Still Jaded (30 page)

"Wait," I cried out, my heart pounding. "What just happened here?"

"Nothing." He sounded so tired, like he had nothing more in him. "You were honest. Finally. But nothing else happened. You and I are not together. You and Bryce are not really broken up, but you've always known that, haven't you?"

He was right. Everything he said and made me say was true. I hadn't wanted to see any of it. Life was easier when nothing changed. We worked before.

I whispered, "Why did it have to change?"

Corrigan laughed softly. His voice was a little farther away. "I don't know, but things change. If nothing changed, we'd never grow. Shit. Anyways, that's for a whole other battle. Right now, I'm going to go and pick up Matt. I'll be back in a little bit with your car." He pressed a kiss to my forehead. "Lock the gate behind me."

As he left, I keyed in the code and locked the gate. Then I stood there. I'd never felt so alone before and for the first time, maybe ever, I didn't like it.

I went numb after Corrigan left. He knew the pass-codes. He could let himself into the house with his key, and I wouldn't need to see him until morning, but I was awake. When I lifted my glass, the clock's big red numbers glared at me. It was nearing four in the morning. He'd been gone for five hours. It didn't take that long to get Matt and head to the hotel for my car.

When I walked into the kitchen, still with the lights off, I took out my phone, but the gate buzzed at that same second. Relief rushed through me. It was dizzying. When I pressed it open, I never stopped to make sure it was Corrigan. As I neared the door, the flashing red lights stopped me in my tracks. A different sense of numbness flooded my body and I opened the door. My heart started to race.

Officer Patterson got out of her car. Her body was rigid. When I saw the pain in her eyes, I knew she wasn't there with good news.

"Don't tell me he's dead. Don't say those words," I pleaded.

Regret flashed over her face. She looked older than her thirty-six years. Her blonde hair looked darker than normal. It had been pulled back into a haphazard ponytail, and she smoothed back some strands in front of her face and crossed to meet me on the porch. Dressed in casual clothes, a pair of wrinkly jeans and a white tee shirt, I figured she'd come from her home.

"There was an accident a block away from the Wilshire Hotel. We thought it was you, Sheldon." Sheila paused and took a breath. "The fraternity boy told us what happened. Corrigan was driving your car and the brakes went out. It rolled through a traffic light. It was a head-on collision. Corrigan is—"

I stopped breathing.

She nodded, grave. "He's in surgery. I can't tell you what's all wrong with him, but I know he's being treated right now. The doctors aren't saying anything."

He's alive.

She stepped closer and wiped a tear from my face, then pulled me in for a hug. Her voice was muffled against me. "That son of a bitch is strong. He's the strongest of all you guys. He'll pull through. If anyone pulls through, it'll be him."

Wrapping my arms around her, I held on. She felt so sturdy. "Can you give me a ride there? I can go right now."

"That's why I came. The other boy told us you were probably here alone."

"Corrigan's parents?"

"Have already been contacted. They're there, right now." She hesitated a second. "Bryce too. I called him, but he already knew. He was on his way to the hospital when I talked to him."

I couldn't react to Bryce. My insides were a mess. Everything was on full-blast. When I sat in Sheila's passenger side, she started the car and then waited for me to lock the gate once more. When I got back inside, I saw that three other cop cars had accompanied her.

"What happened to my car? You said the brakes went out?"

Sheila grimaced. "You can find out how Corrigan is first and then we can talk about that stuff. I'll need to contact my department for more details. They're looking over your car."

"You think it was the stalker? Whoever is after me did something to my car? That should've been me, not Corrigan. They intended that for me, didn't they?!" I heard my voice rising, but quieted. I couldn't get crazy, not now. "Corrigan was gutted because of me. Now he's in surgery because of me." My voice broke. "I am going to kill whoever did this."

Sheila reached for my hand. "Corrigan will be fine. As a cop, I'm not supposed to tell you that, but that's how I feel. You three have been through some tough stuff. This is just one more tough situation. He'll pull through."

