Chapter 1

'How could you!?'

'Its none of your business'

'Don't walk away'

'Watch me'

I was jolted awake by the sound of the alarm. My forehead was damp and my hair stuck to my face, I was breathing hard.

Rays of morning light sneaked their way through the curtains threatening to give me a headache

Groaning as I got out of bed I skipped downstairs heading to the kitchen to make coffee.

Early morning coffee was almost an obsession for me, it always felt like the best way to start my day no matter how sour I was feeling.

I tried to bask in the quietness of the morning when the phone rang.

'Hello' I said

Seconds later my hands felt shaky as I took a deep breath. One hand holding the cup of coffee, the other squeezing the phone that was pressed to my ear.

''I'm on my way'' I said before hanging up.

Getting a call that my husband was in the hospital unconscious terrified me in ways I wasn't ready to explain or admit. I felt goosebumps as fearful thoughts found their way into my head.

I rushed out of the house and sped to Saint Mark's Hospital twenty minutes away.

My palms were sweaty, I felt a bit nauseous. I shook my head and willed myself to be calm.

Reaching the hospital reception, I was taken to where my husband was kept.

There was a bandage around his head and left arm, I watched him breathe slowly through his oxygen mask with IVs attached to him. I was hit with waves of different emotions, I almost clenched my fists.

'Is he going to be okay?' I asked the man in charge who introduced himself as Doctor Ryan

'He experienced some sort of blunt force trauma, he'll live but let's hope he wakes up soon. We've controlled the swelling but -'

'He's basically in a coma' I blurted out cutting him short

'You can say that '

'How long will this last?' I asked as I reached out to hold Jack's hand

''Hopefully a week or so. But anything could happen''

I sighed then a deep voice spoke behind us

''You never asked what happened to your husband Mrs Pierce''

I turned to see two men in long dark jackets, obviously cops.

''Detective Marsh '' he introduced and pulled out his badge ''this is Officer Lenny''

'What's this about?' I raised a brow

''Ma'am we'd like to ask a few questions. Mind if we step outside the room for a moment?'

'I do mind actually. My husband's been in an accident and I need to be by his side' I replied

The doctor had silently excused us and left the room.

'This was no accident ma'am' Officer Lenny said

Marsh have him a stern look before regaining his composure. It was quick but I feigned ignorance. Lenny was probably still a rookie.

I gave a light gasp 'Do you know who's responsible?'

'We just wanna know if you knew anybody your husband had problems with, any recent misunderstandings?' asked Marsh

'No. I don't think so. Jack's a normal guy, goes to work, gets back late sometimes, business trips and all that' I exhaled loudly 'why would he have problems with anybody?'

'What exactly does your husband do Mrs Pierce?' asked Lenny

'He works for this company, uh- Winland Corp, he's an accountant'

'Where were you last night?'

'Home'

'You didn't find it strange that your husband didn't come home last night?'

I was getting irritated

'I told you, it happens, he works late nights. So I assumed it was work.'

My palms were beginning to feel sweaty

'And neither of you called each other?'

At that moment I recalled the morning before, jack and I had a fight. I felt he was cheating and lying about late nights at work. Things were a bit rocky between us for a while now.

He stormed out of the house almost forgetting some files.

I swallowed before answering 'No. Neither of us called. You can leave now officers. Thank you'

I was alone with my thoughts. I looked at Jack who always somehow had a smirk on his face, even while unconscious. I played with his fingertips then brushed a little of his hair out of his face

' you always liked being in the center of things. Having your way and getting all the attention' I chuckled lightly

*******************************************

I wished I could be alone but I couldn't tune out the voices of the two ladies that were talking to me. They stayed in the neighborhood, I knew they just needed fresh details for their book club; I called it a gossip club. After two meetings with them, I made it clear politely that I wasn't interested.

Here they stood still in their workout clothes, sweaty.

Gwen's jet black hair was up in a ponytail, her brown eyes inquisitive. She was taller than Camille who was a redhead.

'That's terrible, who would do such a thing? Gwen exclaimed

'Have the cops found anything yet?' asked Camille

'Nothing yet unfortunately' I replied before packing up leftover pasta. I had to head back to the hospital later. Seeing I wasn't having any juicy details to give, they left.

I was alone again. I shouldn't have dismissed the detectives the way I had. I sighed.

I owned a bakery in town and I hadn't checked in today, my assistant called earlier reminding me about a certain wedding cake. There was no way I was going to work, not while Jack was still in the hospital.

I changed into fresh set of clothes, when I stared at my wedding ring on the dresser, I hadn't put it on in three days. Picking it up, I remembered when Jack proposed over a year ago.

He took us to dinner at Hermes, a fancy restaurant at the time. We were so in love, it felt like a fairy tale but not anymore we argued a lot recently, we couldn't stand each other sometimes.

I put the ring on, grabbed my car key and jacket mumbling about the cold and traffic.

It was 6pm as I drove back to the hospital. I ached for a glass of wine. I was only two months sober but it felt like a year. I felt stressed, swallowing hard as I drove past a liquor store I always looked at on my way home.

Back in my husband's room, I took off my jacket and set it on a chair before sitting next to him. I listened to the steady beeping of the heart rate monitor then held his hand. Doctor Ryan's familiar face walked in

'Mrs Pierce' he smiled 'just making my rounds. Everything okay?'

I hesitated 'do you know where he was found?'

'Near an old parking lot I think' his attention was drawn by a nurse.

I rested my head on the bed slowly swimming in my thoughts before falling asleep.