“What’s wrong with Taralynn?” My mother’s voice is full of concern. She practically runs toward the couch. My mom has a bond with Tara that I don’t exactly understand, but I don’t dislike it either. They are close. “Honey?” My mom’s called Tara, “Honey” for as long as I can remember. I’m certain she loves her as though she was her own daughter.
“Shawn, start speaking, now.” My father demands. It’s a voice that makes me feel like a child again. I step away from Matt to look at my parents. Shit, my ass is about to get it. I inhale through my nose and force the air out through my mouth.
“She was drugged.” My mother gasps. My father’s eyes widens in shock. “The date rape drug.” Now my mother’s eyes do the same and I press on. “He didn’t touch her. I got to her before anything bad happened.”
“You don’t call this bad?” My dad yells. “Why isn’t she at the hospital?”
I don’t have a response for that. I look down. I knew I should have made a different call.
“A word, Shawn.” My dad says through clenched teeth. “Now.”
I follow him into the foyer. Disappointing my parents isn’t something I’m used to doing. I’ve screwed up in past. I screwed up a lot back home before I moved to Oxford, before I got out into the real world and found my place. Before I grew up I guess. Never once, until this moment have I ever felt like I’ve let my mom and dad down.
This feels like pure shit.
“Where did I go wrong? Please explain to me where I messed up on the parenting road because I was pretty damn sure until tonight I taught you better than this.” His eyes are boring into mine hard.
“You did, sir.”
“Then why is she laying in that room unconscious when she should be laying in a hospital?”
“I don’t have an excuse, Dad. I mess—” Before I’m able to finish the front door fly’s open and in walks Trent, Tara’s brother and he’s pissed.
“What the hell did you let happen to my sister?” He grabs onto me the same way I had Matt, pushing me backwards. I have to grab onto the railing on the stairs so I don’t fall backwards onto the steps.
“Trent.” My dad calls out. “Let him go.” Trent doesn’t and I don’t push him off of me either. I probably deserve this. If I hadn’t kissed Tara earlier tonight none of this would have happened. She wouldn’t have taken off work early. She wouldn’t have been here for it to happen in the first place. I’m just as to blame as Matt, maybe even more so.
“I asked you a question. Answer me, damn it.” Trent is screaming in my face.
“Let him go, Trent.” My father pulls Tara’s brother off of me. “If you want to go see about your sister, I suggest going in there.” My dad points in the direction of where she is. Trent eyes me hard, but does as my father says.
I push myself off the railing and stand back to full height. My dad is looking at me, waiting on me to speak.
“I’m sorry. I know I messed up, dad. It’s just—” I shake my head because ultimately there isn’t an excuse for not taking her to the hospital to be checked out. My mom is a pediatrician and my dad’s a cardiologist, but neither one of them work in emergency medicine. My dad steps closer, wrapping his hand around the back of my head, and then he pulls me into him. I rest my forehead on his shoulder.
“At least you called us, son.” My dad and I both sigh at the same time. “Just promise me, in future, you will call for immediate help. That means an ambulance.”
“There won’t be a next time.” I assure him.
“Son, you can’t predict the future. None of us are promised tomorrow. You have to make decisions today to the best of your ability and hope that there is a tomorrow. You’re my son so I know the best of your ability is better than the call you made here tonight. Learn from it, that’s all I’m asking.”
“Yes, sir.” I pull back, nodding my head before walking back into the living room to check on Tara and ask my mom if she’ll be okay.
When I enter the room I freeze. What I see is unexpected, sure my mom is a doctor, but I didn’t expect her to whip out an IV bag tonight. She turns, taking in my surprise.
“It’s just normal saline to prevent dehydration and I’m hoping it will bring her around sooner rather than later. Depending on the dosage she was given she could be out for a full twenty-four hours.”
A mother loving day? Shit.
“So she’ll be—” Tara’s brother’s mouth interrupts my question to my mom.