Her face closed off, and she looked away. It was like she thought better of what she'd been saying to me and shut up before she said anything else. That's when I asked, "You don't believe any of that, do you? Is he going to die?"

She blinked a few times and watched the street. I watched her face as the streetlights passed over. Her face was illuminated and then cast in shadow, over and over again. There was a raw strength there, but there was also the truth.

Corrigan might die.

She didn't want to say those words to me.

When we went through the emergency doors, conversations halted. A waiting lounge of chairs was full of Corrigan's fraternity brothers. I recognized both Leah's and Grace's sorority sisters. All of them watched me as I crossed the room and headed straight to the front desk. Sheila went with me to explain my relationship with Corrigan. The nurse sent someone to retrieve a doctor and then gave Sheila directions to another waiting lounge.

When we got there, Corrigan's parents held their arms out for me. Katrice caught me first and hugged my head to her bosom. She swayed back and forth, her coat swished with the movements.

"Oh honey. Don't cry. He's going to be just fine," she soothed, wiping away my tears. It seemed like everyone was doing that now. Then she smiled, or tried to smile. Katrice's rosy cheeks were pale. The worry in her eyes was so strong it made her look gaunt. Then Corrigan's father pulled her against his side. "It's okay. He's going to be okay. Corrigan will pull through."

She turned into him and sobbed. The sounds wracked through me. They shouldn't have been crying. They shouldn't have been facing the threat of losing a son again.

Stephen sat in the corner with Luca. I was shocked for a moment. I'd forgotten the two had been best friends before. Stephen looked up at me and nodded. Luca didn't look. He sat there. Both of them just sat there. No magazines to look at. No talking. The television wasn't even on.

Then I felt him behind me. I turned and my eyes widened. Bryce had a crate of coffees in his hand. He froze in the doorway when he saw me and opened his mouth. Nothing came out.

"Hey." I reached for him, but caught myself. Retracting my hand, I felt…stupid and out of place. Things were off. We were a puzzle, but there were parts missing. We were trying to find how the pieces went together again, but they didn't fit. Something between Bryce and me didn't fit anymore.

Corrigan.

"Hey," he said back and slowly handed the coffees to Corrigan's dad.

A doctor came to the door and cleared his throat. "I was told that Miss Jeneve arrived. It's good timing because we just got out of surgery. Mr. and Mrs. Raimler, as I told you before, your
son had some massive internal bleeding. We were able to locate the bleeding and stop it. It should heal up fine. There's bruising all over his body, but the most shocking will be on his face and neck. That will clear up in a week or two. We didn't find any fractures or internal lacerations, which is a good thing. All in all, your son is very lucky. He's in good health. The car he was driving protected him. He should be waking up from surgery in a few hours. If you have any questions, you have my card. Feel free to call. The nurse will come in a moment so you can check on him, but he is sleeping right now."

"Thank you, Dr. Lowery." Corrigan's father shook his head. Katrice hugged him. After a few seconds and a few more hugs from Katrice, he nodded again to us and left. It was surreal. We didn't know anything, the doctor came, it was all okay, and then he was gone just as quickly.

"Oh thank god." Katrice slumped onto a chair. "Oh thank God. Oh thank God."

Her husband sat next to her. Stephen took the other side. Each of them held her hands as she kept repeating the same words. It took me a moment before I realized that she had started to pray with her head bent down. The rest of the Raimlers prayed with her.

Bryce and I looked at each other. We were out of place. He jerked his head to the side, and I followed behind as we went into the hallway. When we were away and out of earshot, I breathed out in relief. "Oh my god. I didn't—" Slumping against the wall; I almost fell, but caught myself. I'd been so scared, then mad, then scared, and then I saw Bryce. "I don't know what I'm feeling anymore."

