Disconnected (12 page)

             
"Liam, we got here as soon as we could," my mom says before she pulls me into a hug. "Are you alright?"

             
"Yeah, I'm ok. I'm just worried about Katy."

              Mr. Parker looks at his daughter and then down at the floor. "What the hell happened?"

             
"My co-star....she was really jealous of Katy. We...had a thing awhile back. She thought we were meant to be together, and apparently made plans to get rid of Katy."

             
He spins around quickly and glares at me. "So this is because of some girl you got with while you've been separated?"

             
Mrs. Parker steps forward and grabs his arm. "That is enough, Phillip. Liam didn't cause this." She steps in front of him and takes a deep breath. "How did you and Katelyn find each other again? I just don't get how you're with her now."

             
I walk over and sit in the little vinyl chair in the corner. "We're here filming. Excite wanted Scott and I to go to the local college for a little promotion. Turns out it was the college that Katy and Krista go to. I saw her walking with Lucas while the Dean was giving us a grand tour." I shake my head. "We had a very public argument, but I couldn't get her out of my head after that. I still love her, and she still loves me Mr. and Mrs. Parker. We're back together now." I look them in the eye and brace myself to be yelled at. I know Mr. Parker has it out for me. He has ever since everything went downhill between me and Katy.

             
Mrs. Parker has an approving look on her face and Mr. Parker holds a glare on his.

             
Phillip steps around his wife and goes to Katy's side and takes her hand. "You need to hurry back, baby girl. You've got some explaining to do about this one." He looks over toward me and sighs. "If you're really letting him back in your life and into your heart though, I won't do anything to jeopardize that." He leans down and kisses her scratched forehead.

             
I gulp and close my eyes for a minute as I lower my head. Maybe there's hope. I can't blame him for being wary of me; I would be too if the roles were switched. I look up and look him in eye, nodding to let him know I get it. I have to prove myself.  

             
I'm going to show him and myself that I'm serious about this. I can do this. I love her, I always have, and I'm going to be by her side through this.  In sickness or in health were in our vows, and it's about time I started living up to those.

 
                                                               *    *    *

             
A couple days pass with no improvements. Katy is still unconscious and I basically live at the hospital. Mitchell has called me over and over again trying to convince me to put out a statement to the media, but I don't want to. This time should be private. Right now I don't want to be the man they want on camera, I just want to be a husband that is worried about his wife.

             
When Katy's doctor walks in to check her vitals again, like she has every couple hours the last few days, I'm tired of the silence.

             
"Dr. Ryder?" I speak up, getting up out of my chair.

             
"Yes, Mr. Warren?"

             
"Why isn't she awake yet? It's been a few days since the accident; shouldn't she be at least conscious by now?"

             
"Every person is different. There isn't a set of directions of when they will recover." She smiles softly and sets Katy's hand back down by her side. "She is breathing well on her own, and everything seems to be running the way it should be. It's all up to her now."

             
I groan, frustrated, watching her leave the room. I'm going out of my mind here. Our parents come and go throughout the day, but it's just lonely sitting here with the shell of my wife. It feels like she's not even really here.

             
Sighing, I walk over and roll the chair up close to her bed. Tucking some hair behind her ear, I say, "You know you're really scaring a lot of people, Katy. Me, your parents, mine. I need you to wake up, baby." I stare over at her still body and squeeze her hand one more time before getting up and stalking out of the room.

             
I need to do something before I go stir crazy. Before I get very far, I stop and turn down another hallway and walk until I get to Krista's room, where I know Scott is standing vigil beside her.

             
She hasn't had any change either. The doctors say she is responding well to treatments, though.

              I knock softly on the door and Scott peaks out before stepping out into the hall. "Hey man, everything ok?"

             
"Yeah, I guess. I mean, there's no change," I frown, shaking my head, "What about Krista, anything?"

             
He shakes his head, looking back at the door. "No, she still has all those wires and tubes attached to her. They say her brain is showing more activity, like when we talk to her, she seems to know we're there."

             
"Good, that's really great." I take a deep breath. "Do you want to get a cup of coffee with me or something?"

             
"Yeah, sure," He rubs the back of his neck, "I could definitely use the caffeine."

              We walk down the maze of halls until we get to the small cafeteria.  Some people stop and stare when they realize who we are. One nurse especially gets wide eyed and watches our every move as we go to the coffee machine and make our cups.

             
"Excuse me? Is there any way I could get an autograph?" the nurse asks with a grin on her face.

             
I'm sorry; right now isn't the best time. We're here because the women we love are lying in beds, fighting to get better after a very severe accident. So, no, right now I don't feel like putting on a smile and signing some sheet of paper," Scott answers and glares at her.

             
I look over at her and shrug, "Ditto."

             
She huffs and walks out of the cafeteria in a hurry and I shake my head. "Some places are just really inappropriate to ask for a damn autograph."

Chapter 15

             
Scott and I go to a table in the far corner of the cafeteria to avoid any more possible fan confrontations.

