Crazy Bitch (Bitches and Queens) (19 page)

Two weeks later, her parents
were murdered, and Hannah finally came home. Although, she had no intention of
staying or ever coming back again. Before she returned to New York, she invited
Sam to stay with her for the summer. His father had done his best, but even he
was at his wit’s end where his only child was concerned. Besides, Hannah was
his only friend that his father actually trusted. So, it ended up being the
summer Sam did New York, half the females living there, and God only knows how
many tourists.

It was also the summer he got
to witness Hannah walk the runway. The glossy magazine covers barely did her
justice. There was something about her live and in person that filled the air
with anticipation. Seeing it through his drug-induced haze, Sam felt the
buzzing energy she inspired in the crowd. It was such a strange moment to
witness—the razor-sharp edge where an ordinary person turns into a legend. The
public had found one to keep, one to never let go, one to adore.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere,
Hannah exploded. The litany of curses was enough to make a sailor blush. Sam
thought to himself,
Well, there went that career. It was nice while it
lasted.
But strangely enough, her fame skyrocketed. As best as he could
figure, the general consensus was if they couldn’t love her then they could
damn sure hate her. Overnight, Hannah became everyone favorite person to love
to hate.

Later, after they returned to
her apartment, Sam asked what had set her off and Hannah had said that one of
the photographers had said something nasty. Normally, she didn’t mind their
crude commentary, but it pissed her off because he was in the audience.

Considering she had discovered
him countless times in various states of undress with numerous women, Sam didn’t
understand why one little proposition would make her go insane. There was a lot
about Hannah that he didn’t understand, but back then, he was too damn selfish
to care.

At the end of the summer, they
had their first major fight. Over the years, they had had spats and squabbles
but nothing compared to that night when Sam told her he wasn’t going home.
Hannah had been furious. She screamed and raged that he had no direction, no
aim, and was throwing his life away.

When the plane landed in
Austin, Sam had a broken nose, two black eyes, and Hannah by his side. She even
had to re-enroll and finish her senior year in high school because he refused
to go if she didn’t. Back then, pretty much everyone assumed they were a couple,
but nothing could have been further from the truth. The truth was that Sam did
not intend to give up the cocaine—nor was he suicidal. He needed Hannah to keep
him alive. She was the only one he would listen to, the only one who would tell
him when enough was enough, the only one who kept him from falling over the
edge. The problem was that the drugs hadn’t just stunted his emotional growth; he
had actually reverted and had the mentality of a four-year-old.

He did eventually stop using
coke when his father became ill. Sam spent the last few months of his father’s
life taking care of him, and while Sam took care of him, Hannah was right by
his side taking care of him. When Sam expressed an interest in photography,
Hannah had been the one who had found his studio and helped build his
clientele.

By the time Sam met Kate, he
had only gained a few points on the emotional I.Q. scale. Although
chronologically he was four years old than she, they met more at a seventh-grade
boy and senior prom queen level. He had had such an intense crush on her those
first few months. He couldn’t remember exactly when he realized it wasn’t just
a crush and that he had fallen in love with her, but it was early in their
relationship. Probably because she saw him differently than anyone else ever
had.

Sam had always preferred the
shallow end of the pool. Whenever anything got too deep, he was the first one
to get out of the water. He was a good-time friend. He was the kind of guy that
people asked about the right shade of mascara, the best designer for their body
type, but deep, meaningful
 
conversations
about the mysteries of life and love, not so much. Except, someone forgot to
tell Kate. Once he was certain it was love, Sam realized that it was time to
put on his big-girl panties and get his shit together. He couldn’t let Kate
know that he still ran to Hannah with every little issue. How pathetic would
that be?

Still being new to this
grown-up business, he felt horribly inadequate, and was sure he was the least-qualified
person for the task at hand. He was torn between two women—one was his future
and the other was his past, the woman who had always taken care of him. All of
this was caused by another woman, Willow Mallory.

He despised that bitch. Time
might have been his curse, but it certainly played in her favor. If he had all
the time in world, he wouldn’t just ruin her—he would destroy her until she
cowered down on her hands and knees and crawled her despicable way out of the
state. Unfortunately, there was no time for revenge, but before he left with
Kate on their honeymoon, he had to be certain they would never hear from her
again. That was why he asked her to meet him for lunch, although he knew
neither of them would be eating anything.

“Thank you for meeting me on
such short notice,” Sam said curtly.

“How is Hannah?” Willow rushed.

Sam ignored her question. Instead,
he handed her a legal document that had been witnessed by both his and Hannah’s
personal attorneys.

Willow scanned the letter and was
surprised to discover that it was a reference and a rather glowing one at that.

“I can assure you it is all
quite legal. The entire contents of your portfolio have been moved to a secure
location, but in thirty days hence the rights will be transferred to you,” Sam
explained.

“Hence?” Willow sneered. “What
are you now—a Founding Father? More like Betsy freaking Ross.”

Ignoring the jab, he continued,
“There is one final condition for you internship. For the next thirty days, you
must agree to have no contact with Hannah. You will not look for her. You will
not call her. You will not speak to any members of the press about her. NO
CONTACT! Otherwise, this is the reference the dean with receive.”

Willow snatched the document
out of his hand. The second version wasn’t quite so glowing. Although the
changes in the wording had been subtle, it was enough to make her sound
incompetent. She would probably still be able to graduate, but with a letter of
recommendation like this, she would be lucky if she landed a job in retail.

“When she figures out what you
are doing, she will be furious,” Willow hissed in anger and frustration. The
smug bastard held all the cards, and he knew it. He was forcing her to choose
between a lifetime of dreams and a woman that may or may not want to have
anything to do with her.

