton and Wanda were both sentenced to two consecutive life sentences, which meant they would never see the light of day again.

Mason’s selfless act was enough proof for the court to look past anything we were involved in for the reason I never thought anyone would understand. But somehow the world worked in our favor—Mason just wasn’t here to see it.

I knew he would have been happy to know that things did turn out well for me.

I flipped the page and couldn’t deny the inner happiness I felt seeing the words in black and white next to Wanda’s name. She was attacked in prison and killed.

It seemed Karma really did exist and she got exactly what was coming to her.

I didn’t have many pictures of Mason. I only had a few, but I cherished every one.

I slipped the receipt in the back of my scrapbook and shut it, slipping it back underneath my bed.

I slipped my sweatshirt off, looking at the tattoos adorning my skin. I turn around and stare at Mason’s name on my shoulder. I chose to put it there so I knew he was always watching over me and had my back.

And I slipped the t-shirt over my head, touching the date on my wrist. The date we touched down back in South Carolina when the pieces of my life shattered and then came back together again. It was my new beginning, even if I didn’t see it that way at the time.

I crawled onto my bed and turned on my television, immersing myself in a cooking show. I opened my textbook and started working on some homework.

Maybe a year ago I thought I was falling apart at the thought of living in a world without Mason—but, somehow, he had managed to help me piece myself back together.

My phone chimed and I snagged it off the desk. I smiled at Lainey’s silly text and told her I missed her and her family. We still kept in touch.

After news broke, Roger and Anna made it a point to contact me and make sure I was all right. They would always hold a spot in my heart.

I scrolled down to Jay—the guy that tried to save me. We still talked as well, the only difference now he was about to marry and he was having a baby.

He found someone who made him happy and he deserved that.

Everything good in the world deserved happiness.

I wasn’t angry with Aunt Wanda anymore. I let go of my anger and hatred toward that woman because hating her was only making me what she was, and I never wanted to be anything like her.

She was a part of my life that I would never forget but I could move on from it.

And that was what I was doing.

I would always be that broken girl deep down, but I was slowly learning how to be okay with that.

Mason Vaughn showed me that even broken people deserved to be loved. He showed me that I mattered and I was worth fighting for.

He was my saviour and would always be my one true love.

 

 

THE END

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