Will Love Prevail - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Mark sat at the edge of the small dance floor, watching his friends having fun out there. The alcohol had been making its rounds all night and it showed now in the way everyone was acting a fool.

He had kept himself in check not overdoing it with the booze. His body wouldn’t take it very well. It was his 30^th birthday and everyone had felt he needed to come out and party. They had basically forced him to celebrate his birthday despite his protest.

In a way they were right but it had taken a lot of convincing for him to come out to the bar. The last time he had actually celebrated his birthday had been for his 25^th birthday.  At that party he had had no idea that within the next five years his life would get turned completely upside down and he would soon be celebrating all his birthdays in the sitting position, watching life happen around him from the seat of a wheelchair.

It was shortly after his 27^th birthday when he was riding in a Humvee in the convoy taking him and the Infantry unit he was assigned to, to their camp in the desert about two hours away. At least ten vehicles ahead of him unknowingly dodged the IED and with everyone ahead apparently making it safely along the dirt road, Sergeant Phillips, the driver of their Humvee seemed confident enough to roll along with the rest of the unit, edging through the dust and heat of the Afghan desert.

Will Love Prevail - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

At his apartment complex Mark paid the taxi fare.

The driver opened the door for him, “Can I help you with that?”
“I got it, thanks though.”
Mark pulled his wheelchair over and set it up right outside the car. He then quickly transferred into it under the curious eyes of the taxi driver.
Mark nodded at the driver and thanked him once again. The driver wished him a Good night and got back into his taxi and drove off.

It was a cool night and he sat there in his wheelchair in the parking lot right outside his ground floor apartment. He glanced over to the carports and saw his Dodge Challenger parked there. Since living in the apartment, the car alarm had not gone off once even though the neighborhood Mark lived in wasn’t exactly the greatest and he had pondered moving to a safer neighborhood soon. So far, he had not had the energy though. Changing his current living situation would take some effort and time in dealing with greedy landlords, inaccessible apartments, or way high rents for the places that were out there.

He looked around the parking lot for any suspicious activity and since everything seemed quiet he wheeled over to the sidewalk where the curb was slanted and he could easily push up onto to the sidewalk and to his front door.

The one-bedroom apartment had been remodeled to be accessible for at least two wheelchairs to get around in comfortably. The door frames were wide enough for Mark to get through, there were no stairs or high thresholds, the bathroom had an accessible shower with no door, the toilet had a sturdy frame around it, the bathroom counter with the sink was low enough to use from the sitting position and basically push a wheelchair right up to it and under some. The same was true for the kitchen counters which were low enough for Mark to reach easily. There was no carpet in any of the rooms. A few years earlier several apartments in the complex had been renovated for accessibility.

The VA had helped Mark find the apartment after he had been released from rehab at the VA hospital in Seattle. The apartment building owner was in contract with the VA and housed mostly disabled Veterans from wars past and more recently. In addition, there was some temporary housing for homeless persons to reintegrate back into society. Mark had been living there for almost two years. He knew his neighbors and even though everyone carried their burdens the small community they had was tightly knit.

As he pulled the key to his apartment out of his jeans pocket he heard the all familiar sound of a plane over him coming in for the landing at SeaTac airport. He didn’t live far from the airport and even though in the first couple of months living in the apartment the sound of the planes over him had constantly caused him stress and anxiety, he had now become used to the traffic in the sky, a not so great side effect of living in government subsidized housing. The only time he sometimes felt tense at the sounds now was when he woke up during the night from an occasional especially loud engine depending on which direction the wind was blowing.

Mark pushed his rims and wheeled over the very low threshold into his apartment.

Ranger, his black cat, welcomed him right by the door with a stretch and a yawn, followed by a meow.
“Hey bud, how are you?”
Ranger meowed again seemingly answering his owner and Mark closed the door behind himself, put in the chain on the door and locked it from the inside, leaving the key in the door.
He wheeled into his apartment and Ranger followed him. When Mark looked at the lit-up clock on his stove he saw it was almost one in the morning.

He was thirty now and he felt a slight buzz of the beer in his system. Nowadays alcohol didn’t mix too well with the medications he was on and it didn’t take much for him to feel it if he drank after he had been taking his medications in the evening.

He wheeled over to the cat’s food bowl and saw it was completely empty.

“Damn Ranger, did I forget to feed you before I left tonight?”
Ranger heard his name and meowed his answer.
Mark filled the small bowl with some dry cat food kibbles and set it down in its spot by the kitchen again. Ranger started devouring right away.

Mark still thought about the interaction with Chiara and still couldn’t believe that his friends had actually thought it a good idea to get a prostitute for him.

