"I agree." Scott leans his arms on the table and rubs his eyes tiredly. "I hate this. Krista is supposed to be bouncing around, being her sarcastic little self and keeping me on my toes. Not stuck in that bed with all those things attached to her. It kills me seeing her like that every day. I can only imagine what her parents feel like." He slams his fist into the table. "I hate Alexia Dalton."
"Trust me; you're not the only one. If she gets caught, I hope she hangs." I shake my head. "I just don't get it." Sighing, I check my watch. "We should probably head back."
Scott nods and we both toss our empty coffee cups into the trash. We walk with our heads down and in silence until we reach the hallway where Krista's room is.
"Please let me know if anything changes, man." I put my arm out.
Scott shakes my hand and nods. "Will do, you do the same. These girls are going to be the end of us."
I smirk. "That they are...I’ll see ya later."
By the time I get back to Katy's room, Mrs. Parker is there chatting away to her as if she were sitting up having a back and forth and it makes me smile.
"Mrs. Parker," I say as I step into the room.
She jumps and turns around and smiles softly. "You scared me, Liam. Please, sit down."
I nod and slide into a chair next to her. "How are you doing?"
She sighs, looking over at Katy. "I'm ok. Phillip is taking this really hard; he and Katelyn have always been close. It's hard for him to come here and see her like this."
"I understand, believe me." I look over at the machines by the hospital bed. "I'm really sorry, Mrs. Parker. If I had known that Alexia was this crazy..."
"Stop," she tells me firmly. "Like I told Phil the other day, you didn't do this. You didn't get in a car and run them off that road. Stop blaming yourself, Liam Elliott."
I rub my face and peer over at her. "It's hard not to," I whisper. "I won't blame Katy if she leaves me for good after this." I twist my hands together and look down at the floor.
There's my big fear out in the open. That Katy will wake up and tell me to get lost for good, and this time I wouldn't fight her. I'd sign it all away to keep her safe and out of my mess of a life.
I feel Mrs. Parker take my hand and I look over at her. "Don't get like that, Liam, for what its worth, despite everything, Katelyn has always loved you. Even when she left, she felt like it was for your own good...that she didn't live up to what you needed her to be, the Hollywood wife. She didn't feel like the girl from a tiny Nevada town fit in that big mansion. And at the time, she didn't feel like you wanted her there, either."
"But I did! I needed her there to keep me sane. Remind me of coming out of that theater and who I really am," I sigh, frustrated. "I only ever wanted her...I thought...I thought if I tried to move on and force myself to at least pretend to be happy, then eventually I would really be. But I wasn't." I stand up, walk towards the window and stare outside. "I went through the motions, smiled in front of the cameras, pretended to date these beautiful up and coming women that Excite threw at me to get attention. But they didn't matter. It didn't matter where I was, I'd look for Katy in every woman's face. Every girl that had that brown hair or a certain laugh, I'd have to double check to make sure it wasn't her." I turn around, lean against the window and cross my arms. "I don't want to lose her ever again, but if it comes down to her needing me out of her life to be happy, I would choose her happiness over mine."
She smiles as she stands and walks over to me, hugging me for a moment. "I know, and that is exactly why I know you are a better man now, and that you really love her. I see a real man standing in front of me now, not a boy hiding behind his big Hollywood star.”
Chapter 16
A few more days pass by, and one morning while I'm walking towards the cafeteria to get my morning coffee fix, I bump into Mitchell Fallon.
"Mitchell." I nod at him and cross my arms.
"Mr. Warren...is there anywhere we can talk in private?"
I sigh, looking around, and nod. "Yeah, there's a waiting room down the hall."
We walk down and I double check to make sure it's empty before motioning for Mitchell to take a seat.
"Mr. Warren, I know that you feel like you need to be here all the time, but you need to think about your career, too. The mess with Alexia is unfortunate..."
