Disconnected (15 page)

             
I sigh. "Yeah, I know. I'll be there, but Katy and I have some things to deal with after. Can you set up some medical personnel to come with us to the cemetery where Luke was buried after the press conference...as well as some extra security?"

             
"Yes. Tyrell Security is Excite's new security lead. They have some highly trained workers, former military and all that. I'll get it set up."

             
"Thanks." I hang up and lean my head back against the wall. Time to put on my movie star smile and try to lure out the one woman I don't want around me or my family ever again. I know Katy isn't going to like this any more than I am, but if it brings Alexia Dalton out of hiding and into police custody, then maybe it'll end up worth it and not even more of a disaster. 

Chapter 19

             
An hour and a half later, there's a make-up person getting me camera ready and a hair person styling my hair. I didn't think I needed all this just to make a quick statement, but maybe Mitchell was right the other day and I really just look that bad.

             
 "Ok Mr. Warren, you're all set," the make-up artist tells me with a small smile. 

             
"Thanks," I sigh and look in the mirror. The exhausted, worried, frustrated husband doesn't stare back at me. Instead the styled, decked out actor does. You wouldn't even know what I looked like a couple hours ago. I shake my head and walk out to where Mitchell is waiting for me.

             
"Everything is set up. The media is getting ready. They've been instructed to not ask questions. If they try to, ignore them or just do the whole 'No Comment' thing."

             
I nod. "I think I'm ready."

             
He guides me out to a little platform that's been set up and I take a deep breath before addressing the growing crowd. "Hello everyone, I think you know who I am." I flash a smile at them. "But today, I'm not here to talk about my movie or even about myself. Today I'm here to make a plea to a woman who has caused a lot of people a lot of pain, including myself. Alexia, please turn yourself in. I know you're probably confused, and lost right now but the best thing to do is come back and make this right. If you care about me as much as you say, then do this for me. Turn yourself in and close this whole case, for your own safety as well as for mine and my family." 

             
Everyone starts speaking at once and camera flashes go off left and right. I don't say anything back, just smile and wave and step down off the platform as bodyguards surround me helping to usher me back inside, while the media members swarm towards the doors.

             
"Good job, Mr. Warren. Well done." Mr. Fallon reaches out and shakes my hand. "All your arrangements have been made, but you will need to sign some paperwork about leaving the facility against medical advice."

             
"Ok, I can do that. Thanks again."

             
I walk back towards Katy's room and stop at the nurse's station. "Hi, I was told I need to sign some paperwork to take my wife out of the hospital."

             
"Oh yes sir, you'll have to sign her out AMA."

             
I nod. "Whatever needs to be done."

             
She hands me over a small stack of papers and I quickly fill them out before returning to Katy. "Ok baby, everything's all set. There's going to be a car waiting for us in about 20 minutes. Did you get a hold of Luke's parents?"

             
She nods and tucks some hair behind her ear. "Yeah, they were really nice despite everything." She looks down. "They confirmed where he's buried at and told me that they are going to have a formal service in about a month when more family is available to be there, his mom said I could come." 

             
I walk to her side and kiss her forehead. "I'll make sure you get there, I promise." 

             
She smiles up at me as a nurse rolls a wheelchair in. "Ready to go, Mrs. Warren?"

             
"Yes." Katy tells her and I help to scoop her up and into the chair.

              A short time later, we arrive at the cemetery and I reach over to squeeze Katy's hand. "Are you going to be ok?”

             
She nods as she looks out the window. "I will be. I just need to say my goodbyes."

             
The nurse and I lift her again from the backseat to the wheelchair and I start pushing her towards the freshly dug grave marker. There's no headstone yet, just a little white sign on a stick that says, "Lucas James Austin". I hear Katy's intake of breath and as I look down on her and see tears already falling, I silently take her hand and let her have her moment.

             
"I'm so sorry, Luke. If I could have any way to turn back the clock and have you still be here with us, I would. I love you, Lucas. I know it’s not in the way you wanted." She smiles sadly looking at the name marker. But I do love you, and I swear I won't ever forget you or stop looking for the person who caused this. She will be caught and I hope your face haunts her as much it'll haunt me." She closes her eyes as more tears fall freely before blowing a kiss towards the ground. "Goodbye Luke, I hope you are at peace.”

             
I bend down beside her and watch as she composes herself. "Ok. I'm ready to go."

             
"Are you sure?" I ask wiping a trail of tears off her cheek. 

             
She nods looking beyond me at our new security team. "Are these guys from Raden Security too, like Nate and Eric were?"

