Crazy For You (18 page)

“My name is Frankie,” he said with a smile. “G-H is
my favorite band.”

“Well, thank you.” Rich gave him a wink and pushed
himself back up and looked at Frank. “I want to talk to Roxie for a
second.”

Frank glanced at Roxanne. “How about Candy and I
take Frankie in and introduce him to the band? You two can join us
momentarily.”

Roxanne and Candy agreed with nods, but it was only
Roxanne who spoke, saying, “Okay.”

Rich watched the three of them walk away, his
thoughts lingering longer than they should’ve on Candy. Finally, he
pushed himself to look at Roxanne. “It really is good to see you
again.”

“It’s great to see you,” she said with a measure of
politeness, but Rich caught the hint of apprehension in her tone.
And that, Rich figured, probably had something to do with Frank and
Frankie.

“No matter what happens...” Rich cleared his throat.
“I’ve always considered you to be my friend. And I’d like to keep
it that way.”

Roxanne couldn’t be sure if Rich was talking about
her and Frank or him and Candy when it came to
no matter what
happens
. Nevertheless, she needed all the friends she could
get. “That’s a done deal.”

“I’ve got to tell you…I saw that show you were on.”
Hearing those words from Rich set Roxanne on edge. “And when Lauren
Weber asked you about the band, implying that you knew us when we
were nobody…well, I got a little nervous.”

“Nervous?”

“Oh believe me, Roxie…there were a lot of things you
could have said.” He gave a weary shrug. “But you didn’t. Do you
remember what you did say?”

“I said...” She smiled. “That I’ve never thought of
Frank or you as nobody.”

“It was at that moment I realized how fortunate I
was to know you,” he said. “And I wanted to tell you thank you for
speaking so highly of me…and for not letting her trash what we all
shared back then.”

“Geez, Rich.” Tears stung Roxanne’s eyes. “You’re
gonna make me cry.”

“Come on.” He grabbed her hand and tugged her toward
the dressing room. They walked in silence for several seconds, then
Rich said, “So…can I get your autograph?”

D
uring the show, the girls,
little Frankie, and Glenna looked on from the edge of the stage. A
song faded and the band quieted as Frank interacted with the
audience.

Roxanne stepped toward Glenna. “I wanted to tell
you…I’m really sorry about lying to you.” She offered what she
figured to be a long overdue apology.

A puzzled look crossed Glenna’s face. “You lied to
me?”

“A long time ago,” Roxanne said. “When I told you
I’d discussed it with Frank.”

“Hey, don’t worry about that,” Glenna said, letting
bygones be bygones. “You did what you thought you had to do.”

“Well you’re a lot more forgiving than I probably
would be.”

“You’ve paid a much higher price than I ever
did.”

“How so?”

“Have you ever listened to Frank’s music?” Glenna
asked.

Rich strummed a few chords on his guitar, and
Roxanne looked back toward the stage. Listening to Frank’s music
was much better than talking about it.

Everybody’s got their own opinions

And they all know what I can’t seem to see.

They tell me to shake it off and carry on

But forgetting about her is just so hard for me.

It’s so easy to tell others what to do

It always seems so easy

When the one that’s hurting isn’t you

And I can’t go on without her

Although I’ve tried,

And I can’t forget about her

Or the way she lied,

I can’t get past all this indecision

And the way she hurt my pride,

I go out and discover new places

But this isn’t the way it was supposed to be,

And I try to replace her with new faces

But it’s her face that keeps coming back to me.

I can drink away my sorrows

But my loss will be with me

For the rest of my tomorrows

And I can’t go on without her

Although I’ve tried,

And I can’t forget about her

Or the way she lied,

I can’t get past all this indecision

And the way she hurt my pride

The song came to a close and the crowd roared,
yelling and screaming for more. Roxanne was mesmerized. And she
began to realize the audience was chanting something. At first she
couldn’t make it out, but as the mantra grew louder she found she
understood them better than she wanted to.

Roxanne
. The crowd was begging the band to
play the one song she hated. Her heart pounded against her chest.
The last thing she wanted to do was stand there and listen to Frank
sing that song.