In a way it wasn’t a surprise though. They all had been pushing him to date again and had taken every opportunity to get him to go out with them. He had gone on a few dates but nothing had come from any of it. In his opinion the wheelchair was an impediment for most women and if someone knew just a little bit about the issues that came with being paraplegic, any decent woman would probably run for the hills at meeting him. Mark didn’t blame the women really. On top of the paraplegia causing many physical limitations the psychological wounds of war were a whole other issue he dealt with.

He had been trying his best to be a productive member of society again but on some days, it was harder than on others. The memories and the flashbacks couldn’t be completely erased by medications and were only kept in check and in the back of his mind. Triggers happened all the time and he would fall into days of depression or anxiety, fear or anger. He had been trying hard, had been going to his monthly counseling sessions at the VA and had been a regular at the gym to channel his anxiety into working out and keeping his mind off the trauma.

He was doing all right but it was strenuous to be okay and exhausting to stay strong sometimes. His friends had been there for him all the way though and if they didn’t hear from him in a few days, someone would either show up at his door or at least call or bombard him with messages on his cellphone.

Ranger was chewing away noisily as Mark wheeled into his spacious bedroom. He took off his T-Shirt and draped it over a chair. He then pulled his right leg up with his hands, setting his foot over his left knee so he could untie his sneakers and take them off. He also took his sock off at the same time. His feet were limp and even though he saw himself take his sneakers off he didn’t feel any of it. Now his naked foot just hung flaccid on his knee as he gently set it back down on the single foot rest of his TiLite. He repeated the same process with his other foot, then just in his jeans he wheeled into the bathroom and up to the sink. The counter didn’t have a cabinet under the sink, another welcome feature of the wheelchair accessible apartment.

Mark turned on the faucet and while waiting for the water to run warm he looked at himself in the mirror. He looked tired but his blue eyes still dominated his face. In the past his eyes had usually worked well with the ladies. His dark blonde hair was cut nicely and trendy and he usually kept a three-day shadow of a beard. Several tattoos he had acquired throughout his active duty military years covered his pectorals, down the right side of his chest and also over to both his shoulders and biceps. One tattoo depicted the names of the two fellow soldiers who had died the night he got injured, Private Lopez and Sergeant Kemplin. Their names with dates of birth and death inside the unit crest were now forever etched into the skin on the inside of his right forearm

Since he had been going to the gym at least three times a week, sometimes four he had built a good set of upper body muscles, defining his pectorals, and the muscle groups in his arms and shoulders. Only in his stomach there was not much he could do anymore to avoid a slightly distended belly. His stomach muscles didn’t respond anymore to any signals from his brain. The weights he lifted and the exercises he did at the gym were only effective for his upper body starting at his T-4 vertebrae upwards. Anything below his T-4 was dead and didn’t communicate with his brain anymore. Working out his upper body and arms though helped him with his transfers and getting around in the wheelchair.

Mark had not missed the atrophy of the muscles in his once strong legs and as they had become thinner his jeans had become looser. He didn’t like looking at his legs and there had been many times he had wished he would have just lost them instead of having to drag around two lifeless pieces of flesh, no use to him anymore and just making his body look unproportioned with his fairly built upper body and dead lower body and legs. No surprise that in his mind women weren’t into a man that was really not whole anymore, just a half of his former self. 

As the water ran warm now, Mark washed his hands, brushed his teeth and then wheeled up to the toilet. The toilet had been his enemy from the beginning of his injury. On top of everything else he had to get used to, the part about losing the sensation to his genitals and voiding organs had been tough. It took him a long time to accept the fate of not being able to urinate or defecate anymore the usual way.

In rehab he had been a difficult patient to teach catherization to and learning other means to defecate instead of the common way. It had been difficult for him to accept this part of his paraplegia and not seldom during rehab he had refused to use catheters to pee and had then peed himself just to realize that catherization was the only way for him to pee now if he didn’t want to wear adult diapers all the time. He had learned the hard way that he just couldn’t control the reflexes of his spastic bladder anymore. As much as he hated it all, he had established somewhat of a routine but at least at night in bed he was wearing the incontinence briefs to not wet his bed unknowingly.

To minimize the chance of peeing while sleeping every night right before going to bed Mark used a disposable catheter to empty his bladder and he did this at least four to five times throughout the day. The catheters were a necessity now in his bathroom, in his back pack, and even in his car. He had them everywhere so he would not ever be without this very important item.

He wheeled up to the toilet with the frame around it and unzipped and unbuttoned his jeans exposing his boxers. The catheter packages were stacked right next to the toilet in a container. He used self-lubricating catheters and with somewhat shaky fingers he prepared the tubing inside the package, opened it and inserted the tubing into the opening on his penis and pushed it up through his urethra into his bladder holding the other end into the toilet. Soon the urine was flowing in a steady stream into the toilet and he just sat there and watched.

