Someone to Love (9 page)

Chapter Sixteen

Lexi

Four weeks later…

T
he past four
weeks have been so busy, between getting all my sketches ready for the show to spending every free moment I could with Spencer. Things have been going great between us and I can feel our bond growing more and more each day. I really wish he was here with me now to calm my nerves.

Today is the day I’ve been preparing for. I decided to spend the night in Nashville, Tennessee so I could arrive early enough to set up my exhibit. I’m a combination of scared shitless and excited as a child going to a fair for the first time. Pulling my car into the parking lot of
The First Center for Visual Arts
my stomach decides to learn acrobatics.

Flipping down the visor, I look into the mirror and say to myself, “Suck it up, Lexi, you can do this!”

After a few deep breaths, I open my door and get out of my car. I unload the trunk, pulling out one canvas at a time and taking them inside where I’ll be setting up. I want to get my display done before my parents arrive. I smile as I inspect the canvases displayed in front of me. I had such a hard time deciding what to show and it wasn’t until a few days ago that I picked these four.

On the first three easels is a triptych, a picture in three parts. It’s not your typical triptych, which is one picture split into three, but rather three different images in one to show a story. In the first one is a huge Oak tree in the middle of an open field with a young boy and girl sitting together on a branch. The second is the same tree with a carved heart showing the initials TW + BJ and here I decided to add some script of my own, so underneath the tree it says A Forever Kind of Love. The third image is my favorite. It’s Brenna and Tucker on their wedding day standing under their tree. I’m kinda glad they aren’t going to be able to make it here today because I plan to give them this as part of their house warming present for their new home.

Even though I love the series I did for Brenna and Tucker, the last one brings a huge smile to my face. If Spencer knew that I was displaying this one he may very well kick my ass. This is what happens when I wake up before him, the artist in me capturing as much on film as possible so it can go to canvas. Spencer is lying in bed on his back sound asleep; one arm is thrown over his head while the other is reaching across the bed. The only part of him that isn’t exposed is his groin. I caught every line and angle of his body. The V at his hips, is scruff along his chin, the muscles in his arms. All in black and white.

Once I’m all set up I decide to walk around and see what everyone else has on display. There’s a little bit of everything here today and I love seeing so many amateur artists in one place. I spot a display a little further down with what appears to be landscape photography and know I have to check it out. I’m so caught up in the different views of the same images in front of me that I jump when I hear a ladies voice behind me.

“He’s quite talented, isn’t he?” She says.

“Yes, he is. I love how he captures it all in so many different angles and compiles them together.” I’m really impressed with this display I’ve never seen anything like it before.

“I’m sure he’d love to hear you say that, if you have a few minutes he’ll be right back. He’s just getting the boys out of the car for me.”

“Sounds great, I’m just killing time until the doors open to the public,” I reply.

She begins asking me if I have art on display here and where it is. All I can do is nod and point. The sight coming to me has my stomach doing acrobatics again and my heart in my throat. I feel like I can’t breathe. Walking toward us is Spencer pushing a double stroller, he hasn’t noticed me yet since he’s smiling down at the babies inside.

Why is he here with her? Are those his babies? How could I be so stupid?

“Are you okay?” I barely hear her voice. I feel like I’m in a tunnel and it’s closing in on me. Shaking my head at her, I begin walking toward Spencer.

Before I can stop myself, my hand connects with his cheek. Between clenched teeth, I hiss, “Fuck you, Spencer Jacobs, I hope you’re happy.”

He tries to say something in reply. I don’t care. I don’t want to hear it. I begin to walk as fast as I can toward the exit. When I reach the door leading outside, his footsteps pound behind me as he calls out to me to wait.

Hell no, I won’t wait. I have to get out of here. I run as fast as I can in the direction of the parking lot. My only thought is to escape. Digging in my purse for my keys I don’t even see the stairs in front of me until it’s too late. Pain radiates from my ankle. My heel snaps and I lose my footing completely, falling forward. I try to grab a hold of the metal railing to stop my momentum with no luck. Then as if I wasn’t already broken enough, my head connects with the last step. My vision goes blurry.

The last thing I hear is a man’s voice yelling to someone to call 911 before my world goes black.

* * *

Spencer

“Hey Tucker, can you hand me that wrench on the counter?” I yell from under the Ford I’m working on.

“Yep, here ya go,” he says as he places it in my hand. “You gonna try to get out of here in time to head to Nashville to see Lexi’s exhibit?”

“I don’t think so, man. I told her I couldn’t make it.” I feel like such a jackass for not going, but this is just something I couldn’t bring myself to doing yet. Vance and I had always said that one day we’d go and show off our work at that museum when it was open to amateurs and we never got the chance.