“Can someone explain how my sister was drugged?” Trent bites out his words at a slow pace. I move my head from looking down at my mother who’s sitting beside the couch in the position I was in earlier to look toward him. Trent is seated in the recliner next to the couch with his elbows pressed into his knees.
I can’t answer his question because I don’t know much of the details.
“He put a pill into her cup at some point tonight.” Mason tells the room. I’m guess Matt got that information out of the son of bitch when he made the fuck tell him what he did to Tara.
I walk the short distance to where Tara is. I need to be closer to her. I need my mom to tell me she is going to be okay. I know she is, if there was more wrong my mother would have called the medics by now. Something I should have done regardless of the fact that Matt deemed Tara wouldn’t want that.
“Shawn called his parents because we knew your parents would flip out,” Mason continues on. Why he feels the need to defend me to Trent I don’t know. I fucked up; I knew that before my father confirmed it.
The banging sound of someone beating on the front door causes me to turn in that direction.
Who the hell is here now?
“I’ll get it,” my dad says and turns away from us.
“They would.” Trent comments and I look back at him before lowering myself down on my hunches in front of Tara. He nods a look of understanding in my direction. I don’t want it. I should have made a different call regardless of their parents. “As much as I know she should have been taken to a hospital, they wouldn’t have let her live this down. It wouldn’t have matter to my mom that she didn’t do anything wrong.”
She has to stop letting them affect her in this way.
Parents are supposed to love their children, faults and all, and Tara doesn’t have one damn fault.
“Jared,” my dad’s voice is a warning and I pivot, standing straight up.
“Get the fuck out.” I’m not dealing with his ass right now. We both have an understanding. That understanding means, neither one of us enter the others home and when we are in the same place, we stay on the opposite sides of the room. He’s crossed a line.
I make a leap forward, but Mason halts my progress.
“I’m not leaving until I know she is okay.” He looks past me, looking in her direction and I’m seconds from losing it. “Taralynn.” He calls out.
“She’s unconscious you idiot.” And he isn’t about to touch her. Not in my house. It’ll be over my dead body.
“Who did this to her? All I know is she was drugged. What happened, Braden?”
“That about sums it up. I think you can leave now.” He’s pissing me off. He doesn’t have a right to her.
“Not until you tell me who did this to her.” His face is red and his body is strung tight. He wants to hit something. Probably me.
“Boys.” I mothers soothes.
“It’s been handled.” At least I assume it has. Matt only had a bleeding lip, but if he knows what was good for him, then he kicked the motherfuck out of that shitprick before letting him go.
“A name, Shawn.”
“Derrick Landers.” Matt answers him.
Good to know. Now I know who to go find.
Jared turns to leave, but stops and looks back at Tara. I don’t like the fact that his worried expression is for her. He’s sincere and I can see he cares. I care about her. He shouldn’t.
Seconds later the door slams.
“Is she okay?” I look down at my mom.
&nbs
p; “She will be. I’ll need to check her out in the morning or when she wakes, but I believe she will be fine. She’ll most likely have a killer headache and ache all over when she wakes up though.”
“I’m taking her to her room. You and dad can have my bed.”
I don’t wait for anyone to tell me different. My mom removed the needle and placed a bandage on her hand right before Jared showed up, so I scoop her into my arms and leave the room.
“Uhhhhh,” I groan before blinking my eyelids open. They snap shut immediately. Jeez, that was the wrong thing to do.
The bright light.
My head!
God, it hurts so bad.
Why?
I squirm; trying to move from my spot only to realize something is constricting my movement. When realization dawns on me, my body goes solid. That something is actually someone and they’re practically wrapped around me from behind. There is a heavy arm draped over my side with a large hand splayed out across my bare lower belly. This is what has me freaked out, not to mention the massive weight leaning into my back.
“Relax,” he says. “It’s only me.” At the sound of Shawn’s deep raspy vocals, my body is instant jelly, melting into him.