He was lost in thoughts about his birthday again and even though he was only thirty, the paraplegia sometimes made him feel much older. His body was in a constant battle with his brain and on some days, it wasn’t easy. Those were the days when he dealt with spasticity all day long, days when he was out and about and couldn’t find an accessible bathroom nearby, the days when he was frustrated about the inaccessibility of buildings he needed to enter, or the days when ignorant people reminded him of his fate.

Then there were the days when people actually thanked him for his service to his country and showed respect and kindness or the days when he felt good and fit and could forget about the wheelchair for a little while.

The evening had been okay until Chiara showed up. He hadn’t been sure how to talk to her and how she could be interested in him. He also had been reminded by her that things didn’t work for him anymore as they did for healthy guys and above all she had made him feel inferior because his friends thought that at least a hooker could make him happy when regular women had not shown interest in him anymore. It hadn’t been her fault, she was hired by them to make his birthday unforgettable. She had only tried to do her job and he had turned her down.

While the last drops of urine dripped into the toilet bowl he also remembered the guy who had waited for Chiara and how he had slapped her so hard several times. Mark felt anger inside.

He shook the tubing and then gently pulled the catheter out of his penis, dabbing the end with toilet paper and disposing of it.  He was done with his urination for the night.

Ranger came into the bathroom and Mark washed his hands once more, then wheeled back into his bedroom with Ranger trailing behind him.

He skillfully transferred onto his bed, pulled his body up and then leaning on the headboard he wriggled his jeans and boxers over his butt with his legs falling from side to side. He had to keep adjusting his legs and his feet to get the jeans all the way off. In his jeans pocket he found the $ 250 from Chiara and looking at it for a moment he then dropped the money on his bedside table.

Taking a deep breath, he then pulled out an incontinence brief from his bedside table and slipped into the soft thick padded brief. He couldn’t feel the brief as it hugged his privates and if someone would have ever told him when he was still walking that one day he would be wearing diapers to bed before he was even thirty he would have thought they were crazy. Now it was normal for him and it’s not that he liked it but he had no choice. Since he was by himself he didn’t bother with any pajamas or sleep shorts but merely pushed his body down into the bed and covered himself up. Ranger had jumped up onto the bed and curled up next to his feet.

He pulled his cell phone over and when he looked at it he saw a message from Patrick:

Hey man, where the hell did you go? Are you with the girl? You just disappeared on us.

He saw another message from his friend Corey:

Dude, where the fuck are you? Are you getting laid right now?

Mark realized that he had left without his friends even knowing and quickly sent a group text to all of them.

Guys, sorry I just left. I’m at home now. Everything is all right. Thanks for taking me out tonight.

He sent the message off and it didn’t take long and Patrick replied:

Did you have fun with the girl you left with?

He debated telling them a lie or the truth and opted for the latter:

I didn’t go with her and she’s not with me. Thanks for the present I guess but I didn’t take her up on what she offered. I know you guys meant well but I just couldn’t do it. Sorry guys.

Now it took a few moments and no reply came but instead his phone rang and he saw it was Patrick.

Mark answered, “What’s up!”
Patrick was on the other end, “Bro, what happened? We thought you were with her.”
Mark explained to him how things had gone with Chiara and ended with, “I just couldn’t do it.”
“Well, that just sucks. We thought it was a good idea and would be fun for you.”

Mark knew he should have told them a lie because he could hear Patrick was disappointed.

He tried to think of his reply.
“Listen Pat, you guys meant well but I just couldn’t do it, okay. I can’t feel my junk down there, it’s fucked up, man. The chick wanted to give me a blowjob but I don’t feel a blowjob or any other job down there. I can’t fuck a chick anymore like I used to. And it doesn’t matter what she will do, I won’t feel any of it so the money was a waste. I saw her get slapped by her pimp. It pissed me off. It wasn’t her fault and it wasn’t you guy’s fault but I’m done with shit like that. I’m fucking paralyzed from my chest down and I can’t feel shit anymore. I probably can’t even get a chick pregnant anymore, so I’m pretty much done. Thanks for whatever it was but it kinda didn’t work.”

It took Patrick a few seconds to reply and his voice was filled with guilt when he said, “Well then, I guess we seriously fucked up with this. Sorry man. I feel like shit now and I’m sure the guys will too. We should have known better bro. I mean we know you can’t walk anymore and all but you never said anything about…about that other stuff. I’m really sorry.”

