Fame & Consequences

by Reese A. Stephens

  He sighs. “Fine, but call me if you need anything.”

  “I promise.”

  He kisses me sweetly, then Jared drags him from the room. The nurse gets me set up, then offers to help me in the shower, but I refuse. I really do not want a stranger helping me in the shower. Elijah comes through the door as a groan of disgust slips out.

  “What’s wrong?” He’s immediately on high alert.

  “I was so awful to you. I didn’t even realize what I was doing.”

  “We’ve already decided to let all that go. So, what’s going through that pretty little head of yours?” He sits down beside me.

  “I let Carter help me in the shower.” I cover my face. I’m so disgusted with that very thought.

  He pulls my hands away. “He didn’t see you naked, but it was totally uncomfortable for me. I won’t lie.”

  “I’m sorry.” I pout, miserably.

  He pushes my lip in as he smiles. “Stop apologizing.”

  “I’ll try.” I glance around the room and frown. “Where’s my food?”

  He chuckles. “I sat in the hall waiting. Jared is getting the food.”

  “You don’t have to stay here,” I tell him. He looks exhausted.

  He shakes his head. “I’m not leaving you.” I lean forward and kiss him. “I’ve missed that.” I open my mouth to speak and he covers it with his hand. “No apologizing.” I nod, and he lets go.

  “So, what now?”

  He pulls my engagement ring out of his pocket. “You want this back?”

  “Of course I do, but not here.”

  He pockets it again. “How about I surprise you?” I smile. I don’t care if he hands it to me in the car. I don’t want the hospital to taint it in any way. “Do you want a different one?

  “No way, Jose! I love that ring.”

  He tears up, pulling me to him. “I’m so glad you’re back.” He presses a kiss on my neck.

  “Me too. Though, I’m not sure if I remember everything, but I do remember you proposing, so I’m mostly normal now, hopefully.”

  “I’ll take it.” He leans forward and gives me a quick peck. “So, we put the house on hold. Do you want to pick that back up?”

  Do I? I mean, yes, I absolutely want to buy a house with him, but am I well enough to pick back up to before my memory loss? I’m not one-hundred percent sure. I teased about it earlier, but now that I take a minute to process everything, I’m really unsure what the best course of action would be.

  “I definitely want to buy a house with you, but I don’t know if we should assume things are fine and jump right back to everything.”

  He doesn’t respond for a few moments, and I worry I’ve upset him, but he says, “As far as I’m concerned, everything is fine. I still want to marry you. But, let’s take it slow and talk to your doctor about everything. I’d say though, that you remembering things from last year, is a big step in the right direction. I know they still want to do an MRI with you awake, but the one when you were asleep was pretty much normal for the circumstances.”

  “I don’t want to hurt you anymore. What if I wake up tomorrow and everything is gone again?” I’m seriously worried about this happening. I have no clue if my memory regain is permanent.

  “I don’t think it will, but I understand. I’m here for you no matter what, babe.”

  “I just want to be sure.”

  A young man in scrubs comes through the door, interrupting us. “Hi, there. I’m Mac. I’ll be taking you to your MRI. Can I get you to verify some information for me?”

  “Sure.”

  He asks me for my name, birthday, and the pin they assigned me at check-in, but I had no idea what it was. Thankfully, Elijah does. He takes me down a long hall and into a room. The test takes about thirty minutes, and by the time I’m back, the IV is ready to come out. After the nurse gets me all fixed up, she tells me I’m free to shower, but tells me that she wants someone to be with me this first time, just in case I get dizzy. Of course, Elijah volunteers. After the nurse leaves, Elijah looks at me and winks. I point at him sternly.

  “You will behave, Mister.”

  He chuckles, holding up two fingers and says, “Scouts’ honor.”

  I snort. “You were never a Scout.”

  He leans in and kisses me behind the ear. “Do you remember that, or are you guessing?”

  I think about it, and I actually do remember. “We were on our second date when we talked about our childhoods. I believe we were at Rosen’s Bistro.”

