My Prison Pen Pal

Chapter 25

Discomfort. That's the feeling I wake up to. My lower legs and ankles are stinging horribly. Every time I move them and they brush against the sheets, the pain becomes sharper. I rub my eyes slowly, letting them adjust to the harsh lights surrounding me.

    "Lucy, you're awake."

    Braden wraps his comforting hand around mine and places a small kiss on the back of it.

    "My legs hurt.."

    I mumble out and try to sit up groggily.

    "Wait, stay where you are, I'll go get the nurse and tell her you're up."

    Braden says, sitting next to me. His hair looks disheveled and he is in the same outfit he was in when everything went up in flames, literally. Getting up from the chair, he swiftly leaves the hospital room on a mission.

    "Wha-how long have I been here?"

    I ask anxiously, trying to sit up again. Dave stands up from his chair across from me and sits in the empty chair Braden just left. He carefully pushes me back into the hospital bed pillows and wipes away the strands of hair stuck to my cheeks.

    "Shhh, you're ok, everything's ok. You've been out for about a day. When you fell, you hit your head on the concrete. Thankfully, you landed feet first, so the hit was not as bad as it could have been."

    "I didn't mean to fall, I was just trying to get out of there as fast as I could. I guess I hit that railing?"

    Dave nods and smiles sadly.

    "You didn't just hit it, Lucy, you broke through it and fell about 10 feet."

    My heart skips a beat.

    "10 feet! Jesus, no wonder my legs hurt like hell."

    Dave crosses his arms and leans back in the chair.

    "Sure, your legs are hurt from that impact, but your ankles are burnt up from the fire. Thank God that boyfriend of yours made you wear that fireproof suit, I don't want to think of what could've happened if you... if you weren't."

    Dave avoids eye contact and bites his cheek, stumbling on his words. Reaching out I take his hand in mine and calm him down.

    "Hey, it's ok now. I burned all of the drugs, there's no way that they can get out on the streets now. Honestly, knowing that is what is keeping me sane right now."

    Dave nods, looking towards the door. He's probably wondering where Braden is with the nurse.

    "Although, I don't know if things are back to being safe now with all your men in the hands of Snake. Please tell me that you didn't sign Braden away too with that contract."

    I say nervously. If Braden is now with Snake, there's no way he is ever going to get out of this job and get to focus on other things. I bet Snake will make his life a living hell. A grin slowly stretches out onto Dave's face and he relaxes back into the chair with a look of pride.

    "What?"

    I ask, confused. Dave hesitates.

    "What!"

    "Lucy, I tricked Snake. Did you notice how he walked away for a minute in between me signing and him signing?"

    I nod, not seeing where this is going.

"Snake signed the contract, Dave. I saw it, all your men-"

"I switched the contract."

Dave interrupts me, smirking.

"I switched the contract he gave me for one that Missy wrote a few days ago. One I pre-signed. When he came back from looking at you, I hated that by the way, he didn't even notice that I switched them. He signed it without a second look."

Sitting up again in astonishment, I realize what he did. Holy shit...

"Wait, so what does that mean? What did you get from Snake?"

Dave frowns and pushes me back down on the bed, annoyed.

"Jesus, can you stop sitting up please!"

I giggle. Sometimes the greatest joy in a little sister's life is annoying her big brother.

"The contract that Snake signed says that he will resign from his position of the gang leader, and all assets, including men, will go to me. He has to follow it too. Contracts are highly respected in the industry. If you sign, you have to go through with it. "

"No way."

I breathe out, astonished. It's over. This gang rivalry, the crazy danger, it's over. Sure, there's still going to be people on edge and guns in Braden and I's life, but they will be all under Dave's control.

"I can't believe-"

"Lucy, here's the nurse!"

Braden walks into the room with a nurse following quickly behind him. The nurse walks up to my bedside and starts to evaluate my vitals, writing something on his clipboard. I can't help a huge smile forming on my face as I look at Braden.

"Come here, come here, come here!!"

    I yell at Braden excitedly, reaching out my arms for him to hug me in celebration. A small, relieved smile forms on his face. Reaching down, his warm arms wrap around me comfortingly, and he places a kiss on my forehead.

"Dave told you huh? It's all over."

Nodding into his chest, I enjoy the peaceful feeling that surrounds us. Even though my legs are burning, and I am still in the hospital, I see hope and happiness in our future.

    I spend about a week in the hospital, recovering from the head trauma and the second-degree burns on my ankles. I try to catch up on work, answer emails, and let everyone know that I will be back in a few weeks, but no one leaves me alone enough for me to be productive. Braden stays by my side 24/7 unless he is working, Dave makes sure to scold me multiple times for almost killing myself, and Missy makes sure to bring me iced chai's every morning. Although, the greatest joy this week was seeing Kiera and Michelle. The first time they were let into my room to visit, it made my whole day. Kiera ran up to my bedside, yanking Michelle behind her, and gave me a ton of slobbery kisses all over my cheeks and forehead. Not to mention that she snuck wine into the hospital.

    Feeling peaceful is something I am getting accustomed to now. Out of the hospital, life has felt like a dream. Going back to work full time and getting to see my patients, staying at Braden's almost every night, spending quality time with Kiera, Michelle, and Rufus have been my highlights. Everything feels at peace.

*Ding Dong*

The doorbell rings and Rufus immediately starts barking and running to the door. Getting up from where I am reflecting over these past few weeks on the couch, I head towards the front door, expecting it to be Braden. He gets off around this time and we usually hang out and.... stuff before Kiera and Michelle get home from work. Pulling open the door, I say,

    "Hey, you know you can just come in-"

    Nobody is there. Weird.

Looking around the hallway, I see nothing, it's normal except one ominously flickering lamp at the end of the hall near the elevator. I am about to retreat inside until I see it. Someone has left a note for me on the ground in front of the door.

Lucy,

If you think I am out of your life, think again. I might not have my men or my status, but I have drive. I am coming after you.

- S

THE END