Monitored (The White Coat Series Book 3) (12 page)

“You look happy today,” Con said, “almost glowing.”

“Thanks.” I dropped my purse onto the empty chair next to me and readjusted my sunglasses. I smiled, not enough to give away that I had the most mind blowing sex ever, but just enough to show that there was a difference. I was happy. I wasn’t scared anymore.

“Did you end up talking to Dr. Baby Daddy.”

“Con, stop.” I hated it when he called him that, but I also didn’t want him to use Blake’s name too carelessly, so I tried to let the whole baby daddy slide for now. “No, I haven’t.”

“Well, you should.” He slid his phone towards me, the case bumping over the wooden table.

My jaw dropped open. His phone screen was displaying one of those tacky gossip blogs, with big pink letters and cheap photoshop manipulations, and on the homepage was a picture of yours truly angled in a way that made me look like I was about to punch the lights out of an enraged looking Sadie. Whoever got the shot managed to get it at just the right moment, I have got to admit.

“Oh no.”

“I’m sorry, sis. But this might get bigger than we thought.”

“Maybe it’ll blow over?” I tried to stay hopeful.The Evans
 
weren’t exactly iconic film stars or reputable TV actors so they wouldn’t draw as much attention in that regard, but they sure were tabloid fodder.

“Hopefully. Fuck, what a shithead.” Con slammed his fist down on the table, causing the menus to jump up a bit. I knew he cared about me, it must have hurt him seeing me in this situation. Just like it hurt me seeing him in his.

“How about you?” I asked, wondering if he had put in any more thought into telling mom and dad about his news. “Have you figured out what you were going to do since we talked?”

“I decided that I don’t want to take away from your spotlight,” he joked. He always resorted to deflecting the question with a quick joke. Distract the invaders with laughs and send them on their way. “I don’t think I’m ready to tell them just yet. I want to find a nice guy first.” He smiled, I could tell the words still seemed foreign to him, but they sounded more natural to me.
 

“What about that one guy. The one from Tinder?” The waitress came back with my glass of orange juice and a bowl of cornbread muffins. I tried my hardest to not devour the whole basket before she even set it down.

“We’re still talking.” He drank his mango smoothie, suddenly averting my gaze. “I don’t know, he was just acting weird lately.”

“How so?” I asked, not used to seeing my brother so bashful. He always seemed like the alpha-dog, the guy that was first to be picked for flag football and the prom all in the same day. This other guy must have been making some sort of impression to do this.

“I just don’t think he’s comfortable coming out now.” He took another sip, er gulp, of his smoothie. “So everything between us is pretty much in secret.”

I knew how much secrets sucked. I reached out a hand and placed it on Con’s forearm. “Listen. If he’s worth it, talk to him about it. Maybe you can help him come to terms with everything. And if he’s not ready, then you’ll have to decide whether you want to continue with a relationship like that.” I shrugged a bit. “It’ll be hard, but Con, you’ve always been that sappy romantic under all that beefy frat-head exterior. Maybe this’ll make you fall in love with him even harder. A Romeo and Juliet type thing."

“I guess,” Con said, not sounding too convinced. “It’s just weird, you know? Being so open about everything. I don’t know. Maybe I should just stay single and turn into that lone uncle that’s always eating the chips at the family Christmas party.

“Stop it. That is not who you are. You’re made for relationships, screw what everyone else thinks.” I cocked my head and smiled. “Besides, didn’t we always say we were going to find someone at the same time? It was like in our DNA?”

“I’m thinking that was bullshit, Sky.”

“Well let’s hope not, because then you should find someone very soon.”

Connor tilted his head, brows coming together and wrinkling his forehead. “Wait, are you talking about you know who?”

“No… I’m talking about his assistant.” My eyes opened a bit at the crazy way that sounded coming out of my mouth. “We just clicked on a freaking incredible level. Con, I’ve never experience this with anyone.” I was unable to hold back a beaming smile. My brother leaned back a bit, trying to digest the news I had just dropped. Talking to my brother did make me realize that this could turn into something much larger than I had previously thought. Now, if I was labeled as the home-wrecker that destroyed a celebrity marriage, how was it going to seem when everyone found out I was going out with his employee.

