CHAD
May 16th 2018
I recline in my chair, holding her delicate hand and rub the pad of my thumb back and forth across her knuckles.
Beep, beep, beep, beep...
I despise hospitals, the antiseptic odour, and the constant earache of the machines going off every few seconds makes me a little irritable.
Beep, beep, beep, beep...
Furthermore,
Beep, beep, beep...
Gods! Never mind the incessant swinging of the doors as nurses and doctors continue to pour in, repeating the same old nonsense every time I ask them when will she wake up.
"Come on, Lisa, you beautiful creature. It's time for you to awaken and show me those lovely hazel eyes of yours." I plead, my insides churning with anxiety.
I take my phone from the breast pocket of my jacket and check to see if Detective Evie has attempted to contact me.
Nothing....
Not a phone call or a message, I toss the phone upon the bed in front of me and Mal enters my thoughts. Guilt coats me like a second skin; I should not have allowed my anger and desire for money and dominance to overcome me.
All of this is my fault, and I'm a shite bucket, desiring redemption and seeking forgiveness for all my wrongs, knowing I am not worthy of such a gift.
Her beautiful blonde hair sprawls across her pillow, long black eyelashes fanning her face with flushed cheeks and I admire her deep red lips that could make a man fall to his knees.
Shit,
I should know, I am one of those men and it pains me to sit here and look at her knowing she will never return my affection.
"Lisa!" A high pitched cry tears through the air. "Oh my God." She cries.
I turn in my seat and my jaw drops as I watch my fucking ex-girlfriend, Rachel, run towards Lisa, crying like she just about lost the love of her life. I stand from my chair, stepping to the side as I study her and she hasn't realised I'm in the room. I gape as tears stream down her face and she kisses Lisa on the lips.
"What the fuck!" I try to contain the anger forming in my loins.
Her head snaps to the side with eyes as large as saucers when they land on mine and she wipes her nose with a tissue.
"Oh, shit.." She whispers loud enough for me to hear. "Chad... I'm sorry,"
"You and Lisa?" I ground out, shoving my hands into my jean pockets.
"I know what you're thinking, and the answer is yes." she sniffles. "We go way.. back, I was her first lesbian experience, and well..." She returns her gaze to Lisa with a faint smile on her face. "I mean, take a look at her," I smirk in response to her light-hearted chuckle.
"Fucking women!" I rub my brow with my hand, too tired to be irritated.
"What happened, I thought she had only been shot in the leg?"
"Yuup, she was." My words are tinged with rage. "But the bullet shattered while she was in surgery, and while they were looking for the fragments, one of the surgeons nicked an artery and she went into shock," I inform her, my fists clenched at my sides due to their incompetence.
"You must be joking!" She sat in the chair that I had previously occupied, her hand encircling Lisa's. "What sort of shitfest are you people putting on?" She sneers, her back facing me.
"Us people?" I say with confusion.
"Indeed, Chad, you. People. Do not believe for one second that I am unaware of what has been occurring at the club. Lisa told me everything and I can't even pretend to be surprised by your actions." She replies with disappointment.
I run my fingers through my hair, over my face and start pacing the room. I gulp, the need to come clean about how it all started consumes me like a hurricane ripping through the atmosphere, destroying everything in its path.
"Hey, Rachel," I call out to her, waiting for her to turn around and face me. "There's something I need to get off my chest and.."
A knock at the door disrupts me and I watch as the twin doors swing open.
"Hi," She says apologetically. "I hope I'm not interrupting."
Rachel and I watch as Detective Evie enters the room. "No, please, come in." Rachel stands, extending her hand. "I'm Rachel, Lisas uh.." Her gaze is heavy on mine before she returns her focus on the Detective.
"Lisa's girlfriend." I finish for her, trying to act like a grown man with no harsh feelings.
Which is hard as fuck because, well, they're both bombshells and my ego is butthurt about their relationship behind my back.
"Oh, it's nice to meet you," Evie says as she shakes Rachels hand, her expression blank like a canvas and I start to wonder if I was the only blind sucker that didn't realise Lisa was into women, not men.
"How is she?" Evie asks as she stares at Lisa.
"She'll live, it's just a matter of when she'll wake up that has me concerned," I say with a sigh.
"She has mana, and I believe when the right time occurs for her, she will wake up and grace us with her presence when her soul has fully rested," Evie says with a smile in her eye as her gaze finds mine.
"I could feed off your faith right about now," Rachel says, sitting back down in her chair. "Lisa is strong, but she is also stubborn and the darkness has always been a favourable place for her to hide."
Silence lingers between us....
"What's up?" I ask Evie a few heartbeats later as she chews the inside corner of her bottom lip.
"My crew did an entire sweep of your club, Chad." She replies, taking out her notepad. "They found blood in the bar, we ran a DNA analysis and it came back an hour ago."
"Yeah, and..??" I look at her perplexed. "We've had some clients fight and draw blood from each other now and then."
I watch with a frown on my face as Evie sighs out loud. "The blood belongs to Jimmy Slater and there was too much of it for us to believe he had been in a fight. He is missing, along with Layla and your security footage."