Peak of Desire Ch. 11

"Cody, this is Natalie," spoke a frantic sounding female voice. "I know you told me to never contact you again, but this is an emergency. My husband is back from deployment, and I have no idea how it happened, but somehow he found out about you. I tried to tell him you didn't know I was married, but he wouldn't listen." She exhaled a shaky breath, then continued to speak. "Anyways, we got into a huge argument, and just five minutes ago, he left the house. Said he'd found out where you lived and that he was going over to have a talk with you. I'm not for certain but I think he-"

Natalie's voice suddenly halted, then there came the sound of a deep voice in the background, leading Erica to assume that it was none other than Natalie's husband. What followed next was the sound of raised voices, then noises which indicated some sort of a struggle. Then there was absolute silence as the line went dead.

A beep signaled the end of the message, followed by an automated voice which prompted Erica to either delete or save it. Uncertain of what to do, she pressed a shaky finger against one of the buttons on the keypad and saved it to archives, then anxiously listened to the computerized voice as it introduced the second message.

"Next message, sent today at 8:15 p.m."

"Listen asshole, nobody fucks my wife and gets away with it," an angry male voice boomed through the receiver. "I know where you live, and I'm coming after you. Your days are limited, shithead."

There was a beep as the message ended, and wasting not a moment longer, Erica hit the button to disconnect from voicemail. After quickly unbuckling her seatbelt, she hastily exited the car, making quick steps towards the entryway that led into the apartment complex.

As she reached the security door, she quickly scanned the list of names until she spotted Cody's, then punched in the code that would allow her to call his apartment.

The line rang one, twice, three times before Erica became certain that something was terribly wrong, and as her imagination began to concoct images of a dismal nature, she felt her chest tighten with dread. Grim expectation made seconds seem like minutes, and she waited with baited breath as the line continued to ring on and on.

"C'mon baby, please pick up." Her voice was filled with desperation, eyes fixed intently on the call box, as if she could will him to answer through the power of her mind.

Each tone that emitted through the intercom box came out sounding increasingly ominous, her hope plummeting as the line endlessly rang. It got to a total of eight rings before Erica felt a rush of panic overtake her, but as Cody's voice suddenly emanated from the call box, she was filled with an overwhelming sense of relief.

"Hello?"

"Cody, it's me. Let me up."

"Hey, babe. Sorry I took so long, but I'm on my way down right now."

"No, just stay where you are. I don't think it's safe to come out here."

Picking up on the seriousness in her voice, he said, "I'm buzzing you in now. Get up here as quickly as you can."

As soon as she was past the door, she made hasty steps for the elevator. After waiting for what seemed like an extraordinarily long time, the elevator finally reached ground level, and as the doors parted she quickly entered the lift.

After reaching the floor that Cody lived on, the car emitted a beep, then the doors parted to let her off. She only had to travel a few feet down the hallway until she came to his door, and upon reaching it, realized it stood ajar.

Uncertain if the door had been left open in anticipation of her arrival, she cautiously entered. Except for a dim light which shone from the sleeping loft above, the interior of the apartment was dark, making it difficult for her to make out her surroundings.

"Cody?" Her voice wavered, palms growing sweaty as she stepped further inside. "Sweetie, are you okay?"

The energy in the room was oppressive and foreboding, and although she'd received neither audible nor visual proof, she became strongly convinced that there was an intruder in the midst.

The urge to flee was nearly overpowering, but the love she felt for Cody proved to be even stronger, providing her with the courage which was needed to remain in the apartment.

She moved with slow steadiness, glancing to her right, then left, before casting a suspicious gaze up toward the bedroom. Still grasping Cody's cell phone in her hand, she began to punch in the digits that would connect her to emergency.

"If there's somebody in here you'd better get out now, because I'm calling the police."

She'd clearly intended for the statement to serve as a threat, but the unsteadiness of her voice made it obvious just how scared she was. Having finished dialing in the numbers, Erica pressed the call button and brought the phone up to her ear.

"911, what's your emergency?" Came a woman's voice through the phone.

