"Alexia did this?" Scott asks in shock.
I lean back in my chair, shaking my head. I knew Alexia wanted me, but not this bad. Not enough to try and kill Katy. And where is Alexia now? Could she go after someone else now?
I scrub my hands over my face. "This is insane! I can't believe that she did this." I stand and walk around to Scott. "Do you have any idea where she is now? Are we in danger now?"
"No. We have an APB out on her car and her picture is being circulated. She is well known; it’s likely she will be spotted sooner rather than later unless she drastically changes her looks."
The more this plays out, the angrier I feel. I should have seen this coming. If I wasn't so determined to make Katy love me again, Alexia would never have been in her life at all.
I turn around and punch the wall, then lean my head against it. "I can't believe this," I whisper. "How did it get like this?" I close my eyes and take a deep breath before turning back towards the officers. "What do we do now? She has to be caught. I won't feel safe at all as long as she's out there somewhere."
"We are going to use all our abilities to find her, Mr. Warren. That, I can promise you." He nods at both Scott and I. "We'll be in touch."
"Wait!" I shout out as they turn to go.
"Yes, Mr. Warren?"
"Lucas. Lucas Austin was in the car with Katy and Krista. What happened to him? Where is he now? I know Katy will want to see him and Krista, they're really close."
"I'm sorry, sir, Mr. Austin didn't make it. He was thrown from the car and killed instantly. We're tracking down his family now."
My eyes widen and I lean back against the wall. This is going to crush Katy.
As they leave I turn to Scott, who has a blank look on his face. "I can't believe this," he whispers. "Alexia really is crazy. How could she have done this?"
"I don't know. But if I ever see her in person again, I won't hesitate in causing her harm."
He shakes his head, running his hands through his hair with frustration.
The next moment a doctor walks into the room and I rush in front of him. "Tell me Katy's ok. They're alright, right?" I speak quickly. They better start talking fast before I lose it.
The doctor puts his hand up to silence me. "I'm assuming you're the husband?"
"Yes sir. I'm Liam Warren, Katy's husband. And this is Krista's boyfriend, Scott."
He nods and motions for us to sit down. "I'm afraid I can only talk with you, Mr. Warren, regarding the state of your wife. Due to medical laws, Mr. Adams, I can't tell you about Ms. Quinn's condition."
"What?!" he stands up and yells. "I'm her boyfriend. Her family is at least a couple hours away from here. Oh, God, I don't even have their number!"
"The police are talking with the university to get her next of kin information. But without the permission from her relatives, I can't tell you her condition."
Scott growls in the back of his throat and stands, shoving a chair as he storms out of the room.
"Is Katy ok? Is she out of surgery?" I ask the doctor, bouncing my leg nervously.
"She is stable right now. Her leg was broken pretty severely. She had to have pins placed in it. But other than that and a gash to her head, she should be alright in time."
I let out a breath and look towards the door. "Can I see her?"
"She will be taken to a room soon. One of the nurses will come get you. If you need to use the phone to contact relatives, you're welcome to."
I nod. "Right," I absently reply. How am I going to tell our parents this? It's going to crush them. Katy's parents might even hate me after everything that happened.
Taking a deep breath, I reach into my pocket and scroll down to my parents' number and shakily press send.
I hear music playing in the background when my mom answers. She's probably in the kitchen cooking and listening to the radio.
"Hi, sweetheart!" she says, and I feel my shaky composure start to crumble. I can do this, I tell myself; I have to tell her what happened.
"Mom..." My voice cracks.
"Liam, what's wrong?" She turns the music off and I now have her full attention.
"I...I found Katy here in Georgia," I start out.
"Oh, honey, that's great!"
"But...but, there was an accident today, Mom, Katy and two of her friends were in the car. My co-star, Alexia, did it. We had a fling a long time ago and she never let it go," I close my eyes to collect myself. "They found evidence that points to her. She went missing on set, and everyone thought she was just being a diva and left early. But she did this, she ran them off the road and now she's missing and I don't know what to do."
