All is Found - Chapter 64: Chapter 64

My first full year teaching music to high school kids was definitely an adjustment after I finished my masters. Even though I go by Mrs. Ramsey in school, there are always a lot of kids who know my music. Sometimes it surprises me. Like sometimes I forget that I'm still a famous musician. To me, I just want to help grow the love music in some kids like I had the opportunity to have it grown in me when I was there age.
So after my first year of teaching I learned I just needed to get it out of the way the first week school started. Normally I would just flat out open up with yes, I am who you think I am. Yes I am friends with Taylor Swift and I do have her phone number. No we are not going to call her. If you want to talk to me about my active years as a musician, you can come and see me during my extra help hours after school.
By my third year of teaching, I've had it down to a science. Once the initial shock wore off I was able to get to know each of the kids I was teaching and I quickly learned who was actually here because they enjoyed playing music and who were here just because they had to take an elective.
Even though I basically retired from the active music industry scene to become a teacher, I still have a lot of connections in the music industry. I have co-written albums, produced some of the latest rock chart toppers and I have a steady stream of artists who are always open to come to Salem and sit and have a writing session with me.
Then one day out of the blue while I was at work I got a phone call from Toby, the CEO of my old label Astralwerks. I had to wait until I had a free period before I was able to pick up the voicemail from him. Every once and a while my old manager Alyssa would send me different offers from agencies who would want to work with me on different things, but as the years of me working from basically in the shadows started to grow, those emails would be less and less. So needless to say I was surprised to pick up the voicemail from Toby saying he had an offer for me that he wanted to discuss and to call him back.
I still had plenty of time before I had my next class to I just made sure the door was shut before I gave him a call back.
"Long time no talk Ashlyn, how's teaching being treating you?" He asked when he answered the phone.
"It's nice to hear from you Toby and it's been good. I really love my job." I said and smiled just thinking about it.
"It makes me really happy to hear that Ash. But I just got off the phone with some people and I wanted to run this by you in person, well over the phone because I know you are most likely at work right now. I got a call from a movie director by the name of Joseph Kosinski. He is directing the sequel to Top Gun and he called to see if you were possibly interested in writing the theme song for the movie." Toby said.
"Come again?" I asked confused.
"The director of the sequel of Top Gun called me to ask if you had any interest in writing the theme song for the movie?" Toby said.
"That's a challenge. Writing for a movie, would I even get to see it to get a feels as to what the song should be about?" I asked.
"If you want to do it, I'm sure we can figure out a way for you to either see what has been filmed already or even talk to the director about the film itself." Toby asked calmly.
"I'm interested, this sounds like a really cool challenge for me. I'm sure we can figure out how to make this work with me teaching here on the east coast. I wouldn't have to fly to see them film any of the movie right?" I asked thinking how I would even begin to explain to my boss that I need some time off to see parts of a movie being filmed on the other side of the country.
"I doubt it. I believe they have either wrapped filming or about close to it. So I'll call him back and tell him you're in. I'll set up a time with him when we can all be on the phone to go over the details then I'll send over the contracts for you to sign." Toby said.
"Thank you for calling me about this Toby. It means a lot to know I still have you in my corner if I want to officially unretire." I said a smile spreading wide on my lips.
Toby just laughed and we set up a time date for later in the week when I was available to speak with the director before hanging up. I never really gave any thought to writing music for films or TV shows specifically. I know that some of my songs have been used in shows but I've never actually sat down to write something to go directly into a movie. I'm excited for a new challenge and spent the rest of the day excited to go home and watch the original Tom Gun again before speaking to the director.
It didn't take much convincing to have Thea sit down one night this week and watch the original Top Gun with me. I've only seen parts of the original movie but getting to sit down and watch it front to back, I can see a lot of different places where the director can take the sequel. It made me feel more prepared when I spoke with Joseph and Toby later that week to know what I was getting myself into.
To my absolute surprise, Tom Cruise actually got onto the call with Joseph, Toby and I. It's been a long time since I've been star struck by someone but seeing him on the laptop screen sent me reeling for a minute. While Joseph briefly spoke about the overall direction of the movie, Tom jumped in with the emotional tone he was looking for in the song. When I brought up getting to see some of the movie that was already shot, I got some push back. With it being the middle of the school year, I couldn't really leave for a long period of time. That was when Tom mentioned they were going to be filming some scenes in Maryland. Luckily, the dates they were filming on the East Coast were a bit in advance enough where I could get the time off of work. Once we triple checked the dates did line up, Toby told me he would be sending over the contracts for me to sign.
It was only then did I tell Thea what was going on. She has been busy these last few months as she made the jump to working on the warrant squad. There were a lot of long stressful nights and I didn't want to add to that until I knew it was officially happening. Thea got excited for me and we celebrated together while the kids where out at sleepovers. Since I knew when I would be going to Maryland I was able to set up some sleepovers for Preston and Sammie so Thea didn't have to worry about them while I was out of town. It also helped that Nikki was home from her last string of tours so she would be able to help out if Thea needs her.
So everything was all set and contracts were signed and sent right back to Toby to take care of. My trip to Maryland was for the end of the month and I managed to get a sub for Friday so I would be able to have three days there. Turns out that working on a movie that is being executively produced by Tom Cruise came with some perks. They got me flying in on a private plane and put in a 5 star hotel.
When the plane touched down on Friday morning, I was actually taken on set and got to watch some of the flyover scenes they were shooting today. After most of the scenes were filmed, I got to sit with Joseph and Tom and watched a very rough cut of the movie. Some pieces of the movie were already set in the place and won't be changed while others where going to be cut from the movie. I left the screening with a lot of ideas and a new timeline of when the final song needed to be in by. With the notes I took I felt pretty confident I would be able to write something really great for the movie.
Since I still had part of Sunday morning free before my flight, I went back to set and got to meet some of the cast. It was nice to get to speak to them for a few minutes each to learn about the characters they were playing but it was so beneficial for me to sit down with Miles Tiller. We have crossed paths a few times over the years at various parties so we were familiar with each other but getting to have a solid ten minute conversation with him about his character in the movie really started to get my writing brain firing on all cylinders.
The flight home was quiet but full of brainstorming different ideas I could run with. I had a month to put the song together before I would need to fly out to California to meet with Hans Zimmer to make the final arrangements of the song. When I found out that I was going to get to meet Hans and work with him on the arrangement of the song, I almost fainted. He is a musical genius who has scored so many favorite movies throughout my life and getting to work with him on this song is going to be one of the greatest honors of my life.
About a week into the creative process of the song, Thea came home one night in rough shape. Her arms and hands were cut up and I could already see a bruise forming on her temple and it made me almost drop my mug on the floor. I was barely able to get it onto the counter before I rushed over to her. Thea wouldn't meet my eyes so I just carefully turned her chin in my fingers to get a better look.
"Does anything feel broken?" I asked. Over the years, Thea coming home roughed up from a night at work didn't surprise me. What usually happened was when she wouldn't tell any of her team members she needed treatment of her injuries is what really upsets me in the end. These last few weeks have been rough on Thea and I'm trying not to push her into talking much about it, but I can only hold out for so long.
"No, I just wanted to come home to you." Thea said and finally looked in my eyes. Tears were threatening to pour from them and I knew it was only a matter of time before they did. So carefully, I led Thea upstairs and started to run a bath for her to soak in. While we were waiting for the tub to fill, I started to undress my wife and make sure she was okay. It looked like she face and arms took the brunt of whatever happened. When the tub finally filled up, I got in first and waited for her to join me. Once she was in, I pulled her back to my chest and held her close. Thea didn't say anything else about what happened that night, she just kept her grip tight around my hand, never letting go.
The day after the incident, Thea had the day off and I called out of work to spend the day with her. I got an earful from my boss but I couldn't leave her alone today. So after we dropped Preston and Sammie off at school, Thea stayed close to me. When I went into the studio to try and work on the same song I was working on just the night before, nothing left right anymore. All the happy pop song idea's I started with were no longer going to work. With Thea's arm wrapped around my back, I scrapped everything I was working on and just wrote from the heart. With tears pouring out of my eyes, the song came together in less then an hour.
I sat with the song for the rest of the week to make sure I was okay with the final lyrical version before I sent it off to Joseph for it to be fit into the movie. While my actual singing was finalize, the background music still had to be written. Now that the song was done, I made plans to fly out to California for the weekend to work with Han Zimmer in person. Before I knew it, I was getting onto the same private plane as before to fly to California.
Instead of being put up in a hotel this time, I insisted I was comfortable staying with a friend. The friend just happened to be Halsey. I haven't seen her in a while and I thought it would be nice to catch up with a friend while I was in LA for the weekend. Halsey actually picked me up from the airport and took me back home with her. We got the spent Friday night just relaxing together and catching up as Alev took Ender out for the night.
Saturday was spent in the studio with the musical genius that is Hans Zimmer. I got to meet him and we had a lovely conversation about music and scoring movies and it just left me wanting more. He was working on some of the score for the movie and I just sat back and watched him in awe. Watching him work was something I'll never forget.
After they finished up what they needed to do on the score, we moved onto the song. I had two versions of the song laid out. One would be this big rock like ballad with chords that could really fill a big arena. The second would be stripped and played on the piano with a string arrangement. We talked about both versions for a while before he told me to grab a guitar and play something that could work. While I got set on the guitar Hans got behind the piano and together we worked through the instrumental pieces of the song.
It took most of the day but when we finished and he played back the songs I sat there in tears. This song feels so important and I can't wait for it to be pair with the actual movie. We hit send together on both versions of the song to Joseph and were fairly confident we weren't going to have to make any changes to the song. As I left the studio that night, I felt a new love starting to grow for scoring and maybe a possible chance to work with Hans again in the future.
On Sunday, I spent the morning with Halsey, Alev and Ender before I had to catch my flight back to Salem as I couldn't swing getting another day off of work on such short notice. Halsey and I made some loose plans to possibly start working together on her latest project and I hugged them all goodbye before her driver took me to the airport.
