One You Never Leave Read online

  Evan Waters, with a smarmy smirk on his face, walked closer so Emily could see him. Her old boyfriend had not changed much since the spring, when she had kicked him to the curb. He had the same messy haircut, and he was still thin. She thought he was bad before then, when he laid his hands on her. But what he did after was worse. Evan had accused her of car theft, and stalked her relentlessly until he was arrested, threatening her. Indirectly he was the cause of her losing her job as well. However, though he attended the wedding ceremony, he had stopped his bad behavior. Until now.

  He pointed to the white scrubs he wore. “I’m doing my community service here in the hospital. You know, the community service I had to do because of that threatening charge you put on me. I saw your name up on the board outside and thought I’d check up on you, Emily. Despite what you think and despite everything that happened to me, I do care about you.”

  “What happened to you?” Her voice was filled with disbelief. She couldn’t believe he was twisting all that happened to make it sound like he was the injured party.

  “Yes. Getting arrested. Getting beat up at that clubhouse of your husband’s. As a matter of fact, I talked with my attorney yesterday about a wrongful injury suit. I was beaten up on your husband’s property and my leg was broken. I had months of healing, and then physical therapy. It was all very expensive.”

  Emily’s breathing tightened. He couldn’t, he wouldn’t do this, would he? Yes, Evan was enough of an asshole to do just that.

  “And then,” he continued, “there is pain and suffering. Someone has to pay.”

  “I’ll show you some pain and suffering,” spit Emily.

  “I’ll let that go,” said Evan solicitously. “You’ve had a rough night, and it can’t be easy living with a criminal. Or carrying his child.”

  “Luke is no criminal, and we love our baby.” Her head started to pound more as she frantically searched for the nurses’ call button in the blankets in the bed.

  “Emily,” he said, as if speaking to a small child, “if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck.”

  “You’re the one who saw the inside of the jail!” Her voice rose an octave as the need to get this man away from her blossomed into panic.

  “Well, I didn’t have the luxury of having friends in the DEA to clear my charges.”

  “What’re you talking about?” Emily was in full-blown panic, breathing harder than she should. The alarms on the monitors went off, sending their screeches through the room.

  “He didn’t tell you? In exchange for being their snitch on the criminal activities in the Hades’ Spawn, the DEA arranged for those charges, the charges you should have answered for, dropped.”

  “Luke didn’t do that.”

  “Do the math, Emily. I did. But once your husband is bankrupt, and from what I understand, deported, things can get back to normal. I’ll understand if you want some time after that, but eventually we’ll be back together, just as we should have been.”

  “You’re nuts. I’ll never leave Luke. You and I will never be together.”

  “Oh, think again, Emily. Who else would want a single mother with a baby? But we loved each other once. We can do it again.

  “Get out, get out!” screamed Emily. Her hands were shaking, and, while she found the call button, her hands couldn’t seem to press the button properly.

  Evan held up his hands. “Okay for now, Emily. I’ve got to get going anyway. Now, after working all night here, I’ve got to go to my job. But that’s what happens when you get convicted of a crime. Get some rest, Emily. You’re going to need it.”

  It felt like forever before Evan finally walked out, and then another eternity before the nurse came back.

  Evelyn walked into the room faster than her previous pace, looking efficient and ready to tackle any problem. Emily was breathing hard, and the heart monitor was screaming. The damned blood pressure cuff went on again, cutting painfully into her arm. “What’s going on, Emily?”

  Emily couldn’t speak as her breath caught and tears streamed down her face.

  “Cup your hands over your nose and breathe deeply,” instructed Evelyn calmly.

  Following Evelyn’s instructions, she sucked in her own breath, and slowly her breathing calmed. What didn’t calm was her heart that raced with all the awful things that Evan said. She couldn’t believe he came to her room, making threats and telling her that they’d be together again. The man was delusional.

  Evelyn pulled oxygen tubes with nose plugs from the wall behind the bed and settled them over Emily’s head.

  “Here, a little oxygen will help you. Your oxygen level dropped with breathing that hard. Do you often have panic attacks?”

