I'm The One (A Van Halen FanFic)

20

{August 6, 1978; on the plane}
As soon as the concert was over, I got on the plane to go see Mary in Nevada. With every minute that passed, I got more anxious.
Soon enough, I landed in Nevada. When I arrived at the hospital, my nerves were going insane. I haven't seen this girl in two months, I thought to myself. I got up to the front desk.
"Mary Randall?" I asked the nurse. She looked at me funny.
"Sir, visiting hours end at 10 pm. It's two in the morning. I'm sorry but you'll have to come back."
"Listen," I began. "Mary is my girlfriend, whom I've been looking for for two months. I need to see her now. I know it's late, but I flew straight here to see her. Please, I'm begging you, let me see the girl I love." I started to tear up; not for sympathy, but because I couldn't control myself.
The nurse sighed. "Oh, alright, I'll sneak you back. But only this once." I smiled at her and she smiled back. We walked across the cold hospital floor and made our way up the elevator. I stood silently, minus the heavy breathing as we grew closer to her floor.
"You okay?" She asked me.
"Trying to be." I said shakily.
We reached the 6th floor and she lead me to her room. I stared at the door, trying to calm myself. It just didn't feel real.
"Pinch me." I muttered to the nurse.
"Sir-"
"Please."
She pinched me hard and I winced in pain. This was real, alright.
"Thanks." I muttered.
"Yep. Good luck in there. I'll give you an hour, but then you'll have to leave. Or stay in the lobby until 7am."
"Thank you so much, er-"
"Sam."
"Sam. Alright, best be on my way."
She nodded and opened the door for me. I crept in, the only light coming from the soft glow of a lamp and a monitor. I slowly made my way to her. She was sleeping lightly, which was weird considering she snores most of the time. I figured she was weak from her wounds. I kneeled next to her bedside and stroked her hair. Tears fell down my cheeks. She suddenly stirred. Her eyes started to flutter open. I moved back a little, as not to completely startle her.
"Eddie?" She croaked, trying to adjust to her surroundings. "Is that you?"
"Y-yeah." I mumbled. "It's, it's me."
She yawned and rubbed her eyes, focusing on me. I smiled and moved close to her. Even when she's weak and hair messy, she's still beautiful. I could hardly believe I was sitting here with her.
"What time is it?" She asked. I grabbed her small hand.
"Around two in the morning. I just got here."
"They allow visitors at this time?"
"No, the nurse is just cool."
"Was it Sam?"
"Yeah."
She nodded her head and continued to stare at me. I felt so happy and anxious in this moment. Another tear rolled down my cheek again as I was just so overwhelmed that she was with me again. She looked at me funny, almost fully awake now.
"What's the matter?"
"I'm just so overwhelmed. I can't believe that I'm here with you."
"Oh." She chuckled lightly.
Suddenly my whole mood changed. A chuckle? I'm crying, and she laughed? She must've lost her god damn mind. I then felt an emotion I suppressed many of times when I thought about her: anger. I remembered that she left me, she put me through emotional hell, and now she laughs? I know this might sound crazy. It was a light chuckle. But to me, it was a laugh in my face. A laugh that said, "Oh, sorry about making you cry and worry sick for two months but I'm just going to chuckle at your tears." I let go of her hand.
"Ed?" She asked. I went, grabbed a chair, and sat facing her.
"Why?" I asked.
"Why what?"
"Why did you put me through this?"
Her face suddenly showed signs of guilt. She laid on her back, facing away from me.
"God dammit Mary!" I hissed, remembering I couldn't yell. "You put me through hell for two fucking months and you just look away from me? No, fess up, now."
"Can we please do this tomorrow?" She whispered.
"No."
I watched her begin to silently cry. I knew this wasn't easy for her, but I deserved an answer. And she knew I did.
"After I left that night, I just started wandering. I didn't know where to go. Finally, I ended up at a hotel. I got a room and sat, wondering what to do next. I was going to go back the next morning, Ed, I swear. I just was so mad with my dad's death, with myself, that I was being so stupid. And I felt guilty because you were right about me. About how I changed and all that. So after I decided I wanted to go back, which was about two hours after I left, a group of men approached me in the lobby. They were asking me if I knew how to sew; one of them said they had a rip in their suit and needed it fixed before a big meeting. I lied and said I didn't and that I needed to go back to my room. I made my way and noticed they were following me! In the elevator, they stood behind me and I felt a pinch. Next thing I knew I woke up in a completely different room. Turns out, that pinch I felt was a needle and they drugged me. They appeared in the room and told me I was going to be their personal assistant..." Mary was now trying to choke back tears. I laid a hand on her arm.
