White Lies (A Twisted Fate Series) (Volume 1) (33 page)

Marie sat beside me and took one hand. Nonno took the other. Bennett’s head tipped downward before meeting my eyes.

This was bad.

Dread filled me. What happened?

Whatever came next was going to change my life forever. I felt it to my core. My eyes scanned everyone as the telltale monitor with my heart rate beeped faster. No one spoke. “Please tell me what’s going on… now.”

Nonno cleared his throat. “Carson sustained much worse injuries than you did. His seatbelt came undone and he was thrown around. He’s on life support.”

“No, no, no, no!” This wasn’t happening. No way was this real. I shook my head, ignoring the dull throb that reared its ugly head. My chin trembled. “You said… you made it seem.” I was close to hyperventilating when Bennett stepped in front of Marie. He gently took my face in his hands.

“Willow, I need you to breathe. In through your nose and out through your mouth.” He exaggerated the motions, and I followed. “Do it again.” I followed his instructions. “Listen, I get that we misled you, but we had to get you through the critical stages. The stress isn’t good for you or the baby.”

I followed his breathing again before I asked, “How much time has passed since I woke up?”

“Three days.”

“Th-three days? Three
days
?” They’d been playing this game with me for three fucking days! I was furious. I was tired of the games—all of them. Alex had manipulated me, and now they had, too. It hurt my family would distort the truth for three days. I stared at them, trying to comprehend.

Beep. Beep. Beep. My heart rate escalated.

“Willow, I need you to breathe with me,” Bennett said. I followed his motions. “The doctors aren’t going to let you see Carson if your vitals are all over the place. Carson needs you to be strong. He needs to hear your voice.”

He was right. I kept doing the deep breathing exercises. The beeping on the monitor slowed. “What’s wrong with him?”

Bennett ran a hand through his hair. “He had some internal bleeding. During the operation, he went into cardiac arrest three times. They had to put him on life support to stabilize him. His body couldn’t handle much more.”

Tears formed and cascaded down my face. There was no stopping them. “Were they able to get the bleeding to stop?”

“They think so. The brain swelling hasn’t gone down yet. We’re waiting for that, and then hopefully we’ll be able to tell more.”

My heart broke thinking of my best friend in the hospital… broken. I felt lost.
Francesca
.

“Where’s Francesca?”

“She’s up in ICU with Carson. Each person is allowed two hours a day for the time being.”

He was going to be a dad.

He was going to be a husband.

We were going to have our kids together.

T
he wheelchair squeaked against the linoleum as a nurse took me to ICU. For now, my movement was to be limited. Plus, I still had an IV attached to me. At this point, it was easier to be in the wheelchair than walk.

Seeing myself in the mirror, I’d been shocked at the face looking back at me. I had cuts and bruises from head to toe. My hand rested on my stomach. Thank goodness this baby was a fighter.

Thank you for not taking my baby.

The wheelchair stopped at the doors that led to ICU as the nurse signed me in. I overheard them say as soon as the young lady left we would be buzzed back.

Francesca came through the doors with a tear-streaked face. She stopped, apparently not expecting to see me. “Willow!” She rushed to my side and knelt beside me. “Thank goodness you’re okay. I’ve been so worried.”

Dark circles under her eyes confirmed how much this affected her, too. “How is he?”

She shook her head and grabbed my hand, unable to speak.

I reassured her. “Carson is a fighter. His last words were of how much he loved you and the baby.”

“I need him to fight, Willow. I can’t do this without him.”

She burst into sobs, and Marie was instantly by her side. I felt helpless in my wheelchair. “Let’s get back to the hotel, dear. You need rest.”

Francesca nodded, and she was led away by the Whitmores without another word. She looked utterly broken. The wheelchair started to move again, and I held up my hands as my bottom lip quivered, fully realizing what I was about to see.

This was real.

Carson was hurt.

His life hung in the balance.

The nurse checked on me. “Ms. Russo. Are you okay?”

I shook my head. “I need a moment.”

A tear raced down my cheek, followed by another. My heart was broken—for all of us.

The nurse crouched down in front of me. “If this is too much, we can try again later.”

The doctor’s words about too much stress flitted through my head. I had to be strong, or they were going to take me back to my room.

I
had
to see Carson. I
needed
to see my best friend.

Forcing the tears away, I repeated the breathing exercise Bennett had done with me earlier. “I’m ready.”

The door buzzed open to the secure ICU area. I knew I had to remain outwardly calm though I was terrified on the inside. The wheels squeaked again.

This was hard.

Harder than I imagined now that I was here, in the moment, rolling down the hallway to his room. I bit my lip to stave off the tears.
Carson needs me
. Monitors beeped while patients lay motionless in their rooms.

This was my reality, yet it felt like a dream.

We stopped at the door to what I assumed was Carson’s room, and the nurse opened it.

I gasped and the tears fell against my will.

My sweet best friend lay broken in a bed, battered far worse than I was, a white gauze bandage wrapped around his head.

I must stay strong. I must stay strong. They cannot take me away yet. I need to see him.

The nurse touched my shoulder. “I know this is hard, but I truly believe it helps to talk to them.”

I nodded, unable to speak yet.

