Love For Sale

I sat motionless on my hospital bed, my knees brought up to my chest, and I stared out the window. I had been confined to this uncomfortable bed for the past week, and I was starting to go insane. Every so often, the nurses would come in to check on me and my I.V., but other than that, I didn’t have any visitors. I wished I had someone to talk to, but no one came to visit. Staring out the window, I sighed and wondered what the outside world was up to. It had been so long since I had seen daylight, and I was happy that I was finally out of Peter’s dungeon. I had passed out during my torment Peter put me through at the art gallery, that when I woke up at the hospital, I found my restraints were taken off and I turned hostile, they had to sedate me just so they could examine me. I was told that the doctors ran tests on me. I wasn’t surprised that they did a rape kit and a STI test on me. I was thrilled that the doctors did one, and I was eager to find out if any man that raped me gave me a sexual transmitted infection or something worse. I am still waiting for the test results to come back. I was also wondering what was going to happen to me.

I was hoping that Peter would get the death penalty for what he did to me. I was scared about what was going to happen to me. I had not told them my name after I calmed down, but I knew that they would have found out who I was after they got a hold of my DNA while doing the tests. I knew that I was in the system because of my past in foster care, and they would soon find out that I was a runaway. My worst fear now was that I was going to go back to foster care. I didn’t want that to happen, and I would fight back if they put me back in the program.

I heard a knock on the door, and I tore my head from the window. I thought that it was another nurse or a doctor, but I was wrong. It was Daniel. I turned my head back to the window and leaned back down on my bed. I was both happy and disappointed to see him. I was happy because I had a visitor, but I didn’t want to see him. To me, he was my enemy and wanted to put me back in foster care, but after I heard him and Cole talking about me, I didn’t know what to think of him now. He came into my room with a smile on his face, and he kicked the peg from under the door and it shut closed. He stepped closer to my bedside, and I saw he was sporting a McDonald’s cup in his hands.

“Hello, Kyle.” his voice was soothing, and from the tone of his voice, he sounded like he was concerned for my health.

“Hello, Daniel.” I replied, a stern look on my face. “What brings you to my bedside?”

“I wanted to check up on you.” he said, placing the cup on the hospital tray table in front of me. “I also came to give you this.” he pulled from under his jacket a matching bag to the drink. I smirked at the McDonald’s bag and shot up to open it. I saw Daniel had brought me a large order of fries and a Big Mac to go with the drink, and my smile grew bigger. I pulled the fries out first, followed by the hamburger, and started digging into the fattening food Daniel had brought me. “Thought you could take a break from the hospital food you are given.”

“Thanks, Daniel.” I gulped down a handful of French fries and washed it down with a drink.

“You’re welcome. But there is also a reason why I came to see you.”

“It’s about the case against Peter York, right?” I slowed down on the food, and I looked up at Daniel.

“Yes it is. His trial is coming up this Friday, and I am the Defense Attorney for the case. I usually like to have the victim of the case I’m trialing to take the stand. However, since you are still recovering, and unable to get out of this bed, so I need to video record your testimony.”

“Okay. When do you want it?”

“Thursday, that will give you enough time to remember what had happened to you while in Peter’s care.” I nodded and took a drink. “You know, the doctors gave me your test results back.”

“What did it say? I asked, afraid that my days of being a prostitute finally caught up with me. Chad had always said that if I wasn’t killed by some psychopath working, then I would die from an STD if I kept on living as a whore. Guess he was right, but I didn’t know if I had anything yet.

“From the amount of semen the doctors found in you, he was surprised that you were clear of any diseases.”

“You mean I am clean?” I asked, wondering if what he was saying was true, that I was clean.”

“Yep. And I am happy for that. Cole’s happy too that you aren’t sick.”

“You told Cole?” I had finished eating and pushed the trash away. My heart raced when I heard Cole’s name, and I tried not to think about him. He was old news to me, and I didn’t want to talk about him. But Daniel continued on the subject of my ex-lover.

“Yeah. I thought it would be a good idea to tell him. He has been really worried about you.”

“He has?”

“Yes. If it wasn’t for him, and your friend Chad, then you would probably still be in York’s hands, if not dead.”

“Cole called the police?” a smile rose across my face, and I felt my chest get warm. Even after he had broken up with me, he still cared for me.

