Rising Star

by JS Taylor

  With an apologetic smile, Adam slides out of me. He kisses my forehead gently, and then stands, grabbing his jeans and pulling them on quickly.

  “I’ll be there in a minute,” he calls.

  I sit up in bed, wrapping myself in the sheets.

  Adam opens the door slightly, standing to one side to shield me from view.

  I can’t see who’s on the other side. But I can see that Adam’s expression has formed a question.

  “Sorry to bother you Mr Morgan,” says a mortified sounding voice. “A guest reported that they heard loud noises from this room. I had to come check everything’s ok in here.”

  I duck lower into the sheets, scrunching a handful into my mouth to stop me from laughing out loud.

  I see Adam’s body relax. His face forms a smile.

  “I see,” Adam says. “Well, there’s nothing to worry about I can assure you.” His voice adopts a mock-serious tone. “But always better to check these things,” he adds.

  “Yes,” the voice on the other side is choked with embarrassment now. “Well. I’m so sorry to have disturbed you.”

  I can almost picture the beet-red face behind the door.

  “That’s not a problem at all,” Adam reassures him, pulling a banknote from his pocket, and passing it to an unseen hand on the other side. “You were only doing your job.”

  “Th… Thank you sir,” stutters the voice. “I’ll see you’re not disturbed again.”

  The door closes, and Adam turns to me, his face alight with amusement.

  I’m still scrunched down in the sheet, caught between seeing the funny side, and acute embarrassment.

  Adam slides back into bed with me, his dark eyebrows raised.

  “It looks like we’ll have to find a soundproofed room, if I’m going to do that to you in future,” he observes, looking at me fondly.

  “Don’t,” I say, partially covering my face with my hands. “That is so embarrassing.”

  “No it isn’t,” says Adam. “It’s one of the things I love about fucking you. Hearing you scream. The louder the better.”

  I smile slightly.

  “So we’d better get somewhere with thick walls,” he grins. “Cause I plan on making you scream a lot more.”

  Chapter 24

  I wake the next morning in Adam’s arms, and the first thing I remember is it’s George’s actual birthday.

  Is it too early to call her?

  Sleepily, I inch out of Adam’s embrace. He murmurs in his sleep and his arms draw tighter. I smile to myself, settling back against his body for a moment, enjoying his warmth.

  “Where you going?” he asks, sleep-drugged, into my ear.

  “I need to check my phone,” I explain. “I want to wish George a happy birthday, but I don’t know what time it is.”

  The truth is I’m still feeling a little guilty for leaving the party early. Even though George gave me the all clear.

  Adam begrudgingly lets me a little looser, and I slide out, and grab my phone from the bedside table.

  The first thing I see is a message from George, sent at 1am last night. I click it open. The message is a gushing ‘thank you’ for the earrings, and Adam’s song.

  I guess she’s not mad then.

  I flick back to the main display, and see I have a few missed calls and a voicemail. I don’t recognise the number, and my heart lurches for a moment.

  Then I remember.

  Adam took care of Dez. You’re safe now.

  Breathing out, I call my voicemail out of curiosity. Probably just a telesales call. But as I connect to my messages, I hear my sister’s voice, high and panicky.

  Sam? She never calls me…

  I guess she’s changed her number and not bothered to let me know. That would be typical of Sam.

  I press the phone tight to my ear.

  “Summer,” Sam is garbling, “you have to phone me. Ben is in hospital.”

  Oh shit. My stomach hits the floor.

  I flick back to the main screen and dial the missed number with shaking fingers.

  Adam sits up in bed beside me.

  “What’s wrong?” he asks, instantly zeroing in on my changed body language.

  “It’s my sister,” I explain, as the call begins to ring. “My nephew is in hospital.”

  “Are you ok? Is it serious?” Adam sits bolt upright in bed.

  “I don’t know yet,” I say, the panic beginning to rise. “I…”

  Suddenly the call connects and I hear Sam’s voice, thick with anxiety.

  “Summer?” she says. “Did you get my message?”