“Brenna was going to go, but she wasn’t feeling well last night so Lexi told her to get better and she could see her work later.”

“Yeah, that’s basically what she told me too. I wonder what she decided on showing.” The little brat never would give me so much as a hint.

“Dunno, she wouldn’t tell Brenna either.” Tucker says.

“Wouldn’t tell me what?” I hear Brenna’s voice as she walks into the garage.

“What Lexi is showing in Nashville?” Tucker answers her.

“Nope, she’s been pretty closed lipped about it, which is unlike Lexi. So I’m thinking she’s probably up to something. Maybe it’s nudies of Spencer.” Brenna laughs.

Oh hell, I didn’t even think about that at all and she does have that one sketch she did of me in the shower. Tucker and Brenna are both laughing when I hear my phone ring.

“You want me to grab your phone Spence?” Tucker asks.

“Naw, man. I’ll call them back in just a minute I’m bout done anyway.”

As Tucker and Brenna talk about baby stuff, I tune them out. I just want to get this truck done so I can get out of here and cleaned up by the time Lexi gets back tonight.

“Who is this and why do you have Lexi’s phone?” I hear Brenna say frantically.

I slide out from under the truck and before I can get to her to take her phone away to see who has Lexi’s phone, Brenna’s face loses all color.

“Oh my God, is she okay? Where is she?” She’s staring at me as she listens to whoever is on the other line. “Yes, he’s standing in front of me and we’re on our way. If she wakes up before we get there please tell her we’re coming.”

“Tell me.” It’s the only thing I can get to come out of my mouth. My heart is beating furiously in my chest and I know I have to get to her as fast as I can.

“She’s on her way to Vanderbilt Medical Center. He said he doesn’t know how bad she’s hurt, all he knows is that she fell down the steps, hit her head hard and hadn’t woken up by the time the ambulance got there.” Brenna says as tears begin running down her cheeks.

I make a beeline for my truck, but Tucker stops me to tell me he’s driving. We all rush to Brenna’s Xterra, and with the hazard lights blinking, Tucker pushes the pedal to the floor and squeals out of the parking lot.

No one says a word as we make the longest trip of my life. The fear and anxiety in is so thick in the vehicle, and all I can think is that I should have put my bullshit aside and went with her.

When I see the sign that says Welcome to Tennessee I remember hearing Brenna ask who she was talking to. “Brenna?”

“Yeah, Spencer.”

“Who was it that called from Lexi’s phone?” In the pit of my stomach I think I know who it was, but what are the odds that he would possibly be there the exact moment this happened?

“He said he was your brother, Vance.”

Chapter Seventeen

Spencer

F
uck! I have
a feeling this is my entire fault. Me and my stupid pride and being too damn embarrassed to tell Lexi what happened in the past. I don’t even care at the moment that I may have to come face to face with Vance. All I care about is getting to Lexi.

Neither Brenna or Tucker question me about Vance and for that I’m grateful. I just don’t have it in me to explain to them why I’ve never mentioned my brother. I will tell them soon, right after I see that Lexi is okay and explain everything to her. She is the first person that needs to know.

We arrive at Vanderbilt in record time. I waste no time jumping out of the vehicle and racing into the emergency department. As soon as I enter the waiting room I spot my parents standing with the Allen’s.

“Spencer!” My mom and Alice, Lexi’s mom both exclaim at the same time.

I wrap my arms around my mother that I haven’t seen in far too long and all the fear and anxiety I’ve been holding in comes pouring out. I’ve never been in this situation before, and to have my mom here with me in this moment means so much to me. Looking over mom’s head at Alice, I see the same fear reflected in her eyes.

Releasing my mom, I wrap my arms around Alice. “Please tell me she’s going to be okay, Alice.”

“We don’t know much yet; the doctors are still in with her,” Alice answers me with a trembling voice.

“Don’t you two worry yourselves too much. Our Lexi will be just fine. She’s a fighter,” Sam interjects with so much conviction that I believe him as he takes his wife in his arms.

“Son, I don’t know her, but you have to have faith that she will be okay,” My dad says as he steps in front of me and pulls me into a tight embrace.

“I hope you’re right, dad. I really do.” My voice is so low I can only hope he hears me.

Brenna and Tucker are talking softly to Sam and Alice. I know Brenna’s just as scared as we are, yet she’s trying to be strong for all of us. Stepping away from my dad, I begin looking around for the one person I don’t really want to see.

“He’s outside calling the museum to see if they can store his and Lexi’s canvases,” My mom tells me.

