Angela's Salvation (16 page)

His threats echoed down the hallway as he promised retribution if she had him arrested, and she couldn't believe he had the audacity to say that she wanted him there.  Covering her ears, she sat in the floor, wishing she could block out the sound of his voice forever.  She was supposed to be safe here, and now she knew she'd never feel safe again. Her mind screamed for her to run away again, and bury herself in obscurity so he could never find her again.  Nothing in her life would ever be right, she thought as she sunk into her own mind of mental anguish.

Nolan found her sitting in the middle of the floor, lost to the outside world and curled in a fetal position.  Moving quickly he sat down on the floor and attempted to gather her into the safety of his arms, but she began screaming.  He didn't know how to help her, and for the first time in his adult life, tears of grief found his cheeks as he stood and backed away. 

Pulling his cell phone out of his pocked he called Sanders, and told him to find a professional, explaining the situation briefly.  His beautiful angel was completely broken and he longed to hold her and tell her that he'd never allow anyone to hurt her again, but she wouldn't even let him touch her.  Helplessly, he sat down on the floor a few feet away from here, not wanting to scare her more, and stared at her helplessly.

The police arrived, and he left the room only long enough to tell them he was filing trespassing charges against the man and to get him off his property.  He wanted to kill the man, but at the moment his entire world was focused on his broken angel.  Never in his life had he ever seen someone suffer the way she was now and it destroyed him to know it was because he didn't protect her.

When they psychiatrist that Sanders had employed arrived, she informed her that Angela was in shock and needed to be kept overnight in the hospital.  He informed her he would consent to that if he could stay by her side, and was told that until Angela could tell them what had happened, he was considered to be a risk.  The psychiatrist informed
him she'd call the police if he didn't relinquish her to her care.

After her assurance that Angela would be guarded against any attempts of visitation
from any party until her mental status could be evaluated, he reluctantly agreed.  The thought of not being there for her unmanned him, but she had to come first,  he told himself as they took her away in an ambulance. 

Left alone in the now empty mansion, he'd never felt so completely alone in his adult life.  He would never forgive himself for allowing this to happen, and vowed that the man would pay for the hell he put his precious angel through if it was the last thing he did.

Angela wasn't sure how long she'd been asleep, but recalled one of the nurses saying they'd given her a sedative.  She wanted to talk to Nolan, but knew he was probably so disgusted with her behavior that he was probably ready to call their entire relationship off.  Seeing Ronald again had been too much, refusing to cry she tried to fight back the feeling of panic that he was still out there, and might find her again.

Faith walked into her patient's room, hoping she was calmer than she'd been earlier at the Fitzgerald mansion.  She'd seen patient's react the way Ms. Storm had when suffering from post traumatic stress disorder in the military, it was one of the reasons she'd finished her term there and went into private medicine.  "Ms. Storm, I'm Dr. Holloway, how are you feeling?"

"Like a complete idiot, Doctor," Angela spoke honestly, knowing this professional woman could probably never understand why she had completely freaked out the way she had.

"I'd say that you had a huge shock to your system, unless you have an underlying medical condition we need to be informed about?" She'd gotten a small history from Mr. Fitzgerald, and apparently Ms. Storm was an up and coming superstar.  Her drug screen had come back negative, so she had to hope her patient had some answers about her condition.

Giving a nod of her head, she couldn't tell this woman the truth about her situation.  "Unfortunately I saw someone that I could have lived without seeing for the rest of my life."  She felt that was honest enough, without giving away her past.

"There are many people in this world that I would rather not share company with, Ms. Storm, but a reaction like yours, I'm going to assume there's an abusive history?"  She hoped the young woman would be honest with her, it was going to be hard to help her if she wasn't.

"Could we just say there is a past history that I would prefer to forget?"  She knew that physicians had some Hippocratic Oath or something that kept them from discussing her personal life with the public, but she wasn't ready to talk about her past.

"Obviously I can't force you to tell me anything, Ms. Storm, but I do know if you don't seek help, this situation is probably only going to get worse."

With a frustrated sigh, she felt the doctor wasn't going to stop until she told her something.  "Whatever I tell you here is in confidence, correct?"

"Yes, unless you've done something illegal and then I have to inform the authorities."

Giving a nod, she took a deep breath. "The man that showed up at Nolan's house tonight raped me, and I ran away from home five years ago to escape that."  It was oddly freeing to say it out loud, she thought.

"I thought it might be something of that nature," Faith gave a sympathetic smile.  "Have you sought out counseling, or criminal action?"

"No to both," at the moment she was just worried where she was going to go, and the thought of taking Ronald to court would be like a living nightmare.

"I hope I can convince you to at least consider doing both those things so you can find some closure and start to heal."

"The counseling I'll consider, but as far as prosecution," she shook her head, "the thought of having to tell that to a courtroom of strangers who probably won't believe me, I don't think I can do that."

"Like I said, I can't tell you what to do, but I would like you to consider the fact that if you don't press charges, then he might try to do this again with someone else, if not you again."  She hated to put the facts out there so coldly, but she wanted her to know the truth.

The thought of Ronald doing that to another person made her blood boil.  Still, bringing out her story to the public was terrifying and she wasn't sure she'd have the strength to go through with it.  "I can only promise to think about it."  It was the best she could do, she thought solemnly.