Before she even had a chance to respond, the light in the elevated sleeping area suddenly shut off, casting the entire loft in complete darkness. There was the sound of heavy footsteps moving hastily against the floor of the bedroom, then a loud crash as glass was shattered.

All of these things happening in such quick succession sent her spiraling headfirst into confusion, and as a burst of adrenaline coursed through her body, she was spurred into action.

Suddenly remembering that she'd called 911, she hurriedly spoke into the receiver. "Please send help! Someone's broken into my boyfriend's house."

A second crash emenated from the bedroom, and in a fit of panic, she hastily backed up against the edge of the coffee table. As her legs met with the solid object, she went tumbling over it.

A cry of pain tore from her throat as her body collided hard with the glass of the table, and the cell phone she'd been holding fell from her hands, sliding just out of reach across the hardwood floor. Thrown off balance by her fall, but too afraid to remain still, she struggled to get back on her feet.

With her eyes still adjusting to the darkness, she was just barely able to make out the silhouette of a broadly built man as he dashed down the stairs, and upon reaching ground level, made a mad rush for the open door.

As he reached the threshold, he sprinted across it, footsteps echoing loudly as he retreat down the hallway of the apartment complex. No sooner had he left did she quickly rise to her feet, rushing for the staircase that would take her to the sleeping loft.

In her haste to climb the steps she tripped a few times, and as she finally reached the top, she entered the bedroom. Cast in complete darkness, she was unable to see a thing, so she slid her palm across the wall until it made contact with the light switch.

As darkness gave way to light, she saw that Cody was lying facedown next to the bed, and quickly made her way toward him. As she reached his body she dropped to her knees, and that was when she noticed a stab wound in his lower back.

"No...no, oh please no!" Her panic stricken voice cut through the silence around them, and a mournful sound erupted from her mouth as she noticed a second wound, located in the upper part of his back.

A small stream of blood was flowing from both wounds, seeping into the fabric of his top, and realizing the quantity of blood he was losing, she knew that time was of the essence. She quickly grabbed a cordless phone off the bedside table, then input the number for emergency.

As a technician came onto the line, she hastily explained the situation, and after being told that an ambulance was on the way, tossed the phone aside. Laying a gentle hand against her lover's head, she lovingly stroked his hair, moving it back away from his face.

"Please don't die." Her eyes stung from the tears that were flowing, blurring her vision. "It can't happen like this...please be okay. *Please.*" As she repeated it over and over, it became like a mantra to her, and she bent her head down to place a tender kiss against his cheek.

Lying completely still, Cody's eyes were half mast, and although he wasn't moving, she could tell from his shallow breaths that he was still alive. She had no idea how long it'd been since he'd gotten stabbed, but if there was something she was certain of, it was a need to reduce his bleeding.

Spotting a lone sock that was lying on the floor, she grabbed hold of it, then fashioned it into a ball and pressed it firmly against one of his injuries.

Too afraid to apply pressure to the wound next to his spine, she'd chosen the one located in his lower back. She couldn't help noticing the amount of blood that was oozing out of his other injury, and began to seriously wonder what his chances of survival were.

Not only was he losing a serious amount of blood, but she also worried about the effect of stress on his heart. The more blood that he lost, the harder it would have to work, which would only reduce his chances of enduring this ordeal. She heard a particularly distressing groan pass his lips, and as his face took on a pinched expression, she felt a pang of sorrow shoot through her.

"Come on Cody, you gotta stay with me. Please don't leave me, baby." Her gaze was trained on his face, taking note of the way his eyelids were steadily becoming more droopy, as if falling victim to sleep.

Yet knowing it wasn't slumber trying to claim him, but rather death, she felt her chest tighten with dread, and the tears which slid down her cheeks promptly became twin rivers.

"No, you can't. Please...baby, don't.." Her voice cracked, too overcome with emotion to finish speaking.

Overcome with dread at the thought of her lover dying, she focused her attention on the breaths that he took, noticing how they were becoming increasingly labored.

His respirations were now accompanied by an alarming wheezing noise, and as she directed her attention to his face, she noticed that his eyelids were nearly shut.

