by Shandi Boyes
I’ll be back tomorrow.
Noah
“That does not mean we can’t still enjoy his bucks party for him” Slater declares as he hands me a large nip of scotch.
“Bottom’s up” he says eagerly before he downs the entire nip in one hit. I hesitate to start with, but what I have got to lose by spending the night getting rip roaring drunk with some of my mates in the strange city? Nothing! So I quickly lift the shot to my mouth and swallow it in one hit, enjoying the warm sensation it causes as it slowly slides down my throat.
The next morning, I wake up groggily to the alarm on my phone screaming loudly. Fuck me. My head is thumping and I feel like I have swallowed a hole heap of razor blades. When I peer around the room, I notice Slater is sleeping upright on a single sofa chair and I am sprawled on the double sofa and have my legs dangling over the edge. I grab my phone and manage to shut up its ear piercing screams. Why the fuck did I pick to fly home at six am in the morning when I knew I was going to be attending a buck’s party? Oh yeah, that’s right. When I booked the flight, I didn’t want to miss the training session Lola and I normally attend together at Hank’s gym every Tuesday afternoon.
I slowly and gingerly grab my cargo shorts off the floor and start getting myself ready to head down to the lobby to catch a taxi to the airport. As I quietly walk to the bathroom a large breasted girl walks out, completely topless.
“Morning Jacob” she mumbles as she slowly starts staggering back towards the lounge room, where she flops herself onto the sofa I had just left.
Oh shit, who the fuck is that and why does she know my name? I look up at the clock that displays it is 5.05am. Fuck, I am never going to make it to the airport in time. I will have to worry about who she is later. I quickly grab my duffle bag and shirt off the floor and dart out to hotel lobby. It is lucky that at this time of the morning traffic is light and I just make it to the check in counter as they are closing the flight.
“Sorry” I mumble breathless, since I had just run all the way from the airport entrance to the gate of my flight. The flight attendant’s eyes slightly narrow but she accepts my ticket.
As I take my seat on the plane my phone dings. I pull it out of my pocket and when I look down at the screen it states ‘Noah Taylor has tagged you in six photo’s’. I slide across the screen and just as I was about to hit the Facebook app when I hear someone coughing above me.
“Switch off your phone please sir” the flight attendant requests firmly. Her eyes stay narrowed until she watches me switch off my phone.
“Thank you” she responds kindly before she continues doing her checks around the flight cabin.
The whole flight home, I rack my brain trying to recall any of the events that happened last night, I am clueless. It is nothing but a complete fucking blur. As I exit the departure gate of my flight, I switch on my phone, it immediately announces I have a two voicemails.
“Hi Jacob, it’s Nat. Where did you run off to this morning? Call me” states a female voice I don’t recognize. Who the fuck is Nat?
“Jacob, it’s Ryan. I need you to call me urgently on my cell phone” he requests panicked.
I quickly lower the phone down to disconnect the call to scroll through my contacts for Ryan’s number. My heart is racing in panic and my stomach is swirling in turmoil. If Callum or Curtis has hurt Lola, I will kill them this time.
“Fuck” I curse harshly when I realise I don’t have Ryan’s cell phone number stored in my phone. Think Jacob think, I silently chant to myself. His business card! He gave me his cell on a business card after I was arrested. He said if Callum ever turned up I should immediately ring him. I roughly yank my wallet out of my pocket to start digging through the business cards. I sigh in relief when I locate his number scribbled on the top of his card. I swiftly dial the number and Ryan answers on the first ring.
“Ryan Carter”
“Ryan, it’s Jacob. Is Lola ok?” I question panicked as I bolt to the airports short term parking.
“Lola’s fine” Ryan replies, instantly making me halt running. My heart is still racing but the relief I feel knowing Lola is okay gives me instant comfort.
“It’s Noah, he isn’t good” Ryan states sullenly. I immediately start running again.
Chapter 38
Lola
I have hardly slept the past two days and my insomnia is starting to drive me nuts. My latest case of insomnia has me laying in my bed, staring at the faded and paint cracked ceiling of my bedroom. My apartment is anything but glamourous, but it’s mine. I had managed to save enough of my wages the past two years that I was able to put down a good deposit on my own little place. It is nothing flash, but it is a start and you have to start somewhere, don’t you?
I look over at the empty side of my bed, before I left out a large harsh breath. I, for the second time tonight, lift the spare pillow and take in a large deep sniff through my nostrils. I can smell Jacob’s Hugo Boss aftershave that has imbedded into the pillowcase. I have missed Jacob so much the past two days that I have nearly called him several times, before my stubbornness forces me to put my phone back down. Maybe I should just call him and tell him what really happened with Flynn. That doesn’t mean that I forgive him for questioning me, but it may begin the process that will help us to move past this.