  He beams. “Yes!” He presses his lips to mine in a heated kiss. “See, you’re going to be fine. Now, how about that shower?”

  I nod and he helps me stand. He carefully helps me to bathroom. “Did you happen to bring my bag from my hotel?”

  “Yeah, let me grab it.” He leaves and I lean against the sink. I’m not tired, but my head hurts and it makes me a little woozy. “You okay?”

  “Yeah, hurting.” He sets my bag on the little bench before reaching up to untie my gown.

  I grab his hand. “Have you ever seen me naked?” I ask suddenly extremely nervous.

  He looks at me in the mirror, his face drops. “Hey.” Elijah moves his hand and slides his arms around my middle so his front is pressed to my back and his chin rests on my shoulder as he looks at me in the mirror. “If you are uncomfortable, I can untie this for you, and you can undress in the shower.”

  “So, we’ve never done anything without our clothes?” He shakes his head no. It’s weird that this is a missing memory, when I remember him proposing.

  “I’ve seen you in a bikini and that’s all. Were you afraid you forgot?” I nod. He kisses my temple. “Get in the shower. I’ll untie this.” He undoes the ties and helps me in as I hold my gown closed.

  I drop my gown and hand it out of the shower to him. “Oh Mylanta!” I say as I peer down at myself.

  “What’s wrong?” Elijah’s hand grips the curtain. I can hear the worry in his voice.

  I cover my breasts and use the shower curtain to cover the lower half of me and peek out. “Look at this bruise.” I show him my torso. There’s a thick bluish-purple mark across my ribs going up under by left breast.

  Elijah’s teeth clinch. “I wish that bastard was alive, so I could kill him. I’m so sorry, baby.” He reaches for me awkwardly, settling on resting his palm on my cheek.

  I shake my head, unsure how to react to this situation. I shut the curtain. “It’s not your fault. If I can’t apologize, neither can you.” He’s quiet, so I change the subject. “Hey, did you happen to get my shower stuff for me?” He still doesn’t say anything but passes the bottles one by one through the curtain. I glance out at him and see that he still looks angry. “Eli.” He turns to me. “I’ll be fine. The guy is gone. Let’s try to move on.”

  “It seems like every time we turn around something else is happening. I can’t take anything more.” Tears slip down his cheek and I let the curtain go and wrap my arms around his neck pulling him into me, it was such a sudden move, I doubt he could see anything, anyway.

  “Eli, oh baby.” His arms come around my body and he steps into the shower with his clothes on. “You’re going to get soaked.”

  He shakes his head. “I don’t care.” He cups my face and tilts it up to his. “I love you. I can’t lose you. Nothing in my life makes sense without you in it. It’s been so hard for me. I’ve tried to stay strong, but I can’t do it anymore. I want to hide you away so no one else can hurt you.”

  I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what to do. I pull him closer to me. He’s not outright crying, but there’s some sniffling. He’s been holding all this in for weeks, it isn’t healthy. I know. I had an epic screw up because I did. He turns his head and kisses my neck, trailing his lips from my shoulder to behind my ear. I gasp at the sensation.

  “You are absolutely perfect for me.” He kisses me deeply.

  Once we break apart. I reach up with nervous shaky hands and unbutton his shirt. “What are
you doing?” he whispers.

  “Shower with me.”

  “You sure?” I nod my head.

  We quickly divest him of his clothing. This isn’t sexual, it’s purely comforting; taking care of the one we love most. It’s almost healing in a way. We have both been through so much, we need this connection. He leans into me, kissing my forehead as his arms wrap around me.

  “I love you, Sophie.”

  “And I love you.”

  He lifts my face to his and kisses me before reaching behind him for the shampoo. “Can I wash your hair?” I nod, leaning closer to his chest, wrapping my arms around him. I’m a good head shorter than him, so he has no problem reaching me. “Tell me if I hurt you.”

  “I’m okay. My head is a little tender. He didn’t hit me exactly where my fracture was.”

  “Thank God for that.” He scrubs my hair lightly, and I close my eyes relishing the feeling of being so completely cared for.