“It’s all right. It’s over. Moving on. No more hookers please.”
Mark tried to sound cheerful but it didn’t work all the way.
“Mark, I’m really so sorry. We fucked up big time.”
“It’s okay. Let’s forget about it. She was hot all right and had a nice smile. I just hope she didn’t get in more trouble with her fucking pimp.”
“Did you really see her get slapped?”

“Yes, it pissed me off. It wasn’t her fault that I turned her down. She gave me the money back. I feel bad about it.”

“She gave you the money back? Wow! Well, nothing you can do about it man.”
“Where did you guys get her from anyways?”

Mark heard as Patrick asked the other friends and then came back on, “Corey said they got her from the streets.”

“The streets, like where?”
Patrick asked his friends again and came back on again, “He doesn’t remember.”
“Hhm, well…I’m going to sleep now. I’m beat. Thanks for taking me out tonight though.”
“Okay man, sorry again. We’ll talk to you later then. Good night.”
They finished up and Mark let his phone drop onto the bed next to him and laid his head back.

He still thought about the night and how it had ended with Chiara and he couldn’t get her out of his head. She had been pretty and really didn’t look like a hooker. For a few moments in the bar he had wondered how an attractive and sexy woman like her could have been interested in him. He thought about how he should have known it was too good to be true.  He fell asleep and that night he didn’t wake up drenched in sweat and screaming from the nightmares he constantly dealt with. Instead he woke up from dreaming of Chiara and for a moment he was angry he had woken up because it had been a good dream where she wasn’t a hooker. 

Will Love Prevail - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It was Sunday and Mark had slept in. Ranger was next to him in bed and was purring noisily while pushing his paws into the pillow next to Mark’s head.

Mark looked at him sleepy, mumbling, “Hey buddy, are you waking me up?”

With his yellow eyes Ranger looked right at him and purred even louder.

The cat had been with Mark over a year. He had found it at an adoption event outside a Target store. Ranger wasn’t a kitten anymore, he was 5 years old already when he was up for adoption because his previous owner had passed away.  Now he was almost 6 years old and was Mark’s companion. The cat had been nothing but good for him, always there, calm and peaceful, never annoying. Ranger had been a source of content for Mark and he enjoyed having the cat around.  On many nights when Mark was plagued by nightmares Ranger would come up and push his paws into Mark’s chest waking him up and pushing his nose onto his face. It’s like the cat could sense his owner’s distress and never strayed far away from Mark. It had helped to have the cat there and Mark didn’t want to miss it.

Will Love Prevail - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Highway 99 turned into International Boulevard and connected Seattle and SeaTac. It was close to where Mark lived in Burien. He made his way out of the city as he remembered the girls telling him that there were roads off International Boulevard where he could possibly find women but he had no idea which roads they were referring to. He didn’t really know where to even start looking.  

He pulled over onto the side of the road and pulled his phone out. He texted his friend Mitch again:

Hey man, do you know where hookers are off International Boulevard? You mentioned you found the one for my birthday off Highway 99.

He just sat there and waited for a little while looking at his social media.

It didn’t take long for Mitch to reply:

Dude, what’s going on with you and the hooker? Why are you still worried about that?

Running his fingers over the phone, Mark replied quickly:

I’m still trying to find her. Do you know if there are hookers off International Boulevard or not?

Instead of still giving Mark a hard time Mitch actually replied with a few street names both off Highway 99 and International Boulevard and suggested that Mark try those. Mark thanked him and started his car again heading to the first destination Mitch had mentioned.

It was another industrial area, no regular homes but only business buildings, either closed for the night or maybe some nightshifts going on with the lights on. Mark slowly drove into one of the roads but instead of prostitutes he only found homeless people living in their tents and sitting around a make shift heat source.

He felt tense driving through the dark streets with his nice car. He had his gun in his glove box and debated getting it out so he would actually have it right there in case he needed it. The homeless looked up from warming their hands around the fire pit but didn’t seem too interested in Mark driving through.  

Mark kept glancing out his windows, making sure no one was approaching his car and looking for any signs of prostitution but he didn’t see any hookers or women that could be hookers. Instead the women he saw there were homeless, unhealthy looking, and most likely drug users.  

He felt frustrated as there seemingly was no prostitution around this area and he edged his way out of the block and headed for another street Mitch had mentioned.

Will Love Prevail - Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Mark slept until Ranger jumped up onto his chest and pushed his paws onto his skin, waking him up from a deep sleep. Finally, in the morning after his spasms had let off with the Baclofen and his sleeping pill had kicked in again, Mark had fallen asleep again.

“Hey you little devil.”

He held Rangers paws away from his skin some because Ranger was using his claws to cause havoc on Mark’s chest.
He still liked seeing Ranger’s cat face in front of him though and just like Ranger knew it he pushed his nose against Mark’s nose for a morning greeting.
“Yeah, yeah, I know.”