Then another realization dawns on me. Shawn is in my bed. Shawn is wrapped around me. And in the position I’m lying, partially on my side, but mostly leaning over onto my stomach, Shawn’s hand is cupping a whole lot of belly bulge; my belly bulge, as in my fat.
I’m not saying I’m a lot over weight, but at five feet eight inches tall and weighing one hundred and fifty pounds, I could certainly stand to lose ten or fifteen pounds.
Suck it in, Taralynn, I tell myself. Suck as much in as possible.
“Relax is not queue for going stiff and sucking in your gut.”
Life hates me. That has to be it, because it certainly isn’t working in my favor.
Freakin’ hell.
I release the air I’ve been holding and then relax into the mattress and into his hold on me. I have to say it feels nice. Even with the thumping inside my brain, I could get used to this easily.
Why the heck is Shawn in my bed?
Why does my body hurt all over? Possibly even more than my head does.
“Why do I feel like I’ve been ran over by a truck and then beat up on top of that?” Did I get into a fight last night? Surely not. Me...fighting? That’s a laugh. I mean, I think I could hold my own. I don’t think I’m physically weak, but I’ve never been in a fight in my life.
Shawn scoots backwards and pulls me toward him. He falls on to his back with his head resting on one of my pillows.
Dear mother of God. Shawn looks like’s he was hit with a mac truck.
“Hell, Shawn, you look like I feel. What happened?”
“What do you remember from last night?” He’s scanning my face. Looking for what I don’t know.
My eyes instantly go to his lips when I remember the feel of them on me. My mouth goes dry at the thought and I have to jut out my tongue to moisturize them.
“After leaving the bar. When you got home.” Well, that tells me he know exactly where my mind went. I don’t know why when it comes to him I can’t shut off my facial expressions. I’m good at it with everyone else, but never him.
I think, trying to access my memory when the image of a face from last night enters my brain. My eyes go back to Shawn’s silently asking him to say something, anything because right now I know the button to my blue jeans are undone and the zip pulled down. My pants are much lower than I’d wear, even with my tattoo healing I didn’t have them this low.
Oh my God.
What happened?
What did I do?
That guy.
No.
No way!
I’m on the verge of tears when Shawn’s hand cups the side of my face. “Nothing happened, I promise you that, Tara. I didn’t let him touch you beyond your arm.” His words should bring relief, but then why are my pants not fastened.
“Then why are my jeans down and why does my body feel wrecked?” I like a little rough sex, but never once have I woken up to feeling bad. This is beyond bad and I don’t know how to describe it. I’m not one for sleeping with strangers either. Casual sex is one thing, but it was always with Jared and I’ve known him for forever.
“Calm down.”
“Easy for you to say, you aren’t about to have a heart attack.”
“Didn’t you hear me? I didn’t let that motherfucker do what he had planned. I pulled your pants down so that your tattoo could breath.” Shawn’s palm runs behind my head. His eyes close and his forehead lowers onto my throbbing one. “He drugged you.”
Holy crap balls.
This is bad, so bad; my parents are going to murder me.
“I don’t remember anything. I mean, I do, but everything is hazy. I remember Matt being a douche, some guy that I couldn’t lose, and then your face and nothing. Everything else is blank. How did this happen, Shawn? I’m not that stupid am I?” Apparently I am. I don’t need him to confirm that.
“No, Tara, you’re not. You didn’t do anything wrong. He put something into your drink somehow. You were at home. You should have been safe and I let this happen to you. I’m sorry.” Why is he sorry? This makes no sense. He can’t control what happens. He wasn’t even home when got home last night so there was nothing he let happen. “Fuck.”
Shawn releases me as he falls onto his back.
I rise up, turning toward him and place my left hand onto his stomach. I’m about to tell him he isn’t at fault when I see the cotton with clear tape, medical tape, covering the crease in my arm where my elbow bends as if there was recently a needle in my arm.
Panic sets in.
Oh please tell me I wasn’t taken to a hospital. I really am dead.