  I lean a little heavier against him and he shifts back a little off balance. “You okay?” He grabs my arms to steady me.

  I yawn. “Yeah, I’m really tired.”

  He kisses my forehead and moves me, so my head is under the spray. “We can get you washed up and into bed.” I nod, but don’t say anything as he continues to rinse and condition my hair. “You are gorgeous.” My eyes pop open. “I swear, I was trying not to look.” His impish grin gives away his lie.

  I’m about to tease him when there’s a knock on the door and the handle rattles. “Miss Parker, this is Nurse Jane. You’ve activated the emergency button. Is everything okay?”

  I stare at Elijah with frightened wide eyes, but after a few seconds we both burst out laughing. ‘Oops,’ He mouths, pointing to the switch with a string attached behind him.

  “I’m fine. I didn’t realize I’d done that.”

  “I understand, but per hospital policy I have to have a visual on you.”

  Now I really am afraid. I quietly ask Elijah, “What are we going to do?” He covers his mouth to stifle a laugh. I swat at him. “It’s not funny!”

  “Uh, I’m in the shower.”

  “I understand, but I need to come in and make sure you are okay.”

  I’m beet red. “Do you have to look in the shower?”

  “No ma’am, you can peek out.”

  “Okay.” I stick my head out of the curtain as the door opens. Elijah holds onto my waist, sending a visible shiver down me.

  The nurse enters the bathroom. “You’re okay?”

  “Yes. I’m fine.” My face feels like an inferno.

  “Are you sure?” she presses.

  I nod. “I’m positive. You can go.”

  Elijah’s body shakes against mine as he silently laughs. I squeeze my eyes shut because I can feel all of him pressed against me. It doesn’t seem that the nurse has dampened his spirits any. I’m so completely embarrassed. It’s not that I haven’t felt him in that situation before, but never ever like this, and never when another person is standing two feet from me. A stranger at that. I suppress a moan as my body on its own volition reacts to him pressing against me as his hands run up and down my sides. I didn’t expect my body to respond like this.

  “Miss Parker, are you sure you are okay?” Oh right. The nurse is still here.

  I yawn, trying to play off my groan. “Yes. I’m just tired, and I’d like to get out.”

  “You really shouldn’t have taken a shower alone. You could fall. I could stay and make sure you don’t have any issues.”

  My eyes grow wide and I practically shout, “NO!” I clear my throat. “I mean, no. I’m perfectly fine.”

  “I insist. A nurse should have been with you.” For Pete’s sake, please leave!

  Elijah peeks out of the curtain. “She’s not alone. I got this.”

  He winks and I’m mortified and apparently so is the nurse, because she stutters out something I don’t understand, before turning on her heel and immediately leaving. I slap Elijah’s stomach.

  “I can’t believe you!”

  He laughs loudly, pulling me close, planting a kiss on my lips. He’s completely unapologetic. After getting out of the shower and dressing. I have to lie down. I guess the bump on the head has taken more out of me than I realized. Elijah sits by me on the bed and rubs my back.

  “You sure you’re feeling okay?” He’s worried, he seems to do nothing but worry about me lately.

  “Just tired.” I snuggle closer to him and start to drift off to sleep.

  I’m not totally aware of what’s going on, or if I’m dreaming, but either way, I hear my brother ask, “So are things back on track with you two?”

  “Not one-hundred percent, but she remembers enough to move forward,” Elijah answers.

  “That’s great news. I’m sure you are relieved.” Elijah must nod because he doesn’t answer verbally. After a brief pause, Jared asks, “What are we going to do about the Krystal situation? Does she remember that?” I have no idea what he’s talking about.

  “I haven’t mentioned it. She may not. She was drunk that night.”

  “Which is totally not like her,” Jared points out.

  I feel Elijah shift in the bed before he says, “I know. It’s impossible to know if Krystal drugged her, but there is no way she acted that way on her own.”

  “I know my sister and I agree with you, but the pictures are still out there and the media is having a field-day with this.”

