Page 18 of With Love

Marshall

Adrienne and I have maintained conversation over the past few days, but nothing as serious as the one that we had in her room a few nights ago. That was a lot of information for her to take in and, I’m sure she’s still working through most of it.

“Marshall, I just wanted to thank you again, for everything that you’re doing for Owen. He really means a lot to me. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have survived these past few years.”

We’ve been in the car for thirty minutes of the two hour drive to Rockledge Rehabilitation Center, where Owen is. She doesn’t realize how much her words cut me to the core. Both for the fact that I don’t know if he ever had the best of intentions and, again, that I was to blame for her abduction. I will never forgive myself for as long as I live. I can only hope that she will, but if not, I wouldn’t blame her. I struggle with my feelings about Owen. If he didn’t have good intentions, then why would he have come to me in the first place? What changed from then until the time that he was supposed to bring her home to me? I don’t care what kind of shape he is in. As soon as I have the chance to talk to him in private I’m going to grill his ass.

“I’ll do anything that I can to help you. If that means keeping Owen safe, too, then that’s what I’ll do.”

Turning toward her, I notice that she has a relieved smile on her face. It’s so good to see her happy. It’s been too long since I’ve seen such positive emotion written across her face. The times that I was able to catch a glimpse of her during her time with him she looked frail. Thin. Terrified.

I need her to know that Owen and I were working together to get her out of there. I don’t want her to be blindsided and think that I was keeping anything from her. I clear my throat before speaking.

“Adrienne, do you remember our talk the other night, when you asked me to tell you what happened in our past?”

I glance over at her and see that she has a nervous look on her face.

“Yes.” She says, though it sounds like a question.

“Remember I told you that I got a call from someone who overheard Lock bragging about being the one to cause your miscarriage?”

“Yes.” She answers, in the same tone as before.

“That person was Owen. I wanted to tell you, because I am not sure what kind of reaction he is going to have upon seeing me.”

* * *

Adrienne

“Wait, what?” I start. “I’m so confused.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to throw this at you just yet. I was going to tell you when the time felt right, but there hasn’t been a good chance to. So, I’m telling you now. I am sorry to have kept it from you but, it’s complicated.”

To say I’m shocked to hear that Marshall and Owen know one another, let alone were working together for so long, is a huge understatement. Talk about mind-blown. I have more questions now than I did before. Why didn’t Owen tell me? Why the hell didn’t he, didn’t they, get me out of there sooner?

Woah, Adrienne. Settle down. I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself down a bit. I know for a fact that either or both of them would have gotten me out of there as soon as they were able.

I especially know that this is true of Owen. As often as he talked about it. It’s not fair for me to react like this. I was the one that told him not to think about things like running away.

I still haven’t been able to fully take in the news by the time we make it to the rehab center, so I decide to compartmentalize and return to it later.

When we enter the rehab center we go to the reception desk and let the staff know that we are here to meet Dr. Herbert, Owen’s doctor. Once he collects us from the waiting area, he escorts us up to the 7th floor, which is the floor with the tightest security. There are several different checkpoints at which you need to show your ID and, even though we’re with Dr. Herbert, we still have to go through the whole process.

We have our IDs checked no less than five times. In addition to that, we have to go through two different metal detectors as well as three more sets of locked doors. You’d think we were going to go visit an inmate in jail. As tedious as it seems, it makes me fear a little less for Owen’s safety.

When we finally make it to Owen’s room, Dr. Herbert opens the door and leads us in.

I nervously walk forward. He’s my best friend, but I feel awkward about seeing him again. What are we going to talk about? Is he going to be mad at me since I was the reason we were leaving? The reason that we were in the plane crash?

As soon as we get into the room and my eyes lock with his, it’s as if none of my anxieties were there at all. As if seeing him again made them go ‘poof’.

His face lights up when he sees me. With tears in my eyes, I make my way over to his bedside.

“Hi, you.” I say as I reach over and grab his hand. I touch it gingerly while looking at him with question in my eyes.

“Lana…” he says in a tired, gravelly voice, as he squeezes my hand.

All of a sudden his face drops, as if he’s seen a ghost. Confused, I turn around to see what the cause of it is. Marshall is standing right behind me.

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