Overcome (23 page)

Carly’s chest heaved and she clenched her hands at her sides.  Amy’s hand ran over Carly’s wet head.

“I need to go home.” Carly was surprised she was able to keep her voice steady.

“Judd, can you go grab a couple towels?” Her mom spoke, without even looking at him. He rushed out of the room at her request. “What’s wrong, are you getting one of your headaches?”

With her lips in a line and water still dripping over her face, she just shook her head.  The door swung back open, Judd was quick.

The towel that fell on her shoulders was warm as if it came fresh out of the dryer.

“Do you need anything else, Amy?” Judd’s gruff voice spoke behind her.

Amy nodded as her eyes stayed on Carly. She held up a finger. “Give me one second.” She addressed Judd. “Carly, do you want to talk about it?”

“I just want to go home.” She repeated as she blinked away the tears.

“You’re not driving.” Amy ran her hands up and down Carly’s arms, drying her off.  “Judd, I can’t leave. Can you drop her off for me? You’re not even supposed to be here anyway.”

*****

“Do you need help inside?” Judd asked as he reached for his door handle.

“No,” her voice came out scratchy.

She stared out the windshield where the wipers swished the rain water away.

Despite Judd blasting the heater, she still shivered under the fluffy, white hotel blanket.

“My dad’s home,” she whispered, “thanks.” She climbed out of the car into the pouring rain. It wasn’t like she wasn’t already soaked. Judd sat in the driveway until she made it into the house.

She shrugged the towel off her shoulders. Since it was wet, it no longer served its purpose.  She sat the towel on the kitchen table when she looked up and saw her dad glaring at her. His hands were balled into fists on the counter, a beer sat between them. His forehead was wrinkled and his lips set in a thin line, his skin red. She glanced over her shoulder to see if Hudson was behind her.

“Dad?” Her voice came out shaky when she realized they were alone. Thunder crashed, making her jump before he responded.

He’d never looked at her like that before. He’d been this angry with Hudson and her mom, but not her.

Air whooshed out of the air duct above her, making her shiver as she stood in her wet clothes, afraid to move.

He didn’t speak as he reached down on the counter his fingers plucked up a little white and purple stick.

“What’s this?” His nostrils flared like tiny umbrellas.

Carly’s eyes widened. She tried to catch her breath. “It looks like … like a pr … pr … pregnancy test,” she said through chattering teeth, though at this point she wasn’t sure if it was fear or the cold.

His jaw jumped at her response. He shook the test above his head. “Do you think I’m stupid?” His shout made her flinch. “I know it’s a pregnancy test. Don’t even try to tell me it’s not yours.”

She swallowed her heart. “It isn’t mine, Dad.”

His shoulders rose as he rushed around the counter shouting curses at her. “I don’t like being made a fool, Carly.” Spit flew out of the corners of his mouth as he stood above her. “I knew we needed to ban you from hanging out with Bree when she ended up pregnant … then her …
brother
… I told your mom, letting you date him was a bad idea.”

“It’s not mine,” she shouted again, despite the fact she was about to collapse. She knew it was coming, but it still shocked her when his hand cracked against her cheek. A searing pain spread through her face and heart. She blinked back the tears.

Her eyes watched his lips moving, but her mind didn’t compute what was coming out as she thought of the monster he was. His other fist came up when the front door swung open bringing in a gust of wind and rain, and Hudson and Khloe?

“Dad!” Hudson shouted right before Carly felt another crack to her face and she fell.

“Carly!” Khloe’s voice barely reached Carly’s ears. Her eyes registered a red blur coming at her before everything went black.

Chapter 48

Parker

“Parker, what happened?” Bree gasped, wide-eyed when she opened the door. The large tee shirt hung on her small frame making her look like she wasn’t wearing pants. At least Parker hoped that was the case.

Parker leaned away from the hand reaching to his cheek, “It doesn’t hurt.”

“I didn’t ask you if it hurt. I asked you what happened.” She grasped her hip and stepped out of the way for him to enter.

“Ask your BFF.” He rubbed the back of his head. “Where’s the little one?”