Ranger was hungry and Mark blinked into the room and let his hand run over the cat who was busily pushing his paws into his chest.

Ranger jumped off as Mark pushed himself up on the couch. The couch was soft and Mark had to find his balance on sitting up and leaning onto the back rest. Ranger had ran to the kitchen and was meowing. It was raining outside again. Autumn was now around the corner and indicating the beginning of the dark months ahead, something Mark didn’t deal with very well nowadays.

Will Love Prevail - Chapter 6

Chapter 6

As always Ranger was at the door greeting his human with meowing and Chiara walked into the apartment behind Mark. Her eyes lingered on his back and his arms and hands on the push rims of the wheelchair. She saw the TiLite logo on the back rest.

She closed the door and Mark spun his chair around, “Can you put the chain in and here, stick the key in too.”

She took the key from his hand, stuck it in the door lock, and slid the chain in its holder. She was certain that little chain and a key in the door would never stop Trey if he wanted to come for her.

Ranger meowed and crept around Mark’s legs and wheelchair, then jumped up on his lap. Mark petted Ranger and greeted him and Chiara just stood there and watched him shyly.

As Mark had switched the light on in his apartment, Chiara could see him so much better. When she had met him inside the bar it had not been very bright and even when she had been outside with him the lights had only been dim. The time he had come out to the streets to find her he had been in his car and she had not been able to see him all the way then.

Now she saw him clearly sitting there in his wheelchair in the light of the room. She remembered how he had worn jeans the night at the bar and how her hands had been on his legs. And she remembered thinking about his paralyzed legs under the baggy jeans and how her hands had vibrated at touching him. He wore jeans again and his hoodie with the hood pulled over his head. He just then slid the hood off his head and she now saw his dark blonde hair slightly ruffled from wearing the hoodie.

Will Love Prevail - Chapter 7

Chapter 7

It was around five in the morning when Mark fell asleep again and he didn’t wake up until Ranger finally jumped up onto his bed and started biting his nose. Mark opened his eyes sleepily and when he remembered the night before he quickly looked at his phone and saw the time was after nine. He moved his hands to his crotch and felt the saturated briefs. Ranger meowed and bit his nose again trying to relay to his owner how hungry he was.

“Yeah, yeah, good morning man.”

Mark yawned and listened for a moment for any noises.

He pushed himself up in the bed and glanced to his door, it was still shut enough where Chiara couldn’t see him get out of his bed.

He leaned over some, pulled his TiLite all the way to the bed, and transferred into it, yawning again in the process. He made it to his bathroom and closed and locked the door behind himself. He had to get out of the briefs, they were wet like after most nights. His bladder retracted with spasms sometimes and with that there was always a chance for urine to leak.  He managed to pull the briefs off his privates and he balled them up and threw them in the closed trash can in his bathroom. He then used a wet wipe to somewhat wipe himself off before he sleepily pulled out a new catheter and emptied his bladder all the way. He was going to get in the shower after he fed Ranger.

He washed his hands and ran his wet fingers through his ruffled hair, then splashed some cold water in his face to wake up somewhat.

Will Love Prevail - Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Mark’s cell phone on the counter announced a text message.

Chiara quickly glanced over to the phone. Mark put his hands to his rims and wheeled over to the phone and picked it up.

The message was in the group chat from Corey: Hey man, how are things going?

Mark looked over at Chiara, explaining, “It’s from my buddy.”

Chiara nodded and focused on Ranger again, petting him softly.

Mark replied: Everything’s good

Corey: Is she still there?
Mark: Yes, she’s still here. She won’t go anywhere anytime soon.
Corey: What are you going to do?
Mark: Nothing for right now. I got some clothes for her from my neighbors.
Corey: Do you need anything else for her?
Mark: I don’t think so. I may go and try to get some shoes for her, some sneakers or something.
Corey: Maybe we could come over later on and meet her.

Mark thought for a moment and glanced over at Chiara. She was still petting Ranger and seemed lost in thoughts.

Mark: I don’t know if it’s a good idea. I don’t want to stress her out.

Corey: Understandable. Maybe we can talk about it later
Mark: Yeah

Will Love Prevail - Chapter 9

Chapter 9

In Olympia Chiara felt safe to pull off and check out the mall there. She had been quiet and Mark wasn’t sure if he had said anything wrong. He found a disabled parking spot close to the main entrance and once he was parked and had the car turned off, he looked over to Chiara, “Would you mind getting the disability placard out of the glove box?”

Chiara found the placard, realizing that Mark apparently didn’t normally have it dangling on the rearview mirror. She didn’t hand it to him but attached it to the mirror herself.

He smiled at her, “Thanks.”
“You don’t always keep it there?”

