The Secrets We Keep

by Lisamarie Kade

  Chet moves fast then and grabs me by the hair. The sudden movement throws me off and before I can make a move to stab him his other hand has wrapped around my wrist that is holding the knife. Fuck. I had no idea he had such strength. The grip he has on my hair has caused tears to spring. It hurts so bad. I can no longer tell where Sarah is or if she is still standing there. The tears start to fall one by one and I can’t seem to make them stop, it feels like he is literally ripping the hair from my scalp.

  “You know Eleanor crying is not a good look for you. I had all intentions of bringing you to a business associate and letting him do as he wished with you however, I think you stabbing yourself will be less of a hassle for me.”

  Chet grips my hand tighter and tries to make me stab myself in the thigh area. It takes a lot of strength but I resist hard and this pisses him off because he takes his other hand, the one that was pulling my hair and slides it down to my neck squeezing.

  Shit! The burning pain I start to feel as he continues to squeeze tighter and tighter. I try to spit in his face but it is useless. He’s not letting up and I’m not sure how much more I can handle.

  Squeezing my eyes shut, Sarah, Landon, and Jessy all flash through my mind. They pass by quickly before the darkness takes over.

  Chapter 18

  What the hell is that sound? It makes my head pound more with each beep. Beep… beep… beep. I slowly open my eyes. However, there’s so much excruciating pain that I instantly close them. My head is throbbing. What is going on? I try to think through that annoying beeping sound. I remember Chet, he was choking me. That’s the last thing I can remember. Opening my eyes again, it’s so bright that I try to put my hand over my face to block the light, but there’s wires attached preventing me from reaching all the way up. What is going on?

  “She’s stirring! Get a doctor.” Someone says.

  I can’t make out who. Beep… beep… beep. Fuck! That’s so annoying and painful, I just want it to stop.

  “Evie, can you hear me?” A deep voice from somewhere in the room asks. It’s a man’s voice, that much I can tell. I blink a few more times before squinting enough to see.

  “Evie, I’m right here.” That deep voice tells me as he squeezes my hand. At least I think that’s who is touching me.

  I look in the direction of my hand and can just make out someone’s arm. I follow the arm upward until I can make out the shape of a face, then dark hair. I know that hair. Opening my eyes a little further I see the face of a gorgeous man. I close my eyes. Landon. Is he really here, wherever I am?

  “La..Landon?”

  “Yes, baby it’s me. I’m right here.”

  I blink a few more times, it’s just there’s so much pain. My head feels like someone is taking a hammer to it.

  “The doctor is here, he is going to look you over.” Landon tells me. A doctor, what doctor?

  “Wait what doctor?”

  I try to sit up but I’m unsuccessful, everything hurts so much.

  “Stay calm Ms. Ross. I’m Dr. Wright. You’ve been brought in for observation. You took quite the spill after passing out. You hit your head pretty hard on the tile.”

  I try to think back, being choked. I must have passed out. I remember the fury in Chet’s eyes and then the darkness taking over. What happened after I passed out? Where is Chet? Panic starts to set in.

  “Where is Chet?” My voice is so hoarse and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t hurt to talk.

  “Here, take a drink of water. Your throat may ache for a while. The man who attacked you was taken into custody. Now I don’t want you worrying about that right now. I have a few questions I need to ask you.” Dr. Wright says flatly.

  I have my own set of questions but I guess they will need to wait. The doctor goes on to ask about my injury and how I’m feeling. He shines some unbelievably bright light in my eyes and it makes me want to punch him. I don’t of course, you know wires and all. Apparently, I have a slight concussion but should recover just fine. My throat will ache but that too will be okay in time. There’s no permanent damage, thank goodness.

  Only after telling me he will be sending the nurse in to give me something for the pain, does he finally leave. I’m glad he goes because I don’t think my head can take much more. I look over to Landon who is still sitting in the chair allotted for visitors. Anguish and concern is written all over his face. There’s worry lines etched along his forehead and he looks exhausted. All because of me.