How the fuck did I find myself in this mess?

Never had I once thought that there was a possibility of me being publicly recognized because of a scandal. Not once did I think I was going to be a knock-off Monica Lewinsky. My life would be destroyed if I didn’t get this in check.

How would anyone go out with me if the truth had leaked? Right now it was all just speculation. Just one photo that looked highly incriminating but still wasn’t enough to prove an outright war.

So at least I had that going for me.

“Should I hold like a press conference?”

“No, Sky, you aren’t some C.E.O. apologizing for having sex on your desk and stealing from the company’s account.”

He had a point. “How about a youtube video?”

“And then it goes viral and everyone thinks it’s staged and things get even worse when people pry and realize that you’re with child.” Con did that sometimes. He liked using old sounding phrases for some reason that he never could really pinpoint. “No, I think the best bet now is to keep a low-profile and let everything blow over.”

He was making complete and total sense. I saw all the drawbacks to speaking out and none to staying quiet. Especially if Blake stayed quiet too, which I figured he would most likely do since he was just as terrified of this blowing up as I was.

All I had to worry about was Sadie.

Well… I thought all I had to worry about was Sadie.

“Wait. Is that the girl from the Fast and Furious movies?” Con suddenly whispered, trying to be as discreet as possible while still staring at the girl who was walking down the aisle behind me. “Oh shit, it is! Jason would flip the fuck out.” His voice was still hushed, but it got louder as the actress kept walking. I managed to sneak a glance and saw a bombshell of a figure practically strutting out towards the exit, jet black hair falling just under her shoulders.

“You should have asked for an autograph,” I said, turning back to Connor who was still looking over at her, he wasn’t even trying to be sneaky anymore.

“Isn’t that weird? We live in a place where we have lunch with people that almost everyone only sees on screen.”

“It’s a blessing,” I said, my sarcasm coming off a little stronger than I had intended. Con got it though, smiling at me. “Give it a few months and people are going to be whispering behind my back down a supermarket aisle.”

“Sky. Listen to me, this is going to be ok. I promise. Just happen, ok?”

I wasn’t sure if just happen was going to cut it this time, but I managed a smile regardless. I realized my hand had been resting on my stomach this whole time. It was a weird feeling, now suddenly being conscious of where my hand was placed.
 

“Just happen.” I bit into a cornbread muffin, the crumbs falling down and getting blown onto the pavement and almost right into the gaping mouth of a strolling pigeon, waddling around and looking for things to peck off the floor.

“Are you going to help me when I get all cravey for stuff.”

“Isn’t that your new personal assistant’s job?” And then Con looked up from swirling the melting remains of his smoothy. “Are you going to tell him?”

I knew that question was coming and I still wasn’t prepared.

“I mean, yeah, it’s not like I’m going to be able to hide it.” The loud engine of a Lamborghini or Maserati or some other ridiculously expensive car roared passed the restaurant. “I don’t know. I mean I like him, I really, really do. Be warned, he is the complete opposite of the guys I used to date. He isn’t allergic to steak and doesn’t know how to solve a Rubik cube in under three minutes, but he can play the guitar and sing like a freaking rock star. I’m just scared of chasing him off so soon.”

Con crossed his arms. “He sounds like trouble.”

“That’s the thing though. You would think someone that attractive would be a douchebag, but he’s the total opposite. Just from spending the time I have with him, I can already tell he’s a good person deep down and through.” I took another sip from my orange juice, the pulp clumping on the rim.

“You were always a pretty good judge of character.” He was probably referring to all the girls he tried dating back in highschool, the ones which I would constantly call out as cheaters and liars. Sure enough, I was right about pretty much all four of them and from then on, Con always trusted my opinions. If only I had known he was interested in guys the whole time, I would have hooked him up with Roger, a close mutual friend of ours who had confided in me that he had a devastatingly intense crush on the seemingly straight Connor.

“And he’s a good character,” I said confidently. He finished off his smoothie and managed to order a breakfast burrito from the roaming waitress, her bandana now coming loose and sagging onto her forehead. “I’m going to be staying over his place for the next few days.”