  “Sometimes. Not in a while though.” She hadn’t had one since she and Luke had married.

  “Well, you’ve been through a tough time here.” Evelyn glanced at the monitors. “The doctor just started his rounds on the floor. You’ll see him in a short while.”

  “I want to go home,” said Emily. “I, I…” Her voice trailed off. She felt massively unsafe here now that she knew Evan worked here.

  Evelyn patted her arm in a motherly fashion, which made Emily want her mother even more. The nurse’s phone rang in her pocket, and Evelyn looked at the message on the screen.

  “I have to go, but I’ll be right back.” Evelyn rushed out the door, leaving Emily alone with her cold breakfast and fearful thoughts. Her stomach churned, so she couldn’t even contemplate eating that food. She didn’t want to be alone here, and didn’t know when Luke would show up. She picked up the handset of the phone, and dialed her parents’ number. Thankfully it was her mother who answered. “Mom,” said Emily.

  “Emily, are you okay? The baby okay?”

  “I’m fine, the baby’s fine, but, Mom, can you come stay here with me a while?” She sniffled and wiped her tears from her eyes. “I don’t want to be alone here.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  Medicinal Donuts

  Luke took a quick shower and dressed before checking his phone. He didn’t see a message from Emily. He hoped that meant she was still sleeping and getting some much-needed rest. Then he noticed with a groan that Emily’s phone was on the dresser. Maybe that’s why she hadn’t called. In the age of the smart phone, people didn’t bother to remember phone numbers and she might not remember his. He put her phone in his jacket pocket in case she needed it, even though he wanted to bring her home today.

  He admitted that he missed her terribly. The bed was cold and lonely without her. He was sure he wouldn’t have had that nightmare if she was with him. He hadn’t had any since she’d moved into his apartment.

  Checking his phone, he realized it was Mrs. Diggerty’s trash day. Emily had a soft spot for her former landlady, and for that reason Luke did what he could for the elderly woman. Mrs. Diggerty’s was close enough on the drive to work that it usually wasn’t a big deal to stop by to bring the trash to the curb on the way to work. But today Luke wasn’t going to work.

  And that thought made him remember that he needed to call Saks.

  “What?” said Saks gruffly.

  “Rise and shine. You’re elected to open the shop today.”

  “Who is it?” said a feminine voice in the background.

  “That bastard, Luke.”

  “Oh.”

  “Hey, asshole. That’s your boss you’re talking about.”

  “Yeah, a boss who won’t give me a layoff so I can go to Florida. Bastard.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I do feel sorry for you.”

  “So what’s up?”

  “I had to take Emily to the hospital. They kept her overnight.”

  “Oh, sorry, man.” Saks sniffed as if trying to clear his sinuses. “Yeah, I’ll go open the shop. Is she okay?

  “I think so. They are just keeping her for observations.”

  “What happened?”

  “What is this, twenty questions? I’ll tell you later.”

  “Sure. Sorry, ma
n. What time is it?”

  “Seven, so you’ve got two hours to get there. Do you think you can make it?” Luke’s voice came out sarcastic even to his ears, but he wasn’t in the mood to be light-hearted. His wife was in the hospital, damn it, and he just wanted to get to her as quickly as he could. Sure, he wasn’t supposed to be there before nine, but maybe he could sneak in. What would they say? Tell the husband and father he couldn’t be there? Screw that.

  “Hell, Luke,” said Saks, sounding slightly annoyed. “You could have let me sleep.”

  “I’ve known you long enough to know that you and mornings don’t agree.”

  “It’s this damned seasonal affective disorder. I really need to get some sunshine.”

  “What you need is to be less of a smart-ass.”

  “Someone has not had his morning caffeine fix.

  “Damn straight. Bye.” Luke put his phone in his back pocket, locking the front door behind him. He turned up his collar as the raw morning air hit his unprotected face and hands. The sun was an icy blur in the gray sky and Luke shivered. It feels like snow, he thought as the chill worked into his blue jeans before he reached the SUV. While he let the truck warm up, he turned on his headset and waited for it to connect to his phone. Luke didn’t want to miss a call from Emily, if, by some grace, she remembered his phone number. It took until he pulled onto the street before the Bluetooth kicked in.