Having felt a steady wave of pain and sadness, she was now also experiencing a flash of anger. Even with the fabric of his dress shirt being dark, she could still tell it was soaked in blood, and could only imagine the amount of pain he was going through. And for what? All because of a destructive emotion called jealousy.

It wasn't only Natalie's husband Erica was angry at, but Natalie herself, as her complete lack of common sense had directly led to this dismal situation. Who in their right mind would purposely engage another in a relationship, yet fail to mention the fact that they were married?

When two consenting adults knowingly entered into an affair, it was a different story entirely, and it certainly wasn't her place to judge. However, when one of the parties knowingly allowed the other to remain ignorant of their marital status, it was just plain wrong in her book.

It just wasn't right for Cody to die like this, stabbed because of a complete misunderstanding, and she would be damned if the person who had committed this heinous act was allowed to roam free for very mush longer.

Glancing at the clock on the bedside table, she was amazed to see that only three minutes had passed since she'd dialed 911. To her it felt as if half an hour had gone by, but despite the short span of time, she still found herself wondering just what was taking so long. Each minute brought him closer to death, increasing the chances for him to succumb to his violent injuries.

Allowing her right palm to continue pressing against the blood soaked sock, she allowed her left hand to meet with Cody's. She threaded her fingers through his, softly stroking the back of his hand with her thumb. Then she leaned down to place her lips against his ear, and shakily whispered into it.

"You can't give up, Cody. You're an Aries, remember? The ram never quits."

His fingers gave a weak twitch in response, just barely enough to indicate that he was still alive, but that was more than enough to instill her with hope. Suddenly there came a loud rapping at the front door, followed by the sound of a male voice.

"Paramedics. Anyone here?"

"We're in the bedroom, on the second floor," she shouted.

She heard the sound of their footsteps as they made their way up toward the sleeping loft, and as they reached the top of the stairs, she glanced up to see two healthcare professionals enter the room.

The crackling static noises their walkie talkies emitted only made the situation seem more surreal, and as they hurried to Cody's side, the female paramedic began to ask questions.

"What happened?"

"He was stabbed."

"How many times?"

"As far as I know, only twice."

"Know who did it?"

"Yes. Not by name, though."

"You weren't present when it happened?"

"No, I was outside. Waiting in the car, and..." She struggled to get the rest of the words out, but found that they just wouldn't come. A choking noise came from her throat, then her chest began to heave with emotion.

Noticing how distraught she was, the male paramedic offered a few words. "It's okay, ma'am. Just take your time."

Erica nodded, brushing away the tears as she watched the paramedics lift Cody onto a stretcher.

"Does he have any family you can call?" The female paramedic asked.

"Yes."

"Get in touch with them immediately."

The seriousness in her voice sent a chill down Erica's spine, and she worriedly observed as they lifted the stretcher and carefully made their way down the stairs. Erica followed behind them, and as they reached ground level, the paramedics unfolded the legs of the stretcher and wheeled it towards the door.

After grabbing Cody's cell phone where she'd dropped it on the ground, she began to search for the keys to his apartment. To her relief she was able to quickly spot them, and after retrieving them from the kitchen counter, she followed the ambulance crew members out into the hallway.

After locking the door to the apartment, she walked beside the stretcher, holding Cody's hand as the paramedics wheeled him along. behind the paramedics, allowing them to lead the way towards the elevator.

As they headed for the elevator, she noticed a few inquisitive people open the doors of their apartments and pop their heads out to have a look. Their voyeurism caused Erica to feel not only uncomfortable, but also extremely annoyed, and she gave a few of the nosy neighbors a dirty look.

This caused a few of them to retreat back into their residences and close the doors behind them, but a few others continued to watch, seemingly unbothered by the hard glare that Erica was giving them. Deciding to ignore the unwanted attention from the lookyloos, she chose instead to direct her eyes at the male paramedic.

"Is he going to be okay?" The tone of voice she used seemed to beg for an affirmative answer.

"The stab wounds are quite deep, and there's been a serious amount of bleeding, so his condition is fairly serious," he said. "However, only a doctor can determine the full extent of his injuries."

