Now, here we are almost two weeks after her attack, and still no answers. Those first five days when she wouldn’t wake up were the worst. There was enough time for Maddox to fill us in on what he had been investigating for her. I was livid at first, but then I tried to put myself in her shoes, and slightly understood why she would go to Maddox. When she finally woke up enough to tell us what happened during the attack it still felt like we were playing with a deck that was missing half the cards. She didn’t know who the man was, and even if she knew how to find the employee he wanted, she didn’t even know how to get in contact with him.
The police came and got her statements, documented her injuries, and left with the promise that they would be investigating things. There wasn’t anything left behind to give us a single clue as to who did this.
The last call Maddox had with Greg, he filled him in on everything we knew. Our best hope was finding this Adam character, and hopefully, he would shed some light on this mess. I didn’t ask Maddox how that call went, and wasn’t sure I wanted to know. I logically knew that Greg couldn’t help when he didn’t know what was happening, but the other part of me, the one that wanted someone to blame, couldn’t stop the what ifs from hitting me hard. Knowing that he was probably just as upset as the rest of us was the only thing that kept me from lashing out.
“Beck, you really need to head back to the hotel for a few hours and get some sleep. You aren’t doing her any favors by running yourself into the ground.” Coop smiles sadly. “I’ll stay with her, but please, Man… you look like shit.”
“I’ll walk out that door the second she’s ready to go with me. Not a second before, so shut the fuck up about it.”
He opens his mouth to argue some more, but snaps it shut tightly when he sees how pissed I’m getting. He’s lost his damn mind if he thinks I’m leaving her again.
“Leave him alone.” Maddox hasn’t said much since we’ve been here, but when he spits those words out, Coop wisely shakes his head a few times before walking out the door. Maddox is silent for a beat longer then laughs with no humor. “That douchebag. I got back to the hotel last night and walked in on him banging Dee’s assistant. Shouldn’t be shocked, but fuck, you would think he knows when he should keep that shit locked up.” He shakes his head a few times, clearly still not believing just how bad Coop has gotten when it comes to sleeping around.
Well, to be honest, I didn’t even see that one coming. Chelcie is always a real quiet girl, but I know she loves Dee, so this whole situation is really messing her up. I should have been paying more attention to Coop’s level of comforting.
“Did he say anything about it?” I ask, not taking my eyes off Dee.
“Yeah, some bullshit about helping her to remember she’s still alive. Said she kept freaking out, and he didn’t know what else to do. What a dumbass.”
“That’s… well, I’m not really shocked. It is Coop.” What can I say, we all know he’s an asshole when it comes to chicks, but I really hoped he could keep it in his pants until we got back home. Chelcie doesn’t deserve the hit it and quit it approach that he takes, regardless of why she slept with him.
“Talked to Axel this morning. He’s having one hell of a time keeping Izzy in Georgia.” His condescending tone has my head snapping in his direction.
“And you sound so pissed about that because?” I don’t think anyone else has noticed how far apart she and Dee have become recently, but if anyone has noticed, it would be him. I swear this man sees everything.
“Right, don’t play me for a fool. I’ve seen Dee since that motherfucker got ahold of her and Izzy. I’ve seen her struggling, and you picking her back up. I saw her breaking in two, and it wasn’t anyone but you gluing those pieces back together. Not once did her best friends even see one damn thing. Not Izzy, not Greg, not one of them. So yeah, I’m a little pissed about it.” His eyes stay on her battered face for a few more beats before meeting mine. “Everyone else kept giving you two shit, thinking you were playing some stupid fucking game, but if they would’ve opened their eyes for one second longer, they would’ve seen her hiding in plain sight with you fighting all her demons for her.”
I don’t keep eye contact with him. Hearing Dee’s and my private struggle broken down into a few sentences brings it all home.
Two long fucking years.
Two long years of me worrying that she might never come back from the place inside herself when she had become lost.
And now, right when I felt like she’s finally healing this happens, and I honestly don’t what kind of lasting effect this is going to have on her. I can only hope that she’s become strong enough to realize that she has all the power in the world to become whole again and a man who’s willing to fight tooth and nail to help get her there.
“How long have you known?”
I feel Dee’s hand tighten on mine, silently letting me know that she’s listening, too.
“Since you carried her out of Heavy’s.”
My eyes shoot to Dee’s face. Even with her eyes still closed as if she’s sleeping peacefully, a lone tear sneaks out and slides down her face, telling me that she knows just how much Maddox has seen.