“Wow, Sky. Already moving in?” He said it jokingly but I still picked up a hint of worry. Connor had never seen me open up to someone so quickly, I could tell that he had his reservations on if I was crazy about this or not.

Hell, I even had some reservations, but this wasn’t the same Sky as before. No, I was growing up and I could make my own decisions, without fearing whether or not someone else thought it was a good one or not. Connor just wasn’t in my shoes, he couldn’t understand the intense connection I was already starting to build with Alexander.

“No, just for a little bit.” Con’s lips twitched, pulling into a skeptical corner. “Something weird happened the other day and I would rather not be alone for right now.”

“What happened?” He straightened up in his seat, just as his breakfast burrito and my salad were placed down in front of us.
 

“Well, me and Rachel were just hanging out when someone knocked on my door. It was like seven, so it was already an odd time to be over uninvited, right?” He nodded. “I thought it was you or Jason so I went to check but by the time I got to the door, no one was outside.”

“So you’re scared cuz someone ding dong ditched you?”

“No, it’s not just that though. Remember when someone followed Jason to my apartment? Well, maybe they came back and hearing Rachel inside with me scared them off?” The thought sent a cold shiver down my spine. It was frightening just to think that I was being watched like that. Someone who wanted to hurt my brother knew where I lived and when I was home.

“Shit, Sky. That does sound kind of serious. And Alexander is going to be your guitar rocking knight in shining leather.”

“Yeah.” I looked down at my phone and found myself expecting it to vibrate with Alexander’s name flashing across the front. The thought of my rockstar knight was becoming intoxicating. I found myself drifting off to our steamy rendezvous, the one that rocked my world to the very molten core, sending my body down a river of pleasure.

I sincerely hoped that this river didn’t turn into torrential, life-threatening rapids.

WE HAD STAYED UNDER THAT brown umbrella for what felt like a few more hours, although it probably was close to just one. I was able to convince Connor into letting me meet his new love interest. He had me promise that it would have to be as discreet as possible and that I was absolutely, under no circumstances, allowed to mention their relationship. I nodded my promise and secretly wished that my brother would find someone who wasn’t scared of who they were.

Before going home, I decided to stop by a convenience store and pick up some of those travel sized shampoos and soaps. I didn’t want Alexander to freak out and think I was expecting to move in with him permanently by bringing everything I owned. I wanted him to know that I understood it was a shaky period in my life and he was just being a good friend right now and offering me his place.

Just a good friend with the potential of having some mind-blowing sex.

The way home found me shopping at the mall. I wanted to be a little daring, risque. My body was about to be morphed into something that was almost unrecognizable so I thought what other time than now to show it off a bit. I walked into the Victoria’s Secret store and walked out with a crimson red and onyx black lace thong, something that I normally would have never worn.
 

Alexander was drawing something out of me that was unlike anything I even knew I possessed.
 

With my errands and panty shopping over, I finally pulled into my reserved parking spot and walked up the steps to my apartment, not noticing the beat-up Honda parked in the spot next to mine.

The key slid right in, the lock unclicking just as the brunt force of what felt like a hammer slammed into the back of my skull.

And in a second flat, I was blacked out and face-down on my apartment floor.

****

My eyelids struggled open, fighting the intense pain that shot through the back of my brain as soon as light hit my pupils. My head lolled to the side as I felt a drop of saliva fall from my parted lips. It must have been the last drop I had because my tongue was ash dry.

“Finally, you’re up. I was scared I killed you too soon.”

My heart froze at the sound of a vile woman hovering behind me, a Puerto Rican accent shaping her words. I squirmed a little in the seat and realized that my wrists were bound behind me, my arms wrapped around behind the wobbly chair.

“Take whatever you want.” I managed to say after coughing up what felt like sand. “It’s all yours.” Strength was beginning to return to my muscles, but my head was still cloudy, the force of the blow still affecting me. In fact, I almost didn’t even realize how loose the girl tied my bindings. With just a little bit of wiggling, half of the rope was already untied, hanging loosely beneath my fingers. I closed my grip around the loose string and drew it upward, just in case it caught her attention.