"Mess? Mitchell it's a hell of a lot more than a mess." I grind my teeth together. "She tried to kill my wife! She did kill one of my wife's friends, and put her best friend in a coma. This isn't a mess, it's a disaster, and you can't sweep it under the rug with some sweet talk in front of a camera."
"You can't camp out here, Mr. Warren." He glares across the room at me. "Take a look at yourself. You're a wreck! If you go out in public looking like that, the tabloids will pick you apart."
I walk closer to him and lower my voice. "I could care less about my media coverage, Mr. Fallon. My wife is lying unconscious in a bed. The doctors don't know why she isn't awake yet. I'm not going to try to make it look like things are normal, because they're not."
"I understand that. Really, I do. But you not addressing the situation don't help it. You want Alexia brought to justice right?"
I glare across at him. "Of course I do."
"You making a plea might bring her out of hiding. If she loves you so much, she might just come running back."
I rub my face with frustration. "Fine, I'll put a statement out. But please, after I do, just let me concentrate on Katy."
He nods, standing up and extending his hand. "Fine, I'll speak with you later, Mr. Warren."
I shake his hand and watch him go while tapping my fingers against my leg anxiously. That man brings me so much frustration, even if he did bring me fame.
After that confrontation, I don't want the coffee anymore. I'm antsy enough now. I turn on my heel and go back to Katy's room and scoot close, laying my forehead down on her hand. "I love you so much, Katy. Hollywood's trying to pull me back in, but I'm too scared to leave you, baby." I yawn and lay my head the rest of the way down. "Time to get up, sleepy head." I smile to myself and close my eyes wearily.
The feeling of something moving under my head startles me some time later, and when I hear the tiniest voice saying my name, I jump up out of my chair. Katy's awake.
"Oh baby...Oh my God, baby," I lean over her and start kissing every little inch of her face just to know she's there and she feels this. Her eyes are wide open staring into mine. "I was so scared I'd never see your eyes open again."
Katy tries to move her hand up to my face, but I catch it in between mine and hold it against my cheek. "Just rest Katy. Let me get the doctor ok?"
She nods silently at me and I run out into the hallway, scanning around for the doctor. When I see Katy's usual doctor, Dr. Ryder, walking in the opposite direction, I run over to her.
"Doctor...Dr. Ryder, Katy's awake!" I run back towards her room and hear the doctor's heels clicking behind me.
When we step into the room, Dr. Ryder smiles at Katy.
"Hello Mrs. Warren. My name is Dr. Ryder. I've been your doctor for this last week," she tells Katy, walking over to start checking her vitals.
Katy's eyes widen as she turns her head towards me, "A week? It's been a whole week?!"
I frown and nod at her. "It has, an agonizing, scary week. I’ve been so scared of losing you, baby.”
"Krista...and Lucas, they were in the car when that...when we were run off the road. Where are they?" Katy asks me and I look over at the doctor. I don't think this is the time to put that load on her. Maybe it’s best to not tell her until we at least know what's going to happen with Krista.
"Talk to me, Liam. Where are they?” she pleads with me, and I can't hold anything back from her. I sit on the edge of the bed and take her hand in mine. "Krista is in a medically induced coma. Her brain had a lot of swelling, so they just want her to heal and not try and fight it."
Tears start pouring down her face and it kills me. I reach out and wipe them a
way as she grabs my wrist and begs to go see Krista.
"I'm sorry Mrs. Warren, you can't yet. She's in a coma right now, and you’re going to be recovering yourself for a while. You need to focus on you for right now.” Dr. Ryder pats her hand affectionately and gives her a small smile before exiting the room again.
Katy takes a deep breath to resolve her and looks up at me. "Liam, out with it...where's Luke?"
I gulp and look down at the floor. If she took the news of Krista this hard, then knowing what happened to Luke is going to kill her. Maybe I can just distract her for a bit before hitting her with that.
I run my hands through my hair nervously and turn my eyes up at her. "Both of our parents flew in after the accident. I need to call and tell them you’re awake now and make some arrangements for physical therapy and stuff because you’re going to need it..."