"Oh, my God," she whispers into the phone, and I hear something drop right beside her. "Have you talked to Mr. and Mrs. Parker yet?"
"No. I haven't had the chance to yet. But they need to know. They might hate me, but from you they'll take it better, Mom."
"Don't you worry about anything, ok? I will contact them and we will make our way there as soon as possible. Everything's going to be alright, ok? Just hang tight."
Chapter 13
Hanging tight isn't easy when you feel like you're going out of your mind. After I get off the phone with my mom I head off in search of Scott, hoping he hasn't punched a hole in a wall or something worse.
After looking down the hall and around a couple other waiting rooms, I walk outside and see him sitting on a curb staring straight ahead. Looking around for any stray cameras, I walk over and sit next to him. "Are you ok?"
He looks over at me and shakes his head. "No. No, I'm not." He closes his eyes and takes a big breath. "I hate this. Because I don't have a ring on my finger and a piece of paper, I'm not allowed to know anything about the girl I love! I know she's not dead, because I'm sure that would have at least gotten told to me...but to not be allowed to know anything at all? It's killing me, Liam." He looks at me sternly and I'm surprised to see the emotion he has on his face. I've never seen him act like this over anything. He really does love Krista, I can see that now.
"You love her? Are you in love with her?" I ask, studying him closely.
"I do and I am. When I saw her on that stretcher, it was like my heart fell into my stomach. I wanted to run over and hold her, feel her, know that she was ok. Hear that bubbly laugh of hers-something, anything!" His jaw tightens at his rising temper. "But to see her so broken..." he shakes his head and covers his face with his hands for a minute
I pat his shoulder and just sit in the silence. I'm holding out hope that everything will be ok at the end of this tunnel. It has to be. Krista and Katy are two tough girls. They'll be even stronger once this is all over. I'm just praying that I can be strong enough to make it through this for the both of us.
A few hours later, Scott and I have forced ourselves to eat some cafeteria food and are walking back towards the waiting room when we see a woman-probably in her late 40's, with very curly blonde hair-animatedly talking with a doctor.
"I'm here now; I need to see my daughter, doctor. I understand that she is just out of surgery, but I have every right to see her." She puts her hands on her hips in a familiar stance, and I have a feeling this might be Krista's mother. They have a strong resemblance, accent and all.
"Mrs. Quinn?" Scott asks tentatively.
She turns towards him and for a minute her eyes widen, and then she smiles at him. "Scott? Oh, sweetie, Krista's told me so much about you." She walks over and gets on her tip toes to hug around his shoulders. "Have they told you anything?"
He scowls, shaking his head, "No, ma'am. Because I'm not her husband, I have no right to know her medical issues without your permission."
She sighs, slips her arm into his like she's known him his whole life, and tugs him towards a set of chairs.
"Ok, first off, please call me Sarah." She smiles softly up at him. "I have a feeling we're going to be around each other for a long time."
He smiles and nods, "Yes, ma'am...Sarah."
She pats his hand and tak
es a deep breath, and I see tears forming in her eyes. "Krista had to have surgery because she had some internal bleeding. They repaired that, but her brain is swollen. She isn't responsive right now, so they are putting her into a medically induced coma.” A tear rolls down her cheek and she wipes it away. "It's for the best right now, so she won't fight recovery."
Scott looks down and silently squeezes her hand. "Thank you for telling me, Mrs. Quinn....uh, Sarah." He smiles tightly and rubs at his eyes. "Is it ok with you if I stick around?"
"Of course, sweetheart," She wipes another tear falling down her cheek. "My husband should be getting here soon. He had some things to take care of at his office. I know he'll enjoy meeting you; Krista really talks highly of you."
He nods absently and I think he's lost in his own thoughts about what she's told him.