  “What are you thinking?” Landon asks.

  “I was thinking of how tired you must be.” I whisper to him.

  “I could have lost you. What were you thinking going there alone?” Landon trails off his voice breaking slightly.

  I can’t tell if his eyes are holding back tears, it hurts too much to focus and my vision keeps blurring slightly.

  “What happened?” I need for him to fill in the blanks.

  He takes a deep breath and then exhales, “Sarah sent me a text with her address asking me to call the cops and give them her address. Little did she know that I already knew where you were. I had your location pinged off your cell.”

  How was he able to get that information?

  “I know what you’re thinking. I have friends with connections.”

  I nod, “So then what?”

  “Sarah tackled Chet from behind, causing him to let go of your neck. That’s when you fell and hit your head. The cops and I barged in just after that and were able to take Chet in without any problem.”

  I try to think back again, coming up blank. My sister saved my life. I’m suddenly overcome with emotion. I hiccup as the tears start to fall and I hear Landon make a move towards me so fast.

  “Baby, shh… don’t cry. It’s okay. You’re safe. Sarah is safe.” He’s trying to console me, but it does little to help.

  The nurse barges in, “Is everything okay in here?”

  “Yes, ma’am, Eleanor is just overwhelmed.” Landon tells the nurse for me.

  Landon speaks for me and it warms my heart slightly.

  The nurse walks over to me and gives me a giant white pill. “Take this and rest. I’ll be back later to check on you.”

  She waits for me to swallow it before leaving. Boy does it hurt going down. I take several sips of water before asking where Sarah is. I want to see my sister. I need to tell her how sorry I am but also how thankful I am too.

  “She’s at the police station. She needed to fill out some more paperwork. Don’t worry she’ll be by when she is done. She hasn’t left your side except to handle stuff with the detectives.”

  “This is all my fault.”

  The feeling of guilt takes over. Sarah must be heartbroken over Chet and his admissions.

  “Evie,” Landon’s voice is stern. “Don’t you dare feel you are at fault. This was Chet’s doing. You shouldn’t have gone alone but, you did nothing wrong. Do you hear me? You. Did. Nothing. Wrong.” Landon breaks down that last sentence word by word.

  I say nothing in return, just a slight nod. I think about what he’s saying and try to let it sink in. It hurts though and I feel the darkness pulling at me to sleep again. I decide to give in and let the darkness take me away from the thoughts currently clouding my mind.

  I wake suddenly, drenched in sweat. I take a few deep breaths. It is dark and quiet in my room besides the low light from the monitor and the constant beeping. It takes me a few seconds to register that I am still in the hospital and that I had a nightmare. I look around and know Chet is not here. He can’t hurt me. I reach up to touch my throat, surprised I can. I still have IV’s attached, but the restraints have been removed. The nurse must have done that while I was sleeping. My throat is tender to the touch, but I’m alive. I’m okay and so is Sarah. I glance around the room and make out a silhouette sleeping in the chair. At first I’m slightly alarmed and my breathing picks up, but after focusing a little, I realize it’s just Sarah. She’s here. I want to wake her, though she seems so peaceful sleeping. Afte
r waiting a few minutes and going back and forth over to wake her or not, I decide to wake her.

  “Sarah,” I whisper. I don’t want to draw attention to a nurse coming in. I just want my sister. She doesn’t move.

  “Sarah wake up,” I say a little louder, as loud as I can manage and still she doesn’t wake.

  I wonder if I can get out of bed. I sit up and feel woozy. It almost makes me nauseous. I call out Sarah’s name again, this time earning her to stir.

  “Sarah it’s me. Wake up.” I no longer care if the nurse comes in. My patience is shot. I just want to talk to my sister. She stirs a little more and sits up some.

  “Hey, you up?”

  “Eleanor?” Sarah’s voice is groggy but at least she’s woken up.

  “Yes, it’s me.”

  Sarah sits straight up and switches on the light immediately. The brightness hits me and hurts like hell.

  “Ugh! No light Sarah. Turn it off please.” I cover my face and wait until the light is off.