  “Yes,” I try to stay calm for her sake. “What’s going on Sam? Why is Ben in hospital?”

  Sam makes a choking kind of gasp, and then speaks.

  “Ben was playing on his little bike this morning. He accidentally steered onto the road, and a car came from nowhere.”

  I feel my throat tighten.

  “Is he ok?” I hear the desperation in my voice. My nephew is like sunshine. The idea of him being hurt is so painful I can hardly stand it.

  Please tell me he’s ok…

  I hear Sam swallow.

  “He’s… He’s in some kind of coma Summer.”

  No… No!

  She takes a deep shuddering breath.

  Sam’s next words sound like they’re underwater.

  “He had a head injury. His brain swelled up. The doctors had to operate, and he… He… They don’t know if he’ll regain consciousness.”

  I feel as though I’ve been hit around the head with something very heavy. I force myself to fight through the feeling. To stay strong for Sam.

  “It will be ok Sam,” I manage.

  I’m working hard to keep the tears from my voice. My poor sister. We haven’t been close for the past few years. But I can only imagine the hell she must be feeling. And I love my little nephew so much. I can’t bear to think of him injured. I won’t even let my mind stray to worse consequences.

  “I’ll come right away,” I say, battling to stay calm. “Are you at the hospital now?”

  Sam lets out a stifled sob.

  “They made me go home whilst they did tests,” she says. “Mum and Dad are driving me back to him now.”

  “Ok,” I say, mentally calculating how quickly I can get back home. “Is Ben at Bronglais Hospital?”

  “Yeah,” she sounds relieved to know I’m on my way, which makes me feel very slightly less powerless.

  There’s a pause.

  “Wait, Summer,” she adds with a sniff. “Are you sure you should come? Don’t you have your singing competition?”

  Of all the things I would worry about!

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” I reply, marvelling at the personality shift. Tragedy seems to have brought out Sam’s selfless side.

  “But the video round is tonight,” she protests. “Don’t you have to be…?”

  “There’s nothing more important than making sure my nephew is ok,” I assure her. “And he will be. I just want to be there when he opens his eyes.”

  I can almost hear Sam smiling slightly.

  “Ok then,” she agrees. “It would be great to have you here. Because Summer. Honestly. I couldn’t cope. If anything happened…”

  “Don’t think like that. Ben will be fine,” I say firmly, “he’s an Evans isn’t he? We’re made of tough stuff.”

  I hesitate, doing a mental calculation.

  “I can be on the train in an hour,” I say. “I’ll be in town in four hours if I’m lucky. I’ll come straight to the hospital.”

  “Ok,” says Sam. She pauses and then speaks again. “Summer?”

  “What?”

  “Thanks for being a good sister. I don’t deserve it.”

  “Shut up,” I say affectionately. “Of course you do. See you this afternoon.”

  “See you later.” She hangs up.

  I sit back in bed, reeling from it all.

  Adam’s face is wide with shock.

  “
What’s going on?” he says, “is your nephew ok?”

  He sounds so worried, you’d think it was his own relative lying in a hospital bed.

  Fear and shock are closing in on me now.

  “I don’t know,” I say, my voice wobbling. “I hope so. He was knocked down by a car, riding his bike. He’s only five…”

  Suddenly the tears which I managed to choke down for Sam’s sake rise up and overwhelm me. I am wracked with sobs so thick they leave me completely immobile.

  Adam’s warm arms wrap around me, pulling me close. He strokes my hair.

  “Shhh,” he says, “It will be ok.”

  He turns my head to face him.

  “Where’s the hospital?” he asks.

  I sniff. “In Wales. Near Cardiff.”

  “Ok,” he nods at this.

  It suddenly occurs to me the enormity of my promise.

  “The show…” I say vaguely. “I need to let everyone know I can’t make it.”

  “Shhh,” says Adam pulling me tight. “You don’t need to worry about any of that. I’ll sort it all out.”

  “Really?” I blink at him gratefully.

  “Of course,” he smiles. “It’s the least I can do.”

