“Get out!” I heard Andi scream.
The nurse immediately perked up from behind her desk, leaning over the counter.
“You cheated on me! With her!” I couldn’t hear what Jackass was trying to say because his voice was low and even.
“No. I won’t hear anything you have to say and I won’t lower my voice. I remember, John! I remembered seeing the two of you together!” Her voice could be heard throughout the floor.
The nurse went scrambling in and I heard her demand Jackass to leave again.
I stood quickly and turned so he wouldn’t see me. Walking right past me, he pulled out his phone and called someone. He didn’t try to hide his voice as he yelled, “She knows. What the fuck did you do?”
That wasn’t my concern. My focus was on Andi right then, and how the hell to get to her. I watched the nurse come back out, grab something from her station, and then head back into Andi’s room.
Lucky for me, I knew Alex was headed that way to help take over with Pops. I was pretty sure my dad would be okay for a while longer.
I waited a few more minutes for the nurse to finally leave Andi’s room, biding my time until she had to walk down the hall, and then I made my move to sneak into the room.
Twenty
Andi
The nurse could have given me ten shots of painkillers and I'd still have felt the torment. Her stupid little aspirin wasn’t going to fix the anger or hurt I was going through. It was as if I had seen John fucking Mallory all over again. Every emotion I’d had that same night I'd walked into his office and caught them in the act shot through me now.
Hearing their moans through the wood door, the panting. My heart pounded the same way it had that night. The sinking feeling in my stomach knowing what was going on. Even though I was certain he was fucking someone in his office, there was that stupid need to prove myself wrong—the “it wasn’t him fucking in the office behind that closed door.” It was some sick, last hope or something, when all along I knew the truth in my heart.
Mallory wore that same damned red dress to the spa. Red like the color I was seeing right now that blurred my vision. It was purely with the intent to taunt my memory. She knew what she was doing. Mallory wanted me to remember for some sick reason. It wasn’t enough that I had been in a horrible accident that took all my memories away? No, obviously not for her. She wanted to make sure I remembered that horrible memory.
Seething, I looked around the hospital room. The oxygen mask they had strapped to my head was doing nothing but frustrating me more. I was stuck in this hospital room, my purse all the way across the room or locked up or something. I couldn’t even get to it before, but I sure would now. To call Cal—the guy who was there for me and wouldn’t cheat on me. Or would he? Dammit! I had no idea of who he really was either.
Damn tears—like a river, they wouldn't stop. I wasn't sure if John would come back, although I was pretty sure he would even though I told the nurse to keep him from me. I needed to call Cal, to let him know what had happened and where I was. Glancing out my window and noticing how dark it was, I knew he would worried by now.
I sat up, wiping away those damned tears and swearing I wouldn't cry anymore for that cheating asshole. How could he do that to me? Lie to me like that? Who does that? The whole time I was in his house, he’d lied to me, pretending that we had some type of workable relationship. And here I had been thinking I had cheated on him. Ha! That lying sack of shit. Now I knew why I had left him and had filed for divorce.
My hand instinctively covered my stomach as I prayed that my baby hadn’t been affected by the poison I’d inhaled. And how the hell had that happened? Were the police involved now? I needed to ask the nurse about that. So far no police had come to visit me, oddly enough, about this or my hit-and-run. Why?
As always, the questions were piling up, and right then, my head throbbed. The aspirin the nurse had given me hadn't kicked in yet, and I’d made her double check that it was okay for me to take while pregnant.
Turning my body, I realized I still ached in certain places from my previous accident but knew I had to get my purse so I could call Cal. I was about to push my nurse's button when I saw someone at my door.
"Andi." That familiar voice immediately helped ease all my worries. I looked up to see Cal walking toward me.
"Cal," I breathed. "Oh, thank God. I was getting up so I could call you."
He sat on the edge of my bed, scooped me into his arms, and pulled me to his firm chest. "You were supposed to call me before you left," he whispered into my hair.
I clung to him and nodded into his shoulder, his woodsy scent relaxing me. "I should have. I was so upset, I wasn't thinking straight."
He pulled back, his face stern, ready to give me some sort of lecture. "Then you shouldn't have been driving."
Nodding, I agreed because I knew I should have called him, as upset as I was. Shaking my head, I told him, “I need to leave John. I can’t go back to him.”
“Shh. Okay. I overheard a little. Let’s get you out and then we’ll—“
“Mrs. Vasslor?”
I recognized the doctor from earlier and sat up. Cal stood but remained right at my bedside, holding my hand. The doctor glanced at our hands and then back to me.
“I see that your test results came back normal and you sustained very little carbon monoxide poisoning. You’re very lucky.” The doctor again glanced to Cal and then back to me as he stood at the end of my bed. I realized right then that Cal was going to learn of my pregnancy. My heart lurched and I wished I had asked him to step outside. I realized he probably wouldn’t have, but…
“There should be very minimal side effects, maybe a minor headache, but since the couple pulled you out the moment you stopped your car, and they called the police, you and your baby should be fine.” He stopped for a moment and then asked, “Do you have any questions?”