"Hey now, you don't have to tell me the rest." I said.
"No...no," She sniffed. "It's okay. To sum it up, it was a week of hell, Ed. As soon as I got here I asked for an STD check. I'm clean, thank god. It was...oh Eddie..." Tears fell down her cheeks. "A week of barely eating, being physically and mentally tortured, being scared to even fall asleep for one second... I was so mad that I ran off. If I wouldn't have been so ignorant and just stayed in the bus none of this bullshit would've happened!" She was starting to get angry now.
"Hey," I stroked her arm. "Yeah, running off was dumb; but you can't beat yourself up for what happened. Those men who took you are sick fucks."
She nodded. "I know..look you don't mind if I don't tell you everything tonight, do ya? I mean what happened that week."
"Of course I don't mind."
"Okay. Well, I'm sure you're wondering how I escaped since I was only there for a week. After Tony, one of the men, decided to pay me a visit in my locked room, the dumb ass dropped his key on the way out. Honestly I couldn't believe my luck! As soon as I knew they were asleep, I unlocked the door, made my way to the front door, and ran out. I went to a neighbors house and they let me in. Ed, I wasn't in Japan anymore. I was in England! They must've knocked me out for a good long time when they kidnapped me. Anyways, I was going to call you, but I got too caught up in them helping me get to the police to catch those bastards. I rode back to the house with them, but they were already gone. I guess they heard me leave, I don't know. The cops said they would help me get a plane ticket back to the US, and they did. They were so nice. So I flew back and landed in New York. From there I used the rest of my money to get a ticket back to California. Once I got in California, I moved back in with a friend for a while. I then found the ad you put in the newspaper and I decided to make my way to Pasadena. I took a bus and walked. Took me a long time to get there. So when I was there, I stopped for lunch at McDonald's and I noticed two guys in there staring at me. As I was eating my lunch, they kept watching me. I then realized it was my kidnappers, just with dyed hair and facial hair. I pretended I didn't notice them and walked out quickly; of course, they followed. Well to make a log story short, they got me again. Woke up and I was in Nevada. And well you know the rest."
"Well, why did they stab you?"
"They were pissed I ran off, Ed. They hunted me down to kill me. Guess their plan backfired." She gave a weak smile.
"Wait, how did the cops or others also not recognize you?"
"I wore a wig and sunglasses. I really didn't want to be noticed, Ed. I didn't want to answer questions again. I just wanted to find you."
"Why didn't you call, Mary? Do you have any idea how worried I was about you?"
"I know, I know. I was too afraid to call, Eddie. I was kind of hoping you'd forget me for you're own sake."
"That's so fucking stupid." I said, the anger starting to come back.
"I know. It is. And I'm so sorry. When I saw those ads in the paper I realized not calling was a huge mistake. Which is why I made my way to Pasadena. To surprise you."
"I wish it would've worked out. I missed you so much. I'm still mad, not gonna lie, but I missed you terribly. I never thought I could care so deeply about someone other than my brother.."
She gave another weak smile. "I'd be concerned if you weren't mad."
Anger fading again, I leaned over and kissed her for the first time in 2 months. I forgot how much I loved kissing her. All my anger melted away as we connected. Yeah, there were still stuff needed to be talked about, but right now I could ignore it. I waited too long for this reunion.
"I love you," I whispered, her face inches from mine. This is the first time I told her that. My heart rate increased.
"I love you too." She whispered back. We kissed again. And again. I was almost ready to crawl into bed with her when the nurse opened the door.
"I'm sorry sir but your hour is up." She said.
"I'll see you in a couple of hours. I'm going to get some sleep in the lobby." I told Mary.
"You don't have to stay here Ed."
"I know, but I want to. Get some sleep. Love you."
"Okay, love you."
I walked out with the nurse, both of us silent as we walked to the elevator.