  And when it did, what he got was an earful.

  “Ahh,” he heard Saks say. “Um, I really have to get going.”

  “Oh, I’ll get you going,” the woman said in a seductive voice.

  “Oh, fuck,” thought Luke.

  Saks started groaning. “You do that so good.”

  The woman made muffled sounds as if her mouth was full.

  Hell, Saks was getting a blow job. Luke was at once amused and jealous. Just hearing Saks’ enthusiastic responses teased his cock into stiffening.

  Damn, I’m really missing my wife, he thought as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

  Luke couldn’t pull the phone from his pocket while he was driving, though he admitted that was a lame excuse anyway. One part of him wanted to listen, and another part of him wanted his woman working his dick like that. No part of him wanted to stop this, because it would make really good material with which to prank Saks.

  “Ah, yeah, like that.”

  The woman’s mouth was making loud slurps and smacks.

  “You’re so good, so good, baby.

  Luke imagined Emily’s pretty little lips around his cock, taking him in, her eyebrows scrunched as she concentrated on his pleasure. She did that sometimes, and he loved it each time. At times like that, when she gave so freely of herself, not thinking of herself, he felt to his core how much she loved him. She would grip the part of his cock with one of her dainty soft hands, and play with his balls as her mouth worked as much of him as she could take. His cock felt so good in her warm, wet mouth, especially when her tongue would rub against it, teasing out the intense sensations that only a good blow job could give. This would always send sparks up his spines. She made noises too, like she enjoyed the feel of him in her mouth. Thinking that would bring him close to the edge.

  “Fuck,” he heard through the headset. “I’m going to cum.”

  Luke was a little gone himself. He was driving on automatic, not noticing exactly where he was going, though he fully intended on going to Mrs. Diggerty’s house. His dick throbbed in his pants, aroused by the dirty talk, but getting no action itself. His breathing was getting a little ragged.

  Saks groaned long and loud and panted for a minute. “Goodness gracious, beautiful,” he said at last. “You’re fucking fantastic.”

  Luke was on the edge after hearing his friend’s orgasm, but there was no good way he could take care of that now. With a start, he realized he was on Mrs. Diggerty’s street, and nearly passed her house. He stopped the car suddenly and then backed into the parking space in front of the house. For a few minutes, he put his head on the steering wheel, and then still hearing Saks and the woman stirring in his apartment, pulled the phone out of his pocket and ended the call.

  Fucking hell, help me make it through the day, Luke thought. “And I really, really need my wife back home,” he added out loud.

  * *

  An hour later, Luke arrived at the hospital and went up the elevators to the maternity floor without asking for permission. They’d have to throw him out to keep him from his wife. He walked into the room, to find Emily crying. “Baby,” he said alarmed. “What’s wrong? Are you okay? Is the baby okay?”

  Emily held out her arms begging for a hug. “No, nothing like that,” she snuffled. “I got scared.”

  Luke wrapped his arms around Emily as best he could. “What the hell happened?”

  She buried her head in his arms. “Evan showed up here.”

  “Evan,” said Luke shocked. “What the hell was he doing here?”

  “He works here, he said, doing community service. He, he brought me breakfast.”

  What the fuck? Evan? Here? His hands formed a tight knot in Emily’s hair. That was it. He was taking his wife home, doctor or no doctor.

  Emily was crying harder now, Luke apparently being no comfort to her.

  “He, he said he was going to sue us for getting injured on your property, bankrupt us.”

  Luke scoffed. “Sweetie, is that what frightened you?” He lifted her head with his fingers and looked into her blue eyes. “Gee,” he said with a smile, trying to get her to smile back, “we have bigger problems than that. He’ll have to get in line if he wants to do some damage.”

  Emily swallowed hard. “He thinks that when you get deported, he and I will get back together.”

  “Baby, baby,” said Luke, clutching her tightly. “I’m never going to leave you. I can’t. I love you too damn much. I don’t care what the government does or what happens down the road. We’ll be together.”