After the initial contact from Joseph about how much he loved the song, I didn't hear from him for a while. The movie was still in the process of being edited and I knew from the beginning contract talks that the film was being pushed for a mid summer release date. The rest of the school year finished up as I finally got word of the premier date and the date the song would be released. The trailer for the movie would be featuring the song. I also found out that Toby and Cary were submitting the song for the award season. It left me nervous at even the chance to be put up for big awards and the possibility that I had to be away from home more then I wanted.
As time started to pass since what I'm calling the incident, I could see that Thea was finally coming around to her normal self. She still never told me about what happened that night at work and I don't think she ever will. I just continued to hold her close and made sure that she felt all the love I could possibly give her.
When the song and trailer dropped over the summer I got a lot of buzz. So much so Toby re-hired Alyssa for the time being to help me sort through all of the appearance requests and red carpets I was wanted on. I did make it clear to them though that this is the summer and it is my time off and I didn't want to spend it traveling across the country. So I agreed to attend the New York screening of the movie with Thea as my date. This was her first real break since moving to the warrant squad and I was happy that I didn't have to walk the red carpet alone. We made it a weekend trip and left Preston and Sammie at home with Nikki and Malia.
The movie turned out better then I could ever imagine it being. My song and the score Hans and I created were playing in the background of a lot of scenes. I had tears in my eyes as the credits rolled and we stayed till the very end to see my name come up on screen. I was even more emotional when I saw my name next to Hans Zimmer. It was such a life time achievement for me it took me a few moments to get myself together.
Thea and I got to enjoy ourselves at one of the larger after parties and we mingled with some celebrities for a bit before we hung back by the open bar and people watched. This wasn't much my seen any more and Thea knew I was only staying for the time I needed to before I was able to leave. We made the most of it though, getting to dance to some music for the first time in what felt like years. The night finally shook off whatever rattled Thea so badly that night at work and we just got to be wives in love. By the time we made it back to the hotel I was practically pealing Thea's dress off of her while most of my suit was already unbuttoned.
When we got home, the rest of the summer was spent relaxing with the kids and taking random day tips to Boston with the family for some much-needed time together. By the time school started again in the fall, most of the buzz from the movie died down and I was happy that the timing worked out in my favor so that the movie didn't premier in the middle of the school year. But the buzz picked back up again when the Grammy award nominations were announced in November and Hold My Hand was nominated for best song written for a visual media. The school was excited for me and I just tried to down play it seeing as I already have multiple Grammy's to my name. Since the award was not going to be televised, I told Alyssa and Toby I wouldn't be attending in person.
But then things kind of hit the fan when award season was in full swing and I ended up being nominated for a ton of other awards but the ones that stood out to me were the Golden Gold Award, Critics Choice Movie Award, oh an also an Academy Award. I actually almost fainted when I watched the award nominations live in school. I didn't have a class at the time and I managed to sneak Thea into my classroom and together we watched them read my name off the list. Thea forced me to sit down and then my phone wouldn't stop ringing. I managed to keep myself together for the rest of the day.
When I got home that night Thea was home waiting with a bottle of champagne and the kids were all excited for me. Preston was annoyed I didn't pull him from his class so he could watch the announcement with Thea and I but he got over it quickly when I let him have a little bit of champagne to celebrate. I let the buzz carry me through my phone call with Toby and he asked if I was interested in coming to California for the award show and to even sing the song live. I jumped on it right away way to excited and asked if Thea would be able to get the time off of work. She told me she didn't care; she would call out if they didn't approve it. It's not everyday her wife gets nominated for an Oscar.
With the plans set to go for all of us to go to California for the awards the only thing we had to do was go shopping for what to wear. I was going to keep it simple and just wear a tux but Thea and Sammie wanted to wear dresses. Alyssa helped us out as a few different designers wanted me to wear there clothes. I didn't care which one I wore so I had Alyssa pick. She went with Gucci and set up some dates for Thea and Sammie to get measurements taken for their dresses. The dresses didn't take long to get to us. Thea went with an almost baby blue color and Sammie is wearing a maroon dress that looks great with her complexation. Prestons' suit and my tux came in in about the same amount of time.
As we were getting deeper into the school year all of my classes were there winter concerts before the holiday break, Christmas and New Years I kind of forgot about the awards I was nominated for. Once school got started again in January things calmed down a bit more and I was happy to start the second half the school year fresh. The second week of January was when I got a phone call from Toby. I was in the middle of pooling my senior AP music students what pieces they wanted to try and tackle this semester when my phone rang. I still had it out on the piano from my lunch break and forgot to put it away. But it buzzed constantly on the piano. I silenced the call making the mental note to call Toby back after school ended but the buzzing started up again. I sighed and told the kids to talk amongst themselves while I picked up my phone and walked towards the back corner of my room that held my desk.
"I'm teaching right now Toby, what is it?" I asked making sure none of the kids got to loud.
"I just got word you won the Golden Global award for best original song." Toby said.
"You're not joking right?" I asked turning away from my class.
"No I'm not! Congratulations Ashlyn. I'll text you the shipping information once it goes in the mail." Toby said and hung up the phone.
"Mrs. Ramsey you're trending world wide on twitter right now." My star drummer Chaz said as he waived his phone in the air as I hung up my phone.
"Does it say I just won a Golden Globe award?" I asked and walked quickly to see his phone.
"Yes!" Chaz said as he showed me his phone.
The rest of my students gathered around and we all looked at the news together. It took a few moments to sink in but once it did, the class started to cheer and give me hugs as my phone started to buzz non-stop. I tabled the rest of my lesson plans for this class because I couldn't focus on anything else anyway. There are only 10 kids in this class but we have all gotten very close this year so they are like family to me at this point so getting to share this news with them was special to me. They already had me promise to bring the award into class so they can all look at it once it comes in the mail. It's a promise I'll happily keep.
Over the rest of January Toby would keep me updated on the different awards the song has won from different film critics and associations. But the next award ceremony I had circled on my calendar was the Grammy's. The award I was up for was going to be given out at a dinner the night before the ceremony and Toby was going to be attending the dinner for me. But now that the song has done so well with all these other awards, I actually got my hopes pretty high to win. I was a nervous wreck the whole day and I ended up getting day drunk with Pat while I was waiting for a phone call. The only thing that sucked though was that this is a dinner on the west coast. I wouldn't find out if I won until the early morning hours to Sunday.
And because I was day drinking with Pat and ended up getting day drunk with him, I ended up falling asleep on the couch around 10pm est. When I woke up to a full bladder protesting I found Thea was awake and on the phone. I barely sat up on the couch when Thea noticed I was awake and shoved the phone in my hand.
"Ashlyn!" Toby yelled in my ear.
"You do know it's like 2am right?" I asked after I looked at the time on the clock.
"I'm bring it home for ya!" Toby yelled again and it took my brain another few seconds to catch up to his words.
"I won the Grammy?" I asked and jumped up from the couch.
"Yes Ashlyn! I've been celebrating all night on your behalf!" Toby yelled again and it was then that I could tell he was pretty drunk.
"Go have another drink for me and bring it home in one piece will ya!" I yelled back and started jumping up and down myself.
Toby wished me good night and I jumped into Thea's waiting arms. She told me she picked up the phone a few minutes before I woke up and had to deal with a drunk Toby. She was about to wake me up anyway when I did end up waking up on my own. It was also then when I realized why I woke up in the first place and pushed away from her and scrambled down the hall to use the bathroom.
When I got to work on Monday I was the talk of the school. I usually like to keep to my music filled corner but it seems like all of the teachers from every department came out and congratulated me on the song. Of course when I saw my AP kids they brought me in a little cake with what was supposed to be a Grammy on top but it really ended up looking like a demonic bunny rabbit. Once again we tabled actually talking about school work and I let them ask me questions about the music industry and some other famous people I know.
Now that the Grammy's were over, there was really one other big award I was worried about. Well it's the biggest award actually, the Oscars. They are coming up in the middle of March and my stomach has been in knots ever since the week after the Grammy's. But then again I don't know if it was just from the nerves of the award itself, singing live in front of a live national audience for the first time in years or the fact that Thea is finally on her last few weeks of working with the warrant squad before she moves to over to the special victims unit. It was one of the last units she hasn't worked in when she started making her moves for police chief. But I know that when she is in the final weeks of working with a unit, especially one as dangerous as the warrant squad, I can't help but get nervous that something bad is going to happen.
As we got closer to the Oscars, Thea told me she is taking a two weeks vacation so she can have some time to rest and recharge before she moves into the new unit. It made me over joyed to hear that because she deserves it and kind of needs it too. She's been coming home with random bruises and cuts and I try not to ask about them but they are hard to ignore.
It was the week before the Oscars and I was getting everything ready to go. Alyssa and Toby are going to be meeting us out there so they would help me out with getting everything ready for the red carpet and for the performance. To warm up I even performed the song for my AP kids a few times to get used to performing in front of an audience again. They all gave me some pointers about the performance and it didn't take long before I felt comfortable singing the song live.
After the school day finished up and Preston ambled into my classroom, we left for the day and went to pick up Sammie from the middle school right down the road before we headed home. On the drive home I ended up dropping Preston off at Damien's house so they could hang out while Sammie just wanted to come home and relax on the Friday afternoon. When we got to the house there was a large package waiting outside and I already knew it was the Golden Globe award. Toby sent me the shipping information and I knew it was supposed to be arriving sometime today. Toby himself actually came and dropped off my Grammy when he came back to the east coast after the award show.
Sammie raced inside and up to her room while I brought the package inside. I'll have to open it later when Thea and Preston get home so they can be here for the magic. Just as I was about to head upstairs to change out of my work clothes there was a knock on the door. I smiled and walked up to the door and pulled it open, thinking it was going to be Pat ready to name the newest award in my collect but my blood ran cold when I found Rory standing on my door step.
"What happened?" I asked trying not to let my mind run to the worst-case scenario. But then again, I don't think Rory would be making this house call if it was something not that bad.
"It's bad Ashlyn, it's pretty bad. Are the kids here?" Rory asked sounding shaken up.
"Pres, he's at Damien's, Sammie's upstairs." I said trying to think of someone who could watch her for a bit.
"Nikki is coming, Malia called her and asked if she could come babysit. She should be here in a few minutes but we need to go Ashlyn." Rory said the worry in her voice was making me start to panic.