“When can I leave?” I wanted to right then but had the darn IV tube sticking out of me. The fact that Cal had heard about my pregnancy and didn’t flinch worried me even more.
The doctor gave me a faint smile. “I’m signing you out right now and will have the nurse draw up your paperwork. As soon as that’s completed, you’re free to leave. I’ll send the report to your ob. I highly recommend you go in for a follow-up with both him and your general practitioner.”
He gave me a small smile, glancing at Cal again before turning to leave. Fumbling, I wasn’t sure what to say, but knew I didn’t want to have that conversation with Cal at all. Not there, at least.
“I…umm.”
Cal leaned over and kissed my forehead. “Shh. No worries. We’ll talk about this later, okay?”
I nodded, unsure of what that really meant, but completely relieved he wasn’t throwing questions at me.
“Where are your clothes?”
“Over on that side table, the key is there.” I pointed toward the small table next to me.
As he walked over to the cabinet, the nurse walked in. “Who are you?”
“He’s with me. I need to leave as soon as possible, please.” I wanted to add before my husband comes back, but that sounded strange.
“We’re checking you out right now. There should be staff coming by with your paperwork shortly.” The nurse came over and had begun to remove the tubes from my arm when there was another knock at my door.
“Mrs. Vasslor. I’m Detective Braden. I’d like to ask you a couple of questions, if I may.”
“Yes, of course.” Finally, I wanted to say.
“Your car is being looked at right now by one of our teams. It’s not common for carbon monoxide poisoning to take place in a brand new car. However, from what he can tell right now, there was tampering with your exhaust system.”
“What? Who would have done that?” Stunned, I felt my heart pound and my hands shook.
“Could this have anything to do with her hit-and-run?” Cal asked. He stepped forward, offering his hand. “I’m Cal Wallace. A friend of A
ndi—Andrea, uh, Mrs. Vasslor.”
“Hit-and-run? When did that take place?” Detective Braden began writing in his notepad.
“Last Friday night?” Cal answered, but looked at me.
I nodded, still unsure of all the days. They seemed to be running together.
“I’ll look into that. Was it with the same car?”
“No,” I answered as Cal turned his head toward me. “My husband purchased a new car. I’m unsure of what happened to the other car or where it is now.”
The detective wrote more in his notepad. After further questions and an exchange of phone numbers, the detective informed me that he’d be in touch. I made sure to give him my old phone number and not the one John had given me.
On unsteady feet, I wobbled slightly as I started toward the bathroom with my clothes in hand.
Cal was immediately at my side, holding my elbow. “Do you need help?”
“No, I can manage.”
“I can get the nurse. She could help you.” Always the gentleman. Funny how I hadn’t even given a second thought to him helping me dress, though.
“I’m ok-ay.” I winced and my head throbbed from being on my feet.
“Don’t be stubborn. Stay here. I’ll be right back.”
I laughed, watching him leave the room only to come back a few moments later with the nurse.
After helping me finish dressing inside the bathroom, the nurse led me toward the door. Male voices on the other side of the door grew louder with every step, until we finally opened the door to see Cal and John arguing.
The second I emerged from the doorway, John began coming at me, his face red, while Cal quickly came around to help me back to the bed.
“Who is he?”
Cal stood there and deadpanned at John, his arms folded over his chest. Already, I could tell he wasn’t as relaxed as he tried to appear. That jaw of his was working and a vein that I hadn’t seen before popped along the right side of his throat.
“He’s none of your business. And even more so since you’re screwing Mallory—my supposed best friend!”
The nurse quickly inched to John’s side but flinched the moment he returned, “That was over long before you left me, so it had to be this guy that propelled you to file for our divorce.”
“Was that going to be your new lie? Keep piling them on now, John, because when we get to court, I’m sure all the truth will come out.”
“Court? Please, we weren’t going to go to court. You were coming back to me.”
“Never in a million years. How long had you planned on keeping up this charade?”
A knock at the door interrupted whatever I was going to say next. I was so angry, I couldn’t even think as to what words I’d throw at him. Looking over at the door, I saw a tiny woman hunched over, with a pink sweater wrapped around her shoulders, begin to timidly walk in. The papers in her hands shook as she held them out. I suppose Cal looked the least intimidating to her, because she continued toward him.
“These are the sign-out papers for your wife,” she started.
“She’s my wife!” John snatched them from her hands and grabbed a nearby pen from my nightstand. “I’ll sign her out. And then she’s coming home with me,” he mumbled as he placed the papers on a nearby table and leaned over them.
“I’m not,” I stated, probably sounding more like a petulant child than a confident adult.
“She’ll be staying at her own apartment,” Cal stated firmly. He reached over and put his hand on my shoulder, his expression immediately changing from bodyguard to caring boyfriend.
John popped his head up, his eyes narrowed, staring at Cal as if he were the devil.
“You knew I had my own apartment and didn’t tell me.” I glared at John.
John handed the papers back to the woman as he straightened up.
The heat rose through me and my hands clenched, my jaw tight. “You knew this the whole time,” I snapped at John. “You knew I—“
“You can’t blame me for trying to get my wife back, Andrea.” John’s expression had turned smug as his eyes bored into me. “Go check out your…” He scoffed. “…apartment. Go see what it’s like over there. My door is always open and ready for you to come back.”