Little did she know, but she didn’t stand a chance
in hell of hearing
Roxanne
tonight.

Everywhere Garrett-Hollander played, the audiences
tried to coax them into playing that song. But no matter how hard
they chanted, Frank never gave in. Still, the audiences tried.

Frank ignored the spectators now, just as he’d done
hundreds of times before. Yet, if he’d had the slightest notion how
much anguish the song would cause Roxanne...well, he might have
played it. Just to get under her skin.

Luckily for Roxanne, he had no idea how the song
would affect her. And once again, another crowd failed to coax
Garrett-Hollander into playing
Roxanne
.

T
he moment Roxanne returned
home she ran for the safety and comfort of her friendly and
protective little pills. Without them she’d be lost forever.

***

Chapter 17

C
andy waited patiently
while the elevator carried her up to Rich’s penthouse. She felt
pretty optimistic since he’d agreed to see her. As long as he would
see her there was always hope.

The doors opened and Rich stood there looking at
her, showing no expression at all.

She couldn’t decide if he was glad to see her or
not. “Hi,” was all she could come up with to say. Amazing. She’d
gone over it a thousand times, but now that she was standing
face-to-face with him, she couldn’t think of a damned thing to
say.

“Hello, Candy. Would you like to come in?” His
demeanor didn’t match the friendly words coming from his mouth.

“Sure.” Nervously, she moved past him. “There’s
something I need to get straight with you.” She took a seat on the
couch and waited for him to join her.

“I thought everything was straight between us?” He
sat, but not on the couch. He’d taken the chair across from her,
out of her reach.

“In your book maybe…but not mine.”

“All right,” he said with bitter indifference. “So
let’s set the record straight and then we can carry on.”

He wasn’t going to make it easy for Candy. Who would
have thought the way he’d chased her all those years ago that she’d
have to make such an effort to get to him now.

But Rich didn’t want to be gotten. Not anymore. No,
those days were long gone and far away. He’d already spent way too
many nights brooding over Candy Simon. Wondering what had happened
to her. If she was all right. He refused to let that happen
anymore. He’d finally managed to tuck her away, safely into the
deepest corners of his heart. That’s where he intended to keep her.
He made himself a promise a long time ago—Candy Simon would never
be his problem again.

“I was wrong,” she said.

“It’s too late, Candy.” His words came with a solemn
finality about them. “It’s time for you to accept it and get on
with your life.”

“Damn it, Rich.” She nearly choked on the tears
crowding her throat. “I’ve tried, but it’s just not working.”

“You’ve got to make it work. For your own sake.” He
hesitated, then irritation seemed to cast a shadow over his already
dark eyes. “I don’t love you anymore.”

“How is it…that it’s so easy for you to say that?”
Her voice cracked.

“I loved you once, but I learned over the years how
to live without you. And truthfully…now I prefer it that way.” At
least he felt safer. If he didn’t let her back in, she couldn’t
hurt him.

“Living without me is better than living with
me.”

“I’ve lived without you for so long that living with
you just doesn’t seem that important anymore.”

His harsh words pierced her heart. Overwhelmed with
a deep need to cry, she grabbed her purse and bolted for the
door.

“Candy...” He didn’t want to hurt her. He only
wanted her to understand. “Candy wait…” He ran after her.

The elevator doors closed between them. The image of
Candy standing in the elevator with tears spilling down her cheeks
stuck in his mind.

He went to the service elevator. Maybe he could
catch her in the lobby or the garage. He didn’t want it to end this
way. He wasn’t sure how it should end, just not this way.

By the time Rich made it into the garage, Candy’s
Porsche was squealing out of the exit. “Candy...” he called to her,
fully aware that she wouldn’t hear him. “Please wait.”

At first thought, he wanted to get in his car and go
after her. But maybe that wasn’t the best idea. Maybe it was better
this way. Just to let her go. Sure, she’d cry for a while. But then
she’d see just how ridiculous this whole thing between them had
been in the first place.