"Let me just go tell her, I'll be right down." I said and almost tripped over my own feet as I walked up the steps. Sammie was in her room playing on her phone when I got there. I tried to pull a mask over my emotions but it was pretty hard to do right now when I didn't have enough information myself.
"Sam, I need to run out for a little while. Aunt Nikki is going to be here in a few minutes to hang out with you okay?" I said trying to keep it brief.
"Okay" Sammie mumbled to engrossed in whatever was going on on the screen to pay attention.
I just rushed down the steps, grabbed my bag and locked the door behind me. Rory was already waiting in the car when I got there. He barely let me shut the door before he turned on his light and siren and started to race towards the hospital. The car was silent as I said a pray to anybody who was listening to keep Thea alive. With Rory's lights and sirens, other cars pulled out of our way and we got to the hospital quickly.
Once we got inside there were a lot of officers waiting around as we walked in. It didn't take long for them to notice us and they all moved out of our way to let us by. Rory led me through the different floors up to the ICU where I found an anxious looking Malia sitting in one of the waiting room chairs. Rory didn't stop to let me speak to her though and pushed me through the doors into the ICU. We walked right up to the nurses station and with one look they waved us back into an office.
"Mrs. Ramsey we need to speak with you about your wives health directives." A doctor said that came into the office right behind us. He shut the door behind him and sat down in front of me and Rory.
"What happened?" I asked finally finding my voice.
"Thea was clipped with a shot gun shell. The round hit her on her left side, in her mid torso. But because it was a shot gun, the pellets struck her in multiple locations. There is a large cluster just above her left hip and another large cluster just below her ribs. But we need to know if she has any health directives if we cannot repair the damage." The doctor said, clear and to the point.
"Why wasn't she wearing a vest Rory?" I asked in tears looking over at the man Thea considers her second father.
"She was. She took another shotgun shell to the chest plate and went down. One of the officers pulled the vest off to see if it went through, a few did but it was nothing major until the suspect fired again through the wall when she stood up again without the vest on." Rory said.
"Mrs. Ramsey, I know this is an extremely hard decision for you to have to make but I do need to know." The doctor cut in again and I lost it.
"Fucken save her life god damnit! Her directives are on file already! There's no reason why you should be asking me this as she's been treated here multiple times! Fucken go save my wife!" I yelled at the doctor and started hyperventilating.
I think that he got the message as he only nodded at me and left the office. I continued to panic and the only person who would be able to calm me down right now is in surgery. That's when the floodgates opened and a sob broke through my lips. Rory pulled me into his arms and I just completely fell apart. What was supposed to be one of the best weeks of my life as now become the worse.
I don't know how long we were sitting inside the office for when someone knocked on the door before coming inside. It was a nurse and she just gave me a small smile and handed me some water and juice. Rory took that moment to walk outside, probably to update Malia and anyone else who was waiting around and I just sat there paralyzed with fear.
"We have the best doctors working on your wife hon. She's in the best of hands. They got her here quickly and its going to make a big difference. How long have you guys been married?" The nurse asked as she cracked open the water bottle and stuck a straw inside the opening. I picked it up and took a couple of sips before putting it back down on the desk.
"This year is going to be 10 years, she's my whole world, I can't lose her." I said as tears started to bubble up in my eyes again.
"Hey, look at me." The nurse said and took my hand. "Your wife is a fighter. She was still speaking when they brought her in. The only thing she kept saying was how she has an important date with her wife next weekend that she couldn't miss. Themis just kept asking us to slap a band-aid on it and not to call you until after you finished teaching for the day. Before she went into surgery, she made us promise to get her up on her feet again in time for the date next weekend with her wife she loves so much."
I was in tears as the nurse spoke and I couldn't respond for a few minutes as I choked back a sob. When I finally knew it wasn't going to escape I opened my mouth to reply.
"Our date next weekend is at the Oscars. My song is nominated for an Oscar and we are all going together, Thea and I and our kids." I said and wiped away my tears with one hand, to afraid what would happen if I let go of this women's hand.
"She also gave us this to give to you. Said she never takes it off." The nurse said and reached into her pocket and pulled out Thea's St. Michaels pendant.
"She hasn't taken it off herself since I put it on her neck over 10 years ago." I said as the nurse put it back in my hand.
"St. Michael protected your wife. If she had gotten up any later then that the shell would have hit her right where the plate was supposed to be." The nurse said.
I could only squeeze the nurses hand and nod as I gripped onto the pendent I gave to her all those years ago. It took a little while longer before I felt stable enough to get up from the chair I was sitting in. The nurse showed me around the ICU unit a little bit and pointed me in the direction of the private waiting room where they started to put people who came to see Thea. I was inside the room when another nurse came over and gave me a bag of all of Thea's belongings they took from her when she was brought in. I could barely look at the bag so I just left it on the floor by Malia who looked in rough shape herself. I didn't have the mental capability to comfort her right now so I just squeezed her shoulder as I paced the room for a while.
Thea had to be okay, there was no other way out of this. She was going to live come hell or high water. Asher, Ashley and Allison didn't give me their word all those years ago for it to mean nothing now. I don't remember when I sat down but I was finally aware of my phone going off in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw what felt like millions of notifications. Just as I was about to put my phone down again I got an incoming call from Preston and I knew I couldn't ignore it.
"Hello." I said unsure of what I was about to be on the receiving end of.
"I have been freaking out for hours mom and nobody has been answering there phone! What happened to mom!" Preston yelled and I could just picture his face right now, red, sweaty and fuming.
"I'll have Aunt Nikki come pick you and Sammie up and bring you here." I went with.
"Please just tell me if she is alive!" Preston said through tears.
"She's in surgery Pres, they haven't, there hasn't been an update yet." I said trying to hold it together.
"Why didn't you call me? Why did I have to find out from the news?" Preston said heartbroken.
"I can't Pres, I'm going to call Nikki and she is going to come and get you from Damien's house and bring you here and I'll tell you both together because I don't know if I can do it more then once." I said and had a hard time choking back a sob.
"Okay, I love you mom." Preston said.
"I love you too honey." I said and hung up the phone.
When I tried to call Nikki another call came in from Toby and I didn't have the heart to answer right now so I silenced the call. Rory stepped inside the room and I asked him to make the call because I couldn't get the call to connect through all of the people trying to reach me. Once he agreed I just turned my phone off because it would do me no use right now.
It didn't take long before Preston rushed into the waiting room and crashed into me. I didn't know what else to do but simply just hold him close and brought us both down to the floor to avoid us falling later. Time didn't exist in hospitals. Every moment felt like hours and I don't know how long it was until I felt Preston sag completely against my body. When I finally looked up from my boy I found Sammie asleep sitting between Nikki and Malia and I sagged a bit in relief myself.
Even though Preston was dead weight in my arms I was able to move his big lanky body so his head is against my shoulder and his body is curled into mine. Looking around the room again I found Rory sitting in a with his head resting against the back wall and his eyes were closed. But I had a feeling he wasn't sleeping.
"Is there any update?" I asked anybody awake enough to hear.
"I'll go get a nurse and see if there is one. It's been hours since they brought her in." Malia volunteered and got up from her seat and left the room.
Malia returned a few minutes later with a different doctor from earlier, which was probably a good thing. If I had to see that same guy again, I would probably punch him square in the face. Malia pointed to me on the floor and I saw the small smile on his lips as he took in the scene with Preston pressed against my shoulder as he came over to me and sat down next to me.
"The buckshot that hit her lower torso ruptured her left kidney and we needed to remove it along with a stopping a lot of internal bleeding. They also had to work through her intestines to make sure none of it was hit also. Lucky, there was no damage to it. The buckshot just ripped through her body, as that's its nature. The last time I was in the operating room, doctors were working on the buckshot near her lowest ribs. There was no damage to her liver, but a pellet did hit her left lung and they needed to repair along with resetting her lowest rib in place so it heals correctly. Somehow during all of that damage, Thea's heart stayed strong. The doctors should be finishing up soon though so once they close her up, I'll let you know when they move her into a room. Do you have any questions?" The doctor explained calmly and evenly, going through all of the damage that happened to my wives body.
It took me a few moments to wrap my head around everything the doctor just told us. I flattened against one of the chairs and took a few deep breaths to really work everything through my exhausted brain.
"Thea will be okay with only one working kidney?" Was the one question that stuck out in my mind to ask.
"Yes, it seems like she lives a very healthy and active life style now so I don't see she'll have many complications when she gets back on her feet. But Thea is going to be in for a long recovery period. She is going to need to listen to her body more now, but we will talk about that when she is awake and with us. For now know that it shouldn't be too much longer before she is out of surgery. I'll come back and give you another update when I have one, okay." The doctor asked and I just nodded.
The doctor left us and I sighed in relief. Carefully I placed Preston against one of the chairs as I curled into my own body and hung my head in my hands. Tears were already pouring down my face and I couldn't help it. Thea was almost torn from us again and I didn't really know what I would have done if the damage was worse. All there is left now is for the doctors to finish up and move her into a room. I felt a hand on my shoulder and I looked up to find Rory knelling down in front of me.
"I'm going to head out and notify the rest of the troops here. Once they know what's going on, there won't be too many that linger. After that I'm going to head home and try to get some rest and make sure all of the paperwork is in line for this one." Rory said.
"Did they get them?" I asked before Rory could get up.
"He's dead. Once they were fired upon and Thea went down, they opened fire through the wall and took him out." Rory said and patted my hand before standing.
I just nodded at Rory and watched as he walked out of the room, closing the door behind himself. After he left, I stood from the floor and felt my whole-body crack into place. But I felt like I needed to move again. So I paced back and forth for a little bit before I heard a mommie come from Sammie and I turned to find her rubbing her eyes and awake.
"What is it honey?" I asked and rubbed her back.
"Is mom going to be okay?" Sammie asked and leaned into my waiting arms.
"It seams like it Sam. How about Nikki and Malia take you and Pres home to get some sleep? It's still going to be a while before we are going to get to see her and these chairs aren't comfortable." I said and ran my hand through her hair.
