The Patchwork Heart

Chapter 8

I parked in front of my new little house on the street. Mitchell's truck was parked in the driveway. I didn't see Ryan's truck anywhere. I got out of the van and rushed up the cement path, up the small steps and through the front door, as I entered the foyer I called out, "Mitchell are you here?"

I waited for a moment when I heard him shout back at me, "Yeah, I'm in the bathroom." I moved quickly down the hallway, to the bathroom door. I found Mitchell sitting on the edge of the bathtub, his shirt was covered in blood. Mitchell was leaning his head back with a dirty rag over his nose trying to stop the bleeding. My mouth dropped as I moved to his side, "What happened?"

Mitchell didn't say anything, he just sat there with his head back. I grabbed the sleeves of my sweatshirt moved the rag aside. I held my balled up sleeve over his nose and put pressure on it. He flinched at my touch, which told me it wasn't an ordinary nose bleed.

"Mitch, did something happen?" I asked softly. He shook his head, "No, I walked into the door frame and I think I might have broken my nose." He held his eyes closed, so I couldn't read if he was telling me the truth, but I didn't think he had a reason to lie. I frowned, "Maybe we should get you to the hospital."

He shrugged, "Yeah. Ok." I helped Mitchell stand up and get out the front door. I got him into the van and took him to the hospital. I called my parents to let them know what happened, that I wouldn't be back home for a few hours. The doctor put a brace over his nose. When Mitchell came out to me in the waiting room his eyes were all bloodshot and bruised. There were a couple of finger marks on his neck that I didn't mention. He smiled at me when I stood up to greet him, "See, good as new."

I nodded and opened the doors for him. I drove us back to the little house where we went inside. I hadn't really looked at the place when I arrived before, as I was concerned for Mitchell. I studied the living room where he had taken the wall down. It was beautifully done with an open, modern concept. With the living room blending into the kitchen, the entire space seemed so much bigger. Mitchell had painted the entire area in a soft mint green with complimented the dark brown sofa, chair and loveseat set the Leys' had got me. He had painted the kitchen cabinets a clean white, which popped nicely against the walls. The light brown flooring gave the entire living room a cabin feels, which I adored.

"Oh Mitch, I love it. I can't believe how beautiful you've made it." I told him breathlessly. I moved around my kitchen to take in the space. The white linoleum of the kitchen made it appear so clean. I walked down the hallway to the nursery which was painted the sky blue I had selected. Mitchell had set up the crib, change table, dresser and rocking chair in there already for me. The beautiful light brown flooring looked great against the paint. I started to cry when I saw it.

Mitchell coughed slightly, "Is it wrong? I thought you liked these colour." I shook my head, "No, it's perfect. Absolutely perfect." I turned around and threw my arms around his neck. Mitchell froze against my chest, spreading his arms out. He seemed to be taking great care not to touch me. I held on tightly to him and cried into his shoulder. "Thank you so much, Mitch." I whispered into his ear.

He nodded into my neck but otherwise didn't move. When I pulled away I looked up into Mitchell's face. He smiled shyly at me, "I have one more thing to show you before. One more change." He gestured with his head for me to follow him down the hall to the room which would be mine. Mitchell flipped the switch and what I saw took my breath away. He had painted the room my favorite colour, deep purple and the floorboards were a perfect white to contrast. He had installed a stunning light fixture in the centre of the ceiling that looked like teardrops against a mirror, I adored it.

"Mitchell, oh my god, is this all for me?" I asked, my voice was full of amazement. He moved into the room behind me to see my face. He chuckled, "I take it you like it?" I turned to face him and smiled wide, "I love it! I can't believe how beautiful it is. You have been working so hard, this is just amazing."

He laughed, "I'm glad you like it." A part of me wanted to reach out and kiss Mitchell on the cheek but I was too timid to do it. Instead I offered him a sheepish smile, "No one has ever done anything like this for me. Thank you, Mitch." He nodded and blushed slightly, "I'm happy to help out."

We sat down in the living room and talked for a while. Mitchell told me he had some plans to update the plumbing in the bathroom next. He also wanted to install a new tap in the kitchen sink. I told him he didn't have to do any of that but he insisted. It seemed his plans for my little house had no end.

"So, Bree, when do you want to move in?" he asked. I shrugged, "I wasn't planning to move in until after the baby is born. He could arrive anytime now." Mitchell looked at me a little concerned, "Are you uncomfortable? I have read that pregnancy can be difficult."

I smiled and nodded, "A little bit. It's hard to stay in one position too long. I feel swollen and I'm always sore. My feet are huge and so are my hands." He laughed, "Yeah, I can imagine. You do look different, that's for sure."

I glared at him, "Are you saying I'm fat?" Mitchell's eyes went wide as he stared at me, "No, I didn't say that. I definitely didn't say that." I laughed loudly at his obvious nerves. When he realized I was teasing him, he rolled his eyes and said, "I'm just saying you look different now. But you should, I mean, you are growing a person in there."

"That is true. I feel enormous." I whined. He shook his head, "No, you just look pregnant. Nothing wrong with that." I smiled at him and whispered 'thank you'. It was after 7pm when we went our separate ways. Mitchell told me he would be in touch later in the week. He had to start getting ready for seeding but he wanted to do some more work on the house after the crop was in.