“No, I try to keep it on the low I guess.”

Chiara smiled, “Don’t.”
Mark now laughed softly, “I feel it messes up my car.”
Chiara laughed, “Why?”
Mark shrugged his shoulders, laughing still, “I don’t know. Just feels like my car shouldn’t have a driver who needs this dumb placard.”
“This placard usually catches my eye in any car.”
Mark tilted his head, “Does it now?”
Chiara lowered her eyes and smiled, “Well, I first see the car and if it has the placard, I try to see if the driver is a good-looking guy.”

Mark really didn’t know what she was saying with this. He wondered why it would matter to her if there was a disability placard in the car or not.

He smiled and thought of asking her for more elaboration on her comment but before he could ask, she said with a smile, “I’m kidding.”

Will Love Prevail - Chapter 10

Chapter 10

On the drive home Chiara was quiet again. The wine had most likely worn off and Mark tried to make conversation with her but her answers were short.

His mind was racing and he still felt his heart ache. He needed to show her how much he really cared for her and how much he wanted her in his life. She was reluctant and she was scared, he felt it with all its might and it overshadowed them having a carefree interaction.

On this Saturday evening there was slow traffic all along the Interstate going North and Mark had to focus on driving, slowing down, going around cars and switching lanes when he had to. Driving kept him somewhat distracted but all day he had felt Chiara’s hesitation to fully let go. Only with the wine she had loosened up and she had said some things that had intrigued him. He had questions and he wanted answers.

Chiara sat quietly next to Mark and held the black stuffed animal cat on her lap. She kept glancing at him and she saw his silhouette in only the lights from the dash board and the head lights of other cars driving on the other side. Looking at him made her tremble and it made her weak but she couldn’t let this take over her alertness and vigilance about her situation. She cared for Mark so much it caused her a constant pain.

Will Love Prevail - Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Mark didn’t say anything but wheeled over to the bed with Chiara’s eyes on him.

For a moment he sat there and he just looked at her letting his eyes travel over her body and he could only shake his head in admiration.
He saw dark spots on her skin, but couldn’t make out that he was looking at bruises and scars that covered her whole body.
He set the break on his TiLite and without words he transferred over onto the bed. Not for one moment Chiara moved her eyes away. She watched everything he did with total focus and her whole body was charged with the awakening.

Mark pulled his body up onto the bed and his legs just dragged behind him. They didn’t move, they didn’t twitch, they didn’t do anything. Chiara ran her hands over her thighs watching as he pulled himself all the way up on the bed and finally sat next to her leaning on the headboard.

He now looked at her and she shifted and looked at him. Without hesitation Mark moved his hands up to her hair and pushed it behind her ear again and now when he put his hand behind her head and pulled her to him, she didn’t pull away but stayed. He pulled her in for the kiss and she didn’t resist it. Her body radiated coolness and it made him want to get even closer to her because he wanted to keep her warm.

Will Love Prevail - Chapter 12

Chapter 12

It was Ranger who woke up Mark by pushing his cat nose onto Mark’s nose over and over. The cat was meowing and stepping around on the bed as Mark blinked into the room.

He had no idea what time it was and lazily he pushed up on his elbows and looked over at the alarm clock. It showed almost noon and he remembered the sleeping pill he had taken in the early morning.

Chiara wasn’t in the bed next to him and he also didn’t hear any noises coming from the bathroom.

Ranger kept meowing. Mark pushed himself all the way up on his hands. He looked down the bed, his legs were still covered. When he peeked under the blanket, he was surprised for a moment at his nudity but quickly he remembered the night before and he smiled. Fortunately, everything was still dry under there. He was relieved about that. If Chiara would be staying in his bed from now on, he would have to let her in on the things he dealt with when it came to his spastic bladder and how he really couldn’t go without the incontinence briefs at night. With her sleeping next to him from now on he definitely didn’t want to wake up in a wet bed in the morning.

Will Love Prevail - Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Mark drove out to the street he had initially found Chiara in but it was still daylight and there was no one there. The street was a dirty back alley with steel backdoors into industrial buildings or loading docks. He slowly edged his Challenger through the alley and he felt tense and his hands were shaking.

He would have to come back out at night and look for her again.

He didn’t go home all day but got some food in a drive through and drove around Seattle and all the way out of the city just to turn around again and make his way back into the city when daylight was setting. It was almost eight at night when he found himself again on Evans Street where he had found Chiara on Friday night.

He slowly turned into it but he found it empty and not one girl standing along the walls and sides of the buildings. It was a very cold night, only in the low thirties and even though he could feel the frustration inside of him, he was in a strange way relieved that she hopefully wasn’t out in the cold.

