The Territory

Chapter 8

                The following morning, I awake in Patrick’s arms and I feel better. I do not know what is wrong with me, but spending the night wrapped in the arms of my fiancé seems to have fixed it. I stand, stretching out and walk to the bathroom, naked from last nights adventures. When I return to the bed Patrick is awake, pretending to sleep, and grabs me, pulling me under him. “Morning.” He says, smiling his boyish smile. “Morning.” I say, giggling. And just like that, all seems right in the world. The weekend goes by quickly and come Monday morning I am dreading going to work for the first time since I started working for Damian.

                “Do you really have to go baby? What is one more day… one more class…” I pout like a petulant child.

                “Come on, you know I have to go. I shouldn’t have even blown off studying as long as I did. I need to meet my group and study a little before Collin’s class tomorrow. You skip work and spend the morning with me.”

                “I can’t. This is only my second week and I really want to prove myself to Damian.”

                “Well, then I guess this is bye for a while. I love you Emmie bemmie.”

                “I love you too Patty Daddy.” We kiss and it is bittersweet.

                The drive to work flies by. I listen to music and relax, knowing the drive so well now that I find my mind drifting as I drive. Once I pull into the parking spot the nerves hit me. What if Vice is standing there talking to Tripp like always. What will I say when I see him…? Will I say anything? I think I am going to be sick… I climb the stairs and, approaching the door, take a deep breath. I pull the door and walk in, screwing up my nerve and… nothing. No one is standing there waiting as I have become accustomed to. I feel myself pout and wonder why I am sad… I should be happy that I didn’t have to have the awkward encounter I was dreading.

                I place my things at my desk and make Damian his morning drink and look at the table. For the first time since I started there are no pasties on the table. Hmmm… That is strange. I walk back to my desk and wait as the clock strikes eight. Damian comes strolling in, taking the drink from me and continuing to the door, not greeting me. “Good morning Damian.” I say, trying to sound chipper, though inside I am wondering what is with the cold shoulder. “Morning.” Is all he says in return as he takes his place at his desk. “Did you have a good weekend?” I continue, hoping to thaw the ice between us. “It was fine. How was yours?” Is he mad about the lunch… or the fighting with Vice? “It was good. My fiancé came to surprise me, we spent the weekend exploring the town. “Hm. Nice.”

                He is definitely upset with me, but I have no idea why. I don’t want this to be my normal working environment from now on. “I’m sorry for no pastry. There were none in the kitchen. I can run out to get you one if you’d like.” He looks through papers, not looking at me. “That is because Vice brings them, and he isn’t here today. He will not be in all week.” Uh oh… What did Vice tell him. “I hope he is okay. Did you want me to go pick up some?” Damian continues to thumb through papers. “No, I am fine thanks you.” His tone, if possible, seems even colder. “And Vice?” I ask, genuinely concerned. Damian takes a deep breathing sighing. “He is not well. He is in the hospital, though I don’t want to talk about it.” My heart begins to thump furiously. “What?! Would you like me to send something?” He continues to look down, “No, I will take care of it. Thank you.” I nod and leave the room.

                I can’t seem to focus on work. My day drags and I find myself consistently wondering what happened to Vice. I check the time and it is almost lunch. I buzz into Damian’s office. “Hi Damian, would you like me to order you lunch?” He responds very coldly. “I already order myself something. Thanks.” It is official, I am in the doghouse. I wait for Damian’s food to arrive. When it does, I knock on his door to deliver it. “Yes?” He calls, his tone clearly irritated. “Your food was just delivered Mr. Montague. If it is alright with you, I am going to go out for my lunch hour. I will be back shortly.” I put his food down and turn on my heels and rush out before he can respond. I grab my things quickly and am out the main doors and in my car in an instant.

                I turn my car on and feel the tears begin to stream down my face… How could Vice throw me under the bus like this. I forgave his nasty attitude, I told him we could start again and now… Maybe I will not return from lunch. I could find another job… I start my car and begin driving, looking for anywhere to eat. Suddenly a sign catches my eye and I am following it without realizing until I am parked. I am outside the Territory Hospital, though it looks more like a small clinic. I can’t stop myself as I walk in and up to reception. “Hi. I was wondering what room Vice was in… Or Viktor… Viktor Cruz.” The older woman in scrubs looks up at me over he half moon glasses, clearly annoyed. I am burning bridge everywhere now, I guess.