“No, Chad did. But it was Cole’s idea to call the police. When he found out what hospital you were staying at, he rushed right over. But the doctors wouldn’t let him in, and he stayed all night until I came to give him an update on you.”

“I don’t remember that.”

“You were unconscious when I came, but I stayed through the whole testing process. Cole and I ended up leaving at six in the morning. He was relieved to hear that you were okay and stable, but he wanted to see you. He has wanted to see you since that night.”

“Really?”

“Really, really.”

“If he cares for me so much, then why hasn’t he come to see me?” I asked.

“That is a good question.” Daniel replied, throwing away the McDonald’s bag. “You should ask him that the next time you see him.”

“I don’t really want to see him.” I muttered, pulling the sheets over my head and sliding back into bed. “I don’t want to see him at all.”

“I am sorry to hear that. But you know he still loves you. He wouldn’t have sat all night in the emergency waiting room for nothing.”

“If he loved me, then why hasn’t he come to see me yet?”

“I do not know. I have been too busy with your case. I am thinking that he has been busy too with his classes. But the next time I see him, I will tell him to see you.”

I sighed and closed my eyes. I was angry about how Daniel brought Cole up, and I didn’t want to hear anything anymore. I took several deep breaths in to calm me down, and I felt myself calming down. When I opened my eyes, I felt the temperature in the room change, and I looked back. The door was propped open once again, and I saw that Daniel had left. I lay back down and closed my eyes once again. I was so tired, and I didn’t have the strength to stay awake, and I wound up falling asleep. However, I woke up an hour later, and I raced to the bathroom. I didn’t have to go, but I lifted up the toilet seat and threw up the burger and fries Daniel had got me. I couldn’t sleep after that, and ended up going to the bathroom every few hours, to empty the contents of my stomach into the toilet bowl.

Daniel returned again on Thursday, like he said he would, and he brought three other people with him. I could tell that one of the other men that came to my room was the judge in the case, and I could only guess that the other man was Peter’s attorney. The third was a recorder for the court, and she set up a video camera and then she set up her small typewriter in the corner. I positioned myself so that my bed was up and I was sitting upward. Once everyone was set up, the judge introduced the testimony for the jury when they watched it, and Daniel began asking me questions. I answered them the best I could and told Daniel what happened. I told him about how Peter York invited me to his house for the night, and then after that, he drugged me and locked me in one of his rooms. After that, I told him about how he used me for not only his personal pleasures, but also for his clients. I had endured some pain in my line of work, but retelling my story was more painful than anything that I had encountered in my life. Daniel made it easy for me to answer the questions, and he made me comfortable with telling everyone in the room what happened to me. However, Peter’s attorney wasn’t as comforting for me. His questions were more demanding, and had brought up my past as a prostitute and as a runaway foster child. Daniel objected to those questions, but the judged allowed it, and I had to answer the questions.

“Yes I am a prostitute.” I replied. “However, I have stopped that life before I went with Mr. York. Also before I went with Mr. York, I had been living with Cole Varani.”

Peter’s attorney went on from there, trying to get all the information out of me as he could. I started to get scared, and began stuttering my answers, which made me look bad on camera. I began looking around, and Daniel saw that I was getting scared and confused. He stepped in and objected to the answers, and said that York’s attorney was badgering the witness. The judge allowed the objecting, leaving the attorney without any more questions to ask me.

I was happy that my testimony was over, and I put my bed back to its lying down position. York’s attorney was the first one to leave, followed by the judge, and the court recorder. Daniel was the only one remaining after the testimony, and he gave me a pat on the back.

“You did well, Kyle. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” I smiled lightly. “I just hope what I said will put Peter in jail for the rest of his life.”

“I hope so too.”

“Does the doctors know when I can get out of here?”

“Yeah, I spoke with the floor doctor, and he said that they need to keep you for a few more days.”

“That’s good; I am starting to get sick of being in this bed.”

“I don’t blame you. I will be back tomorrow after the trial is over. Hopefully, the jury won’t take too long to deliberate over Peter York. I will see you tomorrow Kyle, take care.”

I turned on the T.V. after Daniel left, and I fell asleep listening to Drew Carey announcing the true value of a dining room set. I slept peacefully for the first time in days, since I arrived at the hospital, and didn’t wake up until late in the evening. When I did, I found my room was decorated with get well wishes and flowers. A small smile rose across my face as I saw the cards and flowers. I was surprised that I had so many, and I took a hold of the closest card.