Needing a distraction, I begin introducing everyone. “Mom, Dad, I suppose y’all have already met Lexi’s parents, Sam and Alice Allen.” I then point to Tucker and Brenna. “This is Tucker and Brenna Wade. Tucker and Brenna these are my parents Steven and Ellen. I just wish y’all were meeting under better circumstances.”

Everyone begins to make small talk as we wait. I sit down in one of the hard plastic things they call chairs when the entrance doors slide open. A woman, that looks eerily familiar, walks in pushing a baby stroller in our direction. I’m watching her when the doors open again and I can feel him. Without even looking I know that for the first time in two years I’m in the same room with my brother.

Turning my head, I watch my twin hesitantly approach me. He doesn’t say a word as he takes the seat next to me. I know it sounds weird after all we’ve been through, but there’s a part of me that’s glad he’s here. There’s a piece of me that’s been missing since the day I left home.

Here and now, I don’t care what happened in the past. All that matters to me is that he was there to help Lexi when I couldn’t be. We can deal with all the other bullshit when the time comes.

“Tell me what happened today, Vance.”

“She thought I was you. She slapped me and said ‘fuck you, Spencer Jacobs’ and took off out of the building. I followed her to try to tell her I wasn’t you and to see if she would help me contact you. She started running as soon as she got outside. She must have not realized how close to the steps she was because she completely missed the first one. I tried to get to her, Spencer, but it was like I was running in water. I tried…”

“It’s my fault, I never told her about you. I guess it was a huge shock for her to see you.”

“She was talking to Missy when she saw me pushing the stroller. I had no idea why she slapped me until she called me Spencer. Then I knew she thought the worst. I just wanted to set things right for you. I didn’t mean for her to get hurt.”

“It’s not your fault, Vance.” I can’t be mad at him for this because in all reality he had no idea who she was. It’s just one big fucked up coincidence that they came face to face today. “Missy, as in Tessa’s old roommate?”

“Yeah, man that’s her.” Vance answers, “No, it’s not what you think. We’re just friends.”

A small laugh escapes me. It’s crazy how he can read my thoughts as well as our mom can.

“Oh my hell, there are two of you, Spencer.” Looking up at Brenna I begin laughing at the expression on her face. She looks back and forth between Vance and me like she’s never seen a set of twins before in her life. “Tucker, did you know there was two of him?”

“Nope.” Tucker laughs as he extends his hand to my brother. “By the looks of it you must be Spencer’s brother, Vance. I’m Tucker Wade, and this here is my wife Brenna.”

“It’s nice to meet you both,” Vance responds.

The clock is ticking away as we wait for those doors to open and a doctor to tell us anything. Alice and Sam have both asked the nurses how much longer and all they get is that they will be with us as soon as possible. We know that Lexi is getting x-rays and a CT scan. Finally, after we’ve waited nearly two hours a nurse comes out and tells us the doctor will be out to talk to us in just a moment.

The women are gushing over the twin boys in the stroller as the men listen to Tucker tell them about that damn old Chevy we worked on for so long. I’m only half listening to them; my gaze is focused on the door leading to where Lexi is. I’m willing it to open and a doctor to come out and say she’s okay.

It seems like an eternity has passed when the doors finally open again and a man wearing green scrubs walks in our direction. “Are you all the family of Alexia Allen?”

“Yes, sir we are,” Sam answers the doctor.

“Mr. Allen, I’m Dr. Jennings. I was the first to assess your daughter when they brought her in. According to the Paramedics she fell down some stairs and hit her head. She also sprained her ankle as well as bruised a couple of ribs. The head injury is our main concern, though. I ordered a CT scan of her head to check for any swelling or bleeding which came back normal. This is a good thing. We have sutured the laceration on her head and bandaged her ribs. The orthopedic surgeon was called in to look at her x-rays to make sure there wasn’t a fracture to her ankle. She will be placed in a regular room soon. All her vital signs are stable and we expect her to make a quick and full recovery. Do any of you have any questions?”

“When can we see her?” I ask before anyone else can reply?

“As soon as she’s in a regular room I’ll have one of the nurses come and let you know.”

“Thank you so much, Dr. Jennings,” Sam says as he reaches out and shakes the doctor’s hand.

“You’re very welcome.” The doctor replies, before he turns away to help other patients.

“Dr. Jennings?” I say.

Turning, he looks back at me. “Yes?”

“Has Lexi woken up at all yet?”

“She did wake up, but she was in quite a bit of pain. Once the CT came back clean, I ordered her some pain medication and she was asleep for the rest of her tests,” he answers.

“Thank you, sir.” Relieved, I drop back down into the chair and begin the waiting game once more.