Kylie"s eyes were closed, but her head was pounding; the slight beeping sound made it difficult to go to sleep, which Kylie was trying to do. She opened her eyes brightly and sat up, looking around in a confused manner. The bare white walls, the television hanging on the front wall, and the two chairs in the corner made it obvious where she was. But why was she in the hospital? Kylie could not remember the last thing she did, which landed her here for her life."You"re up?" Kylie heard a familiar voice from her left.
"Ethan?" Kylie looked at him as if he were a ghost. "Why…what are you doing here? Weren"t you on a business trip?"
Ethan looked dreadful; his clothes were unkempt, his hair seemed like he had been running his hands through it, and there were bags underneath his eyes.
"You don"t remember?" He asked gravely.
Kylie looked at Ethan, dumbly trying to remember what had landed her here. Suddenly, flashes of her and Aiden at the club, Aiden attacking her, sitting at the bench, all came back to her. Image after image slammed her mind rattling her to the bone. She remembered coming home and going up to her room. Kylie remembered the loneliness she had felt, and she clearly remembered walking to the bathroom. Did all of this really happen?
Kylie looking down and examined her arm. Sure enough, her wrist was bandaged, which made her realize this was all real. Tears gathered in her eyes; what had she done?
"Why?"
Kylie was startled at Ethan"s soft voice. He was watching her carefully yet sadly.
"Why did you do this?"
Kylie swallowed, thinking of a response. How did one tell her husband why she had attempted suicide?
Ethan stood up and walked closer, sitting down at the edge of the bed. He grabbed Kylie"s bandaged arm and looked at it. Kylie"s heart ached as she saw tears sliding down his face.
"Ethan," Kylie whispered and reached forward, cradling his face in her other hand.
"Why did you do this?" Ethan asked again, looking at the bandage devastatingly. "What could be so bad that made you want to end your life?"
Kylie could not match Ethan"s stare, so she looked away, thinking hard. What could she say to him? There was no way she was telling him what Aiden did to her. She knew, without a doubt, that Ethan would murder Aiden with his own bare hands. No, she could not tell him. What could she say then?
"Um…nothing…I…" Kylie started off but stuttered when she could not think of anything to say.
"Kylie, this is nothing! You attempted…you…suicide!" Ethan stuttered. "What could be so bad that you attempted to kill yourself?!"
Kylie bristled at Ethan"s words. What could be so bad? How dare he ask her that! "Well, maybe I wouldn"t be here if you picked up your phone!" Kylie replied angrily.
Ethan scoffed but replied back softly. "Kylie, surely this must be about something else. Something much bigger than me not picking up your phone."
Kylie looked at Ethan"s caring face. For a split second, she thought she could tell him the truth – the real reason why she laid in a hospital bed.
"I…I…" Kylie paused again, not having enough bravery to admit the truth of what really happened last night.
"Yes?" Ethan whispered, leaned forward, and kissed Kylie"s forehead. "You don"t have to be afraid. You can tell me anything, and you know that, right?"
Kylie swallowed and nodded in understanding. Taking a deep breath, Kylie closed her eyes and readied herself to tell Ethan the story.
"I…I was at the Private Club with f.a.n.n.y. Um…"
"With Fannie Ba.s.s?" Ethan asked.
"Yes. She actually called me, so I went. We just hung out…I didn"t drink or anything. I left the room and went downstairs. And…and…"
"Yes? Go on, sweetheart." Ethan encouraged her.
Kylie nodded, but she decided to omit Aiden"s name from the story. Even though he seemed calm, Kylie could sense the underlying anger in his voice as he probably guessed where this story was leading to.
"I was leaving, but someone grabbed me from the back and…" Kylie stopped talking as her emotions overtook her.
Kylie felt hands grabbing her, and a warm embrace followed. Ethan stroked her hair softly, letting Kylie cry her emotions out. After what felt like forever, Kylie managed to gather herself and pulled backward. Ethan was still patiently looking at her.
"Who grabbed you, Kylie? I know this is hard, but you need to tell me."
"I…it was a man. He just…he just grabbed me and pulled me to the back. Ethan, I was so scared!"
Ethan grabbed her hands tightly and nodded, encouraging her to continue. "Didn"t anyone else see? Did you call for help?"
"No…I screamed…I think…but I didn"t see anyone. No one came, Ethan!" Kylie yelled loudly, almost in a panic as if she was experiencing this right now.
"I know…I know…s.h.i.t Kylie." Ethan grabbed her shoulders. "You"re safe, love. You"re safe. I"m here now."
"I don"t know, Ethan! He tried to…he threatened to…he was going to rape me!! But…but I managed to get away. I hit him and managed to run." Kylie finally cried out and fell into Ethan"s arms feeling drained; it was as if she had experienced this horrible situation all over again.
Kylie sat up as she felt Ethan standing up. He turned around, facing away from Kylie. His hands were clenched, knuckles turning white. Ethan"s shoulders were tense as he stood hunched near the chair. Kylie could feel a fear creeping up her; how would Ethan react? Kylie thanked G.o.d that she had not made the stupidity to say Aiden"s name even though he deserved just that.
Ethan turned around and faced Kylie. His face was red with suppressed rage; his eyes were as black as coal. Kylie could hear his heavy breaths emitting from his nose.
"Kylie…" Ethan seethed. He sighed and turned around again as if he was angry at Kylie. Her heart ached at his reaction. Was she the one to blame for this? Was she responsible for this? If only Kylie had been smart!