At the same time his heart felt heavy and he was in complete despair at the situation. He drove into some of the other streets he had been to when he had been looking for Chiara but he didn’t find her. There were a few girls but no sight and no trace of Chiara and when Mark asked some of them, they knew nothing.

Will Love Prevail - Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Mark woke up with a pounding headache at almost noon and he heard the TV on in the living room. For a moment he had forgotten that Corey had spent the night. Then as he sat up in his bed alert at the sounds from outside of his bedroom, he remembered that Corey had stayed over.

He sat leaning on his headboard and looked down at his legs. He wore lounge pants which hung loosely on his legs. His feet were in socks and just laid there not moving even a toe. It didn’t matter how much he wanted to move his legs or feet and how much it was in his head, the signals just didn’t make it through his spinal cord anymore.

He did realize that he had apparently managed to pull on an incontinence brief before he had fallen asleep without cathing and due to the amounts of liquid in his system the briefs were swollen with urine. He touched his crotch with his hands to feel for moisture but everything seemed dry and had apparently stayed inside the briefs.

He pulled himself up on the bed some more. He was about to pull his pants off and wanted to get this done quickly so he could get into the bathroom. He kept glancing toward the door of his bedroom because he didn’t want Corey to walk in on him and see him on the bed in just the briefs.

Will Love Prevail - Chapter 15

Chapter 15

It was on a Thursday about a week before Christmas and almost six weeks after Chiara had left Mark when around nine thirty that night Mark was sitting in his wheelchair in front of his computer and his phone beeped announcing a text message.

He pulled his phone over and opened the text message window and saw a number he didn’t recognize. He opened the message and all it read was his name:

Mark?

Mark felt his heart beat in his neck and typed: Yes, who is this

Chiara

He felt his fingers tremble as he typed: Chiara, where are you

It took a moment and a reply came: I’m not all the way sure, I think I’m in Portland

Mark shifted nervously in his TiLite: Where in Portland

I don’t know, outside of Portland. He will kill me if he finds out I contacted you. I’m locked up in a house

Mark hissed through his teeth, “Fuck.”

He typed with quick fingers: Can I call you

No, don’t. They may hear it

I will tell the police to track this number and find you

I’m scared he will kill me

Mark was tempted to just push the call button but he didn’t. He felt his body charged and his nerves running through him ending at the T-4 vertebra but his head was pounding now reading the message from Chiara.

I’ll call the police right now, we’ll come and get you out of there.

I’m so scared Mark.

I’ll come and get you tonight

Nothing else came after this message.

Mark typed again: Chiara, hang in there. I’ll come down there and get you.

Will Love Prevail - Chapter 16

Chapter 16

When Mark woke up from a restless sleep at five in the morning, he decided to text his friends and since it was early, he didn’t get a reply just yet. It was Saturday morning and his friends were most likely still sleeping.

He wanted to get ready and drive to Portland as soon as he could. When he couldn’t fall asleep anymore, he decided to get up at six. He still felt weak and like he had been through a lot but slowly he got his routine in the bathroom done and finally was dressed and ready after eight o’clock. He filled Ranger’s food and water bowls full and the cat got busy eating its’ breakfast.

At eight thirty Mark sat in his Challenger and was on his way South to Portland. In a Burger King drive through he grabbed a breakfast sandwich and coffee.

The drive was uneventful and as he neared Portland, he used his GPS to get to the hospital again. He felt nervous at getting closer and once he finally parked in a disabled parking spot at the hospital, he sat in his car for a few moments just thinking.

He prepared to see Chiara in a bad state and he prepared to apologize. He took a deep breath and eventually set up his wheelchair outside his car, attached his backpack to the handles of it and then transferred over onto into it.

Will Love Prevail - Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Mark spent a while just sitting next to the bed watching Chiara and thinking about how everything had been and how everything was going to be. He only left the room once to catheterize in the bathroom, draining his bladder and making sure everything was good in his boxer briefs.

It was in the late afternoon when Dr. Turner came back and when he saw Chiara sleeping, he asked Mark to come outside the room so they could talk.

“So, I talked to Swedish in Seattle and they’re going to take Chiara. I also talked to the police, they actually called me about this and said Chiara was okay to leave and they were going to contact the Seattle police. We can possibly get her transported tomorrow afternoon.”

Mark was relieved, “Good, I’m glad to hear that.”

Dr. Turner remarked, “I would have taken good care of her down here but I understand your plea Mark. She has been through a lot and I guess it would be better for everyone if she’d be in Seattle.”
“It makes things so much easier for me. I plan on being there with her every day.”
Dr. Turner nodded, “She’ll definitely need help with what lies ahead.”
“I’ll be there and help her as much as I can.”

