Page 64 of Call Out
He covers the gap to my side in one stride. Our fingers curl and weave together. His forehead gently butts to mine. “I promise you, Viv, I’ll be right by your side. You’re not alone. I’ve already had a chat with the physical therapist. We’ll work together to get you back on your feet in no time.”
“Is she dead?” I recall the goading. The taunts. The crack to my knee with her gun, compelling my foot to slam the gas. “Zoe yanked the steering wheel after she forced me to drive faster. I felt so ill. Even under the influence of drugs, I heard your voice. It wasn’t Nonna telling me to put on my seat belt. It was you. I clipped it in, and she flipped out. Apparently, I was the one who had to die, like your friend.” A headache spreads across my skull, and my throat rasps like it sandblasted.
Danny reaches for a waiting cup of water and tips it to my lips. “Small sips.”
Coolness coats my tongue. Refreshing, turning sickly when it meets my empty stomach. “She really wanted me to die, Danny. I thought it was the pizza delivery guy. When I opened the door, she pointed a gun at my face.”
“I knew she was off the rails, but attempted murder?” His head shakes from side to side. “When I saw you in the wreckage, Viv...” The plastic cup crackles beneath his grip. “Zoe belongs in Hell, and you’ll only ever settle in Heaven. After you’ve lived a full, happy life with me. If you still want me after all this?”
My throat thickens. “Danny,” I croak. “I really thought I’d never see you again.” Tears blink in my lashes. “That painful thought was the worst of all. I wanted to drive straight to you. Doctors can mend flesh and bone, but they can’t fix broken hearts.” I squeeze his hand. “I’ll be okay with my handsome hero by my side. That’s all I need. Except, I do need to know what happened to her. Is she still a threat?”
He strokes my fingers with is thumb. “She’s alive, Viv. Don’t worry, there’s no way she’ll be within a five-mile radius of us after all this. I’ll see to that.”
“And what about you?” I hate seeing hurt and pain furrowed in his brow while his jaw tenses. “Are you okay?”
“Don’t worry about me.” Danny pinches a mass of my hair and pretends he’s fixing it in place. We both know there’s no rectifying my chaotic hair without a brush. “I’m here for you. I love you, Miss Swann.”
“Even if I have a limp?”
“That only adds to your uniqueness.”
“Hobbling in fishnets won’t have the same sex appeal.”
“You won’t have a limp if you follow the exercise routine. And even if you do, I’d still want to marry you someday.”
A slow smile stretches my cheeks. “I’d like that, someday.”
The door swings inwards. “Miss Swann?” A police officer strolls into the room. “We need to gather your statement.”
“She’s just out of surgery, officer. Can’t this wait?” Danny scowls.
The officer doesn’t look at him. He pins me to the bed with a stern glare. “Miss Swann was in the driver’s seat of a vehicle with a schedule III drug in her bloodstream, a loaded gun in the footwell and is responsible for a young woman’s hospitalization.”
“No!” Danny growls. “Vivian isn’t responsible for Zoe. The bitch tried to kill her.”
“Who owns the gun, Miss Swann?”
“She does. Zoe Palmer.”
The officer sighs. “Miss Palmer is of the opinion you’re trying to ruin her life. She said the gun was yours before the nurse sedated her.”
Danny’s arms fold across his chest in a reflex to that suggestion. “Zoe’s been doing a great job of ruining her own life for the past decade. Viv hardly knows the woman.”
“Miss Swann was driving the car. We’ll need you to come to the stations for fingerprints.”
Omigod, it’s getting worse. I vaguely remember slowing the car to a snail's pace before attempting to grab the gun. It didn’t work. She hammered my kneecap, forcing my foot hit the gas.My fingerprints are on the gun too.“You’re being charged with reckless driving, attempted manslaughter and possession of a firearm without a license.”
My heart levitates. All the evidence points to me. They think I tried to kill her. Zoe drugged me behind closed doors. I walked out of my house without a fuss because there was a gun wedged between my shoulder blades. I was driving. Not her.
I’m going to prison.
“Danny, I’ve got no way to prove what really happened.”
Danny secures my shoulders with firm hands, turning his back to the officer. “I’ve got this, Viv. Trust me.”
Jeff
My therapist suggestedI write you a letter. I’m not sure if there’s any point, or if you’ll even read it. How could you, when you're not around to see the words? I know you’re in my life. One way or another.