  “I’m getting the train now,” I say, moving to extricate myself from his arms. “I’ll be there by the afternoon.”

  Adam pulls me back, shaking his head.

  “There’s no way I’m letting you on a train,” he says.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Obviously,” he says, “I’ll be driving you down.”

  “But…”

  “No buts,” he interrupts. “Firstly it will be much faster. More importantly I need to be sure you get down safe. And I want to be there for you when you need a hug.”

  “I…” the tears well up again. I never expected this from Adam. But now he’s offering it, I can’t help but think it would be wonderful to have his comforting presence there.

  It suddenly occurs to me, this means he’ll be meeting my family.

  “Are you sure…?” I begin.

  “Of course I’m sure,” he says. “I couldn’t leave you alone.”

  “My family,” I say, “they’re a little dysfunctional.”

  “I couldn’t care less,” says Adam. “Summer, I’m coming for you. To make sure you’re ok. Stop worrying about everyone else for a change.”

  I smile gratefully, and he scoops me up out of the bed.

  “Come on,” he says, looking at me tenderly. “Let’s get you down there, and make sure your nephew’s ok.”

  Chapter 25

  As Adam leads me down to the hotel car park, I’m still trying to digest things.

  Ben. In a coma.

  Just saying the words in my head brings tears to my eyes.

  Less than half an hour ago, everything was normal. Now my whole world has fallen apart.

  Whilst I dressed Adam was like a miracle. He sorted everything out with the show, and even rang Tammy and George for me.

  “They didn’t mind?” I ask, as Adam leads me to a silver E-type Jaguar, and opens the door.

  “Of course they didn’t mind,” he says. “Summer, you have to realise. People care about you. A lot.”

  “Where’s your bike?” I ask, registering the car in confusion.

  “I had the hotel arrange a car,” he explains. “Better than a bike for a long journey.”

  “Nice choice,” I say with a weak smile, as he guides me into the passenger seat.

  “The best I could do at short notice,” he says, fastening my seatbelt, before walking to the other side.

  As we spin out of the car park and into the London streets, the wordless tears start to flow again.

  Adam glances at my face.

  “My poor baby,” he murmurs sympathetically. “We’ll be there in a few hours. Your nephew will be right as rain. You’ll see.”

  I nod, but the tears keep flowing.

  “I can’t believe I was so caught up in Sing-Win,” I blurt. “It all seems so stupid now. I should have been to see him…”

  “Shhh,” says Adam. “Don’t think like that.”

  He turns to me for a moment, before returning his eyes to the road.

  “Why don’t you tell me about your nephew?” Adam asks gently, as he pulls onto the main road. “I’ll bet he’s a happy healthy little boy.”

  I nod fiercely.

  “He is,” I say. It’s easier to deal with things, talking about Ben like this. I cast Adam a grateful glance for being so understanding.

  “Ben’s a little whirling dervish,” I add, with an affectionate smile. “He’s always climbing on stuff, racing round like a mad thing.”

  I find myself smiling wider at the memory.

  “He’s school age now?’ asks Adam.

  I nod.

  “Yeah. He loves it. Well. He loves running around with his friends.” I wipe my eyes with my sleeve. “He’s not too good at concentrating on his lessons,” I admit.

  Adam smiles.

  “Just like me when I was a lad,” he says. “Too much energy to sit still.”

  “Yeah.”

  I’m feeling a lot better, just talking about Ben. I guess Adam knew exactly what to do, to help.

  “Little boys like that are indestructible,” says Adam. “You’ll see Summer. He’ll be back giving his teachers hell before you know it.”

  I smile.

  “Yeah,” I agree. I can’t see Ben succumbing to his accident. I just can’t. “He’ll pull through.”

  Already I have a surge of optimism rising up. Of course Ben will be ok. There’s no doubt in my mind.

  Adam makes it along the motorway at record speed. And before I know it, we’re approaching the hospital.

  During the journey I’ve already fielded many calls from my sister and my mum. The news is that Ben’s circumstances haven’t changed.