  “I know it,” she said, drawing a deep, ragged breath to control her tears. “It’s just that he’s crazy and I don’t know what he’ll do next.”

  Luke wanted to find that jerk and pound him into the ground for upsetting his wife. Of course, that would get Luke arrested and make things worse for him and Emily, but the satisfaction of seeing that man’s face bleed was almost worth it. “I won’t leave you again despite what the hospital says. They’ll have to get security to drag me out of here.”

  As if to underscore that Luke wasn’t supposed to be here this early in the morning, Evelyn swept into the room and then stopped short. She looked Luke up and down.

  “This is my husband, Luke,” said Emily nervously.

  “Nice to meet you, Mr. Wade,” said Evelyn, “but you’re a little early for visiting hours.”

  “Who do I make a complaint to?” said Luke.

  “Complaint?” said Evelyn.

  “Yes, my wife’s ex was in here this morning and upset her. There’s a restraining order against him.”

  “What happened?”

  “Just that,” said Luke.

  “He’s an orderly here at the hospital,” said Emily.

  “What’s his name?” said Evelyn.

  “Evan Waters,” replied Luke. His jaw clenched when he said the name.

  “Evan, yeah I’ve seen him around,” said Evelyn. “He doesn’t seem like a bad guy.”

  “Believe me, you don’t know him. He caused a lot of trouble for my wife and was arrested for it.”

  “I see,” said Evelyn. “I’ll make a report to my supervisor and she’ll talk to his boss about not coming to your room again. But first things first. Here is some ibuprofen for your headache and something for your blood pressure. Your doctor was called away for an emergency delivery, so the resident will be in to check on you.”

  “I see,” said Emily. Luke watched her spirits sink and he squeezed her hand. “So I’m not going home today.”

  Evelyn gave a professional smile. “It’s up to the doctor, but you
rs wants some tests done to see how the baby is doing. But that doesn’t mean you can’t go home today; just not right now. Are you done with this?” She pointed to the uneaten food on Emily’s tray.

  “Yes. I can’t possibly eat it.”

  Evelyn picked up the cover to the food. “I see what you mean. I’ll go zap the eggs a second and get you some fresh toast. I hate soggy toast too. I’ll be back in a minute.” She left, toting the plate.

  “I think that’s her middle name.”

  “What?” said Luke. He was distracted by his thoughts of what punishment he’d like to heap on Evan Waters.

  “‘I’ll be back in minute.’ I’ve never seen a woman move so fast.”

  A knock sounded on Evelyn’s door and Amanda Dougherty stepped in, carrying a paper bag.

  “Hi, honey. Hello, Luke.” She went to the opposite side of the hospital bed and gave Emily a kiss. “Here; I brought you something.”

  “What?” said Emily.

  “As it happens, I made some donuts.”

  “Donuts?” said Luke.

  “Yeah,” said Emily excitedly. “She makes them for… oh, Mom, it’s Dad’s birthday, isn’t it? I forgot all about it.”

  “Don’t worry about it. You’ve had bigger things on your mind, Emily. But I thought a couple would cheer you up.”

  “Did you bring cinnamon and sugar?”

  “Of course. I know they’re your favorite.”

  “Gimme.” She drew one of the donuts out of the bag and broke it in two, handing a piece to Luke. “You’ve got to try this. There is nothing like a freshly made donut. Oh, Mom,” said Emily after she swallowed a bite, “it’s wonderful. I haven’t had one of these for a long time.”

  The cake donut was still warm, with cinnamon and sugar clinging tightly to it. Luke had to admit it was delicious, unlike anything from the store or a donut shop.

  “How come you never made these for me?” Luke said in mock accusation. “You’ve been holding out on me, woman.”

  Emily swallowed another piece of donut.

  “Hush, you,” said Amanda sternly. “They’re a lot of work, even with a good mixer. You need a dough hook, and to raise the dough-like bread, then spread it out and cut out the donuts, and raise them again. That’s before you fry them, drain them, and sugar them.”