The Winner

Nobody Else

I'm so caught up in Julia's detox that I had no idea what Trisha was going through.

She was downstairs visiting Gallo for a while. It seemed longer than her usual visits, so Paul started getting a bit anxious. Being in the hospital with all the security everywhere thanks to me and Jules, we don't worry too much about Paul babysitting Trisha. There's so many bodyguards around. She's safe.

But I was naïve to think that.

The door opens, and Paul escorts a very shaken up Trisha into the room. She looks like she's seen a ghost. She's trembling and in some kind of shock. All eyes gravitate towards her.

"What happened?" I whisper, knowing Jules is right here asleep. I slowly escape from the bed and put a pillow in my place for Julia to rest her head . She's passed out completely from all the crying she did and doesn't budge or wake up when I move. It takes me a little longer to get out of bed with the broken ribs, but I try to rush over to Trisha to see what's wrong.

"Is it Gallo? Did something happen?" I ask while Jonah takes Trisha by the hand and sits her down on the couch in the living room, away from Julia. Dr. Donovan closes the partition to give some sort of privacy and sits on the chair across from Trisha, studying her like she's his next mental case.

Trisha doesn't answer me. Paul takes over.

"Dave was trying to come in. He saw on the news...the accident...that Trisha could possibly still be here. He was at the right place at the right time when she was waiting for the elevator."

"Wait. He got through security? He shouldn't be on the list."

"Ok, back up. Who is Dave?" Dr. Donovan asks, having no idea what any of us are talking about.

"Her ex-fiancé. Apparently, back in town and a real piece of work." Jonah answers.

"He didn't get through security, Nate." Paul shakes his head in disbelief himself before continuing. "She was about to let him through."

"WHAT? Trisha. Why the fuck would you do something so STUPID!?" I raise my voice and lose my cool. Trisha leans her elbows on her knees and drops her head to her shaking hands to cover her face but doesn't answer.

"Nate. Take a breath." Jonah looks at me and shakes his head. Now is not the time for my outburst but... what was she thinking?!

"Trisha. You're shaking. Were you afraid of this man?" Dr. Donovan starts using his psychology to put the pieces together by looking at the way she is reacting right now.

"I'm not AFRAID of him. I don't know why I was gonna let him through. I- I.." She stops there, at a loss for words.

I sit down next to her gingerly and wrap my arms around her. She leans into me, still shaking, but staring down at the ground. Not crying. Not really showing any emotion actually. I can tell Dr. Donovan's wheels are turning up in his head.

"So this man. This ex-fiancé.. was coming to check on you? And you were going to let him through... Is there a reason he shouldn't be near you?" Dr. Dipshit asks.

"Yeah, he's an abusive drunk that she keeps going back to." I blurt out, almost mad at Trisha for her poor decision making for such a smart woman.

"Nate." She looks up at me like I'm overreacting. "He's not abusive. You know that."

"WHAT?! Are you fucking kidding me right now? Need I remind you of the black and blues and how he pinned you to a wall and wouldn't let you go? To the point the police were called? Or how about when you had se-"

"NATE! STOP!" Trisha yells and the whole room freezes. "OH MY GOD, JUST STOP!" She cries into her hands.

"So this is a domestic thing... Do you have a restraining order against this man, Trisha?"