Page 41 of Hard Focus
“Yeah, baby?”
Her eyes closed and she gave herself to a floating feeling that was invading, taking over her body, and Connie relaxed into whatever was holding her in place, unsure if she actually said the words. “I need you, too.”
***
When she woke again, it was to soft light and cream-colored walls, electronic boxes on poles beeping quietly. There was a familiar hand holding hers,andwhen she tightened her fingers, she got an answering squeeze.
“Hello?” Her voice soundedcreaky,like it hadn’t been used in days, and she tried to clear her throat, wincing when the soreness hit.
“Sweet baby girl.” Her father stood and leaned over the bed, staring down as he reached for her face, smoothing her hair back. “You’re with us again. And about time. I think your fella was getting jealous of the Sandman having so much of your time.” He smiled at her,andthe lights in the room fractured as her eyes filled with tears. She saw an answering glint in his eyes as he blinked fast. “Welcome back, Constance.”
“Dad.” He caressed the side of her face with his thumb, leaving a chill behind as he smoothed her tears away. “Where am I?”
“Hos-pi-tal,” he enunciated carefully, drawing the word out with a smile. He thumbed over his shoulder with a chuckle. “Just in case the décor didn’t give it away.” Connie rolled her head on the pillow, looking towards where her mother sat on a lounge chair pushed underneath the window.
“How you feelin’, Connie girl?”
“Mom.” Connie’s lips trembled, and she watched as her mother shook her head, standing.
“None of that,” she scolded, and came close, reaching over the railing to gather up Connie’s other hand. “Tony, why are you making our girl cry?”
“Me?” Her father professed his innocence with mock outrage. “I wasn’t the one who started the waterworks. This is all Cole’s fault. You saw it, all I had to do was mention her fella.” He looked around, pretending to be confused, and Connie rolled her eyes. “Where is Cole, anyway? You run him off with your incessant questions?Woman, why you gotta make everything so hard?”
“That’s what she said,” Nelly chimed in from somewhere out of view, and Connie and both her parents groaned at the joke.
“How—” She paused to cough and groaned whenpainhit, her middle felt like someone was hacking her apart. She strangledthe nextcough and looked up gratefully as her mother held a glass close, straw pointed to Connie’s mouth. Two small swallows later, she felt ready to continue. “How did you all get here?”
Nelly laughedandConnie watched her, trying to hide the relief she felt. If the news was bad, her sister wouldn’t look so free and easy. She looked at her parents in time to catch a look that passed between them of fond tolerance for her little sister’s shenanigans, something she’doften seen throughout their lives. “Cole called somebody who knew somebody, and that somebody had someone call Dad’s precinct, even before the ambulance got you to the ER. By the time you got out of surgery, they were already taking over the waiting room. He’s on my badlist,because he didn’t warn me they were coming.”
“He’s a good man,” her father said with a smile. “Knows to butter up the parents. Not that it was good getting that call, baby girl.” He patted the back of her hand as he laid it on her stomach, smoothing his palm up the skin of her arm. “But he made sure we got regular updates as we drove.”
“It’s a six-hour drive.” Connie frowned up at her mother. “You hate driving.” There’d been a lot to process over thepastminute, and she struggled to hold onto what felt important. “What happened…I had surgery?”Surgery that had lasted more than six hours?Connie closed her eyes, hiding in the darkness for a moment as she tried to put her memories into the proper sequence. “Jonas. They, I think they shot him, Dad. He’d…” Her words trailed off as she reached across to touch the place that hurt, finding a layer of thick bandages where his knife had pierced her skin. “He stabbed me, I think. I remember it hurting.” Her eyes flew openandshe looked at the three faces staring down at her, wishing more than anything there was a fourth there. “I’m not dead, right?” Her mother’s head shook back and forth. “And Cole was there? I don’t know how, but he was there, wasn’t he?”
“This is the first time he’s left the room since you got out of recovery.” Nelly chimed in, a tiny smile creasing her lips. “Gonna be POed you woke up without him here.”
“He was crazy.” Connie shivered as she remembered how unhinged Jonas had acted.
“Cole?” That was her mother’s puzzled voice,andConnie shook her head.
“No, not Cole. He’s…Cole.”Perfect and unbelievably mine. “Jonas was crazy. I don’t know how I never saw it.” She coughed again, the sudden ripple of pain through her middle making sense now. “He would have killed me.”
“But he didn’t. He didn’t, and you’re here.” With a deep voice that resonated through her bones, Cole spoke from across the room, and she started to cry, tears slipping from her eyes silently. “You’re here, and you’re going to be fine.” He strode towards the bedandshe saw her father step back, hand on Nelly’s shoulder as he pulled her out of Cole’s way. “You’re here,” he repeated as he bent over the bed, his palm caressing her cheek, thumb sliding underneath her eye. His voice was infused with confidence and faith as he told her again, “And you’re going to befine.” Leaning close, he pressed his lips to hers firmly, branding her with a promise she believed in with all her heart. “I’ve got you.”
***
“Taylor, when are you coming on vacation with us again?” Connie’s father yelled the question across the apartment. “I think we’re going to Venice Beach next year.”
As if they’d practiced it, Taylor and her mother locked gazes and shivered dramatically. He said softly, “Sinkholes,” and Diana nodded, eyes wide. “Hard pass, Big Tony. Florida’s a no-go zone for me.” In sing-song, Taylor finished with, “Saww-rry.” Back to a whisper, he leaned close to Diana and said, “You cancomestay with me, Mom. I’ll keep you safe.”
“I always wanted a son,” Diana murmured back, leaning her head against Taylor’s shoulder. “You’re my new favorite.”
“God.” Connie breathed shallowly and shut her eyes, trying not to laugh.
“You need anything?” She angled her neck to look over the back of the couch at Nelly. She’d parked herself here an hourago,using Connie and the furniture as a physical barrier when their parents had waltzed in. “I can get you anything, go anywhere for you. The farther away the better. Send me to Alaska for crab, please.”
“Make them go home.” She reached up and grabbed Nelly’s wrist. “Please, for the love of God. Make. Them. Go. Home.”
Since Connie had been released from the hospital a couple of days ago, their parents been staying at a local hotel, coming over every morning to check on her. And cook, clean, shop, and smother her with attention and love. Not that she was complaining, but this was day three, and she was so far over it she couldn’t see back to where it had started. Nelly had abandoned Connie during the day, making herself scarce by going back to work, so it had been just Connie here with their parents.