“Garrett’s family has her today, and you know I haven’t spoken to Carly since…”

He sat on the kitchen chair. His knee bounced. “I wish I could say the same.”

“Did
she
do that to you?” Bree eyes blinked rapidly.

“What?” he pointed his hand toward himself. “No, you think I’d let a
girl
do this?”

Bree shrugged.

“I’m leaving today. I just wanted to come by and tell you … going to Mindy’s next to tell Bryson.” He placed his forehead in his hands. His elbows were on his thighs. “I don’t know when I’m coming back.”

“But, why?” The soft scratchiness in her voice tugged at his heart.

He glanced back up at his little sister. She was a mom. He still couldn’t believe it. She was good to her baby, but right now she seemed too young, almost younger than Kamberlee as she frowned down at him. Water pooled in her eyes and her bottom lip in her mouth. Her hair was in a poof on the top of her head and it bounced. She was shaking. Was she crying?

“Bree, please don’t. We’ll text and we can video chat.” He rose to his feet.

“You just came back … I …” she sniffed.

“It’s too hard here. Carly’s everywhere.” He motioned around the room. “Even here all I think about is how she was the one who brought me.”

“But … it’s … having you back. Having my big brother around, it just makes me feel like …” She pulled her arms across her stomach. “I don’t know, secure.”

“I’m still your big brother. I’m only going to be a couple hours away. We won’t lose touch. I promise.”

A cell phone buzzed on the table behind him. Bree ignored it, to his surprise. She wiped the tears from under her eyes and stared at the floor.

“I might come back eventually.”

“But …” Bree was distracted by the buzzing on the kitchen counter. Then she looked back at Parker. “It’s not the same.”

“We know each other now. My home is in Oak Hill, not here. I was going to have to go back sometime.”

Her phone buzzed again, sliding slightly over the counter top. They both turned toward it this time.

“My dad abandoned me … my mom … well … and you …”

“Don’t compare me to them.” Parker clenched his fists at his sides. He’d never reject her like they did. Her eyes flicked toward her phone when it buzzed again. “You better get that.”

She hesitated before taking wide steps toward the counter, swiping her fingers under her eyes again. With her back toward him, her shoulders rose and fell and a sniff came from her before she looked at her phone. He felt like he waited forever before she finally turned around, her face now pale white and her hand covered her mouth. “Carly …” she shook her head, and the fear he spotted in her dark eyes made him want to vomit.

“What about Carly?” He wasn’t sure how the words left his mouth.

“She’s … she’s hurt, her dad …” Bree’s eyes fluttered and tears finally spilled from them. Parker clenched his teeth. He felt like the air had been knocked out of him. He saw what Scott Ley did to Amy and thinking of the same happening Carly made him want to kill him.

“Oh my gosh. I haven’t even talked to her in …” Bree’s words were choppy as they fell out like her tears.

A thick lump crept up Parker’s throat and after everything that happened all he could think of was getting to Carly.

Chapter 49

Carly

The lights were bright. The hum of machines carried in the air. Carly cracked open her eyes. The throbbing in her temples was almost unbearable.

“Carly,” her mom whispered beside her. “I’m so sorry.” Her lips were turned down into a frown, faint worry lines stretched across her forehead.

“Mom.” Her voice was scratchy and she tried to sit up. A searing pain in her head made her ease back down with a grimace.

Her mother’s soft hand covered Carly’s. “I’ll be right back, let me get the nurse.”

Carly clenched her eyes shut. “Okay.” She breathed out. Her skin cooled where her mother had been touching her. The room was too quiet for Carly. She just wanted to go home and be in her own bed.

How could he do this to her? Sure she’d witnessed her mom and Hudson enduring his wrath for years, but he’d never done anything more than raise his voice at her.

The soft “Hey” breaking up the quiet made Carly open her eyes again. Hudson entered the room with Khloe. Now she remembered Khloe shouting her name and rushing for her. Carly’s eyes flicked to Hudson’s hand resting on Khloe’s hip, his arm around her waist.

“What are you…” she rasped.