“Probably,” Sam shrugged
indifferently and then smirked. “You aren’t concerned about me, are you? I have
always been Hannah’s very favorite person. There is no version of the story
where she would ever choose you over me. Yes, she will be furious, but
afterwards I’ll convince her that this was the best decision, the only
decision.”

Once he had finally tossed that
piece of trash in the garbage, Sam had one final task to complete before they
could leave. For this, he needed Kate—if for nothing more than for moral
support. After the police officers concluded that no formal charges would be
filed, Hannah had only been forced to stay at the hospital for the required
twenty-four observation. After that time, she could have left any time by her
own volition. Fortunately, she didn’t seem to realize that.

Sam and Kate found her in a large,
open room. She was sitting on a couch, hugging her knees to her chest, staring
blankly out the window. Seemingly oblivious to their arrival, she didn’t turn and
look at them until Sam gently nudged her on her shoulder.

“Hey,” she said softly with a
slight slur. Her facial muscles struggled for a moment to conjure a smile, but
when nothing came, a blank void clouded her eyes. “I’ve been trying to remember
the wedding.”

“It was fabulous,” Sam assured
her. “Everything we always wanted it to be.”

“Why can’t I remember? Was I
there?” Hannah mumbled, confused.

“Hannah, you got sick. You
couldn’t make it,” Kate answered.

“Oh,” Hannah sighed blankly. “Willow?”
she questioned anxiously.

“Willow is fine. I have taken
care of her,” Sam answered, ignoring the flash-fire glare Kate shot his way
before carefully rearranging her features. Kate had neither approved of his
decision nor his actions, but she had been blinded by Willow, thinking there
must be some little piece of good in her charred-black, evil heart. Sam knew
otherwise.

“Good. I’ve been so worried.
She hasn’t come here… Sam, why am I here?” Hannah whispered.

“Hannah, you are not going to
stay here. Kate and I are going to take you to a place where you can get
better,” Sam said.

“What place? Where?” Hannah
asked.

“It’s a wonderful clinic in
Sedona,” he answered.

“Sedona? No, I can’t go there.
It’s too far. Willow can’t travel that far,” Hannah rushed, showing her first
sign of true emotion.

I know,
Sam
thought. It was a big part of the clinic’s appeal. That and its excellent
reputation. “Willow will be fine. I promise, you don’t need to worry about her,”
Sam coaxed. “First, I need you to sign a few papers for me.”

“What is this?” Hannah
questioned as she glanced down at the documents that Sam had given her.

“It’s just a few release papers
and consent forms,” Sam said. He failed to mention that she was also signing
over her legal rights. Once her signature was scribbled on the last document,
Sam was officially her temporary legal guardian until the time she could be
proven to be mentally component.

As they were leaving, Sam
handed over the paperwork to his lawyer, who had been waiting discreetly across
the room. Now that he was certain Hannah would be safe from Willow while he was
away, he was ready to start his new life with Kate.

30 Days Later

The month-long vacation in
Europe hadn’t gone exactly as Kate had planned. In her mind, the trip was much
more romantic and the groom a lot less distracted, but she could hardly fault
Sam. He had a lot on his mind lately.

They had used Hannah’s villa in
Tuscany as their home base and traveled on several side trips and excursions, sashaying
their way across the continent. Although probably not destined to become the
best honeymoon on record, it did have few highlights—like when Sam awoke the
third day after they arrived in a panic. It suddenly occurred to him that they
might not be legally married, and he was determined to see the deed done. They
scoured the countryside until they found a tiny chapel. The priest barely spoke
English, but maybe that was for the best. When Sam finally spoke the vows he
had intended to say, Kate had been moved to tears. A part of her was happy that
it was just the two of them. His words were so intimate, so private; they
seared her soul, and she didn’t want to share them with anyone else.

 But most of the time, Sam felt
miserably guilty about stashing Hannah away in a mental institution. Although
admittedly not Hannah’s biggest fan, Kate did feel some of his reservations as
well. She knew Hannah needed help and by all accounts, the clinic in Sedona was
reported to be one of the best, but she didn’t believe Willow should have been kicked
out of the equation.

Kate knew Sam didn’t want to
believe it, but Willow made Hannah happy. Since the moment she first met
Hannah, Kate had never known a more miserable bitch. She had it all—the looks,
the money, the fame, but she was always so unhappy until Willow came into the
picture. It was only around her that Hannah appeared to be anything that
remotely resembled human. Even in the midst of one of their very heated
discussions, she seemed more true and genuine than she ever had before.

Now that they were back in the
states, Kate wondered about Sam’s next move. She knew he had already formed
another plan to keep Willow away. She also knew that once they took Hannah home
to Austin, he might have a bigger problem. Willow, still so young and naïve,
was easy to intimidate, but Hannah was not. He might also be able to stop
Willow from finding Hannah, but Kate was willing to wager that there wasn’t
anyone who could prevent Hannah from seeking her out.

Looking both anxious and
relieved, Sam hurriedly signed the visitor’s forms and surrendered his driver
license to the receptionist in the front lobby. Kate started to do the same,
but after the receptionist keyed in Sam’s information she suddenly stopped, surprised
by her words.

“Oh, you are here for Hannah.
She is such an angel. I am so happy she is better, but I hate to see her leave.”

“Hannah?” Sam questioned, sounding
just as shocked as Kate felt.

“Oh yes,” the receptionist
affirmed with a warm smile. “Everyone adores her around here—the doctors, the
nurses, the office staff, all the other patients. She is everyone’s favorite.”