Sammie could only nod and agree and I was thankful I didn't have to fight her on the measure. It took a lot more convincing to get Preston to go home though. He really didn't want to leave the hospital without seeing Thea. But finally he caved when the doctor came back in and said it was still going to be a bit longer before Thea would be moved into a room. With the doctors words in mind, he left with Malia and Nikki and a police escort home while I sank into a chair in the waiting room again. It was only about ten minutes later when the doctor came back in and smiled at me saying that Thea was already in a room.
"I figured you would want a little bit of space with her before you bring the kids in to see her. I also wanted to let you know we are going to keep her sedated today, Saturday and Sunday to give her body a chance to heal and to keep her comfortable. As long as everything goes well, we will bring her around Monday morning and go from there. Would you like to see your wife now?" The doctor asked.
I could only nod as we stood up and walked together down the hall to a private room with two officers waiting at the door. Recognizing both of them, I gave their hands a squeeze as I was let inside by the doctor. He gave me some rules for the ICU and visiting times they are pretty strict about, that they are bending just for tonight and I stop in my tracks when I finally saw my wife. Though most of her body is covered with blankets, there are tubes and wires going connected to different parts of her with a lot of different machines all around her head. Her face is pale and I could see the bags of blood hanging from and IV pole.
The doctor left us alone then and I slowly made my way to the chair that's next to the bed and sank into it. Hesitantly I placed my hand on Thea's arm and prayed. It's not something I do often or really ever but right now the only thing I could think to do was speak to God and thank him for keeping Thea alive. I brought my head down and rested it against her arm and felt some of the tension leave my body. I knew it wouldn't be gone until Thea is awake but for right now I'll take the small victory of having her alive and laying in front of me.
I don't remember actually falling asleep but the next thing I knew there was someone's hand on my shoulder. I jumped and pushed the hand away from me not knowing who it was. When I got my baring's I looked behind me and found Alyssa standing behind me.
"You weren't answering your phone after the news broke so I got on the first flight I could. Had to call Nikki to get me up here to see you." Alyssa said and gave me a smile. I couldn't help but give her a small smile and pulled her into a tight hug.
"I turned my phone off. It wouldn't stop ringing and I couldn't even get calls out because there were too many inbound." I answered and sat against the side of the bed.
"How is she doing?" Alyssa asked.
"There was a lot of damage. I need to get another report from the doctor this morning to get the final list but just from yesterday I know she lost a kidney and had a lot of internal bleeding and things. It's been a long 24 hours Alyssa." I said and rubbed my forehead.
"I know, that's why I'm here. Toby and I are trying to push the story from national news but its harder from local news because it's not often police get shot around here. I still wouldn't look at social media if I were you though." Alyssa said.
"Thank you for that." I said and squeezed her hand. Alyssa and I talked for another minute before the doctor came in with an update.
All the reports from last night were the same. They didn't discover any more damage when they were repairing her lung and ribs so I was a bit relieved to hear that. They are still going to keep her sedated until Monday though so she can recover a bit before waking her up. But after that report, the doctor left us alone again and I sank into the chair next to the bed. Alyssa sat down on the edge of the bed and worked on her phone for a few minutes before I asked if I could call Preston. She gave me her phone and I called my son to update him on how Thea is doing. He was happy to hear that Thea was out of surgery and recovering and I asked if he would be okay staying home for now. I think that it would be best if he doesn't see Thea like this. Preston quietly agreed and told me he will tell Sammie, Nikki and Malia about how Thea is doing.
After the call Alyssa gave me my cell phone and told me she went through a lot of the messages and cleared the notifications. I was happy I don't have to go through all of them and I just put the phone down on the bed, not really wanting to look at it anyway. It wasn't long after that, that Alyssa left with a tight hug saying that she is staying in Boston if I need anything to give her a call. I could only nod and watch her leave. When she was gone I turned to Thea, hoping to find her hazel eyes open and watching us but was disappointed to see them still closed.
The rest of Saturday was spent sitting vigil next to the bed. At some point in the day I was so bothered with the noises coming from all the machines that I turned on some music and I could only smile when I had a few of my old songs come on. Tears came when shuffle brought on Strong and I lost it when Is there Somewhere came from the speakers. The song we danced to when we first said I love you to each other.
Random boughs of tears came throughout the day with the different songs that came on because of the many memories attached to them. The kind nurse who spoke to me yesterday caught me in the middle of one when After the Glitter Fades by Stevie Nicks came on. This is Thea's favorite song off the Bella Donna album and she always sings it in my ear whenever we dance along to it in the living room. I shared those memories with the nurse and she just wrapped an arm around my shoulders and held me in a side hug as the song played out.
It was that same nurse who checked up on me throughout the day, bringing me food and drinks to keep me feed and hydrated. When I refused the water one to many times, she threaten to start an IV on me to replace the fluids I kept crying out. I got the message then and finally started to remember to sip from the water after each song that played. Throughout the day I finally learned her name and I was shocked to finally put it together that she is Chaz's mother. When I finally made the connection, I tried to pull myself together some more but she brushed me off and actually thanked me in the end. Apparently Chaz wasn't doing do well in school before he had to pick a music class for an elective. He kept raving about how much he liked playing music and how I kept giving him extra material to learn when he showed the interest and even prompted him to take the AP class. Now because of music, Chaz is going on to college on a music scholarship. We hugged it out after that and that's when I felt a little bit more tension start to leave me.
When visiting hours officially ended, Thea's doctor came in and gave me an update on her condition, which really was no update and I wasn't mad about it. Thea and I usually have a no news is good news rule while she is at work. So with a delicate kiss on her forehead and a promise to be back tomorrow, I left. One of the officers who was waiting outside the door told me he will take me home and I thanked him and wished everyone a goodnight.
On our way out of the ICU floor I saw the doctor who came and first talked to me when I got here yesterday and I stopped in my tracks. The officer stopped next to me as I the doctor took in my face. He looked a bit scared as I backed him into the wall, anger rolling off me in waves as I raised a finger and pressed into his chest.
"If you come near my wife while she is here, I will have you fired and your license revoked. Do you understand?" I asked and pulled my phone out of my pocket to take a picture of his badge.
"That's not" I cut him off.
"If the next words aren't that you understand this nice officer behind me will turn around and ignore anything I do to you. So will any officer that is in this hospital. I don't care if she just need a cup of water, do not go near my wife." I said and slammed him into the wall when he tried to move away.
It took a few seconds for him to get the picture but finally, he understood my threat was real and I pulled my hand off his chest. The officer, who I know is a friend of Thea's gave him and murderous look as we walked off the floor together, not looking back.
Preston and Sammie were waiting for me when I got inside the house. I gave both of them tight hugs and once I let go, I gave them an update on everything that's going on which right now isn't much but I explained that's a good thing. With the update had, they both went up to their rooms and I had another conversation with Nikki and Malia about everything that's going on. It was easier to talk to the two of them about things because I didn't have to handled it with kid gloves. When I told them both about the doctor I threaten on the way-out, Malia took down his information and was gladly going to give it to Rory to investigate. Nikki didn't even try to stop her and neither did I.
Nikki had made some chicken for dinner and saved me a plate which I warmed up in the microwave after the pair left for the night after I promised to give them a call if there was any change. The food was great, better then the snacks and bad sandwich Chaz's mom got for me in the hospital. After I finished I washed off the plate and locked up the house before going upstairs for the night. I dumped the bag of Thea's things just inside our room and went right into the bathroom for a shower. The hot water was nice on my tensed muscles and I almost was able to relax. It was until I got out of the bathroom and noticed the very empty bed and reality crept in again that Thea wasn't here.
I pulled on one of her t-shirts and a pair of shorts before climbing into my large empty bed. Instead of sleeping on my side though, I crawled over to Thea's and found her pillow smelled just like her still and it took everything in me not to cry. Just as I was about to fall asleep I heard my bedroom door open. I didn't even have to wonder which of my kids it was, I just flipped the blankets over and a few seconds later both of them were in bed with me. Sammie pressed herself into me while my arm snaked over her so I could reach Preston on the other side. Together, sleep came much easier then it would have if we were apart.
The next day when I woke up, both of my kids were still pressed into me and I held them tight for a few long moments. I got out of bed a little while later and went downstairs to start on breakfast for the three of us. A few home-made waffles and a cup of coffee for myself were all done before they woke up. I didn't have the heart to go back upstairs to wake them up so I just ate one of the waffles myself and sipped on my coffee. The caffeine did it's job and woke me up enough to feel alive again. Just as I was finishing up my waffle, Preston and Sammie came downstairs. I gave them both a plate and they went to town on them.
"I'm going to go back to the hospital soon and check in on mom, can I trust you guys be here alone or would you like to go to a friends house?" I asked not wanting to burden Nikki and Malia again when I know Malia has her own feelings about what happened to Thea.
"Can I go to Damien's?" Preston asked.
"Of course Pres, Sammie?" I asked.
"Can I go stay with Pat today? I don't really want to see my friends right now." Sammie asked quietly.
"I'm sure he would love to have you over Sammie, I just need to give him a call. I'm guessing Damien knows you're coming already Pres?" I asked knowing how close the boys are.
"Yea, he kind of told me last night that I could come over whenever I needed." Preston said and wiped away a tear.
I just nodded and asked them to clean up breakfast for me while I called Pat. Once I got him on the phone he almost demanded that all of us come over but for now said that the kids were welcomed at any time. With that all planned I went up to my room and got dressed for the day in a simple pair of jeans and t-shirt and grabbed one of Thea's many Salem PD sweatshirts and threw it over my head. I let the kids know that I was ready to go when they were and waiting downstairs.
It didn't take long for them to come down and once they were ready we left. As I was getting into the car I realized there was an unmarked car waiting in front of the house. I let both Preston and Sammie get into the car before going over to the officer that spotted me and hopped out of the drivers seat.
"What can I do for you Duke?" I asked one of the many friends Thea has in the department.
"Nothing, we are just an escort today. Rory has a detail on you if you want to go back to the hospital as there are a lot of people waiting in front." Duke said.
"Alright, I just have to make two spots then I'll follow behind you." I said. Duke nodded at the plan and hopped back into his car while I went to mine.