I grab my cell phone off the bedside table and realise that it is only five am in the morning. I shouldn’t call Jacob at this time of the morning, no matter how desperate I am to hear his voice. I contemplate trying to go back to bed, but there is no way I am going to be able to sleep after smelling Jacob’s scent. I throw off the duvet cover and make my way to the small outdated kitchen. Coffee has been my only saviour these past few days. Once I have a nice strong cup in my hands, I make my way to the couch to flop down on my spring less sofa chair and start flicking through the TV channels.
When I realise there is nothing decent to watch on TV at this time of the day, I go and grab my phone off my bed and start scrolling through Facebook. The first image that pops up is Jenni breastfeeding baby Jasper. She looks tired but happy as she gives the peace sign to the camera. I like her photo, before I continue scrolling. I scan through multiple boring posts from all my friends being devastated that yesterday was Monday. Most of my friends went to college and then they went on to get boring desk jobs. I never quiet understood how that was classed as ‘living’. If they hate what they do every day, how can they wake up and continue doing the same meaningless tasks day in and day out. I know my bartender job is nothing flash, but I enjoy it. I would much prefer to be underpaid than to turn up to a job that I hate every day.
Just as I was about to put down my phone it stated that I had a ‘new story’. I clicked on the link and it took me to some photo’s Noah had tagged Jacob in. The first few photos looked pretty innocent, until I started going through the entire album. Jacob was tucking dollar bills into some stripper’s panties, that can be expected since he was at a buck’s party. It was the pictures that didn’t have Jacob front and centre that were the most concerning. In the background of one picture you can see a girl with long blonde hair sitting on Jacob’s lap. At first I tried to brush it off that maybe he was getting a lap dance, but it soon became apparent that that wasn’t the case as I continued flicking through the photos. The same girl popped up in the background in multiple photos that were taken throughout the night. In the very last imagine, I recognized the lower half of Jacob’s body even though his head is cut out of the picture. I can feel my anger reaching breaking point when I see that same girl crouched down on the ground in between his legs, looking like she is just about to undo the button of his pants.
I angrily grip my phone and let out a long and frustrated growl. Here I was moping in my apartment the past two days and he is out doing anything or anyone he wants. I quickly scroll to the top of my Facebook wall and type in Jacob’s name. I know I am acting like a child, but I feel a sense of euphoria when I click the unfriend button on his profile. I then si
t cross legged on my bed for the next several minutes while I try to reel in my anger. I really want to hurt someone right now and the one person I really want to hurt is currently in Los Angeles. When I peer at the alarm clock on my bedside table it has just ticked over to 5.30am. I know what will help to lessen my current rage. I dart around my apartment and get ready before I rush out the door ten minutes later.
“Good morning pretty lady, what are you doing here so early?” greets Hank friendly the instant I walk into his gym.
“I really need to punch something and I thought what better place to punch something than at a boxing gym” I respond as I breathe harshly.
Hank looks over at me with his eyebrows pulled together tightly, before he starts walking towards the ring.
“Come on then. Let’s put all this angry frustration to good use” Hank suggests.
Hank helps me to put on a pair of boxing gloves, before he moves over to the corner of the ring and starts placing his own gloves on.
“What are you doing?” I question confused.
“You want to box; we are going to box” he replies as he uses his teeth to finish tying on his gloves “Don’t worry, I won’t actually hit you”
“I’m not worried about me getting hurt” I reply sarcastically as I place my hands on my hips, forcing Hank to start laughing.
“Bring it on” Hank states, while he motions for me to move towards him. I instantly take the fighting stance I have perfected over the past year and a half and step closer to Hank, who is smiling at me proudly.
I hesitated with the first few swings I threw as Hank wasn’t wearing any protection and I felt bad that I was going to hit him for real. It didn’t take me long to realise that Hank could easily block any of my swings. He sometimes would just sweep his hand in front of me, making me completely miss my mark, or my swings would only connect with his glove covered fists. As the match went on my anger at seeing the photos of Jacob with that girl slowly started to lessen. By the time an hour ticked by, I was absolutely exhausted. I leaned my arms on top of my head as I attempted to refill my lungs with air.
“Do you feel better?” Hank questions as he wipes away the trail of sweat that is running down his face with a small white towel. I look over at his black eyes, before I nod my head.
“Do you wanna talk about it?” he asks. I instantly start shaking my head. I was just starting to get my anger under control and I didn’t want to bring it to the surface again. I also felt like I could hardly breath, let alone speak.
“You know where I am if you need me” Hank advises as he climbs out of the ring and starts walking towards his office.
It is only as I start walking to the showers do I wonder why Hank was at the gym so early in the morning. When I look into his office and see that he is folding blankets it suddenly dawns on me. Hank lives in his gym. When Hank notices my concerned gaze staring into his office, he offers me a small smile, before he closes the office door.
