Let It Be Me Read online

When the operator comes on the line, I take in a shattered, hoarse breath, looking around the room at all the blood and death around me. I am so dizzy, I can’t even catch my breath but I manage to say, “He killed the man I love.”

  And then everything is black.

  Everything is hazy.

  And I hurt.

  Everywhere.

  There is a beeping sound.

  Where am I?

  Slowly, I blink my eyes open to find that I am in the hospital. My mom is sitting in corner, her face showing every bit of her fifty-two years and I can see that she is beside herself with worry. My mouth is dry as I try to say something but nothing comes out. She must have heard me or maybe she just knew, but she looks up at me and freezes.

  “Oh my baby,” she cries as she gets up and comes to my bedside. She wraps her arms around my pain filled body, I cringe but I still hug my mom. I thought I was never going to see her again. I thought it was all over for me. She pulls back and softly dusts my face with kisses before looking down at me.

  “Do you hurt? Do you need something?”

  “Water,” I croak out.

  “Sure,” she says and I can feel her shaking as she reaches for the pitcher, pouring me a glass of water. Coming back to me, she holds it to my mouth and I slowly drink. The cold water soothes my throat and dry lips and when I look up at my mother, I want to cry. She looks so worried, so freaked out and I want to reassure her that it’s not her fault. “I’m okay.”

  “You were almost killed,” she said, tears dripping down her face.

  “I’m fine,” I say still because if I don’t she’ll continue to beat herself up. “It’s not your fault.”

  She nods, cupping my face as she kisses me over and over again all over my face. I flinch from pain but I don’t tell her to stop. All I can think of is that girl’s mother, crying and beside herself because she doesn’t have her daughter anymore. I couldn’t imagine my mother going through that so if she wants to kiss me until she feels better than I’m going to let her. Thinking of her death makes me think of the sight I saw before I passed out. My heart feels empty as tears roll down the side of my face into my ear. She pulls back and I look up at her. I am scared to ask this question but I have to know. “Where is Tucker?”

  She bites into her lip and I know he’s gone. I close my eyes tight and try to hold in my sob but I don’t think I can. I have lost the one person that was a part of me. The person I knew I was going to love and still will love for the rest of my life. Right as I’m about to let it go and succumb myself to the most horrifying pain in the world, I hear, “right here, sweetheart.”

  My eyes spring open and I look up into the face of the man I thought I lost. An uncontrollable sob leave my lips and I feel like my chest is caving in as our eyes meet. I choke on my tears as I take in every single inch of him. His eye is swollen, a cut is along his nose and there are finger marks on his neck but even with all that, his grin is still unstoppable. Taking my hand in his, he kisses each of my knuckles before softly placing his lips to mine. I feel like I’m hyperventilating as I wrap my good arm around his neck, pulling him closer and crashing my lips to his.

  His mouth moves along mine, skillfully but cautiously. I want to tell him not to worry that nothing could ever bring me down from the high I am feeling right now. I thought I had lost him. I thought the part of my life that included him was gone. I never want to feel like that again, I just want to love him.

  Forever.

  Resting his forehead to mine, I ask, “are you okay?”

  “Sure, just a little banged up.”

  “I’m so incredibly sorry,” I say as my tears run into my mouth.

  He shakes his head, running his nose along mine. “For what?”

  “For everything.”

  “Always blaming yourself when in no way, shape or form this is your fault,” he says with a smile.

  “Its Rob’s fault but don’t worry, you’ll never have to see him again,” my mother says and I turn to look at her.

  “So I killed him?”

  She looks sad as she says, “Yes, but honey he tried to kill you and he’s hurt you so bad. We thought you weren’t going to make it.”

  I’m not sure how I’m supposed to feel but I’m relieved. I don’t ever have to worry about Rob coming after me again. I’ll never have to look behind me and worry that he is behind me. I’ll never have to feel the pain I did when I was with him. I am completely free from him. Remembering my mom just said they thought I wasn’t going to make it, I ask, “what do you mean?”

  “You had an infection and because of it, you had a really bad fever. They have it under control and I don’t think I can describe how good it is to see you looking back at me,” my mom says before she collapses against me, bawling her eyes out. I look over her shoulder at Tucker and he smiles. Reaching out, he cups my chin, running his thumb along my bottom lip.

  “I love you,” he says, so softly I almost don’t hear him.

  “I love you.”

  I watch as his face relaxes, his eyes bright as he reaches out, taking my hand in his. I squeeze his hand as my mother says, “I love you too, baby.”

  Both Tucker and I grin as we hold each other’s gaze. Rolling my eyes, I rub her back and then say, “I love you more, mom.”

  As my mom pulls away, I look up into her smiling face and slowly wipe away her tears. “Mom, I’m fine.”

  “Okay, hush, let me just hold you.”

  I laugh as she continues to hold me like I’m only two instead of twenty-three. Deciding that she isn’t going anywhere, I ask, “how did you know to come to his house?”

  Tucker ran his hand through his hair before shrugging. “I called you over a hundred times and then I tried calling your mom but she wasn’t answering because she was gone. I called the airline but they didn’t have any flights going out that night so I had to wait till early that morning. Finally I get there and you’re not there but I can see the evidence of a struggle, so I go back to the airport and fly back home for reasons I can’t explain. I just figured he would bring you back here and he did.”

  Taking my hand in his, he squeezes it and says, “I thought he was going to kill you.”

  “I thought the same thing about you.”

  Tucker smiles, shaking his head. “He can’t kill me.”

  “Oh gosh, here comes caveman Tucker.”

  He smirks at me before shaking his head. “The only thing that would have killed me was losing you, Violet.”

  I slowly nod my head, tears leaking out of my eyes as I look up at him. “I couldn’t lose you either.”

  A pained look comes over his face as he slowly shakes his head. “It has been the longest four days of my life. I wasn’t sure if you were going to make it and I was freaking out and my parents were freaking out with your mom and no one could give me an answer I liked. It was hard, Violet. It made me realize that this is it. You are it. You are my other half and I can’t live my life without you.”

  My heart explodes in my chest as I slowly nod my head. “Then please, don’t ever live another moment without me. I love you, Tucker. Only you and I want you in my life for the rest of my life.”

  “Then you have me, baby, all of me,” he says opening my palm and kissing the inside. I cup my hand on the back of his neck and then I bring him down to me, crashing my lips to his. I know I shouldn’t be kissing him when my mother is holding me but I can’t help it. I don’t ever want to live another second without kissing this man.

  I guess my mom figured we weren’t going to stop and she slowly pulls away and sits up. She then says, “Okay, well I’ll be outside.”

  I part from Tucker’s mouth and nod as she gets up and heads for the door. “Thanks, oh, wait, mom,” I say looking over at her.

  She stops and smiles. I wonder if she sees that I have my happiness in my arms now. I wonder if she knows what this man has done for me. How this man made my life worth living for. Her content smile tells me she might, but I need her to