Yes, it was much better this way. Sure, it had ended
a little rough. But it was done, and for good this time. And that
had been his main objective all along.

So why do I feel like such an asshole
? He
just couldn’t shake the image of Candy standing in the elevator.
Crying.

C
ruising onto the freeway,
Candy had finally managed to subdue the tears. Traveling recklessly
from lane-to-lane, she kept her foot pressed firmly against the gas
pedal. Tears brimmed her eyes again.

She wanted to go fast. Faster.

The faster she drove, the faster her troubles would
disappear. The speedometer hit ninety and she paid no mind to the
silent tears trickling from her eyes. The tears slid down her
cheeks as the speed hit one hundred.

She wanted to go faster. Faster.

Topping one-twenty, she reached up to swipe away the
tears. He’d rejected her again.

Go faster
.

But this time his rejection was final. She could
tell. And her tears fell harder. One thirty-five and Candy finally
cracked. Her silent tears turned audible and poured so hard it was
like she was looking through a misty haze. Her body jerked as she
cried.

Then the car hit something.

A quick jolt riveted through Candy and the side of
her head hit the window. Pain. Enormous pain. And then a falling
sensation. Down…down...down…for what seemed an eternity. When she
landed, the steering wheel slammed into her chest and the
windshield came crashing down around her.

Horrific pain ripped through her chest. It was hard
to breathe now. Her face felt wet, and strange. She wanted to move,
to get more comfortable. Maybe if she could just sit up.

Candy slipped into oblivion….

R
oxanne paced the length of
the living room, unable to shake the dreadful sensation that
something was wrong. Terribly wrong. She didn’t have any idea what
though. A quick chill breezed through her as she tried to evict the
bad feeling.

The telephone’s ring came as no surprise to her,
although it did scare her. She didn’t want to answer it, knowing
the caller had no news she wanted to hear. Even though her heart
screamed,
don’t answer it,
her brain commanded her to pick
up the receiver.

“Hello.” Her voice cracked, weaker than she
expected.

Just as Roxanne had intuited, the call was
unwelcomed. She received scarce information. Only that Candy had
been involved in a single-car accident and she’d been transported
by ambulance to St. Joseph’s Hospital.

Candy. Oh, God. Something had happened to Candy.
Mechanically, she opened the address book to Rich’s name and dialed
his phone number. Hearing it ring twice, she urged him to hurry and
answer her call.

“Hello...” she heard him say.

“Rich?” she questioned him, but didn’t wait for a
reply. “This is Roxanne.”

“What’s up? Are you okay?”

“Something terrible has happened. There’s been an
accident...” her voice, shaky and pathetic, trailed off. Roxanne
couldn’t control her tears any longer.

“Calm down, Roxanne,” Rich said. “Tell me what
happened.”

“They said she’s at the hospital, but they won’t
tell me if she’s okay.”

“Okay. Stay calm. Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be at your
house in ten minutes,” he said, and the line went dead.

R
ich made it to Roxanne’s
house in record time and they went straight to the hospital.

“Don’t worry,” he said to Roxanne as he led her
through the emergency entrance. “She’s going to be okay.” But who
was he trying to convince—himself or Roxanne?

Candy had to be okay. If not, he’d never forgive
himself.

They approached the information desk and Roxanne
said, “We’re looking for Candice Simon.”

The nurse flashed them a startled look, but promptly
composed herself. “If you’d like to have a seat, someone will be
with you as soon as possible.”

“I don’t want to have a seat,” Roxanne said. “I want
to see my sister. Now.”

“Calm down, Roxie.” Rich led her to a row of nearby
chairs. “Let’s just have a seat for now. They’ll let us know
something when they can.”

“Can’t they just tell us if she’s alive?” she asked
desperately, and the tears emerged. “Why won’t they tell us
that?”

Rich clasped her face in his hands. “Look on the
bright side…if Candy has left us, they’d come out and say it. So
she must be alive,” he promised. “So let’s stay calm for her sake,
okay?”

“Okay.”

“You stay here,” he said, easing out of his chair.
“I’ll be right back.”