Later that afternoon when I am back in my apartment, I can’t stop thinking about Hank’s living situation. Did Jacob know that Hank sleeps in his office? Did Hank not have any other place to go? It doesn’t make any sense why he would need to sleep in his office. I know Isaac pays him to train Jacob so wouldn’t that be enough for him to get his own apartment? Then it dawns on me, I have never once paid a cent to use Hank’s gym. I just turned up with Jacob and used his facilities without paying him a dollar. How many other people do that to Hank as well? Oh my god, now I feel incredibly guilty that I have been using Hank like that for months when he has never been anything but kind to me.
I grab my cell phone off the coffee table and log into my banking app.
“$143.24” I state disappointed. I don’t think a hundred dollars is going to cover over a year of gym memberships, but it’s a start.
Just as I am about to place my cell phone down on the coffee table it starts ringing. Peering at the screen, I see it is a call from Jacob. I had originally planned on letting it go to voicemail, but I wanted to know if Jacob knew Hank was sleeping in his gym.
“Hello Jacob” I greet crossly.
Chapter 39
Jacob
“Emily, is he ok?” I question panicked as I frantically run into the emergency department at Parkwood State University Hospital. Emily looks over at me and I notice that her face is as white as ghost.
“I don’t know, the doctor said its touch and go but he is trying to fight. They said something about his brain swelling?” she responds dazed. My heart instantly drops into my stomach when she mentions that his brain is swelled.
I frantically pace the emergency waiting room for the next several hours as we wait for any further news on Noah. When a nurse finally arrives to collect us, we quickly follow her to the intensive care unit. If I could just see Noah, I would instantly be able to tell if he was going to be okay.
“I am sorry but we can only allow one visitor at a time while Noah is in the intensive care unit” the nurse advises sadly.
“You go first Emily” I offer quietly. I know Emily will be the best chance to get Noah to pull through this. Noah functioned before Emily, but he only truly began living once she came into his life. The instant Emily enters the ICU; I turn to face Ryan.
“Who else have your informed?” I question.
“No one yet. I knew Noah wouldn’t have wanted me to call his mother and Emily was at the accident scene so I didn’t have to call her. I only managed to call you after asking a fellow officer to get your number out of the contact details on your police file” Ryan responds.
“Hold on, go back. Emily was at the accident scene?” I question confused. Emily doesn’t have a scratch on her, but Noah is in the ICU. It doesn’t make any sense.
“Yeah, she turned up not long after they cut Noah out of the wreckage. She shouldn’t have seen him like that” Ryan chokes as his eyes start to fill with tears. He then swiftly moves over to the chairs lining the corridor as he tries to control his emotions.
I grab my cell phone out of my pocket and stare at the screen for several minutes trying to work out who to call first. I scroll down to the L’s and it takes me a while to work out why Lola’s name isn’t displayed and then I remember that I had deleted her phone number.
“Can you get Lola’s number for me?” I request to Ryan. Ryan looks over at me surprised that I don’t have her number stored in my phone. “It’s a long story” I continue before I dial Marcus’s cell phone.
Over the next twenty minutes, I have managed to call all of Noah’s band mates, my dad, my brother, Maggie and Cormack. The story very rarely changed from each person I spoke to. I advised them that Noah was in an accident and that he is in the intensive care unit at Parkwood University Hospital. Everyone I called replied with the same statement “I will be there as soon as I can”, except Cormack, he said he would call me back in a few hours. As I was finishing my call with Cormack, Ryan handed me a piece of paper with a cell phone number scribbled on it.
I took in long deep breath as I stored Lola’s number back into my phone, before hitting the call button.
“Hello Jacob” she answers angrily.
“Hey Lola, Noah’s been in an accident and he is in the intensive care unit at Parkwood University Hospital”
“What? Is he ok?” she interrupts concerned.
“I don’t know; I haven’t had the chance to see him yet” I reply sadly.
“Oh Jacob, I am so sorry” she replies sympathetically, just as I spot Emily coming out of the double doors.
“I have to go Lola” I advise hastily as I disconnect the call and run over towards Emily.
“Is he okay? Is he awake?” I question panicked as I look at her grief stricken face.
“No, he is on life support” she whispers as her face goes white and she starts to sway.
“Emily” I question concerned as her eyes roll into the back of her head and she starts to flop. I manage to catch her just before she hits the light grey tiles.
&nb
sp; “Emily… Emily” I state panicked as I nudge her, attempting to wake her up. When she doesn’t respond, I rapidly gather her in my arms and start running back to the emergency room we had only left thirty minutes ago.
“Help, I need someone’s help” I yell the instant I enter into the emergency room. A nurse runs to me when she notices the panicked expression on my face.
“What happened?” she questions, as she motions for me to follow her.
“I don’t know she just collapsed” I answer as I follow the nurse into the emergency department and place Emily down on the hospital bed as instructed.
The nurse swiftly completes some observations on Emily as a male doctor enters the room. I watch as he checks Emily’s pulse, flicks a light into her eyes and lower the waist band on her jeans to push on parts of her stomach.
“How far along is she?” he questions, as his gaze turns to me.