She narrows her eyes, shaking her head at me. "Liam Elliott Warren, what the hell is going on?! You’re trying to distract me and all you’re doing is making me mad. Where is he?!”
I close my eyes before looking across at her, and after a moment I know she knows. She starts shaking her head in refusal, "No, no, no....please, tell me...he's not...not.”
As she starts to break down I quickly move to her side and wrap my arms around her. "I'm so sorry, baby. I didn't want to have to tell you yet. I know...I know that you loved him, and I may not have gotten along with him, but...I really am sorry.” I gently rock her back and forth and kiss the top of her head.
After a few minutes she composes herself enough to speak again.
"When...when is his funeral?”
"I'm not sure, Katy...I haven't had the chance to speak with his parents yet, but I will, I promise," I whisper to her. I'll make sure she gets the closure she needs. I know she loved him, and he really loved her. He at least deserves for the girl he loved to say her goodbyes to him.
Chapter 17
We sit in silence for a few minutes before Katy takes a deep breath and turns her head up to look at me. "Alexia...Alexia did this. I saw her just before we lost control of the car. I looked out the window and I saw her driving that SUV...she killed Luke!"
I squeeze her to me and take my own deep breath. "She's missing. After you called Nate, everything kind of went nuts. We had just been lounging around re-watching some scenes we shot, and no one realized that she left when you guys did. And by the way, Nate and Eric have been dealt with for not watching you well enough to know that you had left... Anyway, Eric came over to Scott and me and told us what was going on. I've never felt so scared, baby. They had a GPS thing on your car, so they tracked it, and by the time we all got there, the car was in shambles and you guys were all trapped. People had to hold me and Scott back. We wanted nothing more than to jump down in that ditch and get to you guys.” I close my eyes. "When they put you on that stretcher, you had a huge gash on your head and were totally knocked out. Your right leg has several fractures; you’re going to need to have someone with you for awhile. Which is another reason your parents are here, by the way, but I'll get back to that. I tried to follow you into the ambulance, but they didn't let me. Then I heard Scott yell.” I shake my head at the memory. I had never seen my best friend look so defeated as he did in that moment when he saw the woman he loves being pulled around on a stretcher.
"Krista....she was really bad, wasn't she?”
"She was. She just looked completely broken, Katy. When you were on set, she was so bubbly and full of life and to see her not even an hour later broken and battered, it just about killed Scott. He hasn't left her side. Her family has been here and they haven't asked him to leave or anything. She apparently has talked very highly about him to them," I smile down at her. "He really loves her…and I know when…when, not if...she wakes up, that he isn’t going to ever let her go. I have a very strong feeling that Krista is going to end up going from being Ms. Quinn to Mrs. Adams.”
She starts to smile until she tries to adjust herself and winces in pain. "I'm really sore, Liam."
"I'll call the nurse." I kiss her forehead and lean over to press the page button.
"Can I help you?" an older voice comes over the speaker.
"Yes, my wife is in pain. Is it possible for her to get some pain killers?"
"Oh, yes, Dr. Ryder put something in her orders. I'll be right in."
"Thank you." I smile gratefully and grab the chair by the bed to sit down in.
Just as I scoot closer to Katy's side, the nurse walks in carrying a new IV bag of what I can only guess is some kind of pain killer. Just after she gets it all set up and double checks to makes sure it’s all set right, Katy's eyes start to drift closed and I quickly kiss her hand. "I love you, baby," I whisper and watch her drift off to sleep.
As Katy sleeps, I go out to call our parents. I dial her parents first and lean against a wall.
"Hello?" I hear Mrs. Parker's voice over the phone.
"Mrs. Parker, its Liam."
She takes a breath in and I hear a soft gulp. "Is Katelyn ok?"
"She is. She's awake, she's finally awake."
"Oh, thank God!" She begins crying. "Thank you so much for calling, I'll be on my way now."
