A HEALTHY LOVE

CH.27: A LOVERS REUNION

Three and a half weeks had passed and there was still no word of McCullough, though Alex had asked a few of the CO's. She knew she couldn't keep asking questions without them getting curious, so she tried to go on with her life. McCullough was never far from her mind.

Alex returned to her cell after making the rounds with her book cart. She instantly noticed that one of her books was sitting on her pillow, and she had not left it there. She rushed to open the cover. A note fell to the floor. Alex picked it up and read the familiar handwriting. Closet. Six o'clock.

It was already nearly six. Alex wasted no time as she left her cell. She headed straight to the closet, where she waited as her heart pounded in the back of her throat. At six on the dot, the door opened there was McCullough. Smiling brightly, Alex tried to play it cool. "Hey...Look who's back," Alex said softly.

"Yeah. Can't say I missed this place, but..I missed you," McCullough replied.

Several long seconds passes between them. Finally, Alex couldn't hold back any longer. She pulled McCullough into a deep kiss, and she wrapped her in a snug embrace. McCullough returned the hug until she winced slightly. Alex pulled back with an apologetic frown. "Im so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you," Alex said

"It's fine. I'm...just a little sore still," McCullough said. Alex looked down as she reached for McCullough's sleeve. "You didn't…"

McCullough:"What? No. No, I haven't burned myself in weeks. I'm sore from the sutures. I had to have a few surgeries to stop the internal bleeding."

"Are you all right now?" Alex asked.

McCullough smiled brightly at Alex's concern over her. "Yea,I'm great. There won't be any lasting effects. And PolyCon freaked out over the incident. They said they can't have any more negative press. So, they gave me a raise and a big settlement to keep me from going public. I'm officially out of debt" McCullough explained.

Alex: "Seriously? That's great."

"Yeah. It's a good feeling," McCullough agreed. She averted Alex's gaze as continued to speak. "Listen, almost dying…it opened my eyes. I've been terrified to ask what changed, why you came back to me, because I was scared I'd lose you again. But life is too short. I have to tell you how I feel, and that's to say.. I want to be with you, Alex. I know you're married and you love her, but I—"

"Stop.." Alex said,cutting her off. She set her left hand on McCullough's cheek, slowly caressing it. "It's over between me and Piper. Almost losing you made me realize that I want this. I want you. I do love Piper and a part of me will always love her. But you're the one I choose. I love you with all of my heart, Bambi Artesian McCullough."

McCullough expression was similar to a deer in headlights. She couldn't believe her ears. "You...You love me?" McCullough asked, with vulnerability in her voice.

Alex: "Fuck yes,I do. I was so fucking scared that I'd never be able to tell you. The last few weeks have been such a nightmare. I've had no way of getting in touch with you, and it drove me crazy. They took my phone, and I didn't know what hospital you were in. For all I knew, you were never coming back. I..I couldn't have lived with that."

McCullough: "I was never going to leave you, Alex."

"Good. I don't want you to go. Ever." Alex replied.  The two shared a deep kiss. They had the entire world stretched out before them now. All they had to do was survive the rest of Alex's sentence.