                “Vice is in room 211. Are you on the visitor list?” I shrug. “Name?” I clear my throat; my mouth is so dry I’m scared I won’t be able to speak. “Emileen Hanson.” The older woman begins to type on the computer, then looks up at me. “Go on up.” I swallow shard, “thank you.” I follow the signs for the elevator and climb in, pressing second floor. What am I doing? Why am I here? Why am I on the list? Maybe because I work for Damian… Maybe it is because they figured I would bring something for Damian… I don’t know. The doors open and I step out, my heart is pounding loudly in my ears. I almost feel like I am going to pass out. I follow the signs and find the room, 211. I pull the large heavy door open and peek around to look inside. The room is darkened, the shades drawn and there is a shadowy figure laying in the bed, breathing in and out.

                I screw up my courage and walk in, allowing the door to close behind me. As I approach the bed, the familiar face of Vice comes into view. His eye is swollen shut and purple, a large gash marks his forehead with stiches, and there is a wrap around his head, holding on a bloody bandage to the side of his skull. The moment I see his wounds I feel sick inside. My stomach churns and I can feel the bile begin to rise. I clamp my eyes shut tight and fight the urge to throw up. After a moment, I feel calmer. I am able to open my eyes again. This time I look at his body. He is shirtless and covered only by a sheet, his arms laying on top by his sides. One arm is in a cast from his hand past his elbow. What happened to him?

                I walk around to the far side of his bed where a chair is, and I sit, placing my hands on his arm… Well, on his cast. “Vice?... Vice, it’s Emileen. I wanted to come check on you since you weren’t at work today. God Em, that sounds so f*****g stupid. Ugh. Well, either way, I am here. I was hoping, but also dreading, to talk to you today… About… About what happened on Friday. I am sorry about the fight at Alecsander’s and about my house…” I sigh heavily. He is out and I don’t even really know what is wrong with him. Something comes over me and I reach into my bag, pulling out a sharpie. I lean forward and write, “Miss you, <3 Emileen.” I better get back to work if I want to keep my job. I stand and head out, fighting the urge to turn back and look at him, feeling like if I do, I won’t be able to leave.

                I close the door behind and turn to be face to face with a doctor. “Were you visiting Vice?” he asks, his tone confused but kind. “Yes, I was. I wanted to see how he was doing.” The doctor nods and smiles, looking down at the chart. “Yes, well. He is doing better since the accident. There are some pieces of metal still stuck in his ribs, and we can’t operate until he is healed more. Once he has heeled more, we will be removing those pieces, and he should heel a lost faster after.” I nod and furrow my brown. “So he was in an accident?” The doctor furrows his brow back at me. “Did you not know?” I shake my head no. The doctor takes a step back. “Sorry, I just assumed if you were on the list to visit that you knew what had happened. He was in a car accident… A pretty nasty one. Totaled his entire truck. But he is pulling through, he’ll be back up on his feet in no time.”

                I nod and smile and nod. “Thank you.” I get back to work a few minutes late and hope Damian hasn’t noticed. He doesn’t leave his office the rest of the day. I get to work on the books, and before I know it, it is quitting time. I pack up a stack of books to take home, I double what I normally take as I didn’t do much work this morning, and I want to get all these books done and throw it in Damian’s face for the way he has been treating me. Once I am all packed, I go and knock on Damian’s door, but there is no answer. I knock again, but silence… I open the door and look in, announcing myself, only to find that Damian is not in his office. He probably hasn’t been there the entire time since lunch. I huff and head out to my car, steam billowing out my ears.

                At home I fly through all the books, upset at myself that I did not bring more to work on. I am going to show Damian what is what. I may have only worked for him for a week, but I thought I knew him, apparently, I don’t. My company phone dings, and I snatch it up angrily to stare at the screen. I feel less angry when I see who it is from, Tripp. Tripp has always been nothing but kind with me. I open my phone and read his message.

                “Damian is taking the day off tomorrow. He said don’t worry about coming in. Enjoy your Tuesday.”

                Are you f*****g kidding me! He is telling me not to come in!?! Not even that, he is having Tripp tell me. Ugh! I feel more steam leaving my ears. Fine, I won’t come in. Maybe I will use that time to look for a new job. I finish my dinner and wine and flop into bed feeling disheartened and fighting the ever-present urge to cry. Just when I thought things were looking up for me. I don’t even feel my eyes close all the way before I am out. I wake in the morning feeling just as angry as when I went to sleep last night. Even more so actually. I decide I will go into work and get all the books I can carry to work on at home, after all, that is what this laptop is for, right? After my shower I dress in jean shorts and a spaghetti strap tank top and with my high tops. Who cares what I look like, right? I grab a cardigan and toss it on over. It actually hangs lower than my shorts, but I like the way it looks.