Preston and Sammie didn't pay the encounter any mind and I just drove off to Damien's house. When we got there, Damien was waiting outside on the porch for Preston and I barely got the car into park before Preston pushed out of the passenger seat. Damien wrapped his friend in his arms and held him tightly. I didn't bother to stick around for long and made my way to Pat's apartment. When we got there I walked Sammie inside and gave Pat a hug before leaving. I didn't want to stick around for long because I knew if I did, I probably wouldn't end up leaving.
As we got towards the hospital, I quickly noticed what Duke was talking about. Paparazzi and journalist were waiting out front for me and Duke quickly flashed his back lights to get my attention. He made a quick turn and started to bring me towards the back of the hospital. Once we got there he parked his car and hopped out. His partner got out as well and she took my keys from me to park my car while Duke escorted me through the hospital and up to Thea's room. There were still a lot of officers waiting around and I knew that Rory most likely spoke to them by now but to know they were still here waiting to hear some good news about Thea's condition was really touching.
We made it upstairs to Thea's room rather quickly and I barely was inside for a few second when Thea's doctor came in and gave me an update. Other then Thea's blood count numbers coming up and her having some more color in her face, there was no real change on her condition. I thanked him for the update and he left me alone with Thea.
"You're not allowed to scary me like this anymore." I said after I took me seat next to the bed. "I don't think my heart can take another one of those visits Thea."
There wasn't an answer and I knew there wasn't going to be one, even though I hoped I would hear her voice again. I sat in silence with her for a while, just listening to the heart monitor steady beating. Towards mid afternoon I picked my phone up and decided to call the principal of my school to let him know what was going on. But just like I thought, once he answered the phone, he knew what I was calling about. We really didn't speak for long, just a general update on Thea and my request for a leave of absence for the moment until Thea is out of the most serious danger. He granted it without little pushback and even told me he was trying to track down another music teacher who could sub for me. It took a little bit more weight off my chest to know that my kids in school will be taken care of.
After our call I hit shuffle again on my music and just sat back and tried to relax with my carefully holding Thea's hand. The rest of the day past without issue. Nurses would come in and check on Thea from time to time, change her bandages, fluid bags, make sure her drugs were up to the right dosage. At the end of the day the doctor came around again and gave Thea a once over. After going through all of the notes from the nurses all day he agreed to pull her from the drugs keeping her sedated. It put a smile on my face as I was leaving the hospital for the night.
Preston texted me during the day saying he was going to sleep over at Damien's house tonight. When I got home from the hospital I gave Damien's mom a call to thank her for letting him stay over. She told me Preston and Damien got her up to speed on what happened and told me that Preston was welcome over their house whenever he wanted to spend time with Damien. She was going to keep Damien home from school tomorrow so Preston could stay with them without an issue. After I few more thank yous I hung up and gave Pat a call. He told me that Sammie and him were fine and having a good time together. He immediately told me that she was going to stay with him for a few days until Thea wakes up and I can settle things a little bit more. It left me feeling thankful but a bit useless as a mother.
The rest of my night was peaceful, I warmed up some food that Malia brought over from the station and once I was done, I took another shower before crawling back into bed. Neither of the kids made it when they got up with morning so it was easy for me to just slip right inside. I went right for Thea's side of the bed and pulled one of her pillows to my chest. It almost felt like she was here with me, just for a second.
When Monday morning rolled around I was feeling a bit hopeful but still had some time to kill before I was allowed into the hospital for visiting hours. I didn't really know what to do with myself after I finished getting ready for the day and eating breakfast. So I made my way into my studio and sat down in front of my piano and opened the key lid. My fingers scrolled across the keys like I was in a trance. Playing nothing familiar for a while, just making melodies along the keys until they start started to take shape into my mothers melody. The familiar key strokes comforted me like she knew I needed to hear it right now as I ran through it a few times.
I let myself feel everything that I've been holding inside the last couple of days, all the anger, grief, sadness and just pure hot rage pour out of me in the final run through of the song. After the songs final notes rang out I wiped away the tears and stood from the bench and went to the bathroom to clean myself up. Once I looked presentable, I threw on the same sweatshirt as yesterday and made my way outside. Duke was sitting in his patrol car again and I just walked up to it and he let me inside the backseat. Nothing needed to be said as he he drove me over to the hospital. I didn't have it in me today to focus on driving. Not when I know that Thea could be waking up today.
Once again when we got to the hospital there was still a large media presence in the front so Duke drove us around back. His partner took over after Duke got out of the car with me and escorted me up to the ICU floor. There were definitely less police officers present when I walked through the first floor of the hospital today. I guess Rory told them they better get moving back to their posts.
Just as Duke pushed the doors open to the ICU wing, Thea's doctor greeted me with a smile on his face. As we walked towards her room he told me that they took her off of all the sedation drugs and now it just up to her to wake up. With all the other drugs they had pumping through her system though he did say it could take a while for her to wake up, but if she does, he wants me to call them so they could assess her. When we got to her room I was surprised to find Malia waiting outside the door.
"I'm on duty today but Rory could tell the only place I could be useful is here." Malia said and gave me a smile. I pulled her into a hug and together we walked inside Thea's room.
There were less machines around Thea's bed now, much to my relief and Malia took the other chair that was placed in Thea's room. It was more towards the door which Malia was supposed to be watching but I didn't care. It was nice to have her here with me. Before I took my seat next to my wife I bent down and gave her kiss on the forehead. Her head felt warm to the touch and it was such an improvement from how cold her body was for the last two days.
I took her hand in mind, careful of all of the wires and pressed my lips to it, hoping she could feel it. Malia was quiet but watchful of both the door and myself but never questioned anything I was doing. When I start up some music again Malia just smiled to herself and sank back into her seat, relaxing just the slightest.
As the day went on, nurses would come and go again just like they have for the past two days, checking over Thea and making sure everything was okay. But there was no movement on Thea's end. She still very much so slept all day. Even though Malia's shift ended at 5pm she stayed with me and told me she would wait and take me home later after visiting hours were over.
Just was they were ending I felt Thea's hand twitch in mine. My attention snapped to Thea and just watched as her grip tighten on my hand a bit more. I just lightly squeezed her hand back to let her know I was here for a few seconds before I opened my mouth.
"Thea, it's me, my love. Come back to me, please." I asked hoping my voice would work. Thea's brow scrunched in the middle and I held my breath a moment.
"I'm right here baby, just please open your eyes for me." I said and kissed the back of her hand again.
This time I was rewarded. Thea opened her eyes. It took a few moments for her to focus on anything but once she did, Thea turned her head and her eyes found mind.
"I didn't mean to get shot." Thea mumbled; her voice rough from lack of use.
"Hey it's okay my love. You came back to me, that's all that matters." I said as I felt tears falling from my eyes.
"My body hurts." Thea said and closed her eyes again.
"No, Thea, please keep your eyes open for me a little bit longer." I said and turned my attention to where Malia was, only to find her empty chair and the door to the room wide open. It only took a few more second before her doctor was rushing inside with a nurse hot on his trail.
"Themis, can you open your eyes for me please." The doctor asked. Thea did as asked and turned her attention to the other voice in the room.
"It's nice to see you awake again Thea. How are you feeling? Are you in pain?" The doctor asked.
"I feel like I got shot in the chest with a shot gun." Thea managed to get out as the doctor check her pupils.
"Well you did, twice actually. What's the last thing you remember?" The doctor asked.
"The raid, hearing the shot, ending up on the floor. Not to much more until now." Thea said and closed her eyes again.
"I'm going to give you your next dosage of pain medicine, you'll probably go right back to sleep okay." The doctor said already injecting the meds right into one of her main IV lines.
"Ash" Thea said and turned her head back to me.
"Yes my love?" I asked.
"Did you win yet?" Thea asked and opened her eyes once to look at me.
"That doesn't matter right now my love. Just you matter, so get some sleep, we can talk some more in the morning." I said and kissed her hand again.
Thea didn't respond and I knew she was asleep again. I knew the doctor was most likely talking but I couldn't hear him. I was too focused on Thea. The last real stone holding my heart down finally broke apart and I couldn't contain my tears. The relief I felt was so indescribable I could only cry. I held tightly to Thea's hand as tears poured out of my eyes. A little while later I felt someone put there hand on my back and I knew from years of hugs, that it was Malia. I finally pulled myself together and looked up from the bed and found her sitting next to me.
"Visiting hours are over for the night. We need to head out. The doctor already let you stay for an extra hour but now they were going to come and get you to leave." Malia said. I swallowed hard and nodded. I tucked Thea's hand back under the blanket and wiped away my tears. Once I thought I collected myself enough I got up from my seat and leaned over Thea to give her another kiss on the forehead.
As Malia and I made our way out of Thea's room, I spotted Chaz's mom waiting at the nurses station. She didn't even have to say anything as I quickly walked over to her and pulled her into a hug. I just kept saying thank you in her ear until she heard enough from me and shushed me.
Malia pulled me away from her after a few minutes and we said good night and thank you again. On our way home I asked if we could go pick up the kids and Malia was all for it. First we went to Damien's house, figuring it would be easier to pull Preston away from his friend then it would be to pull Sammie away from Pat. Damien's mom let us in and asked how Thea was and I told her she was awake. She pulled me into a tight hug before she lead me into the living room were I found Damien, Jade and Preston all curled together on the couch watching a movie.
Once they heard footsteps they all turned their heads and Preston found my eyes really quick. I could only smile and nod before he launched himself off the couch and into my waiting arms. He was in my arms for a few second when I finally was able to get the words out.
"She's okay, mom woke up for a little bit today." I said and Preston burst into tears. It took Preston a few minutes to calm down but once he did I pulled away from him a little bit and and gave him a smile.
"How was she?" He asked and started to wipe his face.
"In pain, very groggy. It's going to take her a little while before she is able to be awake for long and hold conversations. Lets go get your sister and tell her the good news okay?" I said not wanting to impose on Damien's family any more.
Preston nodded and hugged both of his friend tightly before we left together and made our way over to Pats. Once we opened the door to his place they both turned to us from the couch and looked nervous until Preston broke the news I told him. Sammie pulled her brother into a hug and held him close for a while before I joined the two of them.
