Protecting Olivia

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

ETHAN

Three days stuck in this hospital bed and the walls are starting to close in. The nurses say I wouldn't be leaving until at least the end of the week, but I know by tomorrow I'll be checking myself out. I've never been good at staying indoors, and with the smell of the hospital, the constant poking and prodding of the nurses, my need to escape is becoming palpable.

I remember being stuck in that hole, no sunlight, unable to stand or lay down. The only reprieve from that tiny space being when they dragged me out and inflicted whatever the flavour of the day for them was. As sick as it was, I found myself looking forward to them pulling me out of the doorway. That short time from my dirt home that I was in the hallway the only taste of freedom I had. The hours on end that I was stuck in that tiny room left me with my thoughts, with memories I would have rather had buried. With Chris my only neighbour, he had listened to my rambling, my terrible singing and crude jokes, all in an effort to stay sane. Two and a half years of that, I'm not sure that my sanity remained completely intact.

And while I have a comfortable bed, an actual toilet and edible food by hospital standards, the same four walls are starting to remind me of the dirt walls that became my home in that place. I will placate my worried friends and stay one more night, but I know for my own sanity, or what's left of it, that I won't last any longer here than that.

To top everything off, Seb told me that my parents house was ransacked the day after my father died, along with the place he was staying and the vehicle he was using. My mother is still at the seedy motel, coming out occasionally to meet with sleazy people in dark alleyways. I wouldn't be surprised if one day she doesn't come out at all. As heartless as that sounds, I've never known my mother to not be under the influence of some type of illicit drug, it's not a life when that's the only thing you live for.

I have a feeling I know what they are looking for, if my theories on my father are correct, I just don't know who it is that is looking. I've started looking more into my father, now that he personally isn't a threat, researching all his known alias' for anything I can find. I need to know if these people will come after me if they don't get what they are looking for, I need to know who they are so I can be ready, just in case.

The truth is, I don't care if they come after me. Whatever happens, happens. I just don't want them to use my family to get to me, which is highly likely. It's what I would do in their situation, extort their weakness.

That's what I'm currently doing now, after kicking Lance's annoying ass out, I opened my laptop that Jordan has brought in for me and starting my never-ending search on my father. So far, I have found nothing of interest, even going so far to look under my and Kate's names in the off chance he used them to hide his misdeeds. Consumed by my search, it took me a while to notice the small figure in the doorway, taking me by surprise which is usually almost impossible to do.

The boy, with blonde hair, familiar blue eyes and freckles adorning his cheeks stands barefooted in the doorway, holding an IV stand in his hand with the tube still connected into his arm. He's not wearing the stupid hospital gowns they force you in when you first arrive, instead a plain blue t-shirt and loose shorts.

Neither of us say anything, as I stare at my son for the very first time. I'd caught a glimpse of him the night that I was shot, but it was only for a second before he was pulled to the safety of his bedroom.

"Matthew," I breathe out as I close my laptop and push the table it rests on away from the bed. He doesn't respond, just watches me with curious eyes, taking me in. It's unnerving, to be examined so closely.

"You're my father." He states confidently, not moving from the doorway. It's not a question, a simple fact that takes me by surprise. It takes me a moment to respond, wondering what Livy would want me to say. Does she want me to know him? Was she the one who told him who I was? Not wanting to lie to him, I simply nod my head as I watch him.