by Kim Black
We spun around and the girls dried their faces against their hands. I hadn’t realized that I been crying myself, until Diana swept her dainty hands across my cheeks, collecting the tears which had fallen at some point of our three-way embrace. It was such a Diana thing to do that I didn’t pull away, nor was I alarmed by the gesture. She was doing what she had always done, making sure I was ok and trying to take care of me. It made me smile inwardly for a split second before the young man’s voice interrupted my thoughts.
“Ms. Roberts is awake now, she had a minor episode a few minutes ago, but we have stabilized her. Please, follow me if you wish to see her,” he said before turning and leading the way.
The relief we all felt was inexplicable as we made our way to Emily’s room. I still wasn’t sure what happened, but I told the police what I knew happened at the bar. Someone had attacked her. .
EMILY
It was all back. Everything. All the memories I had lost were came back with a vengeance. I was exhausted, both mentally and physically drained, while I lay in the uncomfortable hospital bed.
This must be a different hospital. I thought as I shifted into a somewhat more comfortable position.
A small knock on the door made me spin my head around. A bad move when you’ve suffered a head injury and have a massive migraine.
Suzie was the first person I saw come through the door, followed by Adam, and then Diana. My gut clenched, but not because I hated her. All I felt was pity. I recalled our conversation a few weeks ago when she confessed her betrayal.
“Roberts, I swear you are making a career out of scaring the shit out of me,” scolded Diana when she reached the hospital bed and hugged me tightly, almost too tight, but I didn’t complain.
“I’m sorry for scaring you guys. It just happened so fast, there wasn’t time to react.”
Adam came up close to me and stroked my hair. “What happened, baby girl? I was only gone for a few minutes. Who did this to you?”
His eyes were sad while as he stared at me awaiting my answer, but I hesitated. If I told him what happened, I’d have to confess that I remembered everything and not just a piece here and there. I’d have to deal with what Diana had done to me. Deal with Charlette and Julien having sex behind my back. Deal with the fact that I didn’t love Adam anymore. Deal with the hurt it would cause him to know that Diana had been successful in tearing us apart. I stared at him, wide-eyed, while I weighed my options before wrenching my eyes away from him and they fell on her… Diana.
I hadn’t spoken to her about what she had done. I wasn’t sure if I could emotionally handle whatever excuse she thought up to give me. What could she possibly say that would make her actions ok? Nothing.
There was nothing that would ever clear the air between us. She had fucked up royally as a friend, and the thought made me sadder. Had she only been a friend to me, I could possibly handle being around her, but she was more than that to me. She was my sister.
Since the moment I showed up at her apartment looking for a place to live, we had been inseparable - but now… We were nothing. Not friends and certainly not sisters.
Maybe it was time I dealt with it all. Lay all my cards on the table and let them fall where they may. Adam had been right the other day. I always considered myself a strong person, but if I were really fucking honest with myself, I would have to admit that I was a coward. I always ran when the shit hit the fan, and I was tired of it. Sick of running away and yielding to whatever problems arose. I did this when I was a child with my own mother. I always ran and hid when she got drunk and wanted to beat me. I was an adult now. A grown ass woman. I needed to stand up and face the music. Go toe to toe with the shit storm that had become my life and put things back in order.
“I need to speak to Diana. Alone.” The words were out of my lips before I had a chance to stop myself.
Adam was noticeably confused. He looked at me for a second longer and silently asked what I was doing. I nodded my head, signaling to him that I was fine and safe.
He sighed, stepped aside, and left the room, pulling a surprised Suzie behind him; leaving a scared Diana to face me - alone.
“Before you say anything, Emily, I need to tell you something,” she said softly, her red-rimmed eyes pleading with me silently. For what, I wasn’t sure. Did she want my forgiveness? Did she expect me to put it all behind us? Or that we’d resume our friendship, like her betrayal had never happened?
I nodded my head towards her and she sucked in a breath before clearing her throat to continue. She didn’t move any closer. She stood in room’s center, an equal distance between herself, the bed, and the door.
“I wanted him. Adam. I had wanted him from the moment I saw him. We were at the coffee shop near my apartment, I saw him when he came in, and instantly fell in love,” she began. A smile crept up on her face as she stared down on the floor reliving her memories.
This should be interesting…
“He was so confident in his little chef’s uniform that I felt like my heart melted at the sight of him, but of course I never said anything to him. Instead, I talked myself into talking to him the next time he was at the shop. I figured that if he showed up again while I was there that it would be a sign,” she continued.
I rolled my eyes, but she didn’t see it - her eyes still fixed on the tile floor in front of her, a smile still etched on her face.
“I didn’t tell you about it because there wasn’t really much to tell, yet. You told me that you had started seeing someone, but I hadn’t met him. So I had no idea it would be the same man from the coffee shop. How was I supposed to know, really?” she asked and looked up for the first time since she began, holding my gaze with apologetic eyes.
“A week later you introduced me to the man the coffee shop. I was surprised, of course, but pushed it aside. I was happy that you had found someone. I pushed Adam completely away, not wanting to harbor feelings for my best friend’s boyfriend, but Em’ it was just so hard,” she muttered and began to cry.