“Get well soon.” it said on the front, and I opened it up. “Hope you are feeling well, and that we can get together soon,” I read the note on the inside. “Love, Chad.” I smiled at the card, and placed it aside as I picked up a card from a flower vase.

I found it strange that the card didn’t have any writing on it, not even a name from who it was from. I found two more flower vases like that, and I wondered who had sent me three different beautiful flower bouquets of roses, lilies, baby’s breath, and orchids. It was a bliss to have my room filled with get well wishes, but all that I cared about were those three beautiful, elaborate bouquets. I had asked one of the nurses who came in to check on me who had sent the flowers, but she said she didn’t know.

“They came in with the other cards and flowers” she told me.

I thanked her for her help, and wondered for the rest of my stay who had sent them. Daniel came to see me for a third time on Monday. He had a smirk on his face, and I could tell he had some good news for me. He pulled up the extra chair in my room and sat down. He had never sat down before when he visited, so I was sure that he had something to discuss. When he was seated next to my bed, he placed his arms on the sheets, and he sighed.

“What is the verdict?” I asked. I had my bed propped up so I was sitting straight up.

“I got some good news and some great news.” Daniel replied, resting backwards so his back met the backrest of the seat.

“Give me the news about Peter first.” I demanded. Daniel didn’t tell me what the verdict was from last Friday, so I was on pins and needles when he arrived.

“Alright. The great news first. Peter is going away for a VERY long time.” Daniel smiled and he studied my face for a reaction. However, my face was still. I was happy that Peter was going to go to jail, but I wanted to know for how long. It wouldn’t be right to get excited over a sentence if Peter was going away for only ten years.

“How long is very long?” I asked.

“Well, when we arrested York,” Daniel said, pulling his leg over the opposite knee, “I asked a judged to get a warrant for his home. I had a feeling when I saw you tied up, that there would be more evidence at his home. When we searched the house, we not only found Peter’s dungeon, but ten large storage tubs of kiddy porn. I tell you, York was a sick fuck.” My eyebrows rose when I heard him use the word fuck for the first time. “And not only that, he had taped all of his transgressions he had with underage kids. Just by that, and your testimony, Peter was sentence to twenty years for every count of the underage porn tape he had.”

“So, he is going to die in jail?”

“Yep. And he won’t be eligible for parole for what he has done.”

I closed my eyes and I took a deep breath in. I never was so happy in my life. I clenched my hands into the sheets, and I bit my lip. I was trying to be strong in front of Daniel, but he saw I was breaking down. He pressed his hand against my back, and I broke down. I was ecstatic to hear the news about Peter, that I couldn’t stop crying. Daniel tried to comfort me by sitting on my bed and wrapping his arms around me. I wrapped my arms around Daniel and sobbed into his chest. He was warm, and I pushed closer to his body to keep warm. I continued to sob as he held me, and I whimpered as I felt a hand stroking my head. Daniel didn’t say any comforting words to me as I cried, but I wished he would. Cole had always whispered sweet things into me ear when I was down, and he was good at it. Daniel didn’t know what to do, so he left me to cry. He held me close to his chest for several minutes, and pulled away when I was all cried out.

“Thank you.” I sniffled. Daniel nodded to me and took out his handkerchief for me. I took it from him and cleaned myself up. “You said that you had other news to tell me?”

“Yeah, I was talking to your doctor and he said that you can go home soon.”

“How soon?” I snapped. I couldn’t believe that my time here was almost up, and my spirits started to rise. I was finally going to get out of this place.

“Soon. The doctors want to run a few more tests, just to see if anything developed within the past few weeks. Once the doctors give you the green light, you are free to go.”

“That’s great!” I cried. “But I have just one problem.” I told him, realizing the reality of getting out of the hospital.

“What’s that?”

“I have no place to go,” my voice dropped, and so did my head. I didn’t have any place to go, and I was sure that Cole would not take me back for what I did.

“That’s okay. I got everything set up, and I arranged for somebody to pick you up. Your doctor should be running the tests on you tomorrow, so I believe you will be out of here within the next few days.”

“Thanks, Daniel, for everything.” I smiled.

“You’re welcome.” Daniel smiled back. “Just do me a favor, and don’t get into any more of these situations again.” I nodded, and he stood up. “Take care of yourself Kyle.”

