Trust Me (35 page)

Noah only talked when nobody was around. He would talk to me, play trust me when it was just us but he never said a word to me, even joking, when others were around. I knew he worried and I wished they would wake me up and see I could think straight.

The last time a Dr was in the room and I could hear them, he was saying my brain function was perfect and that I should make a full recovery, from what I had no clue. They had put me in an induced coma for pain management, so whatever it was that was broken, was seriously fucking broken.

Nobody talked about my dad, where he was or what happened. It was like I’m just appeared hurt and asleep in this bed with no rhyme or reason. I knew my dad wasn’t dead though, because I overheard Noah telling someone I couldn’t hear that he was dead the first chance Noah had.

I needed to wake up, fought it so hard when I heard that. Noah would destroy his future and I knew it. He would gladly walk away from fame, from tattooing from me, all of it, if it meant he had the joy of killing our dad.

I had wondered briefly if it was Chad he was talking to. I missed his voice and waited each time I was alert I waited for his voice and was sadly disappointed. I feared he was with Trisha, or that he found out what she told me. Worse was if Candy confronted Noah, who in turn confronted Chad…

I really needed to wake the fuck up.

*

“I got you Sissy….” Noah’s voice was a distant sound that I was trying my best to follow. “C’mon Carrie open your eyes please.” He sounded so far away and I wanted to scream and ask where he was.

I tried to open my mouth and yell, but it came out garbled and raw fire burned down my throat. I was thirsty and lost and blind.

“Open em’ Carrie c’mon. I know you hear me, I see your lips moving and your making noises…” He was pleading with me but I was helpless and tired, my head felt clouded and muddy, my body was hurting and I just wanted sleep…

*

I looked around the room confused for long minutes. It was dark but not pitch black. The last rays of the sun were coming through the window and painting the room in a dark dusky orange that reminded me of twilight on the bay and the sand turning the same color.

I could hear the beeping of monitors and could feel the wires and needles all over me. I was groggy and in some serious pain, but I knew just after a glance that I was in the hospital. My eyes roamed to the door where I saw Noah’s back as he leaned against the side of the door, in a heated discussion with someone I couldn’t see.

“Noah…” I cried my throat dry and my voice sounding like I ate gravel. He spun and rushed to me in three long strides grabbing my hand and touching my shoulder. He bent down to look at my face, inspecting every inch of me before kissing me softly on top of my head. Just touching my head that gently sent shards of pain behind my eyes and I winced.

“Let me get the nurse Sissy.” He choked and I looked up to see tears streaming down his face. I had never, not once, seen Noah cry. His tears shattered me, my own tears welling at the raw pain mixed with relief in his eyes. “Nurse!” He yelled not bothering to leave. “Sleeping Beauty woke up.”

I try to sit up and hug him but my body feels weightless and is sore from neck to toe. “What happened? I remember fighting with dad…” My voice trailed off suddenly terrified of how bad he hurt me…of how he hurt me. Noah must have seen the question in my eyes and he was immediately shaking his head no.

“I made sure they checked you thoroughly Carrie. Rape kit, fingernails. Everything. He didn’t go there.”

I nod slowly and look up when the nurse walks in. I see the name on her badge, Brenda it says and she smiles immediately. “Sleeping Beauty is awake and you were right Noah, her eyes are a wicked shade of blue.” She looks at the monitor and then to me, re-velcroing the cuff on my arm so she can assess my blood pressure. “Carrie, my name is Brenda I have been your nurse the last few days. Amongst keeping Noah here company.” She had twenty years on him easy but she was flirting anyway. Noah had that thing that all women fell for, Chad had it too so I’m sure if he was around, Nurse Brenda was crushing on him just as hard.

“I’m gonna go call Dr Harding and let him know your awake and talking, which is good. He should be here shortly, but let me check a few more things and then I’ll leave you be.” She smiled sweetly and started asking me a slew of questions, before leaving with a promise of a glass of water.

“What am I in here for exactly?” I ask Noah after Brenda leaves.

“What do you remember?” He asks and leans back in his chair, but keeps his hand in mine.