             
I shake my head looking over at the 6 guys. They might be a bit of overkill. But until Alexia is in custody I won't feel comfortable being with anything less. "No, Raden was thoroughly chewed out and put on Excite's black list after...the incident. These guys are with Tyrell Security Teams. They are the best of the best and are highly recommended."

             
Katy stays quiet and I frown. "You ok, baby?"

             
"Yeah, I’m just tired. Do you think I might be able to see Krista when we get back to the hospital?"

             
"I'll check. Scott said she keeps asking where you are. She can't remember the accident though. The last she remembers was the three of you coming to the set."

 
              "Does she know about Luke?" Katy asks looking over her shoulder at the freshly dug grave before we help her back into the car.

             
"She does. She feels guilty because she was the one driving the car...but don't worry, Scott's trying to help her through this."

             
Katy nods and leans her head back on the headrest and closes her eyes. As we drive she falls asleep and I just stare at her. At least when she's sleeping there isn't a million things running through her head to worry about. I just hope a life like this doesn't turn into a nightmare. 

Chapter 20

              As we drive back to the hospital I text Scott back and forth, asking if Katy can see Krista. After he gets the run-around from nurses to one doctor to another, he finally says its all ok. 

             
Once we arrive at the hospital's back entryway I gently nudge Katy awake. "I fell asleep?” she asks as she rubs her eyes.

             
I nod and tuck some of her hair behind her ears. "Yep, we're going to move you into the wheelchair and try to get in before any photographers get nosy."

             
We once again transition her from the car into the wheelchair and roll inside the building. As we maneuver down different hallways, Katy stays quiet until we see Scott leaning against a wall waiting for us.

             
"Hey there, everything ok?" he asks, looking down at Katy.

             
"Yeah, I said my goodbyes." She nods at him and we roll just a little ways down the hall before I pull her to a stop in front of a closed door.

             
"Um...wrong room." Katy raises an eyebrow at me and I just smirk.

             
"You wanted to see Krista, right?" I ask, raising my eyebrow back at her.

             
Her eyes widen as she nods. "Oh!" 

             
I smile down at her and watch Scott open the door to Krista's room. When we enter, Krista looks over and her own eyes widen as she realizes who is in the wheelchair.

             
"Kate!" she yells out, "Oh my God! You're ok? You're really ok?”

             
I push Katy up to Krista's bedside and step back by Scott, watching the girls grab onto each others hands.

             
"I am, but I'm more concerned about you!" Katy tells her, shaking her head. 

             
"Oh, sweetie, don't you worry about me. I'm a tough cookie." She sighs softly. "I'm really sorry about Lucas, Kate. I might not have been a great friend to him or anything, but I know he made you happy, and in one way or another he was my friend too."

             
"I went and said my goodbyes to him. They’re having an actual service for him in about a month, and I’m hoping I’m up and going by then so I can go.”

             
"I'm bound and determined to get up and going myself. I'll go with you, ok?"

             
Katy hugs her and I smile. These girls have been through a lot together; I'm glad their friendship has even made it through all this craziness.

             
When they pull apart both of them are crying. "I'm so sorry, Kate. I don't remember the accident, but Scott told me I was driving..." Krista says through her tears, and Katy quickly shakes her head at her.

             
"Stop, this wasn't your fault. It doesn't matter who was driving the car, Alexia did all of this."

             
Krista nods, looking down as she wipes her eyes. She takes a breath to calm herself down before turning to Scott. "You really still love me even after seeing me all...yuck?” she asks, effectively changing the subject.

             
He walks to her side and kisses her forehead. "Baby, I love you more than ever, but you're not allowed to scare me like that ever again, promise?"

             
 She smiles as she pulls him down for a quick kiss, "Promise. Now, Mr. Movie Star, think you might have some of your make-up friends come visit me? I want to be back to being all pretty and lip-glossed up."

             
"I'll see what I can do, but for what it’s worth, I think you’re just as pretty minus the lip gloss."

             
"Yeah, yeah, yeah....you do act for a living; you could be lying through your teeth right now. But I would greatly appreciate some of those hair and make-up people."

             
The girls talk back and forth for a bit while Scott and I stand against the wall watching them. I smile to myself because this just feels so normal. 

             
"I think we did good, man," Scott whispers to me.

             
"Yeah, we did. Makes it a lot easier we picked best friends, huh?" I laugh.

             
He nods. "That it does."

             
 "I'll probably get to leave soon because it’s just my legs that are the issue. But I was thinking, has Scott told you about my school situation?" I hear Katy ask, and it brings my attention back to her.

             
 "Yes. What the hell am I supposed to do without you there?!"