“I will.” I replied. Daniel shook his head at my response and did something I would not have imagined. Leaning down, he pushed the strands of hair out of my face and gently kissed my forehead. He gave me a wink as he left, and I found that I was once again staring at the get well cards and flowers.

It took four more days, but I was finally released from the hospital. I couldn’t sit still in the wheelchair as I was wheeled out, and I wondered what was going to happen to me. I had tried to picture where I was going to live. I had pictured that Daniel had bought me a small apartment for me to live in, with the first few months of rent already paid off. I also imagined that he had gotten me a job near-by the apartment and he was going to get me counseling for my rape. I had a picture perfect image in my mind, and I thought about that all the way down to the hospital’s entrance. However, the fantasy life that I pictured faded when I saw Cole at the entrance. I sat firmly in the wheelchair as I got closer to him, and I turned my face away. I didn’t want to see Cole. If he hadn’t dumped me, then I wouldn’t have been in the hospital. However, I knew that was my fault too. I just didn’t want to see him anymore. He had put me through too much pain as it was. The nurse who wheeled me out stopped right in front of Cole, and she put on the breaks so I wouldn’t roll away.

“Hello, Kyle.” Cole greeted me, handing me a childish teddy bear. Attached to the bear’s neck was a balloon, and a small rose set inside the bear’s paws. I acknowledged Cole with a nod and took the bear from him. I would throw it in the trash once he was gone. “I hope you are feeling better.” He smiled, and reached out to help me into his car.

“I wouldn’t be getting out of the hospital if I wasn’t.” I replied coldly, getting out of the wheelchair by myself, and staggering over to Cole’s car. “Just take me to where I will be living from now on.” I sighed once I got into the back seat.

Cole didn’t say anything to me. He just thanked the nurse and got into his car. “Don’t you think you will be more comfortable in the front?” Cole asked me on the road.

“I’m fine back here.” I replied, coldly again.

I heard Cole letting go of his breath from the back seat, and I stared out the window. I had memorized the road Cole had took when we went to his parents house weeks before, but when we got off the freeway sooner than I expected, I saw he was heading in a different direction. “Where are we going?” I demanded. “You’re not going where Daniel told you to take me.”

“No I’m not.” Cole replied. “Daniel didn’t tell me to take you anywhere. It was me who asked him to tell you he made arrangements to pick you up.”

“Bastards.” I breathed, calling out both Cole and Daniel.

“I feel like you need to have a vacation from life.” Cole continued, “Both of us.”

“Why do you need a vacation?” I snorted. “You are back on top. You have your music; you have your money, and your fame.”

“I don’t have you.”

“Shut up. I have a headache and I don’t want to talk.” I lied down in the back and slept for the rest of the ride to wherever Cole was taking me.

A small pothole woke me up, and I found Cole had driven to the coast. I was awestruck; I had never seen the ocean before in my life. I quickly sat up to get a better view, and I pressed my face to the window. I small smile crept over my face when I saw the ocean peek its way through the gaps in the forest. It was beautiful to see the forest line cut off and there was nothing but water. I rolled down the window so I could smell the sea, and I took a deep breath in. the scent was salty, but it was heavenly to me. I loved that smell, and I took in a deeper whiff of the scent. This time I could smell the pine trees along the roadside, and I moaned out.

“How was your nap?” Cole called, looking over his shoulder and seeing me.

“It was okay.” I replied, still looking at the ocean. “Are we there yet…wherever it is you are taking me?”

“Yes we are.” Cole replied. “I just need to stop by the grocery store.” As he said this, he turned into a small parking lot with a small food store and a smaller video rental store. He pulled into an empty space outside the video rental, and he got out. “I will be a while, why don’t you go inside and pick out a few movies for us.”

I didn’t want to get out of the car, but I did. Stepping outside, I got a strong whiff of the sea. Looking around, I saw the parking lot was almost empty except for a few cars, and I saw that the parking lot needed to be cleaned as I saw it covered in bird crap. I looked over at Cole as he went into the grocery store, and I slowly walked over to the video rental next to it. There wasn’t much to choose from the selection the store had, but I wandered around till Cole came to get me. As I looked, I picked up some of the DVDs the store had and read the back of the boxes. I wasn’t into any of the movies they had, but I had to pick out one or two for Cole. I knew what his taste in movies was, but I picked out movies that he wouldn’t like instead. I didn’t have any interest in any of the movies I picked out, but I needed something for Cole to watch so he wouldn’t bother me up here.

