It took four days of being questioned by the police, a two night stay in the hospital for observation — my jaw was only bruised, not broken — and three visits with an attorney my dad insisted on, before I finally got back to my life.
I don’t know how Sullivan managed it, but my name stayed out of the news. I watched the coverage from my hospital bed and my name was never mentioned. The helmet-haired reporters said Steve Gunderson had kidnapped an unnamed victim and died during an ensuing altercation.
Altercation. Right.
When my parents visited me in the hospital, my mother was slightly less rigid than usual. We chatted briefly before my father asked to speak to me alone. My mother glared at him, but left the room.
“Did Sullivan have anything to do with this?” he asked, once she was gone.
“No, Dad, absolutely not. In fact, he helped me.”
I saw doubt on his face. He scanned my features, checking to see if I was lying, I guess.
“It’s true. I called him for help. He came to Steve Gunderson’s house and called the police. He even rode to the hospital with me.”
“Where is he then? I haven’t seen him.”
I hadn’t seen him either. He stayed that first night, but when Roxy, Axton, and Eric arrived, Sullivan disappeared faster than a pot brownie around Stoner Joe.
My dad kissed my cheek and left.
When my sister and Allen came to the hospital, they brought flowers and a card that Scotty made. Eventually Jacks sent Allen to get me some ice chips, but really, she just wanted some privacy.
“I’m so sorry for those things I said, Rose.” I could tell by her puffy, red eyes she’d been crying.
“No, Jacks, it’s okay. I love you. You’re the best sister in the world.” I think I was feeling a little loopy from the sedative the nurse had given me.
“I love you, too, Rose, just the way you are. And you’re not a loser.” She laid her head on my stomach and began sobbing.
I patted her hair until I fell asleep.
Ma didn’t let me work for a week. I told her I needed the money, but she insisted it would be a paid sick leave. That was really generous of her.
After I got home from the hospital, Axton bought me a new TV and a DVD player. He christened it with Mars Needs Women—which according to him was a classic. He and Eric stopped by every night for a week and usually brought pizza.
Ma and Ray came in the afternoons and brought real food. Jorge’s wife, Marisol, sent enchiladas.
Roxy came bearing anime DVDs and nail polish. My toes never looked better. And I was hooked on Eden of the East. “Told you,” she said smugly.
Jacks stopped by every morning with a latte and a fresh danish.
Even Janelle dropped in, bringing my graded assignments with her. I looked them over and knew my major would never be in accounting. She also brought me a gift from Tariq, something called a Knuckle Zapper. It looked like brass knuckles, but acted like a stun gun. It was very cool.
Dane came as well and brought flowers. “Rose.” He dropped next to me on the futon. “I should have stuck to you like glue throughout all this. I feel responsible.”
I patted his leg. “You’re not responsible any more than I am. Steve Gunderson was a nutball. No one knew. Apparently he pulled this stalker shit on his ex-girlfriend and she was too scared to report it.”
He picked up my hand and kissed the back of it. “As soon as you’re feeling up to it, I want to take you out. Anywhere you want to go.”
I smiled, gently pulling my hand from his grasp. “I can’t.”
“Why not?”
Because I’d killed a man and it had changed me. I’d do it again. It was Steve or me and I chose me. I didn’t feel guilty about it, not exactly. But I didn’t feel okay about it, either. And I couldn’t just go back to my life like nothing had happened. I certainly couldn’t think about dating.
“I’m a mess, Dane. I can’t be with anybody right now.”
“Is it Sullivan?”
God, I was so tired of men and their fragile egos. “No, Dane. But it’s not you, either. I’m not what you want and I don’t know if you’re what I need.”
“You are what I want and I’m not going to give up on you, Rose Strickland.”
“Now you’re starting to sound like Kevin.”
“That was cold.”
I nodded.
That was the first week. On day eight at five a.m. on the button, I threw on jeans and a Ma’s Diner t-shirt and went back to work. Ma protested, as did Ray. But Roxy set the salt shakers in front of me. I ignored everyone and refilled them.
By the middle of my shift, I was exhausted. All the sleepless nights and the stress had taken their toll. Ma made me sit down and eat. I felt weird, sitting at the counter with the customers, eating breakfast. But I did it, then finished my shift.
They wouldn’t let me help clean up, though. Ma sent me packing just as soon as she flipped the closed sign.
I drove home, and when I pulled up to my building, I saw him standing there, waiting for me. He leaned against the hood of a black Lexus sedan.
After I parked, Sullivan walked toward me. I met him halfway and we stood awkwardly in the middle of the parking lot.
The autumn sun made his skin seem more honeyed than usual. He looked handsome in his dark tailored suit.
“How are you, Rose?”
The wind picked up a strand of my hair and blew it across my cheek. Sullivan reached out and tucked it behind my ear. His fingers brushed lightly over my still bruised jaw.
“Better. You?”
“I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“I’m fine.”
“No you’re not. But you will be.” He dipped his head toward mine, his lips grazing my cheek. “If you’re ever in trouble again, promise you’ll call me.”
I wasn’t about to promise him anything. I had just rescued Axton, outsmarted Thomas Sullivan, and survived a psycho. I was Rose Freaking Strickland, and I was a badass.