It didn't take much to convince Sammie to come back home with us though. Malia dropped us off and didn't linger, ready to get home to her own wife and share the good news. I ordered pizza for us for dinner and both kids wanted to come with me to the hospital tomorrow. I agreed, figuring that it would be okay for them to come with me and hopefully they will get to talk to Thea themselves. That night both of our kids snuck into bed with me again and it put a smile on my face to know they went to bed felling a bit better then the last couple of nights.
When we woke up the next, both of the kids were bouncing up and down with excitement. But a phone call from the middle school derailed that joy for a few minutes. I didn't call the school to tell them Sammie wouldn't be in for the next couple of days. Once I talked to the principal about it everything got cleared up and the joy was back. Since Preston is going to the same high school where I teach, they already knew not to expect him in for a few days.
I made waffles again for breakfast and the kids wouldn't stop talking about seeing Thea. It almost felt like a normal morning, like the ones when we were waiting for her to walk through the front door after a night shift. Instead we would have to drive to the hospital but it still didn't put a damper on things because they knew she was getting better and awake at last.
I made sure to tamper there excitement a little bit because I knew Thea would most likely be sleeping all day. They were also told to bring stuff to entertain themselves but they both couldn't care less because they just wanted to see there mom, which didn't matter if she was sleeping.
When we left the house, Duke was there again and I followed behind him to the hospital. I actually parked my own car today in the staff lot and both Duke and his partner walked us three through the hospital. Word must have gotten out that Thea had woken up last night because there were a lot of cops waiting in the lobby today. A lot of familiar faces lined the halls and I couldn't help but reach out and grab onto their hands as we past through.
Thea's doctor was at the nurses station when we got onto the ICU floor and he gave us a smile. I let Preston and Sammie walk ahead of us as I hung back to get an update from him. He told me that Thea has been waking up here and there, a little less foggy each time. They are going to start transitioning her off of the heaviest of pain killers onto weaker drugs but keep up with the antibiotics for now to keep infections away. If things still progress and look good, he is going to move Thea down to a regular room later in the week. I gave him a hug before walking the rest of the way down the hall to the all to familiar room.
Preston and Sammie were both standing at the foot of Thea's bed when I walked in, just watching her sleep. I dropped my bag on the seat that's become my home the last couple of days and bent down to give Thea a kiss on her forehead. What surprised all of us though was Thea's eyes opening when I pulled away.
The kids almost jumped on her right away, I was barely able to hold them back and managed to get them to just each hold one of her hands. They both got to talk to Thea for almost ten minutes straight before Thea turned her head and looked for me. She slowly let go of Preston's hand and held it out for me. I gave her a smile and took her hand in mine.
"Hi baby" I said and kissed her hand.
"They aren't causing you too much trouble right?" She asked ignoring the sounds of protests that came from Preston and Sammie.
"No they haven't, they know better by now. Are you doing okay, do you want me to bring you anything from home?" I asked.
"Well, I would love to have my wedding band and St. Michaels pendent back, but I don't think I'm allowed to have them just yet." Thea said.
"Maybe in a few more days love, anything else?" I asked ready to do anything she wanted or get anything she needed.
"I have everything else I could want right here." Thea said and looked around at the three of us in the room.
I couldn't help but smiled at her that line and lean in and give her a very chaste kiss on the lips. To both of our surprise, neither of our kids growled in protest. So we took the chance and stole another before I sat down on my chair and kids went back to talk to Thea for a little bit. It wasn't much longer before they tired her out and she was sleeping but it was enough. The looks on both of their faces were relief and happiness and I'll do anything they wanted right now to keep it there.
The rest of the day was spent mostly like that. Preston and Sammie took up posts in their own chairs not to far from Thea and I put some music on to chase away the sounds of the hospital. Both of the kids got bored pretty quickly and since all of their friends were in school they didn't have anywhere else to go right now so they had to suck it up. While we sat with Thea I already told them they were going back to school tomorrow. They couldn't keep staying home because they'll have so much work to catch up on.
Thea woke up again towards dinner time and she was actually able to eat a little bit of the food that was brought to her. It was a huge milestone and I knew there would need to be a lot more of them before she would be able to come home. After she finished off her dinner I thought it would be best to take the kids home for the night. They have done really well hanging out here all day and I didn't want to push it for much longer. I could feel them getting restless and hungry so after a long goodbye we left for the night.
The kids were buzzing for the rest of the night and they finally went back to sleeping in their own bedrooms. Once I was alone for the night I finally picked up the bag the hospital gave me when I first got there and turned it over. Everything came spilling out onto the floor and I quickly picked up the clothes and patted them down. When I made sure nothing was left in them I put them back into the bag and left them by my door. They are going into the garbage tomorrow. What I was left with was Thea's dead cell phone, her wallet, badge, keys that look like they are for her squad car and finally, her wedding band. When I found it I picked it up and attached it to her St. Michaels pendant I've been wearing. I'll give them back to her once I can but I can rest a bit easier now that I know where they are.
The next morning was a bit hectic as I had to bring both of the kids to school. Preston was first. When I got into the parking lot he wanted to run off right away to be with his friends but I didn't let him. We needed to go talk to the principal first. The conversation didn't take long. I gave him the update I've been needing to give him but he understood after the last few crazy days. Preston was told that if there was any issues his door was open and pretty much all of the teacher knew what happened. They were going to take it easier on him for a little bit until things calm down and I thanked him. Preston was released then and he went off to his first class of the day. I spoke with my boss for a little bit longer and gave him a realistic update on when I'll be back in my classroom.
But I think we took up too much time because I got a call from Sammie who was still waiting in the car saying that she was going to be late for school. I cut the conversation short and I ran off to the car to driver her to school. Her principle was warm and welcoming to us and let Sammie run off to her first class so she wouldn't miss it while I talked with her. The conversation went basically the same as it did with Preston's principle and I was a bit relieved.
Once both of the kids were in school I went home and relaxed for a bit on the couch as I still had time to kill before visiting hours started. I got dressed in another one of Thea's sweatshirts and made the drive there myself. Now that I figured out the whole parking situation to avoid the press in the front, I waved off the police escort, hoping to just be a bit normal for a while.
When I got to Thea's room today, the doctor was actually in with her going over some things. Thea smiled when she saw me come over to the other side of the bed, her attention completely gone from whatever the doctor was going over.
"As I was saying, everything is looking good. I'm going to finalize the paperwork so that tomorrow you will be moved down to a regular recovery room. Once you get down there, they are going to start getting you up and moving again." The doctor said. I couldn't help but smile.
After the rest of his report the doctor left Thea and I alone and I finally leaned over her bedside to give her a kiss.
"Look at you making progress." I said once I pulled away.
"Always an overachiever." Thea said and gave me another kiss.
We spoke a little bit about the kids going back to school and anything else going on outside of these hospital walls for a bit. Just as Thea was starting to wined down and let the pain medicine carry her to sleep she asked me a question that threw me for a loop.
"You're still going to go right?" I looked at her confused for a few moments before it finally clicked, the Oscars are this weekend.
"No baby, I'm not leaving you." I said and sighed. I don't think my heart could handle being away from Thea right now.
"But it's the Oscars Ashlyn, you need to go." Thea said sounding more awake now.
"Thea, you almost died less then a week ago. I don't know if I can get on that plane and leave you here." I said not wanting to bring up my fragile mental state.
"Okay, but promise me you'll think about it. The Oscar's don't come around often." Thea said simmering down.
Thea ended up sleeping for most of the afternoon after our conversation. But it also planted the seed in my head that I should probably call Alyssa about it. While she was still sleeping I did just that.
"Hey, how is Thea doing?" Alyssa asked once she answered the phone.
"She's awake, doing better. The doctors are going to move her from ICU down to a regular room tomorrow. Look, I'm calling about the Oscars." I said and sighed.
"What about them?" Alyssa asked.
"Did you cancel anything yet?" I asked.
"No. I didn't want to do anything until you called to tell me what you wanted to do." Alyssa informed me.
"Okay, I'm still thinking about. Thea wants me to go, she just got really annoyed that I wasn't planning on going anymore." I said.
"Sounds like she wants that statue more then you do." Alyssa chuckled.
"You're kind of right." I said. Alyssa and I chatted for a few moment minutes before I got off the phone.
Could I really fly across the country to attend an award show while Thea is still in the hospital recovering? The thought floated through my mind the rest of the day. Thea woke up right around when I was getting ready to leave to pick up the kids from school. We didn't speak about the Oscar's again but she did ask when the kids were going to come by next. I told her that we could all come by again tomorrow after they got out of school and she was happy to hear that. With a kiss goodbye I was out the door to pick up Preston and Sammie.
Both of the kids were egger to get a progress report on Thea and I brought up about coming to visit her tomorrow after school. They were all for it and they told me about their first day back at school. There really wasn't too much going on from what they told me. All of the teachers already knew what was going on so they didn't feel like they had to hide there emotions which was great to hear. It made me happy to know that the schools were taking what happened seriously and their teachers are taking the time to made their classrooms a safe space for my kids.
Wednesday was kind of the same in the fact we were rushing around the house in the morning trying to get everything ready for dropping them off at school. Once the kids were there though, I went back home and started to take care of the dirty laundry pile that has been growing since last week. It felt somewhat relaxing do get lost in the task and after the load was put into the dryer I collected everything I needed and left for the hospital.
When I got there the pack of press seemed to have grown larger overnight and I wonder what slipped out to the media. I tried to push it out of my mind as I walked into the hospital and went up to the ICU floor. When I got there I noticed that there were no more officers posted in front of the door at the end of the hall and it made me smile. I went over to the nurses station and was greeted by Chaz's mom. She pulled me into a hug first and then quickly checked the computer before taking my hand and leading me downstairs to Thea's new room.
There were no officers standing outside the room and I only came to realize while once I stepped inside. Rory is sitting with Thea and another few officers and it looked like I was interrupting something. All of there attention snapped to me and I froze in the doorway not knowing if I should leave or not. Just as I was about to back out of the room my phone rang and I saw it was Alyssa calling. I pointed to my phone and stepped back into the hall.
"What's up?" I asked.
"Someone talked to the press that Thea was out of the ICU. It's been running on the news channels for the better part of the morning. Do you want to response?" Alyssa asked.
"Not really, but it's true. Thea was moved down to a regular room this morning. She's doing better. I haven't gotten to talk to her yet because I just got here and Rory and some officers are with her now." I said.