“I remember telling him I would kill him and if I didn’t get the chance then I would be waiting to see him in hell and watch him burn.” A shudder worked through my body remembering the look of vacancy in his eyes right before I passed out.

“You said that?” He asked me with a smile, pride lacing each word and I nodded wincing at the pounding pain in my head.

“He kicked me in the ribs and stomach and the back of my head, but I don’t know if he hit me after I passed out.”

Noah winced and looked away and I immediately knew it was worse. “Get me a mirror?” I asked not sure he would do it. The minute I told him what I knew and saw his wince, the pain from my lips and nose, my jaw, I felt it all and knew he had continued to hurt me long after I stopped fighting.

Noah was there with the mirror, a look of discomfort lacing his features. “That bad huh?” I ask and smile weakly taking the mirror and gasping at the sight. Both of my eyes are swollen and a red tinted purple fading into a deep black/blue. My lip has two splits on the right side and my jaw is blue and swollen. I have stitches in two places on my forehead, three small stitches along my right eye and it looks like eight along my hairline in the center.

“Wow, he really nailed me.” I try for light hearted and fail miserably.

“I’m so fucking sorry Carrie.” He whispers and it takes me back to the days we tried to save one another. There were just too many unneeded apologies between us.

“Why Noah? I left of my own free will and knew the dangers. I called Seth and asked him to come get me.” I remember watching the phone with everything I had while screaming hoping he heard me.

Noah nodded knowingly and I figured Seth had explained. “Do we know where he is? Did he run?” The he being our dad.

Noah looked away and I knew whatever he was hiding would be bad. “Whatever it is just tell me Noah?” I spoke through my own rapid heartbeat, the one that was making my monitor go berserk.

Noah never one for dragging things out cut right to the chase. “Seth got there when the police did and told them to beat down the door. Dad was naked and so were you, tied and bound on the table. The cops took him in and Seth called me told me to meet him at the station.” He looked away before he continued.

“Dad admitted everything Carrie. Every.Fucking. Thing.”

Holy fuck
!

“Holy fuck!” I gasp and Noah nods finally looking toward me.

“All our secrets are out. I gave a statement to the press two days ago, as well as to the cops. I tried my best to explain without ruining our lives. Ryan Corbin sent over his PR staff to help spin our side so we didn’t get chewed up.”

“Two days? How long have I been out?” I am terrified he will say years even though I know he won’t.

“Ninety-seven hours and”- he looks to the clock on the wall- “thirty-one minutes.”

“Holy shit.”

“Pretty much.”

“So it’s what? Sunday?” I am trying to do the math in my head but it’s difficult.

“Saturday. Yesterday was your birthday. I rocked my
ipod
all day listening to really bad country music until I wanted to bang my head against the wall.” I looked around the room and saw the flowers, Jasmine, the same he always gave me. A bag of
Smartfood
popcorn was curled up on the table by the sink and a six pack of
Wild Cherry Coke
beside it.

“When we going to the bar?” I ask with a smile knowing my brother all too well.

“Let’s do a thing at a time here yeah?”

I laugh and it hurts tremendously. Noah is immediately nervous again and I feel bad for all he has been through while I was asleep. I wasn’t ready to face the fact that the world knew my secrets, I just couldn’t.

“Where’s Candy? Can you call her?” I want to see her and I know she can distract me from all the chaos and bull shit I am about to endure. I refuse to ask about Chad, of all the shit going on right now, it amazes me that the pain of his possible betrayal weighs the heaviest.

“She’s on her way and should be here any minute now.” Dr. Harding walked in then and walked right to the bed. Dressed in his pristine white jacket, his name embroidered on the left pocket of his chest. He was tall, taller than Noah, and a serious hotty. Deep green eyes, green as moss and blonde hair with shades of brown. His jaw was chiseled in perfection with a perfect bow mouth.

“Well I was wondering if Noah was telling the truth about those bright blue peepers.” He smiled and I liked him instantly. His hand outstretched to mine he introduced himself. “I’m Jeff Harding and I’ve been taking care of you these past four days. How’s about we do a run through for a physical and cover what’s going on and see what our next move is.”

