Marrying my high school bully

Melissa

Blood drained from my face as the bullet went straight to his chest, causing him to slump to the ground.

Leonardo pushed Lilly away and tried to break into a sprint, but he was gunned down by the cops who opened fire on him until his body was filled with bullet holes.

If Dexter wasn’t lying on the ground in the pool of his blood, I’d have been rejoicing that the source of all my troubles was dead, but the sight of him in a lifeless state snuffed out any trace of happiness within me.

“Get the ambulance, please!” I roared, my heart plummeting as blood gushed out from his mouth.

I held his hands, my tears forming a wet mask on my face as I caressed his head. His eyes were shut, but I refused to believe that he was dying.

I sat on the ground and placed his head on top of my neck, then I tore the hem of my dress and dabbed his chest with him to reduce the rate of the blood flow.

All the while I did that, my heart skipped several beats and my fingers trembled without control.

Then I remembered Lilly.

Lilly!

She shouldn’t be allowed to see such a gory sight. If she saw her father in this state, it would haunt her forever. Fortunately, Mary had scooped her up and they went to a silent part of the building.

The firemen and the ambulance came together at the same time. I peered down at Dexter, whose body was turning pale and cold, and a scream burst out of my throat.

“I’m here with you, cupcake. Please stay strong for your babies and I. Lilly doesn’t want to lose you.” I sobbed, clutching tightly onto his soaked shirt until the paramedics came to us with a stretcher.

I allowed them to do their job, then they wheeled him into the ambulance. They let me in, so I held his hand, speaking softly to him until my mouth couldn’t form any more words.

As the van drove on, the paramedics went to work, attaching the drip to him and stopping more blood from spilling out of his chest.

“Is he going to get better?” I probed, my voice cracked and edgy.

The female paramedic who covered up his chest removed her gloves and stared at me sympathetically, then placed her hand on my shoulder.

“Of course, he will be fine.” She stated, but her statement lacked conviction so I didn’t bother asking more questions.

She was trying to make me feel better and giving me a reason to hope.

We arrived at Doctor Luca’s hospital at my direction and the stretcher was brought down and wheeled directly into the hospital while I ran along with them.

The signature antiseptic scent of the hospital hit me, releasing some nostalgic memories, especially the first time I was hit by a car and went unconscious, then waking up to find Dexter looking all sexy in my ward.

Fresh and bitter tears streamed down my cheeks as pangs of guilt gnawed in my chest. He didn’t have to pay for the disadvantages that came with having Leonardo as a stepfather.

Doctor Luca came right out to the waiting arena already geared up in his surgery attire.

I dashed towards him, unable to hold back my sobs as I clasped my palms together. “Please, save him. Do everything you can and if you don’t succeed, you’d better tell me so that I can join him.”

For the first time, I saw him wear his emotions on his face. His eyes had darkened and his lips were pressed against each other as if he was stopping himself from letting the true state of his feelings out.

“Don’t worry, Mrs Hemmingway. Dexter will be joking around with you by next week, that’s if he decides to heal fast though.” He chuckled, but I could see the fear evident in his eyes.

“Thank you,” I muttered under my breath, but it was audible enough for him to hear.

He gave a curt nod and walked away, leaving me in agony. If I could have my way, I’d be in the theatre while they carried out the operation because I felt like I was going to lose him if I wasn’t present.

Knowing that I was treading on a dangerous path, I squashed the negative thoughts and locked in my pain.

“Nothing will happen to my husband,” I affirmed despite the little voices in my head that opposed my words.

“You’re right. Dexter is a strong man and nothing will happen to you.” I sprang to my feet and flung myself on my father.

I wasn’t sure the news of Dexter’s attack had spread that far, but I was glad that he was around. He was the only support system I had apart from Dexter, and having him with me brought the encouragement I didn’t know that I needed.

But another thing his presence did was make me vulnerable. I buried my face in the crook of his neck and let it all out, forgetting about my status in society and the fact that people could take my pictures for wrong publicity.

“We haven’t picked the names for our twins,” I croaked with fear ringing hard in my voice.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

His gentle massage on my scalp seemed to take away the burden of the agony I felt. “You don’t have to worry about that, princess. He knows that you can’t be a single mother. He’s responsible for three children and he won’t do to them what I did to you.” He referred to his past.

Then I realized that the pattern was repeating itself.

“No! No! He has to be fine.”

He said nothing and led me to the chair, yet, I clung to him as being alone increased my grief. I had to stop crying because it wasn’t good for my babies, but how could I do that when the life of the man I loved was under threat?

My father brought out a handkerchief which I used to dab my teary eyes. Then I blew my nose and rested on the backrest, patiently waiting for the surgery to be over.

*******

A gentle tap on my shoulder was all it took to rouse me from my troubled sleep. I glanced at the wall clock which stated that it was past nine pm.

I cleaned my eyes and then saw Doctor Luca walking towards my father and me. This time his expression gave nothing away.

Just cold and stoic.

Though his expression was unreadable, it meant something else to me. Maybe the surgery wasn’t successful and he was acting all cold to keep himself from breaking down.

I didn’t wait for him to get to us as I ran to him. My legs were wobbly, and my eyes glassy but I didn’t stop till I got to him.

“How. Is. My. Husband?” I picked my words one after the other as blurting out the question could make me choke from my suppressed emotions.

He inclined his head, his shoulders hanging loosely as he let out a deep sigh.

I grabbed his scrub top furiously, my jaws clenched as I glared at him with all the pent-up anger that was meant for Leonardo. “Tell me!” I demanded.

He lifted his face, his jaws ticking as he didn’t bother struggling with me. I got a grip on myself and left his scrub after muttering an apology.

“We…” His lips quivered while my heartbeat raced, nearly exploding. “Almost lost him.”

For a moment I was unable to speak as the only words that resonated in my ears was ‘lost him’. My chest constricted and my throat tightened, then gradually, I recalled that there was an ‘almost’.

At the realization, I sprawled on the floor, a scream bursting out of my throat. A warm hand touched my shoulder, a silent reminder that it was a hospital but I was too excited to keep my lips sealed.

“He didn’t die?” My question came out as a whisper.

Doctor Luca scooted before me, jutting my chin forward. “I made a promise to you before I entered that theatre right?” He smirked, and I nodded absentmindedly. “I think I was able to fulfill it, even though the odds were against me and the bullet was one inch away from his heart. Whoever shot him had him good.”

My father helped me up as my knees were almost caving out. “Thank you so much, Doctor Luca. You don’t know what this means to me.”

His cold demeanor returned as he nodded. “Your husband is a fighter.” He acknowledged while I threw my arms around my father. “You will be allowed to see him after he’s been transferred to the recovery room where he’ll be monitored closely. He lost a lot of blood and that will require some pints of blood to be transfused into him, but other than that he’ll be fine.” He concluded and walked away.

I did nothing else but sob, as peace saturated my heart.

The enemy was dead, and my husband was alive.