"That's all I can ask.  I can prescribe you something for anxiety, but the main focus should be on counseling.  That is my specialty, and if you don't have someone in mind, I'd be glad to visit with you?"

Giving a nod she forced a smile.  "At least I won't have to explain the story again if I see you I guess." 

Faith gave a small laugh, "Well we might have to delve deeper into the details when you're comfortable."

"I'm not sure if I'll ever be comfortable talking about that man again.  I still get physically sick when I think about the things he did."

"That's understandable, Ms. Storm, until you've confronted the issue it probably will continue."

"If
you don't mind, call me Angela, Storm is actually a stage name, and I feel like you're talking with someone else."

Faith gave another small laugh. "I can see
how that might be confusing Angela, and thank you, you can call me Faith if it makes you more comfortable..  Mr. Fitzgerald has been wearing out our floor, waiting to speak with you.  Do you want to talk with him?"

"I think I'd better," she wasn't sure how Nolan was going to react to what had happened tonight, but felt she needed to know where they stood.

"I'll send him in, but try not to overtax yourself, visiting hours are officially over, but I'll give him an hour.  If you're up to it, we can release you in the morning."

"I really appreciate all your help tonight, Doctor," she still didn't feel comfortable using the woman's first name.  "Tomorrow sounds great."

Faith left the room and found Mr. Fitzgerald, informing him that she didn't want her patient to be upset tonight and to keep things short.  Reporters were already swarming the outside of her facility, and she knew the last thing Angela needed was dealing with that when she was released.

Nolan walked back to Angela's room, hoping she was in a much better frame of mind than when she left his home.  He'd been worried greatly that she'd never forgive him for leaving her so vulnerable, so when he entered her room, he nervously stood right inside her door.

"I'm sorry I lost it tonight, Nolan," she whispered softly, seeing how he was ready to bolt at any minute since he was not walking into the room further.

"
You don't need to feel sorry about anything, I wish I had done a better job of keeping you safe."  He hated himself for putting her in this position, and knew she probably hated him.  He wanted nothing more than to run over and hold her tightly, but he had screwed up so badly, he was terrified she'd refuse him.

"You couldn't have known he would find a way through security Nolan," she could see how uncomfortable he felt being here, and knew he regretted having ever met her.  "I think it's best if I just go back home."  She didn't want to leave him, her heart was aching at the thought of never seeing him again, but it was apparent he couldn't even stand being near her now.

"I really hope you'll reconsider Angela, we've still got the album to promote, and if you're up to it the concert tour."  It was obvious she could no longer trust him, and it destroyed his soul.  He couldn't blame her for having no faith in him after what he allowed, he didn't deserve someone as incredible as she was.

Of course he was concerned about the album, she thought in frustration.  She couldn't just walk away from the commitment she made.  "I really don't have the funds to stay here until we start bringing in some revenue Nolan, but if you're willing to give me an advance on the work, I should be able to find an apartment."  This was breaking her heart she thought, as she tried to hold her emotions together. 

She obviously couldn't even live in the same house with him, he thought in regret.  "The account has already been set up Angela, we just haven't had time to go over the details and since you've been staying with me, I just felt I could take care of your needs. We can have everything settled as soon as they release you."

"That all sounds great Nolan, I appreciate all the opportunities you've given me."  She was saying goodbye, and even though they'd have to see each other through their working commitment
, it was pretty apparent their affair was over.  "What about the press," she hated to bring that up but for the last two weeks they'd been the darlings of the press as one of the hottest couples.

"If it wouldn't bother you too much, would you mind staying at the mansion until the PR department can work up some kind of story?"  He knew she didn't want to be around him, but keeping her safe, not only from the media but from that asshole stepfather of hers was his number one priority, even if she didn't want him personally.

"I really don't want to put you out Nolan, but if they can come up with something rather quickly, I guess that would be the best case scenario."  Tell me you still want me, she thought in agony, don't let this end now.

"It's
no trouble at all Angela, and I'd feel better knowing you are safe."  Can't you see how much I love you, he thought and then realized what he was thinking.  He loved this woman, it was a clear moment of revelation, and now it was too late to tell her.

"Alright, well I'm sure we can make this work," she forced a smile when she wanted to break down in tears. "If you don't mind, I'm really tired,
" he had to leave now, she thought, she wasn't sure how much longer she could hold herself together.

"I'm sorry
, I'll let you get some sleep," he was failing her again he thought miserably, the last thing she needed was the stress of having to deal with him after what she'd already suffered.  "I'll be here to pick you up when you're released if that's okay? We don't want the press getting any ideas until we come up with a decision."

"That sounds fine, and thank you Nolan."  Thank you for showing me what it could be like to know happiness if only for a short amount of time, she thought.

With a curt nod of his head, he turned and walked out of the room, knowing that if he stayed he would do something foolish.  He didn't want things to end this way.  Hell, he didn't want them to end at all.  He wanted to tell her how much he loved her and beg her to give him one more chance to prove he was worthy of her love and trust.  With his heart feeling heavy, he forced himself to leave the hospital and drive back to his lonely mansion.

She cried herself to sleep after he left, mourning the loss
of the first man she'd ever loved.  If she couldn't make him happy in a relationship she thought, she'd at least make sure her performances were the best they could be so he wouldn't regret signing her.