  Now I know I’m not dreaming. I roll away from my spot snuggled into Elijah and open my eyes, the scent of the food Jared has brought me wafts in the air, and my stomach rumbles. I ignore it. “Field-day with what?”

  Elijah runs his hand through his hair. “It’s not important right now. You should eat.”

  I take his hand in mine. “Hey, don’t shut me out. Just tell me. What did I do?” Jared offers me the bag of food. I take it, but sit it on the table beside me. I can’t eat until I know.

  Jared looks at Elijah before meeting my eyes. He clears his throat. “We have reason to suspect that on the night you went out with Krystal, she drugged you. Do you remember going out with her?”

  I sit up in the bed. “Yes, and I heard her telling someone she leaked the dressing room photos.”

  Jared and Elijah both nod. Elijah shifts on the bed, so he can see me straight on. “Do you remember anything else about that night?”

  “I remember you showing up, and me being mad at you. I remember drinking a lot and dancing with a lot of people.” I grimace. I’m totally regretting that night

  “Do you remember kissing anyone?” Elijah asks.

  I’m taken aback appalled. “What? No, of course not. I know I called off the wedding, and I wasn’t sure where that left us, but I wouldn’t have cheated on you.”

  He holds up his hand to stop me. “We aren’t accusing you of cheating. We suspect she drugged you?”

  “How could she have drugged me? I remember what happened after I danced.”

  Jared nods as he stands and starts to pace. He stops abruptly and turns to me. “Did you at any time throw up?”

  I try to remember. “Yes. I danced for a long time. I don’t really remember most of it, but I do remember going to the bathroom and throwing up. I heard Krystal after that, I think.”

  Jared nods. “Whatever was in your system was probably not completely digested so when you threw up, you started to come out of the fog. You must have argued with Elijah and heard Krystal after. I took you home shortly after that encounter. There had to be an hour or more for everything to have taken place. There are some date rape drugs that only last a few hours. It leaves the system quickly, so there’s less chance to tie it back to a person. Most people don’t notice they’ve been drugged.”

  I reflect back to that night. It’s really all a blur, but I don’t know if that’s from the recent head trauma, being drunk, or if I was drugged. I don’t know what to think about all of this. It makes me sick to realize someone kissed me without my permission. I’ve onl
y ever kissed two guys in my life. Elijah and Carter.

  “Where’s the picture?” I ask, getting out of bed. I’m slightly off balance, but Jared steadies me.

  Elijah shakes his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  Jared throws his hands up. “Stone, we’ve talked about this. We can’t shield her from everything. How do you guess she’ll feel if she sees this in the store, or if someone confronts her about it?”

  “Just show me the cotton pickin’ picture already.” I glare at my boyfriend … fiancé with my hands on my hips.

  “Fine.” Elijah grabs my tablet and pulls up a website and hands it to me. I gasp and drop the device.

  “No!”

  “I told you, she wasn’t ready for that.” Elijah glares at my brother.

  Tears fill my eyes. “No,” I whisper. I move past both of them and head out of the room. The nurse’s station isn’t far from me, so I head there. “Is there a place I can go to get some fresh air?”

  “Sure,” the one nurse says, as she looks behind me. I turn to see Jared and Elijah standing outside my room door. I turn back to the nurse. “Uh, how about I take you to the employee lounge? No one is normally there around now.” I nod and follow her.

  She uses her key card to unlock the door, it opens to a small kitchenette, continuing on to a second door which leads to a little smoking area outside on a roof top. There’s no one out here, which is perfect. I thank her, as I sit down on a bench, leaning my head into my hands. I’m so confused and overwhelmed. I don’t know if I should laugh, cry, or scream. Why is this happening? It seems like there is always something going on since Elijah and I got together. At first it was just stupid small stuff, people wondering if we were dating or whatever, but now this? I could have been killed, twice, well three times if you count being poisoned. What is the point in all of this? Fame, money? It’s insane. Is this some kind of sign that we shouldn’t be together at all?

  23 Trouble Waits

  “M iss Parker?” My eyes dart up to see my doctor.