"Relief." Bryce's voice was strained. "You were so pale when you came in. Never mind. I'd imagine that you're still in shock. You'll be feeling it later, I'm sure."

"Yeah, maybe." Looking around, I noticed some of the nurses gazing at Bryce. That's when I realized he was dressed in his soccer casuals. "Everyone's going to be talking about you being here."

"Why wouldn't I? Corrigan's my best friend," Bryce said roughly.

"I know. I—just… Luca's here with you?"

"He wanted to be here for Stephen. Those two keep in contact."

"That's good. It's like you and Corrigan, but—"

"No girl."

No girl to mess everything up.

He might as well have said the words because I heard them nonetheless. Flinching, I turned away and hugged myself.

"Sheldon," Bryce started to say something but stopped.

When I looked back, he wasn't looking at me. His gaze was riveted on something down the hallway. Guadalupe was striding our way, determined, and looking pissed off. Her hair was plastered in place, flowing down to her waist. She was dressed in black athletic clothes, skimpy enough to draw attention but not slutty enough to gain disapproval.

"I may be a bitch, but she takes the cake," I noted underneath my breath.

"Sheldon." Bryce glared at me, but something changed in his expression. He looked like he wanted to apologize for something. It didn't matter. She was by his side in the next instant and latched onto his arm. She looked at me, but spoke to him, "Honey, I was so worried. Is your friend okay?"

I sighed, "I can't handle this right now. I shouldn't have too either."

Bryce looked away.

"Go away, Guadalupe. Just go away. He doesn't want you here, and he doesn't need you here." I felt Bryce stiffen in surprise next to me but continued, "We've got a huge mess on our hands, and you're not helping. I need my best friend right now. It's not your place to be here."

She bristled up in anger. "Excuse me? Bryce is with me—"

"Not here, he's not. He's with me and Corrigan. Shoo."

She huffed in disbelief.

Rolling my eyes, I waved her away. When I saw a group at the end of the hallway, I recognized the hotel clerk. Assuming the rest was her entourage, I shouted, "Hey! She's right here."

Guadalupe started muttering underneath her breath.

"Oh no," Bryce sighed.

I didn't comprehend any of it before they were in front of us. The hotel clerk glared at me, but I focused on a thin girl holding a briefcase. She had black glossy hair and pointed features, but I saw how she looked at us. There was a claim in her eyes when she looked at Guadalupe, then she cast disapproval at Bryce and hatred towards me. There was a whole host of other expressions on her face, but I ignored them and asked, "Are you her assistant?"

Shock flared before she clamped down on it and nodded. She seemed wary now.

"Good. Take her away. She's going to make things worse. Corrigan would not want her here, and that's all I care about. Bryce, you can go too if it's that big of a deal. I don't want this to turn into a media frenzy. That's not going to help him. He'd want you here and you focused. She's not going to help that either." I reached out to push Guadalupe towards her assistant, but the assistant was there in a second. She blocked my hand and slapped it away.

Shocked, my eyes snapped to hers, and I couldn't look away. The girl looked crazy, so I asked, "Do you know anything about brakes? I think the police might want to talk to you."

"Stop it, Sheldon. She's not your stalker. Maria, take Guadalupe and everyone else." Bryce stepped between us.

"You'll call later?" Maria snapped as she continued to glare at me.

I narrowed my eyes and stared her down. The little girl had attitude. I had to give her that.

"Leave," Bryce clipped out. He gestured to a guy in the back, who nodded and grabbed Guadalupe. He ushered the entourage down the hallway. I heard more mutterings, complaints, and whining, but in a moment they were gone.

I sighed in relief at the complete silence.

"Sheldon." Sheila was striding towards me with some other detectives behind her. "How is he?"

"He'll be okay." I shrugged. "That's what the doc said."

"Good." She nodded, back to business. "There's been a new development with your case. Someone came forward and confessed to your home's vandalism. I think you'll want to hear this."