Khloe’s eyes were red and puffy. “Oh my gosh that was scary.” Khloe rushed toward her.

“I thought you hated me.” Carly spoke, trying to hold her eyes open. She looked from Hudson to Khloe—who planted herself in the vacant seat.

“I wasn’t there to visit you.” Khloe pouted out her plump lower lip and glanced up at Hudson.

Carly looked up at her brother when it finally clicked. “You two are
together
?”

“Yeah,” A small smile appeared on Khloe’s face when Hudson spoke. He placed his hand on Khloe’s shoulder.

That was awkward. Carly closed her eyes again and took in a quick breath when a pain shot through her head.

“All right …” Carly heard a voice she didn’t recognize. “You feeling some pain, huh?”

Carly grunted in response. The words everyone spoke barely registered in her brain. She knew the voices. Khloe, Hudson, her mom, but she didn’t know what they were saying before she was drifting back to sleep.

*****

When Carly cracked open her eyes again, she’d expected to see her mom’s curly locks in the seat beside her. But the head that was propped against a hand didn’t belong to her mother. Her heart sped and her head ached again. She blinked. It was dark, only a dim night light filled the room. Maybe she was seeing things. Things she wanted and wished for but was too afraid to admit.

His hair stuck up in sporadic tufts. She watched his chest move with each breath. There was still a small cut on his lip where it busted when he stood up for her.

Then it all came back. She was horrible to him. Another pain shot through her head. She groaned before she realized what she was doing. His dark brown eyes shot open. He stared for a second before he rose out of his seat and brought his face close to hers. “Are you okay?” he whispered. She didn’t pull away when his hand wrapped around hers nor did she answer him.

“Is she awake?” Her mom spoke with a sleepy tone from the other side of her.

“Yeah,” Carly forced out. Her throat was dry. Her lips were even drier and burned when she brought them in her mouth.

“How you feeling?” Amy was now right beside Parker.

“I …” she wasn’t sure how she felt. Her body hurt physically, but nothing compared to the hole in her chest.

“Parker, you wanna text Bree?” Amy said then looked back to Carly. “Bree’s been so worried about you.”

Carly nodded. She thought Bree hated her. Bree
should
hate her. She had every right to.

“I’ll be back.” Parker’s voice was rough as he squeezed Carly’s hand before leaving the room.

Amy watched until he was out the door. “I think you found a good one.”

Carly swallowed, her throat was parched. “Can you get me some water?”

“Of course.” Amy reached behind her to the small table and grabbed the large plastic cup with a bendy straw.

The cool water was soothing and once she began drinking she didn’t want to stop. She didn’t know how long she’d been there. It could have been hours. It could have been days since something soothed her throat.

“Parker hasn’t left your side since he showed up.”

“When? How long?” The burning made it difficult to speak clear.

“We’ve been here about twelve hours. Parker and Bree showed up about an hour after us.”

“But mom, I’ve been so mean to them …”

She tilted her head to the side. Her hair slid away from her face. “Love doesn’t stop when we have a bad day.”

“Is that why you stayed with dad?” Carly turned her face toward the ceiling, unable to look at her mom when she asked.

“No, I don’t love your dad. I don’t know if I ever did. I guess fear of the unknown … fear of being alone kept me there.” Her soft, warm hand cupped around Carly’s. “I’m sorry … if I would have left sooner …”

“Mom, it’s not your fault. Dad’s the one who did this.”

“But …”

The room fell silent and Carly shut her eyes, trying to ignore the ache.

“That was my pregnancy test. I wish I wouldn’t have been that stupid. I should have taken it at work.”

“Wait … you’re pregnant?” Carly’s eyes flew open and chest hammered and she felt like she was suffocating.

“It’s not your dad’s.”

Carly knew that much. All the signs were there. “Who’ve you been seeing, mom?”

“Maybe now’s not the time for this.” She glanced up at the bag of liquid hanging.

“You can’t do this now. I know him don’t I?” The attempt at biting her lip was a mistake.

“It’s … I’ve been …”

“Who?”

“Judd.”