“Found something?” Cole asked, joining me in the horror section of video store.

“Yeah. I did. These two I heard are supposed to be good.” I replied, giving him a fake smile.

Cole took the two movies I picked out, and he read them out loud. “Sharks in Venice, and Troll.” Both of them were B rated T.V. movies, so I knew that they would be bad. “Are you sure you want these?” he asked, giving me a questioning look.

“Yeah.”

“All right then.” Cole shrugged, and he went to go pay for the movies. When Cole was finished, he lead me back to his car and I took my seat again in the back.

It was a short drive from the grocery store to where Cole was taking me. Exiting from the parking lot, Cole turned left and headed up the next street over. He turned right, and I found myself on an unpaved roadway. Cole drove slowly so we wouldn’t go bouncing around in the car, and I saw a small cabin coming into view. It was well secluded from the rest of the houses on the street, and it looked to it was made back before the Civil War. When we got closer, I saw that there was a second story to the house, and I saw that it was in decent condition. However, the flower garden that lined the path to the front door was dead, so I knew Cole had not been up here for years. Cole parked his car on the side of the house and turned off the engine. I slowly stepped out of the car and looked around the new surroundings. You couldn’t see the road from the house, as it was covered by the forest surrounding it, and I saw a small path leading away from the house. I took a couple of steps down it.

“It leads down to the beach.” Cole called. I turned back to him and I saw he had two bags of groceries in his hands. “You can go down there if you want to while I put the food away.”

I didn’t respond to Cole and just stood in the middle of the path. Cole had left and was now walking up the three steps to the front door. I saw him balance the groceries he had against the door, and I snickered as he almost dropped the two bags. He managed to grab the bags before they dropped though, and he entered the house. I waited a few seconds before I moved, and I went to the back of the car. I grabbed two paper bags of food and decided to help Cole with the groceries. Cole was shocked that I was helping him bring in the food, but he didn’t say anything, and we worked in silence. When the food way put away, Cole brought in his suitcases, and he told me to follow him upstairs.

When I walked into the living room, I saw that it had that homey feel to it, and the matching green love seat and chairs looked welcoming. There wasn’t any T.V. in the room, but there were lots of books to choose from on the shelves by the fireplace. Around the room I saw a variety of game Cole had hunted over the years on the wall. The one thing that I saw that was ironic, was the bear skin rug. If Cole thought we were going to forgive each other and have make-up sex on that thing, he had another thing coming.

I followed Cole up the steps to the second landing, and he stopped at the first door to the left of the stairs. He set one of the suitcases down and he opened to reveal a room equipped with everything a person can live with. There was a twin size bed that was set directly between the two windows in the room, with a T.V. set across from that. I walked in after Cole did, and I saw a small fridge next to the closet. I looked behind me as Cole was setting a suitcase down, and I saw the room had its own bathroom. I sighed and looked around the room once more.

“This will be your room while we are staying here.” Cole told me, picking up the second suitcase. “The fridge is stocked with drinks, and we have every channel available you can think of. The fridge is yours downstairs too. If you need anything else, just tell me and I will run to the store.”

“Thank you.” I said to Cole. That was the first thing I said to him since he picked me up from the hospital that was half way decent. But it wasn’t out of thanks, and it wasn’t out of politeness. Cole understood that it was my way of telling him to leave, and he left me alone in the room.

“My room is just down the hall on the right,” he said as he left. “If you need anything…”

“I know where to find you.” I finished his sentence, and I shut the door once he was gone.

I yawned and locked the bedroom door so Cole wouldn’t come in, and I wandered over to the bed. I pulled the suitcase off it and tossed it onto the floor. I was tired from the long ride, and even though I slept on the way, I was still tired. The twin bed was very welcoming to me, and I crawled right into it. I didn’t fall asleep quickly though. I turned on the T.V. when I climbed in and channel surfed. It was nice to have so many channels to choose from, and I ended stopping on TMC. They were having a classic monster movie marathon, and I ended up watching the last bits of “White Zombie”. I yawned again as the next movie came on, and I ended up falling asleep thirty minutes into “The Creature from The Black Lagoon”. I wasn’t into the movie though before I went to sleep. My mind was someplace else, and I thought of Cole. When I did go to bed eventually, my thoughts became more entangled as I dreamt of him that night. I couldn’t get him out of my head, and I found I became more and more confused about my thoughts.