The pressure began to rise in her chest, and she could feel herself gearing up for another cry, but determined to stay strong, she forced back the tears. It was imperative that she pull herself together and contact Cody's family, so using her free hand, she manipulated the cell phone keypad with her fingers.

After a few short moments of searching through the phone's address book, she found the number she was looking for. She then hit the 'send' button, and as the line began to ring, she nervously waited for an answer.

Having reached the elevators and pressed the button to go down, the paramedics began to talk amongst themselves, speaking all sorts of medical terms that she didn't quiet understand.

Every once in awhile, however, she did pick up on a few things, which led her to realize that Cody's condition was definitely in the red zone. The elevator beeped to signal it's arrival, and as they stepped onto the lift, the person she'd been trying to contact finally came onto the line.

"Cody, hello. It's so good of you to call your mother. How are you, son?"

Hating to be the messenger of bad news, she reluctantly began to speak. "Hi. You don't know me, but I'm Cody's girlfriend, Erica." Trying her best to keep from breaking down, she released a shaky breath, then continued. "I'm really sorry to call you with this news, but Cody's been badly injured."

"How? What happened?" She anxiously asked.

"He was stabbed."

Clearly wrecked by the news, a grief stricken sound erupted from her mouth. "He's alive though, isn't he? Please tell me he's alive." The tone of voice she used was of desperate pleading.

"He is."

"Oh thank God." She let loose a relieved sigh. "Is he going to be okay?"

Not wanting to break his mother's heart, she briefly hesitated, trying to figure a way to say it without causing too much grief. But how exactly was one supposed to minimize the seriousness of such a situation?

"I don't know much at all yet, only that his condition is serious." As the elevator reached the ground floor, the doors parted and the paramedics wheeled the stretcher out, with Erica following behind them. "The paramedics are about to load him into the ambulance, then we'll be on our way to the hospital."

"Tell me what hospital they're taking him to." The urgency in her voice caused the words she spoke to come out more as an order, rather than a question.

After asking the paramedics, Erica relayed the information to Cody's mother.

"I'm on my way right now," she said. "I'm driving from Arizona, so I won't arrive until late this evening, but I will be there."

"You need anything at all, just call me on this line. I'll update you with information as soon as I get it."

Having arrived at the ambulance, Erica watched as they loaded Cody in, and once Erica was seated in the back of the emergency vehicle, the female paramedic slammed the doors behind them.

As the ambulance took off, sirens blared, causing Erica to press one of her palms against her ear so she could catch the last few words that Cody's mom spoke.

"They need any information about Cody's health history, have them call me. He has heart issues, and there are certain things they need to know."

"Of course, I promise to have them contact you as soon as possible."

"Thank you," she said in a quivering voice. "And Erica?"

"Yes?"

"I know you can't do a lot..." She gave a pause, then took a shaky breath, as if struggling to go on. "But please make sure they take good care of my son."

"I will."

"I need to get on the road now, but thank you for calling."

"Not a problem."

"Goodbye."

"Bye."

Glancing down at Cody lying on the stretcher, Erica noticed how weak and helpless he looked. There was an oxygen mask over his face, and each breath that he took seemed to grow more shallow.

So used to seeing him as a strong, capable, and intensely active person, it was quite a strange sight to see him simply lying still with his eyes closed, clad in a bloody shirt as he was driven in an ambulance to the hospital. Feeling a desperate urge to touch him, she grabbed his hand, firmly holding onto it as her face creased with worry.

She knew there were a number of other people that needed to be contacted about his condition, but as of right now, she needed to focus her attention entirely on him.

As soon as they arrived at the hospital, he would be taken into surgery, and there was no telling how long or intense of an operation it would be, so she needed to fully appreciate this moment she had with him.

Erica watched as the female paramedic began to take Cody's blood pressure, and as she took note of the reading, a deep crease appeared between her eyebrows. "B.P. 90/60," she called out to the ambulance driver. "His pulse is quickly dropping!"

While she set to work at putting an IV in his arm, the second paramedic who was driving the ambulance spoke into a radio. "This is Unit 5. En route with a 32 year old male, stab wounds to his middle and lower back. Patient was semi-alert when we arrived, but has now lost consciousness."