             
"Can't even avoid it in a damn hospital," Scott shakes his head, looking around the room. "I think people forget we're real sometimes, you know? Like we would be in a place like this on official Hollywood business, doing research or something," he snorts.

             
I smile tightly and shake my head. "They don't get it. Mitchell doesn't either. He keeps calling and asking me to release some kind of statement about everything. Tracking down Alexia and the accident, how Katy's lying in that bed day in and day out, but for what? Being in front of the camera isn't going to make this be make-believe. This is our lives, and Katy and Krista's lives. They need our attention right now, not the media. The media can wait."

             
"I agree." Scott leans his arms on the table and rubs his eyes tiredly. "I hate this. Krista is supposed to be bouncing around, being her sarcastic little self and keeping me on my toes. Not stuck in that bed with all those things attached to her.  It kills me seeing her like that every day. I can only imagine what her parents feel like." He slams his fist into the table. "I hate Alexia Dalton."

             
"Trust me; you're not the only one. If she gets caught, I hope she hangs." I shake my head. "I just don't get it." Sighing, I check my watch. "We should probably head back."

              Scott nods and we both toss our empty coffee cups into the trash. We walk with our heads down and in silence until we reach the hallway where Krista's room is.

             
"Please let me know if anything changes, man." I put my arm out.

             
Scott shakes my hand and nods. "Will do, you do the same. These girls are going to be the end of us."

             
I smirk. "That they are...I’ll see ya later."

              By the time I get back to Katy's room, Mrs. Parker is there chatting away to her as if she were sitting up having a back and forth and it makes me smile.

             
"Mrs. Parker," I say as I step into the room.

             
She jumps and turns around and smiles softly. "You scared me, Liam. Please, sit down."

             
 I nod and slide into a chair next to her. "How are you doing?"

             
 She sighs, looking over at Katy. "I'm ok. Phillip is taking this really hard; he and Katelyn have always been close. It's hard for him to come here and see her like this."

             
"I understand, believe me." I look over at the machines by the hospital bed. "I'm really sorry, Mrs. Parker. If I had known that Alexia was this crazy..."

             
"Stop," she tells me firmly. "Like I told Phil the other day, you didn't do this. You didn't get in a car and run them off that road. Stop blaming yourself, Liam Elliott."

             
I rub my face and peer over at her. "It's hard not to," I whisper. "I won't blame Katy if she leaves me for good after this." I twist my hands together and look down at the floor.

             
There's my big fear out in the open. That Katy will wake up and tell me to get lost for good, and this time I wouldn't fight her. I'd sign it all away to keep her safe and out of my mess of a life.

             
 I feel Mrs. Parker take my hand and I look over at her. "Don't get like that, Liam, for what its worth, despite everything, Katelyn has always loved you. Even when she left, she felt like it was for your own good...that she didn't live up to what you needed her to be, the Hollywood wife. She didn't feel like the girl from a tiny Nevada town fit in that big mansion. And at the time, she didn't feel like you wanted her there, either."

             
"But I did! I needed her there to keep me sane. Remind me of coming out of that theater and who I really am," I sigh, frustrated. "I only ever wanted her...I thought...I thought if I tried to move on and force myself to at least pretend to be happy, then eventually I would really be. But I wasn't." I stand up, walk towards the window and stare outside. "I went through the motions, smiled in front of the cameras, pretended to date these beautiful up and coming women that Excite threw at me to get attention. But they didn't matter. It didn't matter where I was, I'd look for Katy in every woman's face. Every girl that had that brown hair or a certain laugh, I'd have to double check to make sure it wasn't her." I turn around, lean against the window and cross my arms. "I don't want to lose her ever again, but if it comes down to her needing me out of her life to be happy, I would choose her happiness over mine."

             
She smiles as she stands and walks over to me, hugging me for a moment. "I know, and that is exactly why I know you are a better man now, and that you really love her. I see a real man standing in front of me now, not a boy hiding behind his big Hollywood star.”

Chapter 16

             
A few more days pass by, and one morning while I'm walking towards the cafeteria to get my morning coffee fix, I bump into Mitchell Fallon.

             
"Mitchell." I nod at him and cross my arms.

             
"Mr. Warren...is there anywhere we can talk in private?"

             
I sigh, looking around, and nod. "Yeah, there's a waiting room down the hall."

             
We walk down and I double check to make sure it's empty before motioning for Mitchell to take a seat.

             
"Mr. Warren, I know that you feel like you need to be here all the time, but you need to think about your career, too. The mess with Alexia is unfortunate..."

             
 "Mess? Mitchell it's a hell of a lot more than a mess." I grind my teeth together. "She tried to kill my wife! She did kill one of my wife's friends, and put her best friend in a coma. This isn't a mess, it's a disaster, and you can't sweep it under the rug with some sweet talk in front of a camera."

             
 "You can't camp out here, Mr. Warren." He glares across the room at me. "Take a look at yourself. You're a wreck! If you go out in public looking like that, the tabloids will pick you apart."