She rolled me closer to the bed. His only movement was the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest. The noise from the machines filled the silence. I wanted to see his blue eyes looking at me with love and him to tell me everything was going to be okay.

“Buzz me if you need anything, Ms. Russo.” The nurse gently laid Carson’s buzzer in my lap. “I’ll be back in an hour to check on you unless you need me sooner. At that time, we’ll see how you’re feeling to stay for the second hour.”

“Thank you.” My voice was hoarse. I cleared it after the door closed and I was alone with Carson. I would force myself to remain calm if it meant more time with him.

I must stay strong.

It was hard seeing him lifeless. In my mind I could hear him say,
“Everything is going to be okay, angel.”

Quickly, I glanced away and took a deep breath.
Please wake up, Carson. Please. We need you.
I cleared my throat again. “Hey, it’s me, Willow.”

With shaky fingers I touched his scraped-up hand. “We had an accident. The doctors say the baby and I are going to be okay. The seatbelt saved my life. You saved my life. I—”

The words caught and I swallowed. Needing a moment, I touched his hands.

“You’re always there for me when I need you. Now I’m going to be here for you. I’m sorry I wasn’t here sooner. They had to get me a little stronger before I could come up to ICU.”

Memories of what was said in the dark flashed through my mind. The warmth of his hand soothed me. “I saw Francesca. She misses you. Marie is taking her back to the hotel to rest. We still have a big proposal to witness.”

With no response from my best friend, I felt the desperation clawing its way out. But I took a deep breath and pushed it down. The nurse was going to check my vitals when she came back. I had to be strong enough to stay the entire time. I cleared my throat again. “When I was out, I heard some of the conversations around me. If you can hear me, know I’m here for you. I’m going to be fighting right alongside you.”

My thumb stroked his hand, and I closed my eyes at the familiar touch. “Nonno asked me to say hi. You’re like a grandson to him.”

Silence.

This was beyond hard not hearing Carson’s words. I wanted to scream for him to wake up. Never in my life had I felt so helpless.

“I love you so much, Carson.”

I looked over and saw no change or response. I leaned in and winced. Repositioning myself, the pain left.

Carson’s body was too still. “Carson, I need you to fight. I need you to find your way back. For Francesca. For your baby. For me. For your parents. We need you. Fight, Carson. Don’t give up.” I took a breath, feeling my strength return. I was going to be here for Carson and fight for him if I had to. “Do you remember the time you busted your leg during the triathlon? You refused to quit and finished that race. I waited for you at the finish line. We’re here waiting, Carson. Come find us. Please.”

The tears trickled down, but I forced myself to sound strong. I talked about everything… mainly memories of our life together.

Nearly five days had passed since I saw Carson for the first time after the accident. The swelling had gone down in his brain, but no changes occurred in his situation on life support. They’d tried to take him off of it once, but his vitals quickly declined.

Knowing a few machines kept him alive was enough to nearly send me into a mental meltdown as I considered every negative outcome. But I kept it all inside, bottling it up for the time being.

Francesca was a wreck. Yesterday, she’d fainted and was now being observed for stress. If all went well, she’d be released with me today.

Andre had been released three days ago. His injuries had been less serious than mine since his airbags deployed. Paul was still in the hospital but hoped to be released by the end of the week. He had a broken arm that ended up requiring surgery four days ago.

But I was determined. We were going to weather this storm to find the rainbows on the other side—all of us.

The two hours a day never seemed enough time for any of us.

In the bathroom, fresh out of the shower, I caught my appearance in the mirror. I brushed my finger against my cheek where the bruise had turned to a more purplish yellow. Still tender, I carefully dressed in yoga pants and a T-shirt. The soreness had lessened, but I still felt the effects from the wreck.

A door opened and shut in my room. I assumed it was Trent coming to take me to the Whitmore Hotel where we were staying for now. He’d been checking on me regularly. When I insisted Nonno be taken to rest, Trent stayed with me to keep me company. I had learned he grew up in an impoverished part of Ireland. After his parents died, he was adopted here in the states within a year. Shortly after, his new mother died from cancer and his new father killed himself. Trent had no one. I felt for him. Until Dad had come into his life, Trent had isolated himself almost completely, except for work.

I knew Trent was working around the clock to figure out who was behind the wheel of the Hummer. Unfortunately, no leads had developed thus far.

Stepping into the room, my suspicions were confirmed. Trent was seated in a chair speaking with Bennett. Everyone looked tired from the weary days and the sleepless nights.
Carson
hung out there, unspoken, on the lips of everyone.

Trent stood. “I hear we’re busting you out of here today.”

“Yes, I’m so glad to be leaving.” Being in the hospital kept me on edge with all the monitoring and beeping. I looked forward to uninterrupted sleep.

Marie walked in with Francesca, who looked more rested. Yesterday, I’d gone to her room for a few hours to keep her company and talk. For Francesca, it had been love at first sight with Carson. She’d known he wasn’t ready to settle down and had respected that. On top of everything, Francesca had been terrified Carson would initially think she’d trapped him.

Francesca had an honest soul. I sensed it.

“Did they release you?”

Obviously relieved, she responded, “Yes. I got to visit with Carson this morning. He’s looking better.”