Page 106 of Use Me
It had been a week since the shooting, and I was returning to work. The season would be over in a few months, and afterward, Ashtyn and I were going far, far away. I didn’t care where as long as it was only she and I and all of our troubles were behind us.
“Are you sure you’re ready to go back?” Ashtyn asked, zipping up her plum-colored dress.
I put my head in my hand and turned to her as I lie in bed. “I’m only a little sore. It’s no big deal.”
“Yes, but you’re on Norco, and you fall asleep sitting up.”
“That happened once.”
“You were on the toilet.”
“I was comfortable.”
“You were high.”
I shrugged. “Still am.”
Ashtyn rolled her eyes and went into the bathroom still talking, “Exactly why you should stay home. You have to go on air and people will be watching you.”
“It will be fine. Plus, I want to get out of this place.” I waved my hand indicating the room even though she wasn’t in it.
She walked back into the room. “Okay, but if you don’t feel good, I’m sure Jett wouldn’t mind handling everything again.”
The day I got shot, there was no one to cover for me, and therefore, Jett had to do everything himself. I heard he handled it like a pro because he is one, and the last couple of games, we ended up getting Jeremy Roenick to fill in for me. Apparently, he’d heard what happened and offered his services. I have to say, watching him on TV again, talking about hockey, filled my heart. Or maybe that was the drugs talking. They made me feel good, and the pain was almost non-existent. Plus, the wound was getting better each day, and the stitches were almost dissolved.
Each night I’d go to bed and somehow wake up the next morning and not have a nightmare. I wasn’t sure why, but I was glad because I didn’t want to relive the shooting again. And each day I texted Ethan to see if they found Corey, but he’d always text back that they hadn’t. They couldn’t find him using the GPS off his cell phone, he wasn’t using his credit cards, and he never went home. It was as though he’d vanished.
We could only hope.
“Everything will be fine. I’m already weaning myself off of them.”
Ashtyn’s phone chimed. “Abby’s here.” Abby was picking Ashtyn up each day for work, and we’d arranged for Kenny to swing by and get me on game days.
“Come give me some sugar, Cupcake.”
Corey had been missing for two months.
I was back to looking over my shoulder any time I stepped out of the house, but sometimes I’d forget that he could pop out at any moment. What made me a little more at ease was Rhys and I had bought a house.
Together.
Rhys had rented out his condo about a month ago, and things were moving along nicely. Our new home was a two-story, beige wood house with white trim and a red door. The front yard was luscious, and the backyard had a pool like we wanted. It also had four bedrooms, which meant we each got our own office, and a massive kitchen that Rhys made me breakfast in each Saturday morning.
It was perfect.
For our housewarming party, we ended up having the poker night like I’d suggested. And even though Rhys had taught me how to play, everyone, including Kenny, Jett, and Clark, ended up losing to him. They joked that we could take his winnings and buy something for the house. We were now looking into getting a hot tub for the back deck to add to our little paradise in the burbs.
Everything was perfect …
Except not knowing where Corey was.
We tried to not think about him, but it was always in the back of our minds. We’d stopped going anywhere except work and home, and I was okay with that because all I wanted was to have Rhys safe. If Rhys and I had never started dating, then none of this would have ever happened. I might be locked in Philip’s basement or dead, but Rhys would have never been shot. It’s crazy to think that one fluke meeting turned into a game Rhys and I were trying to win. The game of love. I just wished we didn’t have to fight for our lives because this was not what love was supposed to be like. People shouldn’t have to die for people to stay together.
Thankfully, both Rhys and I were still alive.
Over the last two months, I’d also decided I couldn’t work in the field and do special reports or anything of that nature. I needed to stay in the studio where I was safe. I’d talked to Rhys and my boss, and made the decision to not do any field work until Corey was caught. That meant the story I wanted to do about the floating island would go to someone else. I was bummed, but Rhys told me he’d take me when they opened, and that was all I really wanted to do anyway.
Tonight, however, I was going to the last Blackhawks’ home game of the season. Rhys got everyone tickets: Jaime, Kylie, Colleen, Abby, my brothers, their families, my parents, Rhys’s parents, his sister, Romi, and her husband, Shane. He had set us up in a penthouse suite with food, drinks, TVs that broadcasted the game (and Rhys when he did his shows before and during the game) and a view of the entire ice.