"I'm really sorry, Mrs. Quinn," I speak up. "Krista is Katy's best friend and I know she loves her a lot. I hope she’s able to make a quick, full recovery."
"Thank you...Liam, right?"
"Yes ma'am."
"I just love your Katy; she's been the best of friends to Krista through these last couple years of college. She and Krista are tough girls; they'll make it through this, one way or another. I have no doubt."
"Thank you...I'm just so worried right now. I just want to be able to sit with her and know she's really ok." I sigh, closing my eyes tight. "I hate this, and I hate Alexia for causing all this!"
"Alexia?" Sarah asks, "Whose Alexia?"
Scott looks at me and nods. "She should know how all this happened."
"Alexia is one of our co-stars. A few years ago when Katy and I separated, we had a...fling. Since then she's been obsessed with me, and I guess she saw Katy as competition." My hands clench into fists and I look up into her eyes. "She did this. Alexia caused the wreck because she wanted Katy dead."
She gasps, putting her hand over her mouth. "Dear God....she really tried to kill her? This wasn't some accident?"
"No, ma'am, Alexia planned this. The police found evidence in her trailer."
"Have they caught her? She can't just be out and about now, right?"
"She hasn't been caught, Sarah," Scott tells her. "They don't know where she is. She was missing from the set and no one thought anything of it until the security guys got the phone call from Kate."
"So the security men weren't with them? I thought Krista told me that they were following them everywhere?"
I glare and grit my jaw. "They were supposed to. They took their lunch break and weren't aware that the girls had left."
She shakes her head sadly and rubs her hands nervously. "I don't understand how someone can have so much jealousy that they could cause all this," she whispers.
"Neither do I," Scott says and squeezes her hands. "But I swear to you, I will do everything in my power to keep Krista safe from now on."
She looks him in the eyes and smiles weakly. "I believe you."
A knock on the door interrupts us and we all jump up when we see a doctor standing there. "So sorry to interrupt, but you can go in and visit now."
Chapter 14
When I walk into Katy's room, I hold my breath. She's still unconscious and has IVs going into her. I glance down at the leg that she just had worked on and slowly walk to her side, taking her hand in mine.
"I'm so sorry, baby," I whisper. "I wish I could trade places with you right now. I wish Alexia was locked away in jail somewhere and that I could somehow rewind time to fix this." I sigh and lean forward to kiss her forehead. "I'm so sorry."
I stand there just holding her hand and watching the machines beside her while they beep every few minutes. Suddenly I hear the door start to open, and I turn around to see Mr. and Mrs. Parker rushing in with my parents right behind them.
"Liam, we got here as soon as we could," my mom says before she pulls me into a hug. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm ok. I'm just worried about Katy."
Mr. Parker looks at his daughter and then down at the floor. "What the hell happened?"
"My co-star....she was really jealous of Katy. We...had a thing awhile back. She thought we were meant to be together, and apparently made plans to get rid of Katy."
He spins around quickly and glares at me. "So this is because of some girl you got with while you've been separated?"
Mrs. Parker steps forward and grabs his arm. "That is enough, Phillip. Liam didn't cause this." She steps in front of him and takes a deep breath. "How did you and Katelyn find each other again? I just don't get how you're with her now."
I walk over and sit in the little vinyl chair in the corner. "We're here filming. Excite wanted Scott and I to go to the local college for a little promotion. Turns out it was the college that Katy and Krista go to. I saw her walking with Lucas while the Dean was giving us a grand tour." I shake my head. "We had a very public argument, but I couldn't get her out of my head after that. I still love her, and she still loves me Mr. and Mrs. Parker. We're back together now." I look them in the eye and brace myself to be yelled at. I know Mr. Parker has it out for me. He has ever since everything went downhill between me and Katy.
Mrs. Parker has an approving look on her face and Mr. Parker holds a glare on his.
Phillip steps around his wife and goes to Katy's side and takes her hand. "You need to hurry back, baby girl. You've got some explaining to do about this one." He looks over toward me and sighs. "If you're really letting him back in your life and into your heart though, I won't do anything to jeopardize that." He leans down and kisses her scratched forehead.