                When I walk into the building everyone looks at me in shock, either not expecting me to be there, or surprised by my outfit. Either way I ignore them. I walk into Damian’s waiting room and unlock the file room, removing a few stacks of books and placing them on a cart. I roll the cart out to my car, and then return the cart to the closet. I am in and out in under ten minutes, which is better than I thought I would do. I start my car, intending to go home… but that is not where I find myself parking. I don’t remember driving there, but I am parked outside of the hospital. I grab my backpack and load it up will all the books I think I can carry, and I head in. The nurse is new, but my name is still on the list and I am permitted to go up to his room. I stand outside his door, nerves kicking in, convincing myself this is a horrible idea and I need to go home. But I still go in.

                Inside is still dark, the curtains drawn and the lights off. I call out, wondering if he is awake. “Vice? You up?” But there is no answer. I take a seat where I sat the day before and pull out my laptop and being to work. I pull out the books and stack them to one side of me. As I finish them, I put them in a new stack. When those are done, I go back down to my car and trade them out for another stack, making sure to not confuse the books I have already finished with ones I need to do. At lunch time the nurse brings Vice a tray, and I begin to get nervous that he is going to wake, but she returns awhile later and removes it as Vice continues to sleep. I find I am done with my second stack of books, and head down to my car. As I am loading and unloading books, I notice a food truck in the lot.

                The food from the truck is heavenly. My stomach churns and I realize how hungry I am. I leave my bag in my car and walk over to the truck to see what I want to eat. I stand in line, trying to see the menu, but I am distracted by the conversation in front of me.

                “Yea, so apparently, he was so upset by her rejection of him for another man, that he went to a bar and got sloshed. When he tried to drive home, an animal ran into the road and he swerved and crashed.” A young woman in front of me says to her friends.

                “Yea, I hear that he is so bruised up that they don’t think he will make it much longer.” My stomach drops. I think they are talking about Vice… and me.

                “I hear Damian is blaming everything on the girl. He wants her out. Out of the Territory, out of the town, out of the p…” the first one begins again.

                “Order 11?! Order 11?”

                “Oh that is us.” Another woman yells interrupting their conversation.

                “Anyway, I hope he get better soon. He is desirable man, whoever gets him will be so lucky. And have you seen how tall and thick he is, I bet you he is like that everywhere.”

                “Stop it, you are so bad.” I blush at their words and what I imagined in my dream.

                I order myself food and eat it in my car hoping no one knows who I am or about my connection to Vice. What did she mean he was upset by my rejection? I never rejected him… Did I? When I am finished eating, I grab my newly loaded backpack and head up again, taking my seat once more. Before I know it, I have finished all the books in my car, and the nurse has brought Vice his dinner tray. I excuse myself down to my car again and unload the books. I think to myself that I should head home, but I find myself sat beside Vice one more, just siting.

                The chair I am in is large enough for me to put my feet up, so that is exactly what I do. I curl up into a ball in the seat, resting my head on my knees and listen to the sound of Vice breathing. The rhythmic sound of his inhale and exhale are like a lullaby lulling me to sleep, the sound of the machines beeping the melody of traditional hospital sounds. I fight the urge, but I am unable to hold out and find myself drifting away to sleep. I don’t know how long I am out for, but when I wake every part of my body is stiff and achy from the compressed position, I allowed myself to fall asleep in. I stand at look at the time, it is so late, or early depending on how you look at it. I should probably go home and prepare for work in a few hours. I stand and stretch, feeling every painful second of that sleep in every inch of my body.

                I want to climb in bed with Vice to sleep. One because it would be more comfortable than the chair, and two because some part of me wants to be closer to him. Even if he has treated me so poorly since we met, I can not convince myself that he is to be avoided. Every fiber of my being wants to be near him, close to him, holding him. I reach down and allow my fingers to touch his and there is an instant spark between us that spreads through my body spreading the sensation of hot and cold at the same time. I shiver and every hear on my boy stands on end. I yank my hand back quickly. I am again confused by what that was. Was it one of the machines he is on shocking me? I am pulled from my confusion quickly as a voice cuts through the fog.

                “Emileen?”

                He’s awake.