  My phone rings again, and my mum’s name flashes up.

  “Summer,” she says, her voice fluttering with worry. “When does your train get in? Shall we come pick you up?”

  “Ah, actually I’m getting a lift,” I say, aware I need to explain the Adam situation.

  “Oh,” says my mum. “Who’s driving you down?”

  “A friend,” I say, flashing Adam a glance. “I’ll be there in a few minutes,” I add, to cut off this line of questioning. Right now, I just want to think of Ben.

  I hang up, and Adam shoots me a quizzical glance.

  “A friend?”

  “I didn’t know what else to say,” I admit. “I haven’t told them about you.”

  “Well you can tell them now,” he decides, pulling into the hospital car park. “Say your boyfriend drove you down.”

  Despite everything that’s happened I still feel a little shiver to hear him describe himself this way.

  Adam Morgan. My boyfriend.

  Adam parks up the car, and gently unbuckles my seatbelt.

  “You want me to come inside?” he says. “I can stay out here if it’s easier for you.”

  Any resistance I felt to Adam’s presence here has long dissolved.

  “I want you there,” I say.

  His blue eyes fix on mine.

  “Good,” he says. “And introduce me as your boyfriend please. None of this friend nonsense.”

  He steps out of the car, opens my door for me, and guides me out.

  I grip his hand tightly, and he grips it back.

  “It will be ok,” he says. “You’ll see.”

  We walk inside, and I feel my legs resist as the disinfectant hospital smell hits. I desperately want to see my nephew. To assure myself he’s still here, living and breathing. But I’m so frightened too. Seeing Ben unconscious on a hospital bed will make it real. And I’m still hoping to wake up from this nightmare.

  Adam’s fingers are warm and firm around mine, and I feel as though he is a wall of strength leading me on.

  We navigate the maze of hospital corridors, and then we’re passing colour
ful pictures and paintings, entering the children’s ward.

  The nurse at reception is virtually open-mouthed in amazement to see Adam Morgan entering her hospital ward. And then her professionalism kicks in, and she greets us with an expectant smile.

  I explain to the nurse that we’re here to see Ben Evans, and her face draws in sympathy.

  “The doctor’s just finished examining Ben,” she says. “The other relatives are at his bedside.”

  “What did the doctor say?’ I blurt. “Is there any change?”

  The nurse shakes her head.

  “There’s no change yet,” she says. “He’s a healthy little boy, and we’re all hopeful he’ll rally. But he’s had a bad bump to the head.”

  The tears rise up again, as I nod in thanks. And then the nurse leads us along to the row of children’s beds.

  My eyes drop to a clipboard at the end of a curtained bed, and I see the name ‘Ben Evans’. Just seeing him written in black and white threatens to overwhelm me.

  Then the nurse draws the curtain slightly, to reveal my mother and sister, their faces stricken.

  My mum looks like she’s shrunk a size. Her petite frame seems to sag inside her floral dress. And without her apron she looks strangely lost. Her dark hair is escaping from its pins, and her brown eyes – which always look slightly puppy-dog – are dipped even lower at the corners, with an infinite sadness.

  Sam looks far more like my mum than I remember. They look like carbon copies of one another. Young and old. Though Sam’s shoulder-length hair hangs unwashed, and she’s a head taller than Mum. Her jeans and T-shirt are crumpled as though she slept in them, and I feel a wave of unbearable pity for her.

  “Sam!” I grab her in my arms and hug her tight. Then I hug my mum.

  “Hello love,” says my mum. “Dad’s at home,” she adds, in answer to my unspoken question. “He’s getting some food and clothes together for Sam. She might be staying the night.”

  “Summer,” says Sam, her voice barely a whisper. “There’s no news. He’s…”

  I pull her close again.

  “It will be ok,” I say fiercely, “he’ll be ok. You’ll see. He’s a strong little boy.”

  But as I release Sam, my gaze catches my unconscious nephew, lying on the hospital bed.

  Ben. Oh Ben!

  My heart squeezes tight in my chest.