  “Oh gosh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize. Does it hurt?” she asks as she makes her way to be next to me.

  “It does, my throat too. Can you pass the water?”

  Sarah hands me the water and says nothing. I wonder what she is thinking. I’m dying to know what happened. I need to hear it from her.

  “Sarah what happened?” I whisper in between sips of water, ice cold and soothing.

  “Oh Eleanor, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know he was capable of being such an evil person.”

  She must be talking about Chet. I don’t respond, just wait for her to continue.

  “Chet came by after work and was talking crazy. He told me it was all your fault should something happen to me. I had no idea what he was referring to. It’s why I texted you. Out of nowhere he came in and tied me to the bed. When I fought him he slapped me. It’s the first time he had ever touched me in such a way. It scared me so I did as he said.”

  The glow of the monitor reveals a lone tear rolling down her cheek, falling from her chin. It was barely noticeable but I saw it. I break a little inside and squeeze her hand.

  “Chet started talking nonsense about women and scandals and how you needed to pay for trying to ruin him. I had no idea what he was talking about. It was so confusing. I tried to ask questions and to get him calmed down, however he just slapped me again and told me if I knew what was good for me I would shut the fuck up.”

  I gasp. He hit her more than once and it’s because of me.

  “Sarah, I’m so sorry he hurt you. It’s all my fault. I’m so sorry.”

  Sarah cuts me off, “No! Eleanor, it is not your fault Chet put his hands on me. He’s responsible for his actions, not you.”

  I nod my head slowly. She sounds like Landon.

  “Next thing I know, you show up and it was complete chaos. After he dragged you out of the room, I knew I needed to help you. I had already texted Landon to come and then went in search of you. That’s when I found him choking you. I was frozen in place until I saw your eyes roll back. Eleanor, I didn’t even hesitate... I just charged him hoping it would be enough to get him to let go of you,” she pauses, “I’ve tried to work it through my mind, but why would him cheating on me be so bad that he wanted to kill you?”

  I sigh, taking a few more sips of water before I start my confession.

  “I walked in on him screwing another woman on his office desk. He was pissed that I caught him. I’ve never seen Chet so angry. His face was red. We started to argue over it. I was in disbelief that he would do such a thing to you. Then he grabbed me and held me against the same desk he was just up against. He slapped me so hard Sarah, that’s when it hit me that he was a monster. He started threatening me, saying that he will end both of us if I told you. Not just a stupid threat, more like he was going to involve his wealthy associates and I know they are grimy men with no morals. I was so scared Sarah. He’s the reason I fled town, I had to do that not only for myself, I also needed to keep you safe.”

  I don’t even realize I’m crying until Sarah wipes my tears. I feel the rest of the weight I have been carrying with me fall away. Telling Sarah my secret feels good however, at the same time it has to be crushing her. I go to hug her yet she pulls back. I arch an eyebrow not that she can see it.

  “Sarah?”

  “Just give me a minute, You… ran to protect me?” It’s more of a question than a statement. I can tell she is processing.

  “Yes, I did it to protect you. I didn’t want him to harm you.”

  “Did you know the woman, Chet was... with?”

  I was hoping she wasn’t going to ask this question. It’s one I don’t really want to answer. Fuck me, this is going to hurt her.

  “Lexi.” It’s all I say, she’ll put the rest together. Lexi has done many PR events with us. She’s always been friendly with us, a little too friendly if I really think back. The way she would smile at Sarah. It was like she knew something Sarah didn’t.

  My sister hugs me then and I can feel the sobs as she squeezes me. It’s heartbreaking. Hugging her back, I let her fall apart in my arms.

  Chapter 19

  “Eleanor!”

  My sister’s shouting from across the house causes me to roll my eyes. “Yes, Sarah?” I ask through gritted teeth.