             
 "Well, if Scott's ok with it, I was thinking maybe you could come home with me. Liam says we have a house there, and the guys are going to be in L.A doing interviews and stuff for the movie. Want to come keep me company?"

             
"Honey, I'm not even asking for permission. I'm going!" 

             
"Well, I'm glad you want to. It makes it lots easier security-wise. I was worried I'd have to argue with you about not taking you to L.A." Scott tells her.

             
"Nah, I’ve got two of L.A.’s hottest celebrities right here.” She points to the two of us. “Why would I need to go there to see more?” she teases us with a smile. 

             
"Besides, I promised you stories and pictures of a certain someone." Katy gets a mischievous grin on her face as she looks over at me.

Stories about me? That is so not fair; Katy has a lot of dirt on me. I frown over at her. Krista looks at me too and start
s giggling and I shake my head, these girls.

             
"Whoa...wait." I put my hands up to stop them. "What stories and pictures?”

             
"Oh...just my personal stash of the 'before he was a star' variety," Katy beams up at me.

             
I cover my face and groan, "Oh, God." I don't even want to know what embarrassing tales she might be able to come up with. And please, God, don't let anyone else hear them. 

             
"Oh, man! Can I get in on this stash?” Scott asks, grinning over at me and rubbing his hands together.

             
I look at him like he's lost his mind. "No!"

             
Both girls start a laughing fit and yell "Yes!" over my protests.  

Chapter 21

             
A little over a week later the girls have been released from the hospital, but before we all leave Georgia together Katy gets a phone call from the Austins about Lucas' service.

             
"They're going to have a special ceremony down at the beach because Luke loved surfing." She smiles softly. "I want to go, Liam." She looks up at me. "I know I'm stuck in crutches because of my leg, but I need to be there." 

             
"You will be, I promise." I kiss her forehead. "Is it tonight?"

             
She nods. "Yes, at the beach where you were filming. There are going to be some people speaking and then there's going to be a butterfly release. I figured I could at least do that."

             
I pull her close and sigh. "I know you're still hurting, Katy. Just know that I'm here, ok? You can talk to me, even if it's about Lucas."

 
              She frowns as she looks up at me. "Are you sure?"

             
I nod. "Yes. I might not be Krista, but I can at least listen. I love you Katy, and I love how big your heart is. I know Lucas holds a piece of it, and probably always will, and I'm ok with that."

             
Katy sniffles as she looks down. "I miss him, a lot." She wipes her eyes. "He was just always there, you know? Someone that I could turn to for any reason; one of my best friends," She takes a deep breath. "When we became more than friends it felt good. I hadn't really felt much of a connection with anyone since you. He made me open my heart again."

             
I rub her back in soothing circles and hold her tighter against me. Lucas might not have been my favorite person, but for him to love Katy and to make her open her heart and live again makes me grateful for him. I wish I had gotten the chance to know him better. Maybe over time we would have become friends, but now we'll never get the chance because of a woman out of her mind with jealousy. 

             
"I'm sorry, Katy," I whisper into her hair. "You don't have to be strong in front of me. Cry if you need to, you're allowed to miss him."

             
Her sniffles turn into gasps as she cries into my chest. I hate that she's been holding all this in for my sake. 

             
I rock her back and forth as her tears continue falling down her cheeks. I wish I could just take this all away for her.

             
"I just...feel so...guilty," she whispers between cries. "It's not fair. He was supposed to graduate, go be this amazing architect and find a great wife, have a couple kids." Katy shakes her head. "Now he's just gone. Now he doesn't have a future. Why did he have to die, Liam?" She looks up at me with red puffy eyes and I reach out to rub some tears away.

             
"Sometimes there are no answers. Sometimes things just suck and all you can do is yell and scream and be pissed off.  You can be mad, you can try and make sense of it all, but in the end the why of it doesn't matter, Katy. In the end you're left to just deal with it and keep living."

             
 "I know," she whispers, taking a deep breath. "But it really sucks."

             
I smile softly and wipe the last of her tears away. "I know it does, but you have me to help you through it, ok? If you need me, I'm right here."

             
Katy pulls me down to her for a kiss and leans her forehead against mine. "Thank you for loving me even when I'm broken."

             
I kiss her again and hold her tightly against my chest, "Always." 

              A few hours later we arrive at the beach with a full security detail.

             
"Isn't this a bit much?" Katy asks, frowning when the car door is open and one of the bodyguards hands her the crutches.

             
I shake my head, letting her lean her weight on me as she adjusts the crutches. "No, its better to make it obvious that they're here so people know we're protected."

             
She sighs and starts making her way down the sidewalk towards the main part of the beach, where there is a little tent with black folding chairs and a podium set up.