"Alright, let me know if you need me to do anything Ash." Alyssa said.
"Will do, thanks again for the heads up." I said and hung up.
This is time I walked fully into Thea's room and went over to her and gave her a kiss on the forehead. Rory wrapped up everything they were speaking about and him and the officers left the room. It took a few seconds for the negative energy to leave with them as I took up the seat he was sitting in.
"Everything okay?" I asked.
"Yea, just a debrief to go over everything, now that my head isn't as foggy from the drugs." Thea said and took my hand in hers.
"How are you feeling?" I asked.
"Everything hurts still. I know it probably will be like this for a while though. When you come back with the kids later, can you bring my cell phone with you? I've been bored." Thea asked.
"Of course I can. Any other requests?" I asked.
"I really want you to go to the Oscars." Thea said and I couldn't help but sigh.
"Why?" I asked knowing she wasn't going to let this go.
"The night that I came home before you wrote the song, I had to kill someone." Thea said and I sagged in my chair. "I was out back, trying to stay away from the action, but there was a runner. I gave chase, managed to gain on him pretty quickly when he turned and started shooting at me. I barely had enough time to dive out of the way for cover. Once I got my gun up, he kept shooting and I had no choice. I shot him twice. When he finally fell to floor, I rushed over to try and stop the bleeding but it was too late. He was only 19. It rattled me so much because he looked just like Preston."
Thea swallowed and looked away from me for a few minutes as her heart monitor ticked up a notched. I could barely breath for a few tense moments as I could only imagine the panic that must have ran through her when she rushed over to him. A nurse came by the window to look at us and stayed for a few long moments as Thea's heart monitor came back down.
"This song is the foundation of our relationship. I know you wrote it for the movie but the lyrics mean so much more then that. I held you hand when I pulled you back over the railing, helped you get back on your feet. You held me close when I didn't think I was good enough for this job anymore. You haven't gone to any of the other award shows but this is the Academy Awards Ashlyn. You need to go and show the world how great you are." Thea said and wiped away a tear.
"Okay, I'll go." I said finally caving.
Thea just reached out her hand and took mine in hers. Took, we just sat in silence for a while. When the silence got a bit to loud, I pulled my phone out and put on shuffle. The first song that played just happened to Hold My Hand and I couldn't help but break down. Thea just kept squeezing my hand tightly in hers letting me feel all the emotions of the song.
Just as I was leaving to pick up the kids from school, Thea's doctor and nurse came into the room to give Thea a full work up now that she settled into her new room. I just gave her a kiss and got out of there way saying I'll be back later tonight.
When I broke the news to Preston and Sammie that they moved Thea into the new room, they were excited. We were barely able to stop at home so I could get Thea her cell phone and charger before we were back at the hospital. The kids rushed through the halls of the hospital to get to Thea's new room.
I was happy to see that she was awake when we got there and she looked really happy to see the kids. I hung out towards the back of the room to let them get the most time with there mom as I just pulled her cell phone into the charger closest to her bed without it getting in the way. It wasn't long before Thea had her dinner brought up and I knew it was time to take the kids home so they could do their homework and have dinner. So with some kisses and hugs goodbye and a promise to come visit tomorrow, we left for the night.
Thursday was pretty much the same as Wednesday. Brought the kids to school, came home and did some house chores and then went off to the hospital to visit Thea. When I got there today Thea was awake and looking excited to see me. It wasn't long after I got in that I got to met with Thea's doctor to go over her new schedule. Thea was starting PT today which as of right now, just really consists of standing with a walker. When I got back into her room, I could see her physical therapist starting to coach her into moving to the edge of the bed.
I stayed out of the way and let the physical therapist and nurse work with Thea. I couldn't help but pull out my phone and recorded her balancing herself with the walker as she stood in place. Thea stayed standing for a solid minute before she sat back onto the bed. They repeated the action of her just standing up in place a few more times before calling it a day.
Once they left for the day I couldn't help but give her a big kiss as I settled in the chair next to her bed. I ran a damp cloth around her forehead to wipe away the sweat that collected from her exercising before I sat down again. After sitting down, I pulled my phone out and called Alyssa to tell her I was still coming to the Oscars and I'm still willing to perform if they want me too. Alyssa let me know that she will take care of all the details and will have a car sent to the house to pick me up for the flight over to California.
When I hung up from the call, Thea took my hand in hers and brought it to her lips to kiss. Thea was awake for a little while longer before the work from the afternoon really settled into her bones. With that all set up, I just had to make arrangements for the kids. I gave Pat a call and he was all for spending the weekend at the house so the kids don't have to spend the weekend on Pat's couch. Some additional texts to Malia and Nikki, both were on board with watching the show from the hospital and giving them a lift here. Now that Pat is getting older, he doesn't like to drive much at night. So with the agreement of Nikki driving my truck, the five of them will all drive to the hospital together.
Thea was still asleep when I left the hospital to pick up the kids from school. On the way back to see her, I told them that I was still going to California for the show. They were both quiet about the news but then Preston explained that they were just disappointed that we couldn't go together as a family like we originally wanted to. When I looked at them in the rearview mirror I could see Sammie nod her head in agreement.
When we got to the hospital, Thea was awake again and she was able to settle the last of their disappointment when she told them about her plans to have a party here in the hospital. The more details Thea told them about the easier my heart felt. We stayed with Thea for about two hours before we headed home. It wasn't without some long kisses and a hug that almost made me want to dive into bed with her and not leave.
But finally we did say goodbye and headed home. The kids went right into doing any homework they had while I packed a bag to bring with me for the weekend and made sure my suit was ready to go. Once that was all together, I brought everything downstairs and left it by the front door before I headed into my studio. I still don't know how I want to perform the song yet so I just grabbed one of my favorite electric guitars and put it in a case and left it with the rest of my bags by the front door.
When in receipt of the text, I packed a backpack for Thea. I put some loose clothes into a bag for her to change into along with a few coloring books and markers for when she gets bored. After I was done packing it up, I sent a text to Rory to see if any of his officers were available to bring it down to Thea. I didn't want to let her wait overnight. He texted that he would come and pick it up and bring it down to her and it didn't take long before I heard a knock on the front door.
Preston came out of his room to answer it but I told him I got it and went downstairs to let Rory in. I gave him the back and let him know about my plans for tomorrow and the viewing party Thea was throwing. He laughed and said he'll make a guest appearance and said he might bring some friends. I knew then that the hospital was going to hate us come Sunday night. Rory left as quickly as he came and I ordered some Chinese take out for dinner tonight. Just as we finished dinner I got a text from Thea thanking me for the bag.
The next morning I was up early to get ready for the flight. Once I was showed and changed into another one of Thea's sweatshirts, I sat down on the couch for a little while trying to relax my nerves. When I turned on the TV the morning news was on and they went over different stories of the day and it didn't take long before I heard my name. The story was about Thea getting shot and once I heard them say they reached out to me for comment, I change the channel.
The food network kept me company until there was a knock on the door not long after the channel change and I got up to answer it. Pat was waiting with a bag in his hand and pulled me into a tight hug once I shut the door behind him. He went right up to the guest room to make himself at home while I started the coffee machine. It wasn't long after Pat arrived that I heard another knock at the door. When I got to the door, Alyssa and Toby were standing on my doorstep. Toby took my bags out to the waiting car as I put my coffee into a to go cup. Just as I was about to go upstairs to say goodbye to the kids, Preston came down and looked mostly asleep still. He didn't say anything to me as he just walked into my waiting arms. I held my baby boy tightly for a few minutes before letting go when I felt Sammie join the hug. I put my arms around both of my kids and held them tightly too me for a long moment before finally letting go.
After I gave Pat some instructions, Alyssa, Toby and myself were out the door into a waiting car. The drive over to the airfield was quiet and I just sipped my coffee. Once we got onto the plane we were served breakfast. Even though I didn't want to eat, I forced down the food to put something in my stomach. After it was gone I just reclined my seat and threw a blanket over me, hoping to find some sleep in the next six hours.
Sleep did come for a little bit while the plane was in the air but not enough for me to recover from my lack of sleep over the past week. We were greeted with Toby's private security once we were on the tarmac and I was actually happy to see them. I have no doubts that people are going to be after getting photos of me while I'm here and with them around, I hope the paps keep their distance.
We just got into our hotel rooms when I got a video from Thea and it was her taking three steps with the help of the walker dressed in the clothes I sent over. I was in tears as I replayed the video a few times to watch her walk. She looked a bit steadier while standing up and I couldn't have been prouder. I gave her a call after I finished watching the video a few more times and I was happy to hear her voice. She told me that Lindsey actually came down the hospital this morning to visit. Thea told me that Lindsey has been texting her franticly since the shooting and now that she has her phone back and saw them, Thea called her right away and her friend went to visit her.
We talked for a little while longer before I hung up the phone when a nurse came in to check on Thea. I left my hotel room and knocked on Alyssa door. She let me in right away and I just took a seat on her couch. We didn't really have to say anything to each other. Alyssa was working on some stuff and I just didn't want to me alone with my thoughts. I think I might have dozed off for a while because the next thing I knew, there was a blanket over me and Alyssa was sitting on the far end of the couch watching TV.
It didn't take long for her to notice me when I woke up. We quickly made the decision to get something for dinner and ordered room service. Toby didn't join us for dinner as he went out to a party to meet up with some of his clients. So Alyssa and I spent the night in, ordering a bunch a food on Toby's credit card along with a bottle of wine to wash it down with. By the time we were finished with the food both of us were a little buzzed and I thought I might be able to get some sleep tonight. I curled up on Alyssa's couch again but she got annoyed with me and told me to join her in bed as the couch would not be comfortable to sleep on over night. I caved quickly, tried from the jet lag and the booze and slid under the covers. I didn't even last long enough for her to join me in bed before I was knocked out.
The next day when I woke up Alyssa was already awake eating breakfast. She pushed a plate towards me as I sat down across from her and I slowly made my way through the plate of pancakes she ordered me. After it was gone I went back to my room with strict instructions on when I should be ready by. Since I wasn't going to walk the carpet, I didn't have to be there super early but I still had to meet up with the band that was going to be backing me up on stage tonight. I just turned on the TV and relaxed for a while before I had to get up and shower.