  I’m not really angry with her, just slightly annoyed. She keeps asking my opinion on color schemes and designs for her new place. My old condo to be exact. Upon leaving the hospital Landon pretty much refused me living apart from him and since I’ve been given a new look on life, one I don’t have to hide or run from, I said yes to moving in. Landon moved all my belongings while I recovered at home. He is constantly watching me like a hawk, to see if I need anything. I’ll admit it makes me feel cherished. The bruises on my throat have started to fade and I can finally talk without being in pain. I still keep the ice water with me at all times because it’s soothing.

  Sarah thought with all that’s happened it was time for a change as well. She put her house on the market and me being the amazing realtor I am deep down, had it sold in less than thirty days. Thankfully I was able to do it from the comfort of my bed. I wasn’t ready to go out and see people. I didn’t want pity. What I went through, I’d do it all over again for my sister. Anyway, Sarah wanted to be where I was and with my condo suddenly empty she took it. It’s worked out nicely, besides her driving me crazy currently. Shaking my head and smiling I tell myself I’ll take her annoyance every day and all day. I love her that much.

  “Well… Eleanor what do you think?”

  “Umm...” Shit! I was lost in thought going over the last few weeks.

  “You weren’t listening to me were you?”

  “No, I’m sorry sis.”

  “Ugh Eleanor! At least you’re honest about it. I’ll just go call Jessy and ask her.” Sarah walks off and I sag in relief.

  I don’t mind the decorating part, it was once a part of my job. It’s just Sarah has been very indecisive about it. I think she’s being this way mostly because her world has been flipped upside down too. She literally sold everything. Furniture, dishes, and so on. Landon and Jessy went back and forth with her while she packed up stuff. I didn’t want her to do it alone, and she refused to let me come. Whatever she didn’t sell she donated to a local charity that helps women get back on their feet after fleeing from unsafe situations. She even sold her gala gowns and donated all the funds to charity as well. Yup, Sarah is pretty amazing.

  Maybe I should take her to Hobby Lobby and let her see what she likes. I wouldn’t mind grabbing a thing or two myself, plus I need to get out.

  “Hey Sarah?”

  When I don’t get a response from her I walk down the hallway to my old room, which is now her’s. Sarah’s probably still talking to Jessy and didn’t hear me. I go to call out her name again but stop short when I hear her say Landon’s name. Leaning closer to the door I wait and listen.

  “Oh my Jessy!” Sarah exclaims then goes silent for a moment.
<
br />   “But do you think it’s a good idea with all she’s been through?”

  A pause before Sarah goes on, “That’s true… well okay. Call me later.”

  Sarah ends the call and I’m completely lost. What did any of that mean? Why was Landon’s name mentioned and who is she referring to?

  Sarah opens the door and looks at me like a deer caught in headlights.

  “Um hey Eleanor… what’s up?”

  “I… uhh… wanted to see if you want to go to Hobby Lobby with me. See if anything catches your eye,” I say with a raised eyebrow. She still has this strange look on her face and I can’t quite place it. It’s almost as if she looks guilty about something.

  “Ya, sure, that sounds like a great idea actually. Let me just grab my purse.” Sarah turns quickly and goes back in her room. I decide to do the same and then wait for her by the entryway.

  I try to push this uneasy feeling down and think about how much has changed in a short period of time. Sarah’s really here with me, she’s working from home currently doing interior design planning. She’s better than I am at it. I just picked up on some of her skills. I’d rather list and sell, and then pass her card on to clients. I’m glad her job is flexible too, regardless she would have probably given it up to come here.

  Sarah emerges a minute later, her expression is unreadable and that puts my nerves on high alert. Walking out the door I mumble more to myself than to her, “This should be fun.”

  “Of course it will be,” Sarah replies happily. She reaches for my hand and squeezes it and just like that my nerves settle down and we head off to shop.

  Our shopping trip was a success. We both found items for our homes. Sarah has decided to go with a beach theme. It seemed fitting since she moved a little closer to the beach. I decide on a few modern pieces to accent Landon’s place perfectly, I mean our place. I also found a cute frame that says LOVE on the front of it. I plan to put a picture of Landon and I in it and surprise him with it.