“To a cheater? Never,” I bit out.
“It was one time and you forgave me before. I think you will again after you learn everything.” He started toward the door and then spun around. His expression turned back to smug. “Oh, and, Andrea, the baby is mine and I’ll do everything I can to protect it. Anything.”
“Is that a threat?” Cal asked. His voice so deep and stern.
John’s eyes pierced him. “It’s a promise. We’ve tried for too long to have one.” His eyes focused back to me. “And it is mine, in case you have any question.”
How would he know that? There was something else he wasn’t telling me, and now I was really worried. As I watched John walk out of the room, glad that he was leaving, I wished I could remember all the details so I could actually throw a better response at him.
Cal’s calloused hand rubbed the back of mine before tugging on my hand. Holding firm, he squeezed.
My whole body shook. The throbbing at the back of my head had increased along with my anger and confusion. What made him so sure the baby was his? Unless Cal and I had never…
“Hey, we’ll figure things out. One thing at a time.” Cal’s calming voice cut through my thoughts. I knew it wasn’t the time to have that talk and since we finally had the paperwork, I couldn’t wait to leave.
Of course the moment I thought that, I wondered if John was going to see Mall… I couldn’t even say her name in my thoughts as my stomach churned, finally remembering what I couldn’t before. I shouldn’t have cared, but I did.
As Cal helped me up and we started for the door, I stopped and scrunched in my eyebrows. "How'd you know I was here?"
The corners of his lips turned up. ”Huge coincidence. I'll explain later. Let's get you out of here.”
I couldn’t agree more.
Twenty-One
Andi
The steamy cup of coffee in my hands gave me a little solace. There was something about hunkering down inside with a hot drink to keep you warm on a cool day. Especially after the fight and leaving my husband—again, apparently, since I didn’t remember doing it the first time. The sun may have been shining outside despite the bitter cold, but it was as deceitful as the smile on John’s face when he’d told me two nights before that he wanted to start fresh.
I took a sip, laughing to myself that I still couldn’t tell it was decaf. Cal had insisted that because he knew I was pregnant, although I had already made my switch after speaking with my doctor about it.
Cal explained why he was at the hospital, and that it was Alex’s turn to help out. As horrible as it was, I was grateful it was that day his dad's kidney stones flared up.
Cal opened up the menu and swiveled it around, placing it in front of me. "You need to eat something." His finger tapped the menu, but his face was serious.
My eyes roamed over my options as we both sat there, quiet—too quiet, and it wasn't until I looked back up that I realized Cal was staring at me. His gaze was pensive and I wasn’t sure if that was good or bad, but I realized I needed to explain myself.
"I wasn't sure how to tell you, especially since I'm still unsure of whose baby it is."
"Oh, I know whose it is. It's mine, I can tell you that for certain right now."
My mouth dropped. "How? How would you know that for sure?"
"Because you told me you couldn't have kids. You didn't go into it with me, but you were adamant that I knew straight up that you couldn't get pregnant—that possibly conceiving wasn't an option for our future. Yet, bam, after you start dating me, you got pregnant. That’s not a coincidence.”
Stunned, I sat back, my mouth gaping. "I told you that?”
Cal nodded and then went back to looking at the menu.
"But what if you're
wrong? What if I was with…" I couldn't even say his name. The heat rose to my neck thinking about what he had done. "…him right before you and I…hooked up?"
Cal smiled, almost laughing. "Hooked up?"
"Well…uhh.” This time my face flushed for a different reason as I looked into my coffee mug, unsure how he would take it.
"No, that's fine. It's cute hearing you say it, actually."
Laughing, I was relieved he wasn't making it a big deal. Or maybe it was and he wanted to go easy on the woman who just left the hospital and her husband, and who might or might not be carrying his child.
"I…" I flattened my hand on the table, avoiding his eyes as best as I could. Especially since heat flooded my cheeks. "Well, what would you call it?"
I glanced up to see his blue eyes sparkle as he laughed and grabbed my hand, his thumb rubbing over the faded tan line where my rings had been—the ones from John that I had taken off at the hospital in a mini-tantrum. They were hiding under the chair in that room, directly across from my bed. They’d hit the wall hard before bouncing to the ground and rolling in opposite directions. I really hadn’t cared to look where they landed.
”No, it's fine. It was a hookup that first night. Each night after that, though…" He waggled his eyebrows and it was my turn to laugh.
I shook my head and inspected the menu, still holding his hand on top of the table and enjoying the strength of his grip while I decided what to order. I inhaled deeply, needing to continue to get fresh oxygen to my baby. My worry hadn't subsided, and I wasn't sure what damage might have occurred to my pregnancy.
The waitress came over and took our orders. Cal handed her our menus one-handed, since he hadn't let go of my hand.
After she left, he asked, "Well, what's your next move?"
I wasn't sure what he meant by that. As in, where would I go? The thought of that caused a panic inside me. I hadn't thought any of it through. All the accounts, I assumed, were in John's name. I really had no money. What was I going to do?
Accidents Happen (Forever Happens Book 1) Page 13