After the shower I flat ironed my hair and slipped into a pair of ripped black skinny jeans and Thea's sweatshirt. I'll save the Tux for when the award was going to be announced. After I was dressed, I facetimed Thea. She gave me a big smile and we talked for a little while before I was interrupted by Alyssa. Our call was cut short and I promised to call her after the show was over.
Alyssa was waiting patiently for me when I pulled the door open. She gave me a once over before she grabbed my garment bag while I grabbed my guitar case. Toby was waiting for us down the hall and he gave me a hug when he saw me. We met up with his security down in the lobby and they got us into the waiting car without to much fuss. Paparazzi didn't know I was here still and it made me happy.
When we got the venue the driver pulled us around to the drop off point and we waited in the car until the security was in place. After we got the knock on the window, Toby got out first, followed by Alyssa then myself. Flashing lights were all I could see. I pulled my hood up and pushed a pair of sunglasses on to try and block some of it out. Even though the paparazzi were at a distance the flashing lights of their cameras were all I could see. Alyssa keep her hand on my back and we walked together into the theater. The only thing going through my mind now was that it's too late to back out now.
Once we got inside the theater, I took the sunglasses off and handed them back to Alyssa. Toby led us down the twisting maze of hallways to a private dressing room. When we got inside we put everything down and I got to sit for a few minutes to collect myself. Just as the panic was fading I held a hand on my shoulder and found Toby holding out a glass tumbler of an amber liquid. I took a few sips of the scotch and felt it burn on the way down.
Toby invited the musician's who would be backing me up into the dressing room when I finished the glass and we went through the song a few times so we were all on the same page as to how I wanted to perform it. When I felt like I was ready, I changed into my Tux and had another drink before the three of us made our way out to our seats. I could feel people's eyes burning into the back of my skull as we walked into the theater and took our seats, Alyssa on one side of me and Toby on the other.
The other artists nominated for Best Song were also performing tonight. It was nice to see them perform and I knew I would be up last. As the night went along, I found myself starting to relax in my seat some more, finally starting to ignore the stares. Then it was time, a stage hand came over to us and we made our way back to the dressing room. I changed out of my Tux and slid into my jean and Thea's sweatshirt again before I grabbed my guitar and in-ears.
I made sure the band were still on the same page before we took the stage and got in position. I tried not to look at the audience, only focusing on trying to get my hands to stop shaking. I could hear Miles Teller speaking about making the movie in and I took a few deep breaths as I heard him announce my name.
The audience cheered for me and the lights turned back on and I could see everyone standing and waiting. I turned my head to the pianist and nodded to say I was ready before I opened my mouth and started to sing. Once I sang the first line of the song, tears were already pooling in my eyes and I knew they would be falling soon and there was nothing I could do to stop them.
I made it through the first verse of the song and once I got to the first turn of the chorus I still sang it softly. As I pushed my way through the second verse I grabbed the guitar pick that I had stuck in my pocket and lifted my arm to the band behind me to get ready to come in when I got to the chorus. I put my fingers down on the correct strings and once I got to the chorus I finally looked up at the audience again and belted it down while slamming down the chords of the song. My almost acoustic version swung right into a hard rock ballad that definitely took everybody by surprise.
I could barely see the audience as tears continued to pour out of my eyes as I played through the rest of the song. When I got to the bridge I grabbed the mic out of the stand and stopped playing guitar to really pour my soul into these four very important lines. Then when I got to the last line of the bridge I held the high note out for as long as I could. Once I needed to take another breath in, I clipped the mic back into the stand and grabbed my guitar again to finish out the song.
As the last notes of the song left my lips, I looked around at the crowd and saw a lot of tears from people. And then one of the biggest ovations I've ever had erupted from them. I stood rooted in my place for a few seconds soaking it in before I took a bow and exited the stage. When I got there, Alyssa and Toby were both crying and I just pulled both of them into a tight hug.
It took a few minutes to make our way back to the dressing room. When I got there I just asked for five minutes along so I could get changed back in my Tux and to clean up a bit. I didn't bother with the bow-tie and left the collar of my shirt undone a bit. Once I felt okay and put back together and my face clean of makeup, Alyssa, Toby and I made our way back out to the crowd and took our seats, closer to the stage as the award was coming up.
I could feel my phone blowing up in my pocket but I was too nervous to take it out now, afraid I would just drop it on the floor. Alyssa leaned in close and told me after they get back from commercial they were going to present my award category. My stomach was in knots and I could feel the cameras find me as two presenters took the stage. The package played in the background for each song and I just gripped the arm rest even tighter. This was it, the whole reason why I left my injured wife who is still in the hospital. If I leave empty handed, I don't know how I'll look at Thea when I get back home. Alyssa poked me in my ribs and brought me back to the present. I felt like I was going to throw up and all I wanted to do was call Thea. I took another breath as I watched the announcers pull open the envelope that contained the winners name.
"And the Academy Award for Best Song goes too... Ashlyn Monroe." I heard gasp and cheers all around me as I looked up at the screen again and saw my face plastered on it. Alyssa shook me and I finally stood from my chair and pulled her into a hug. After I let go of her, Toby pulled me into a quick hug before walking with me up to the stage. Without him doing that I probably wouldn't have been able to get up on that stage myself.
I was handed the golden statute and Toby stood right behind me as I stood in front of the microphone. Looking out in the crowd I found Alyssa with tears streaming down her face with her phone out snaping pictures while I took a few seconds to try and put together what I wanted to say.
"A little over ten years ago, I tried to kill myself. I did not see a point of living anymore. My mother Samantha died of a sudden heart attack in her sleep while I was in high school. My siblings, Asher and Ashley, were murdered in a robbery gone wrong. Then I was trapped in a record deal tied with a physically and emotionally abusive manager for years. But then, the last straw that broke my back was my neighbor Ed, who was like a grandfather to me, passed away in his sleep. That night I ran through Salem to a bridge and stood on the other side of the railing ready to jump off.
"Then an angel with blonde hair grabbed my hand and didn't let go. She pulled me back over the railing and offered to help me without asking for anything in return. When I got my agency back, I wrote an album that was completely mine from front to back for the world to hear for the first time ever. Then it's companion wasn't long behind it.
"I got a call from my old manager Toby over here. He asked if I had any interest in writing a second for the sequel to Top Gun. I said yes and few out to meet the cast and crew of the movie to get a feel of what they were looking for in the song. I went home with some ideas and then an incident made me scrap everything I had already planned out to write this song.
"Even though I wrote Hold My Hand for this movie, I wrote this song for me. A song that has been ten years in the making. It also wouldn't have sounded so lovely without production from Hans Zimmer. I still can't believe I got to work with him on a song, it honestly is one of the greatest achievements of my life.
"Before I leave for the night and become a hermit again, I just want to give a shout out to all of my kids at Salem High School. Honestly I love my job, getting to teach the next generation about music has been the most fulfilling career I could have wanted and I'm so proud to be a public-school teacher. To my actual kids Preston and Sammie I know how much you were looking forward to making this trip with me, but knowing that you are safe and at home gives me a little bit of peace of mind.
"Now, to my angel. Thank you for holding my hand and saving me all those years ago. Without you, I would have been dead a long time ago. I will forever hold your hand, through the good and the bad. Thea I hope you are waking having the biggest party in your hospital room to make it worth the bill I'll be paying when you're released. I'm bring this statue home for you." I said and held up the statue.
The crowd cheered loudly as Toby wrapped his arm around my shoulder and the two of us walked off the stage. I barely made it far before I handed my Oscar off to a stage hand to be engraved. Alyssa met us back stage and let me know about the press wanting to do some interviews. I agreed to do the press but let her know that I wouldn't be answering a lot of questions.
While we were waiting for the Oscar to be finished, the three of us went up to the bar and got another drink while I tried to settled my nerves. All of the anxiety finally start to settle and Alyssa gave me back my phone. When I got it in my hand I called Thea. She picked up right away and I almost couldn't bring the phone to my ear fast enough.
"I knew you could do it." Thea said sounding tired.
"Thank you for believing in me, for all these years. For holding my hand and never letting go." I said and tried not to start crying again.
"I'll never let you go. But go have fun tonight. I'll be right here when you get home." Thea said.
"I love you Thea." I said.
"I love you too Ash."
We stayed on the line for another few seconds before the call dropped. I put my phone back in my pocket and downed all of the scotch in my glass before asking for another, this time making it a double. I was barely able to get half way through the glass when Toby wandered back over to Alyssa and I with the trophy in hand. I couldn't help but smile when I picked up the trophy and saw my name engraved on this little golden man.
Together, the three of us moved over to the press room and I took a deep breath before walking out onto there stage. Alyssa was the moderator and only picked on a handful of press reporters who kept everything respectful. I did give an update on Thea but kept it very minimal. When they started to dig for more information about what happened during the raid, I looked at Alyssa and we wrapped it up.
We met Toby in the dressing room and I put the trophy down to get changed and pack everything up. Toby is going to be staying in LA hitting up some parties but agreed to let us use his plane to take me home. So together with Alyssa we made our way back to the hotel and packed everything up before getting back into the car to take us to the airfield.
The flight took off not long after we got there and it didn't take long before the gentle rocking of the plane and the booze knocked me out cold. When I woke up, Alyssa was handing my bags off to the driver. I stood and pulled her into a tight hug before I got off the plane. She was going to take the plane back home before it was off to get Toby.
The driver took me straight to the hospital. There was no way I was waiting until visiting hours to see my wife. When I got there I asked the driver to pull around the back and we parked towards the staff entrance. The driver was nice enough to walk me to the doors of the hospital and told me to give him a call when I was ready to head home.
I walked into the hospital with my head held high, still holding tight to my Oscar. Nobody stopped me from walking to Thea's room. When I got there, I found Thea still sleeping. I couldn't help but smile before putting the Oscar down on the overbed tray table and sitting down in my armchair. I took her hand in mine and brought her hand to my lips. Thea was still dead asleep so I kicked my shoes off and grabbed and extra blanket and curled up in the chair. Nothing else matter, now that she was holding onto my hand again.