“That night…I was stupid to come on to him. Even stupider to break you guys up. For that, I will not stop apologizing. But there is more that you should know.”
I didn’t reply. I simply stared at her waiting for whatever else she was about to tell me. I knew it wouldn’t be good.
“After you guys broke up. I tried to be there for him. I didn’t want to see him suffer. I mean….I loved him, you know …and I felt so guilty.” She was biting on her nails, shifting from foot to foot.
“That’s because you were guilty.”
She nodded her head in agreement and continued, “It didn’t take long for us to grow closer. We spent a lot of time together.”
I eyed her suspiciously, as she withdrew her gaze. Was she saying what I think she was saying?
“What do you mean you spent a lot of time together? You two dated?” I demanded with a roar.
My voice must have traveled the length and breadth of the hospital because Adam and Suzie burst through the door at my bellow.
Diana froze and I repeated my question, not directed to Adam. He didn’t respond. Instead he stared at Diana, his anger evident on his face.
Finally he nodded. “Yes. We were together for a year before she told me what she had done to break us up.”
I expected to scream, to yell, and throw shit across the room; but as I lay there, my eyes darting between the two people that had meant the most to me, I felt nothing. That’s not normal. Yell at them! Punch them! Do something!
“You were kind of focused on you at the time… You never questioned why I never had time to hang out as much. You were going through a lot, granted most of it because of me. By the time you got over Adam, we had already started dating; and I kept it all from you,” she confessed while inching towards me.
It didn’t make sense, really. I saw Diana almost every day, even if it was for a few minutes. How could she hide this relationship from me for a whole fucking year?
“How? How could y
ou do this, right under my nose, without me knowing, Diana? It doesn’t make sense!” I barked, more angry with myself because… well I wasn’t exactly sure why. I just felt angry.
What happened next took me by surprise. Diana stood next to my bed looking at me, but not with the same shy, apologetic look. Instead, she was angry, pissed off, and it confused the hell out of me.
“Really, Em? I have to tell you how you missed such a big part of my life? Think back, Em, over the last year. Fuck it, think back to the last three years! When have you ever taken any real interest in me? You didn’t give a fuck about me, you never have. And I was stupid; and cared so much about you that I never said anything to you about your selfish, conceited, ass,” she roared. I sat there in complete shock, almost shaking at her words.
I wanted to scream back at her that she was a liar, and that I hadn’t ignored her. But I couldn’t say that…because she was right!
It was Adam who spoke next, trying to defuse the situation. “This isn’t the time or place for this conversation. Emily was just attacked,” he said to Diana, but Diana continued. She was furious; and it made me feel like a complete piece of shit.
ADAM
This was getting out of hand and I needed to stop them. I grabbed Diana’s arm and yanked her towards the door. “I think you need to leave. Now!” I barked at her.
I had wanted her to speak to Emily - before. I’d wanted her to confess her sins to her supposed best friend, but this … this was not what I expected, especially not right after Emily’s attack.
“Gladly.” She walked out of the room, leaving the air thick with tension in her wake.
I rushed back over to Emily, pulling her into a hug as she wept into my shoulder. I knew Diana’s words cut her deeply and, while I hated that Diana had told her all of this now, I couldn’t refute the truth of her words. I’d never realized it until she’d said it, but Emily hadn’t taken an interest in her at all. Not her, not even Suzie, only me - until we broke up.
“Shhh… it’s ok,” I murmured, trying to sooth her shaking body.
No one said a word for a while before Emily stopped sobbing and pulled away from me. “You were with her? Why?” she asked and I cringed at her question.
What did she expect me to say? She left me, not the other way around. She had hurt me deeply and I was fucking dead inside before falling for Diana. And though I knew she didn’t really want to hear the truth, I gave it to her anyway.
“Baby girl, I was hurt. Diana was there. You left me and I was so lost. She sat with me and listened to me. Somewhere, through all the pain, I fell in love with her.”
She didn’t respond, didn’t look me in the eyes. “Go.”
I didn’t understand what she was saying and pulled away so I could see her face.
“Leave, Adam. I don’t fucking want you here. I can’t stomach the thought of your two together. Yes, I left you and broke it off, but only because of her…and for you to have been with… Go!” she screamed with an anger I had never seen her display.
My throat felt like it was closing in on me, my head started spinning, and I pulled away from her - not arguing back and not fighting. Nothing. I was done! We were done!
I left.
Chapter Seventeen
JULIEN
Two days after my father fired me, I got the call from Suzie. I kicked myself all the way to the hospital for turning off my phone. Shane did not accept my father’s offer, but I was still unemployed. I wanted to be left alone with my thoughts while I made plans to dethrone my father. Recognizing that it might take some time to come up with a plan, I turned off my cell, disconnected my home phone, and sat in my study with a bottle of whiskey.
By the time I had turned on my cell phone two days later, I had thirty-six messages from Suzie, all threatening my life if I didn’t get my ass to the hospital.
