Cover Up (Cover #2) (5 page)

Chapter Three

“Only one thing registers on the subconscious mind: repetitive application - practice. What you practice is what you manifest.”

~ Fay Weldon ~

Emily

“Adam… Where’s Adam?” I asked the woman frantically when I woke up again. I pulled on her arm, desperate to see him.
Had he been hurt? Was he ok?

“Ms. Roberts, please remain calm. You are not a hundred percent yet and shouldn’t excite yourself,” she urged and fought to keep me still. She turned her head towards the door and Adam
came into view. I was instantly relieved, becoming still in the doctor’s hold.

I thought for sure I had lost him,
that there would be no other way he would not be at my side when I awoke. Not seeing him there, made me assume the worst had happened. It was bad enough waking up to the news that I had lost a week out of my life. The possibility of losing him, also, would be too much to bear.

“Oh baby, you’re not hurt?” I asked, reach
ed to take hold of his hand, and entwined our fingers. I needed to feel the warmth of his hand against mine. The doctor stood aside and looked between Adam and me.
He was all right.

I stared into his handsome blue eyes and sighed with relief that Adam hadn’t
also been hurt. He peered back at me with a peculiar expression on his face. I didn’t understand his confusion, but it was obvious something wasn’t right. He turned away with a pained look, his eyes darkened with sorrow, as he brought a hand to my hair. He gently stroked my hair trying to sooth me.

“Adam what’s wrong?” I probed
, my attention fully on him; forgetting the doctor to my left who was now watching the exchange with widened eyes.

He turned away, looking to my far left. I followed his gaze and saw Diana and Suzie, my two best friends
, huddled in the corner. They looked a mess, which was so not like them. Diana was always stunning in her own sweet, elegant, way; that I of course envied since I couldn’t pull off half her wardrobe. Suzie…Well, Suzie looked like she had seen a ghost. Both girls had tears in their eyes, their hands clasped together tightly.

“Diana, Suzie.” I whispered.
Why are they all the way over there? What the hell is wrong with everybody?
You would think that waking up after being in a coma for a week would liven up the mood. Sure they were all worried when I initially came in. The air in the room suddenly thickened and I had the worst feeling in the pit of my stomach that something wasn’t right. This behavior was atypical for friends who had just witnessed their best friend come back from the brink of death.

“Uh, what exactly do you remember before the accident
, sweetie?” Adam asked with a wrinkled brow, his eyes brimming with tears.

Confused, I la
y back on the bed, unable to believe how comfortable it felt under me.
Shit. These hospitals have really stepped up their game
, I thought before closing my eyes and summoning my last memories.

I
sat on the bench behind the restaurant. We were enjoying our daily lunch.

Each da
y at lunch, we’d head to the back of the restaurant, where it was pretty much secluded, and enjoyed our quiet time alone. Afterwards, we’d clean up and head back in for the remainder of our shifts until it was time to go home. Thankfully, Chef Gordon always scheduled us to work the same shifts; saying it was pointless to separate us, since we’d only switch shifts with the other chefs anyway. It was true!

“The last thing I remember was climbing into my car with you. Don’t
you
remember?” I inquired, as I opened my eyes. “You just told me you loved me,” I shyly continued, unable to hold back my shy smile or contain my blush.

This past week was the greatest
of my life. Adam
finally
told me he loved me, something I had wanted to hear since I first admitted my own feelings for him. In the short time we’d been together, I had fallen for the man. I loved the person I was with him. With him, I felt free. Our relationship was as easy as breathing. Adam gave me something that I had never thought I could have…peace.

It wasn’t until
I met him that I realized how much my past had damaged me. While I never spoke of it, I felt like he understood what I needed and provided me with the freedom to just be. He wasn’t demanding and overbearing. He was simple. And, I loved that about him. Until him, nothing in my life had been without complication. Yes, he had the reputation of an arrogant man; but truly, behind those crystal blue eyes was a gentle, down-to-earth man.
God, I love him.