I gulp and close my eyes for a minute as I lower my head. Maybe there's hope. I can't blame him for being wary of me; I would be too if the roles were switched. I look up and look him in eye, nodding to let him know I get it. I have to prove myself.
I'm going to show him and myself that I'm serious about this. I can do this. I love her, I always have, and I'm going to be by her side through this. In sickness or in health were in our vows, and it's about time I started living up to those.
* * *
A couple days pass with no improvements. Katy is still unconscious and I basically live at the hospital. Mitchell has called me over and over again trying to convince me to put out a statement to the media, but I don't want to. This time should be private. Right now I don't want to be the man they want on camera, I just want to be a husband that is worried about his wife.
When Katy's doctor walks in to check her vitals again, like she has every couple hours the last few days, I'm tired of the silence.
"Dr. Ryder?" I speak up, getting up out of my chair.
"Yes, Mr. Warren?"
"Why isn't she awake yet? It's been a few days since the accident; shouldn't she be at least conscious by now?"
"Every person is different. There isn't a set of directions of when they will recover." She smiles softly and sets Katy's hand back down by her side. "She is breathing well on her own, and everything seems to be running the way it should be. It's all up to her now."
I groan, frustrated, watching her leave the room. I'm going out of my mind here. Our parents come and go throughout the day, but it's just lonely sitting here with the shell of my wife. It feels like she's not even really here.
Sighing, I walk over and roll the chair up close to her bed. Tucking some hair behind her ear, I say, "You know you're really scaring a lot of people, Katy. Me, your parents, mine. I need you to wake up, baby." I stare over at her still body and squeeze her hand one more time before getting up and stalking out of the room.
I need to do something before I go stir crazy. Before I get very far, I stop and turn down another hallway and walk until I get to Krista's room, where I know Scott is standing vigil beside her.
She hasn't had any change either. The doctors say she is responding well to treatments, though.
I knock softly on the door and Scott peaks out before stepping out into the hall. "Hey man, everything ok?"
"Yeah, I guess. I mean, there's no change," I f
rown, shaking my head, "What about Krista, anything?"
He shakes his head, looking back at the door. "No, she still has all those wires and tubes attached to her. They say her brain is showing more activity, like when we talk to her, she seems to know we're there."
"Good, that's really great." I take a deep breath. "Do you want to get a cup of coffee with me or something?"
"Yeah, sure," He rubs the back of his neck, "I could definitely use the caffeine."
We walk down the maze of halls until we get to the small cafeteria. Some people stop and stare when they realize who we are. One nurse especially gets wide eyed and watches our every move as we go to the coffee machine and make our cups.
"Excuse me? Is there any way I could get an autograph?" the nurse asks with a grin on her face.
I'm sorry; right now isn't the best time. We're here because the women we love are lying in beds, fighting to get better after a very severe accident. So, no, right now I don't feel like putting on a smile and signing some sheet of paper," Scott answers and glares at her.
I look over at her and shrug, "Ditto."
She huffs and walks out of the cafeteria in a hurry and I shake my head. "Some places are just really inappropriate to ask for a damn autograph."
Chapter 15
Scott and I go to a table in the far corner of the cafeteria to avoid any more possible fan confrontations.
"Can't even avoid it in a damn hospital," Scott shakes his head, looking around the room. "I think people forget we're real sometimes, you know? Like we would be in a place like this on official Hollywood business, doing research or something," he snorts.
I smile tightly and shake my head. "They don't get it. Mitchell doesn't either. He keeps calling and asking me to release some kind of statement about everything. Tracking down Alexia and the accident, how Katy's lying in that bed day in and day out, but for what? Being in front of the camera isn't going to make this be make-believe. This is our lives, and Katy and Krista's lives. They need our attention right now, not the media. The media can wait."
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