It was noon by the time I arrived at the hospital. Breathless from running through the building in search of Emily’s room, I burst in without knocking and stopped short at the sight of her sitting up in bed with a long row of stitches on her head.
“I’m so very sorry, ma belle. I had no idea you were hurt. What happened? Who did this to? Did you call the police?” The questions poured out of me so fast that she had no time to respond.
Forcing myself to stop long enough to allow her to answer, I took a deep breath and released it.
“I’m fine, Julien,” she responded finally, and I knew she was anything but fine. The sad look etched on her face told me as much.
I gently traced the line of stitches with my finger. “Who did this to you, Emily? Please, tell me.”
Her face hardened, she pulled away from my touch, and looked away from me.
“Why don’t you ask your wife, Julien?” she responded icily.
At backed away from her in disbelief. Charlette?
“When did this happen? What did she do?” I demanded when I realized the implication of what she’d done. This was my fault! My threats to destroy Charlette led to Emily getting hurt – again! I couldn’t stop the flood of guilt from returning in full force. An emotion I’d become all too familiar with in the last few weeks. The pain was all consuming. I hadn’t kept my vow. I had managed to hurt her again.
She shook her head and let out a small laugh before answering me. “Two nights ago at Tanked. I was there with Adam.”
Adam?
She looked up at me and smiled. “He wanted one last date to convince me we should be together. At the time, I thought I was just obliging him, allowing him his last attempt; all the while knowing that I had belonged with you. But so much has changed since then.”
Her words cut me like a knife. Had she gone back with the backstreet boy? Chosen him over me? This could not be true.
“Emily, please don’t do this. Don’t leave me again. Je t'aime trop pour te perdre. I love you too much to lose you.” I didn’t recognize my voice. Was I not the man who had just squared off with my own father for this woman a mere two days ago? I closed the space between us, sat at the edge of the bed, and pulled her into my arms. She wrapped her own arms around my neck tightly and I could feel her breathe in my scent. It broke my heart. She was trying to remember me.
It was over.
“I’m not leaving you for him, Julien, but I can’t do this anymore. I can’t play tug of war between the three of you. You and Adam fighting for me, and Charlette fighting for you. It’s too much,” she began, not releasing her hold on my neck.
“Once the memories came back, I knew I couldn’t continue like this. My life has become so complicated, and I need time to figure out where I need to go from here,” she continued.
When she pulled away from me, I saw her freshly fallen tears. She smiled and brushed her fingertips against my cheek, collecting my own tears. “You’re married to one psychotic bitch, Julien,” she joked, trying to ease the blow of our breakup.
“I will always love you, my sexy Frenchman,” she confessed before bringing her lips to mine, offering me one last thing to remember her by.
EPILOGUE
It wasn’t easy saying goodbye to both Adam and Julien, but I knew I had to. I wasn’t in love with Adam anymore, but I would miss the friendship we’d shared. I would never get over him being with Diana after what she did to us, although I knew that he was unaware of her machinations. Still, it would be hard to ever forget.
I loved Julien. There was no question in my mind, but I needed this time. I needed to handle my business and there would be no way to do so with him around.
Charlette had been fucking with my life since the night I met Julien. After her attempt on my life, I knew she had to go. And I had to be the one to stop her.
I wasn’t sure how, but I knew it was necessary. Once she was out of the picture, I would find Julien. Then and only then.
I just hoped he would take me back when that time came.
Diana and I hadn’t spoken since that night in the hospital. We’d said everything necessary. She finally told m
e what she thought of me, and I was dealing with her confession the best I could. I wanted to hate her for it, but knew it wouldn’t be fair to put the all of the blame on her. The truth was I hadn’t taken the time to get to know my friends. Never saw the signs right in front of me because I was too busy focusing on myself.
I had forced Suzie to confess her feelings about our relationship; and as expected, she agreed with Diana’s assessments. I was a fucked up friend, but I assured her that I would make a concerted effort to change.
In the meantime, I took a leave of absence, telling Chef Gordon that my recovery required I take a few months off. It wasn’t the truth, but it got me the time off to do what needed to be done.
My only focus … Charlette.
Note from the Author
Thank you so much for taking the time to read Cover Up. If you enjoyed the second book of The Cover Series please consider leaving a review. I love to hear feedback from my readers.
~ Kim B. xoxo
About Kim Black
Kim was born and raised in the great state of New York. She is a newly self-published author of “The Cover Series.”
She has always believed that one day she would become an author. She enjoyed reading and writing all of her life and had always felt that it was somewhat of a calling for her.
At age 28, she had no idea that she would become an Erotic Romance Author, mostly because she had just gotten into reading Romances last year and instantly fell in love with the genre.
Kim enjoys the passions of love and believes that there is no greater feeling than the initial jilt we get when we first meet that right person. Wanting to provide romance readers with stories that they can feel and get lost in, Kim decided in September 2013 to become a published author.
THE COVER SERIES:
DISCOVERED: BOOK 1 – (Now available on Amazon, B&N, & iTunes)