I guess Shawn interrupted my facial expression for what it is. “My mom gave you something to prevent dehydration.” My eyes go to his.
“Pam? Not a hospital?” I question and he nods. I relax on the thought that this is messed up. My first reaction to being drugged shouldn’t be, how my parents are going to react.
“My parents are here. I’m sure mom is working on dinner now.”
“Dinner?” I ask. Sure, Pam loves to cook, but rarely does she start on a big meal before early afternoon.
“You were out for over twelve hours. Are you hungry? Do you need anything?”
Holy cow. That’s a long darn time.
What do I need? For a start, new parents, that’s what I need.
My stomach rumbles as if answering his inquiry. Usually I snack on stuff at the bar during my shift, but we were so busy that I never got a chance to eat anything. Of course, losing a meal probably doesn’t hurt me any and with Pam’s delicious calorie infused meals it’s best to skip a few.
“I’m starving, but I feel dirty. Can I shower first?” Why am I asking permission? Of course I can.
“Yeah. Does your head hurt?”
“Like a mother.” Shawn laughs at my nonuse of “fucker” to finish that sentence. I don’t see the need in excessive cuss words when there are so many other words available. Shawn does it enough for everyone in this house as it is.
“I’ll go start your water. The heat should help ease the pain and I’ll grab you some aspirin.” Shawn rolls in the opposite direction of me and
“Cherry powdered aspirin please and make it two packs.” I turn to my left side to get out of bed as well.
“What is it with you and Mason taking excessive amounts of aspirin? Jeez, Tara.”
“Some of us want relief and fast relief.” Plus when you take over-the-counter medications for so long for pain they seem to get used to your system and isn’t as affective. When I was in high school I started getting back pain due to the size my boobs increased to at a rapid pace. It seems like these babies showed up overnight. Sometimes it’s a plus and an even bigger negative when you have double D’s. I shouldn’t complain. At least I didn’t have to buy my chest. Nope the
se are God given.
I stand up too quickly and have to grab the bedside table for support so I don’t fall. My eyes close to ward off the dizzy spell.
“Whoa. Easy, Tara.” A large frame is before me and warm hands encase me. It’s nice; I’m not going to lie. Before I open my eyes, my legs are being removed from the floor. I open them to look at Shawn. “I got you.”
This is all too weird, Shawn being in here and Shawn taking care of me. Sure, I get it I guess. It happened in his house, so he feels somewhat responsible even though he shouldn’t.
“I understand why I feel like dog crap and I’m sure I look worse than I feel, but why do you look so rough?” His brown eyes are red, he has dark circles under his eyes and his hair is a mess. He’s still beautiful, but a beautiful mess at the moment.
“You look fine, Tara.” I doubt that. Shawn starts to move, walking toward the bathroom I’m sure. “I haven’t gotten much sleep. I’ve been wake since I got up yesterday morning.”
Damn, I feel bad.
“Because you’ve been taking care of me?”
“My mom took care of you. I simply watched you to make sure nothing happened.” Shawn places me down on the lid of the toilet and then turns away from me. Seconds later the water is running and he’s rummaging through the medicine cabinet above the bathroom sink.
“I’m sorry.” I need to pee, badly. He has to leave.
“There isn’t anything for you to be sorry about. Here, take your excessive amount of aspirin.” He hands me two open packs, I toss them onto the back of my tongue like they are a shot of tequila. I wash the powder down with a cool glass of water Shawn hands me.
“I need to use the bathroom, now.” That’s the politest way possible to tell him to get out so that I can use the toilet.
“Are you good, or do you need help with anything?”
“Nope, pants are already undone. I think I can handle the rest.” Shawn turns his face away from me. I’m not certain, but I think that might have been a blush. Today is bizarre. “Thank you for everything. I don’t know what all happened last night, but thank you.”
He nods and exits the bathroom, closing the door behind him.
I make sure to lock the door and then shed my clothes.
More Than Lies Page 13
