She paced around the room, one hand punching the air in front of her in a panic.  “I told you to just watch her!  You weren’t supposed to hurt her yet…NO, I told you not to interfere…look just shut….JUST SHUT UP for a second, and let me think!”

Heather’s eyes were wide and her chest rose and fell rapidly with her distress.  It wasn’t supposed to come to this – JC can never find out what happened.  What do I do?

She paused in front of a window, looking down at the innocent lights of the city.  Occasionally, she would see car lights winding around the twisted roads, coming home from a late night out.  She let the phone fall from her ear down by her side so she could concentrate without listening to the person on the other end spew his excuses for messing up her plan. 

Tiny, the hoodlum she had engaged, was just supposed to follow Liz and let Heather know of any change in her routine.  Heather had planned to use Tiny to scare Liz sometime in the future, but since he had rammed into Liz’s car…well that changed everything. 

Letting her neck roll on her shoulders, Heather inhaled deeply then exhaled as she lifted the phone back to her ear.  “Okay, this is what you are going to do, you incompetent jerk.  You are going to lie like you have never lied before.  I can’t let anyone find out there is a connection between us or that I hired you to watch Liz’s every move.  You, in no way, are going to tell the police that it was anything other than an accident of your own making.”  She continued on over his protests, speaking very slowly and punching out every word.  “Tell them you just broke up with your girlfriend and you weren’t paying attention and didn’t mean to hurt anyone.  And you had better learn how to cry convincingly.  Do NOT let on that you know who Liz is or have had any prior connection to her.  Car accidents happen every day and this is just another one, no different than the hundred others that have happened today.  I’m assuming that JC knows that she has been in a car accident since he isn’t home yet so I’m betting I’ll be getting a call soon from him and I’ll be very sympathetic.” 

Heather cocked her head from a sound coming behind her but dismissed it as the house settling.  “Is any part unclear for you…okay then…keep me informed of anything that happens.  I’ll be in touch when I have something new to tell you.  I can’t stress enough the importance of keeping me out of the situation, JC can’t know!”

With that, she pressed the end button on her phone and nodded to her reflection in the window, satisfied for the moment at least that everything had been handled to keep her involvement a secret.  Deciding to head upstairs and get everything ready to leave, she finally turned toward the kitchen and screamed, dropping her phone and watching it skid across the floor where it stopped next to a very large booted foot. 

Her gaze rested on the phone watching while the man bent, picked it up, then followed his slow rise back to his feet before trying to confidently meet his hard and accusing eyes. 

“I think we need to talk, don’t you?”  Justin asked.

 ***

There was a light on the wall behind Liz that cast shadows over her face.  JC quickly crossed to stand next to the bed and look down on her swollen bruised face.  Now that he was closer, he could distinguish between the shadows and darkness coloring her skin. 

He rested his hands on the bed rail for a moment, trying to figure out the best places to touch her.  Finally deciding her forearm was safe; he gentled his touch and rested his hand on her unbroken arm, rubbing his thumb over her soft skin, while he tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear with the other hand. 

Not yet trusting his voice, JC simply concentrated on letting Liz know that he was there.  He ached just looking at her broken body, the machines helping her breathe loud in the stillness of the room. 

Several minutes passed before the squeak of shoes on the tile floor broke his concentration.  The nurse placed his wallet he had thrown on the table then studied the monitors for a moment comparing them to Liz’s chart she held in her hand.  With a smile, she turned to JC, “She knows you’re here; her heart rate and blood pressure are coming up.  Have you talked to her?”

JC shook his head as he tried to decipher the numbers on the machines. 

“Really?”  The nurse acted shocked.  “Well these numbers are the highest they have been since she was admitted and that’s just from your touch.  Try talking to her.”

Licking his dry lips, he tried to swallow around the huge lump in his throat.  Clearing his throat several times didn’t lessen the pressure.  Bending down closer to Liz, he finally managed to choke out a few words.  “Liz, baby, I’m here.  I love you so much and I’m so sorry that I haven’t been here for you.”

He took a moment to glance at the nurse and receive an encouraging nod.  He wiped his nose on the sleeve of his shirt.  Sniffing again, he took the tissue the nurse handed him then wiped his hands on an antibacterial wipe she shoved in his direction. 

“I’ll just leave these here for you in case you need them,” she said, placing a box of tissues and the container of wipes on the nearby table.  She lifted the call button to show him where it was then placed it back on the bed before she walked out as quietly as she had entered. 

The room was white, sterile, not something that Liz would ever want to spend much time in.  She loved color on the walls, not too bright of course, but enough that could showcase her personality and creativity.  “I’m going to have to buy out a florist shop so we can get some color in here, aren’t I?”  He whispered, more to himself than Liz.  “I’ve never really given you flowers, have I?”

Letting his thoughts roam in this new direction, gave JC a mental break from thinking of the pain she must be in.  “Other than the obligatory Valentine’s flowers, I’ve never given you any.  You didn’t even have a wedding bouquet as you should have had.  You never got to throw it afterwards either.”

The beep of the machines was his only answer.  Tugging a chair into place behind him with one hand, JC sank down onto the edge, never removing his other hand from her arm.  “That’s going to change, Liz.  I’m never going to go across the country with you so far away.  I was going to come home this morning and yell at you since we haven’t talked…Elizabeth?”  He questioned.

A sudden sob burst from his throat and he clapped one hand over his mouth to stifle the sound.  Giving into his tears, he formed a fist and bit down on a knuckle as he lowered his head to rest it lightly on Liz’s forearm.  He turned so he could still see Liz’s face, though it was blurry through his tears.  “Please Liz, please wake up, and yell at me for not being here.  I’ll do anything.  Please God, help her…don’t take her from me, I couldn’t bear it.”  He said haltingly. 

“Forgive me Liz – God, forgive me.  I love you, Liz, I love you, I love you, I love you.”  He repeated the phrase, whispering it until he finally gave into his exhaustion and fell asleep.