“Okay.” I reply and look to Noah, knowing what he means by physical and in reality he will poke and prod me in all my most painful places. It was best Noah got some air. “Can you call Aunt Lilly and Uncle Seth and ask them to come up?” It was the perfect distraction for him, that and I knew he would go smoke and probably call everyone important. I immediately thought of Chad and wanted to cry for some insane reason.

“Are you in pain?” Dr Hotty asked before placing his stethoscope around his neck. I nod and lean back trying to relax. After an hour of explaining my ruptured spleen, three broken ribs and the mild swelling on my brain as well as a severe concussion, I felt like I could throw up. They had placed me in a medicated coma to help with the pain so my blood pressure and heart rate stayed low. By doing so they could administer stronger medications for the pain without damaging my brain. The rawness of my throat was from a breathing tube I had used for the first forty-eight hours.

“If everything seems to stay in line and your vitals don’t go crazy, you should be free of this joint in a few days.”

At the mention of the word joint I remembered the trust meeting and wondered what was going to happen now and hoped like hell Seth and Lilly wouldn’t get backlash from this. “Ok great.” I mumble my mind off in another place, only interrupted by my best friend.

“Dr Hotty giving you grief?” Candy asks as she sidles into the room like she owns the place. Dr Harding looks at her and rolls his eyes with a genuine smile. He has obviously grown accustomed to Candy and her uncontrollable mouth.

“No just a few pains here and there.” I reply and feel tears build from the joy of seeing her. “I’m so glad you’re here.” I whisper through tears and watch as Dr Harding leaves the room closing the door behind him. Once the door was shut Candy released a deep sigh and hugged me as close as she could without hurting me.

“I have never been more fucking scared in my life Cares.” She says but doesn’t release me. “You said you were going to the bathroom and the next thing I know we get a call your being rushed to Overlake Hospital via life-flight. Thank God we were in Seattle Carrie. We got here before you did.”

I am nodding as she vents to me and I feel awful for ditching her at the concert. “I’m sorry I bailed, now so more than ever, but I couldn’t watch him melt the entire stadium with winks and smiles why my heart was breaking and he sings a fucking ballad with her of all people.” Remembering the feeling of betrayal and how much I loved him at the same time was hard to take.

“Don’t apologize Carrie. What he did was fucked up and I would have bailed too.”

“We don’t know for certain if it’s true Candy. I need to talk to him.” I had to admit I was a little thrown that he wasn’t here and worried. Had I really meant so little, had he played me that hard?

“I fucking do know for certain and so does Noah. Didn’t he tell you what happened?”

I am still as stone when she says Noah knew the truth. I needed the truth and knew it would kill me to hear it. “No he didn’t. But now your gonna tell me.”

I swallowed and tried to breathe. It was obvious he did in fact cheat but I wanted more than a simple yes or no.

“When he got off stage I was already freaking out and trying to call you. I thought you were lost at first. By the time they were done I was beyond mad, I knew you ran off. I just assumed you were at the bus. Chad stormed away and headed for the bus when Noah was curious where you were. When we got to the bus Chad was freaking out, calling your phone like a maniac and kept getting voicemail. He turned on me and started yelling, and that pissed Noah off, so then Noah started yelling…” She shakes her head and rolls her eyes in a ‘boys will be boys’ eye roll.

“So, sick of hearing them roar at each other I whistle all loud and commanding and then I laid into Blake good and hard. I told him everything that bitch Trisha said, even the reason for their break-up and why she supposedly slept with him.” She gave air quotations when she said supposedly and continued in her natural dramatic fashion.

“The minute I finished the story I turned on Noah. I told him that bro’s before hoes was fine unless it was blood, then it was blood is thicker than water and he had no right keeping anything from you in Chad’s defense. Noah said that Trisha had filled our heads with half truths, but that pretty much Chad did fuck up. By then Chad was storming out of the bus and before we could chase him down your uncle was calling Noah. It was almost two in the morning and Noah knew it was about you. It was eerie how he knew what happened before he even answered.”

I let her words sink in. They still weren’t verified but I wasn’t a desperate fool. Half or whole truths didn’t matter in the end. In the end I was now the latest ex girlfriend to Chad Blake.