I hang up and quickly dial my own parents' number. As soon as the line is picked up I smile widely. "Mom, Katy's awake. She's awake and she's talking. She's going to be ok."
"Oh, thank goodness. We'll be there soon sweetheart, I'm so glad she's alright!"
"I am too, love you, Mom."
"Love you too, see you soon."
I walk outside and stay to the shadows under a large tree, watching for either set of parents' cars to drive up.
I see the Parkers' little Camry drive up and I step out of the shadows so I'm visible, "Mr. and Mrs. Parker, over here!"
Mrs. Parker turns and smiles and runs over towards me, wrapping her arms around my middle. "She's really ok?"
I smile and nod. "She is, she's alert and talking and she's aware of what happened."
She looks down at the ground. "She knows about Krista and Lucas?"
"She does. I didn't want to tell her just yet, but she has a way of getting things out of people."
Phillip walks over and takes Mrs. Parker's hand. "Come on, Stella. Let's go see Kate."
She smiles and they walk hand in hand in front me into the hospital.
Once we're by Katy's side again, Mrs. Parker talks about anything and everything to fill the silence.
"Katelyn's not going to be happy about the arrangement for her courses. But I can't imagine it's safe for her to be on campus anymore."
I shake my head. "No, it's not. Thank you for talking to her teachers, Mr. Parker. I'm glad they've agreed for her to finish everything online."
Mr. Parker looks over at Katy's sleeping form with a frown. "Not everything can be done online. Life isn't online. Will she ever be safe again? What if this Alexia person is never found?"
I sigh and shake my head. "I don't know, to be honest, Mr. Parker. I don't know what's going to happen. We have to take things a day at a time. And Katy has a lot of work ahead of her with physical therapy. The bone in her right leg was shattered; she's going to need help with even doing everyday things...which brings me to a question."
"Which is?" Phillip asks, crossing his arms.
"Would you be ok with Katy coming to stay with you for a little while? Nevada isn't main stream to where it’s as likely there will be people following her around. And she needs to recover for awhile. Can she stay at your place until I can get my house there set up better?"
"Of course! Katelyn still has a room at our place; she's welcome to it." Mrs. Parker smiles warmly.
"Thank you," I smile over at her. "There will still be security around, but I know she'll feel safer being there."
"We'll take care of her," Mr. Parker says. "Just make sure you do, too," he says, giving me a hard stare.
I nod, looking him in the eye. "I plan on it, sir, for the rest of my life."
We hear the sheets r
ustling and then Stella just beams. "Oh, Katelyn...I'm so happy to see you awake!" She reaches over and squeezes Katy's hand and tears start flowing down her cheeks. Mr. Parker silently hands her a tissue.
"Hey Mom, I'm ok," Katy replies in a just as broken voice.
"Your dad and I have been so scared." She wipes some tears away. "Derek calls to check on you; you know your brother has always had a soft spot for you."
Katy smiles over at her. "I just want to get better, and be able to get out of here and back to school. I don't have much longer left before graduation..."
I look over at Mrs. Parker and she gives me a knowing look.
"What? What now?" Katy asks, looking between us.
"Baby, you’re not going to be able to go back to just living in the dorms and going to class like before. Your legs are really bad right now. You’re going to need Physical Therapy and you’re going to be stuck in bed for a lot of that time so you can heal properly," I tell her as I grab a chair to sit in.
"So you're telling me, I can't finish my degree."
I run my hands through my hair and sigh with frustration. "You can, but you're going to have to finish it online. We've already worked it out with all your teachers. And you’re going to be recuperating at home...with your parents, back home."
"What?! I'm not just going to pack up and move back in with my parents. I...I'll make things work, I'll learn to work around whatever leg issues I have." She shakes her head and looks at me with fire in her eyes. She doesn't get how important this is. She can't just be a walking target, I can't let that happen.
"I'm sorry, Katy, but on this, I'm putting my foot down. As your husband, I've made this decision for your safety and comfort until you’re medically ok again," I tell her fiercely.
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