Dr. Turner finished with the promise that he would come by in the morning to say Good Bye. Mark had now decided to stay overnight at the hospital. Even though Ranger was at home by himself, he knew the cat would be okay until the next day. He had given him plenty of dry food in the morning before he had left and there was enough water.

Will Love Prevail - Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Mark was inside his apartment and he really didn’t know what to do. Ranger didn’t know what was going on with his owner and did the same thing he always did, rubbing around Mark’s legs and feet on the foot rest and meowing like he had not been fed in days. Mark could not focus and didn’t really register Ranger meowing. He was still in shock from what Officer Collins had told him and he just sat in his wheelchair in the living room staring at the stuffed animal cat Maddy on the couch. He felt helpless and desperate and really didn’t know what to do. He sat there completely stunned at the situation.

It was about an hour later when Mark got the call from Officer Collins, “Mark?”

“Yes.”
“I have some information for you.”
“Yes.”
“There is no warrant out and no charges filed against Chiara just yet but she is under police security here. I talked to Seattle PD and I can meet you at the hospital tomorrow and we’ll get you cleared there with the Seattle police so you can visit with her. You’ll get a special visitor pass but I’ll have to be there to vouch for you and basically be your sponsor.”
Mark was relieved some but also didn’t like hearing about the time line, “Tomorrow?”
“Yes, tomorrow. I can meet you there at eleven.”
“At eleven?”
Officer Collins sounded irritated, “Yes Mark, at eleven. I'm off tomorrow, I'm doing this off duty for you.”

Mark didn’t want to complain anymore about this, realizing that Officer Collins was doing him a favor.

Officer Collins then added, “Mark, I know this is all stressful and frustrating but just think, you have her up here now and I’ll help you tomorrow so you can see her every day. You have to be patient and keep yourself in check. Chiara came out of some very bad circumstances and a sting operation and criminal investigation really. I don’t know what’s going to happen to her and they’re still out looking for him and some other people so we’ll just have to see. It’s in the hands of the Seattle and Portland police departments. They’ve had it out for Trey’s gang for a long time. This is a big prostitution ring that they’ve been trying to bust. You played a little part in that but of course it makes it difficult for your situation with Chiara.”
“I’m still worried about what’s going to happen.”
“Don’t worry and just take it a day at a time right now. I’ll get you in so you can see Chiara and then just go from there.”

Will Love Prevail - Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Mark was permitted to stay until six that evening and even though neither he nor Chiara liked the time restriction of his visit, they had no choice and just had to obey the order. Chiara wanted Mark to call her when he got home. She didn’t have a cell phone but before Mark left, he asked the police officers if he was allowed to call Chiara in her room. They explained to him that all the calls she would receive, would have to go through them and were monitored. Mark basically had no choice that any call he would make to Chiara would possibly be listened in on.

He explained this to Chiara and she said softly, “I don’t care if they want to listen to us. If it’s the only way I can make sure you can call me and tell me that you made it home safely, then I’m okay with it.”

Mark nodded, “I feel the same way. I’ve nothing to hide. They can hear whatever I have to say to you.”

Mark wrote down the phone number on a piece of paper. He would program it into his phone later.
He pushed his wheelchair close to her bed and Chiara leaned over some to be able to kiss him. They held each other for a few moments and kissed gently.

It was difficult to let go of each other but Mark finally freed himself of Chiara’s embrace and when he looked at her, he saw her eyes were glistening again.

“I want you to get a good nights’ sleep. I’ll be back here tomorrow at eleven.”

Chiara nodded and repeated her request once more, “Make sure you call me when you’re at home.”
“I will, I promise.”
He smiled at her trying to leave her in a somewhat cheerful way.
She managed a weak smile and scanning his face she said, “I love you Mark.”
He smiled at her still, “I love you too. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
At the door he looked back at Chiara once more and she waved her hand at him, “Bye.”

Will Love Prevail - Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Mark had a better night and actually got about seven hours of sleep, which surprised even him.

He woke up well rested and sat over breakfast at eight o’clock thinking about Chiara. She was either already in surgery or getting ready to go in soon. The doctor had told them that she was scheduled for eight thirty and the surgery would take about two to three hours.

Mark was planning to be there at eleven still, even if she wasn’t done yet but he wanted to be there when she woke up from the anesthesia. He was hoping very much he could possibly be in the recovery room with her but wasn’t sure if he would be allowed.

He was on his way out the door at shortly before eleven. The Honda was again parked across the parking lot in the furthest spot, watching from a distance as Mark got into his car, again taking pictures and again following him to Swedish hospital. Mark had no idea that he was being watched.

Meanwhile Trey and three other guys were leaving Astoria and heading up North on I-5, making his their toward Seattle.