Page 10 of Dale
The man in the bed is the same man I once vowed to love and obey. The same man I lost my virginity to. The same man who I once convinced myself to love no matter what happened. He’s completely the same but different.
The bags under his eyes tell me how far he has aged since the last time I have been with him. Has he lived as hard of a life as his face tells me?
His hands are scabbed over indicating he is still fighting. The green hospital gown is bursting at the seams to hold in his muscles. The man must have been working out this whole time.
“Am I dreaming?” His voice is cracking just a little indicating he’s unsure of what he is seeing. I couldn’t imagine what seeing me in here is doing to him.
“No, you’re not,” I whisper and walk closer to the bed.
Dale’s eyes widen and he looks from my face to Maverick’s face. “What the hell is this?”
“Since we’re still married, I needed to sign off on you getting your surgery.”
“This is not funny. Where’s my girl?” Dale’s trying to get up off the bed a little to come towards me. The wires that are connecting him to the machines are holding him down but I remember that not much can stop this man.
The night I left our home was the same night I saw him kill two people in front of me. Watching him kill those people, fucked me up so much and watching them try to kill my husband was too much for me.
“We have a lot to talk about. I never expected to see you again,” I murmur with Maverick’s little head hiding behind my leg.
“This is not funny. I’m going to ask one more time. Where’s my girl?”
Chapter Nine
Dale
I don’t know who put Natalia up to it, but having her in this room with me instead of Cassie is driving me crazy. I can’t believe I just got out of surgery and the first one to come see me is my estranged wife.
My head is swimming with memories of coming home from a run where I almost died several times to see all of her stuff packed. She cleaned out half of the closet. She cleaned out everything in the kitchen and packed all of her stuff. It wasn’t just her shit she packed. No. She packed all of the pictures from our wedding. I tried to find her for months. For months. I searched all over for her. I knew without a shadow of a doubt she wouldn’t have just left me.
The pain and heartache of my wife just leaving me after being married for only a couple of months is just enough for me to be hitting the buzzer to drip more painkillers into me.
“You think you’re funny?” I mutter.
“I’m not here as a joke. I’m your last living relative and they needed me here to sign the paperwork. If you want me to leave, I will.”
She looks the exact same. Well, maybe not the exact. She’s filled out a lot around the hips and her tits are pushing the cups of her bra a little too much. Her sexy red hair is haphazardly pushed up in a weird thing on the top of her head. She looks good but she looks tired.
Did Cassie see her? There is no way my girl would have left me in the hospital like this if there was not a good reason for it.
“We have too much to talk about,” I mumble as the drugs flow through my veins. I’m feeling warmer as they flow through me.
She giggles. “You were always a lightweight when it came to that shit. Do you remember when you got your wisdom teeth pulled?”
Remembering the time I got my wisdom teeth removed is enough for me to remember how much I cared for this woman in front of me. I don’t like the dentist and never have. It took them getting me stoned off some good weed for me to even go to the dentist to get my teeth pulled. Natalia stayed with me the whole time.
I bet Cassie would have, too.
“Mommy,” a little boy from behind Natalia interrupts my thoughts.
My eyes are instantly on the little boy who is now staring back at me. The little boy is the spitting image of what I looked like as a young kid. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I whisper.
This bitch not only ran out on our marriage but has kept my son away from me for all of these years?
“Let me explain something before you get mad at me. I need you to listen to the whole reason why I’m here,” Natalia begins with her hand gripping the little boy’s hand. I can tell she’s worried about what I’m going to do and honestly, I’m worried as well.
If it weren’t for these wires hooked up to me, I would have wrapped my hand around her throat. She lied to me and kept me away from my son for all of these years!
“You wanna explain why you disappeared and now are comin’ back with my son? What the actual fuck, Natalia!” I scream the last bit to her. I’m beyond pissed at the moment.