ADAM

When Diana
stressed we reveal the truth to Emily, Dr. Avery lifted a hand in protest, just low enough so that Emily could not see. The rest of us remained frozen in our respective spots. The doctor informed Emily that she needed to speak to the rest of us. Emily, of course, didn’t understand what was going on and insisted that the Doctor didn’t need to hide anything from her, but Doctor Avery told her that she only wanted to talk to us more about her possible recovery time.

Emily didn’t b
uy it. I knew it, because I had learned Emily’s ‘tell’ in the first month we’d been together. Whenever she was uncertain or grew anxious, she bit her lower lip. It was the cutest, most adorable thing to watch, especially when I called her on it.

After administering Emily
’s pain meds, the doctor drew the curtains around Emily’s bed and motioned the rest of us to move closer to the door.

“Memory loss following a coma is quite common
, so I don’t want you to be concerned. I have to also say that, until we get a better understanding as to the extent of her memory loss, I need you to play along with her. Let her memory return on its own,” she turned towards me and raised her brow.

“I understand,” I whispered. The truth was I didn’t understand shit about this. Would her memory come back? How long would it take to return? What about the fucking Frenchm
an? Would she remember him when she saw him and recall our horrible breakup? Endless questions swarmed my brain, and I stood confused.

“So you’re saying her memory will eventually return?” asked Diana
, who stood to my right, gnawing away at her nails.

The doctor shook her head, “There is really no way of knowing at this point. She may slowly start to regain her memory. Unfortunately, there is a chance that she
may never regain those memories. Only time and more tests will tell. If her memory hasn’t improved by morning, I’ll have a therapist come in and break it to her. I hope that this is temporary. In the meantime, you need to inform Mr. Belmont of this,” she advised.

“Fuck. I can’t imag
ine mister grumpy being happy about this. I’m not telling him shit. Suzie, that’s all on you,” I announced. The French god bolted earlier when Emily called out my name. I couldn’t say I was disappointed that she didn’t remember him.
Is it wrong that I feel like Emily’s memory loss might actually work in my favor?

“Great. Just what I fucking need! You know
, if Emily gets her memory back, I just might choke the hell out of her for leaving me to deal with that other man. I mean, shit. Being the buffer between you two has been a pain in my ass!” Suzie chided in hushed tones while rolling her eyes.

Diana remained qui
et, which wasn’t surprising given what Emily’s memory loss meant. I couldn’t help the bile that rose in my throat at the possible thoughts forming in Diana’s mind. She needed a way out of the web of lies she had formed and I knew she would use this situation in order to hide. It made me sick to my stomach, but I had no time to deal with the woman now. It was bad enough that I had to be in the same room with her, her eyes often snaking their way towards me. The rift that woman caused between Emily and me caused everyone pain. Luckily, for her, now was not the time to hash out the truth. Emily needed my complete focus. Soon, very soon, I would have words with Ms. Diana Edwards and she would not like anything I had to say!

The Doctor assured us that she would have answers for us soon
, and stressed that it would be unwise to give Emily any indication that anything was wrong. As she turned her back to open the door, we each walked over to Emily. I drew back the pink and blue curtains and stood at her side.
This was going to be interesting.

JULIEN

I wasn’t sure how long I sat there arguing with myself. A part of me wanted to check in on Emily one last time, but a larger part of me screamed in protest. It didn’t feel right while unsure she would make a full recovery. For all I knew, she would need physical therapy, or maybe speech therapy, given the sound of her small, frail voice.

Steeling my resolve, I
rose from the cold, blue chair and made my way back to the room. With each step, I commanded the next to proceed. Dread formed in the pit of my stomach, as the white door loomed closer. The hospital’s normal chatter was hushed by the frantic thumping of my heart in my ears.
This was it! The last time I would see Emily before leaving her forever.

I
hesitantly reached for the doorknob, and paused mid-way.
Just give up, man! Walk away!

I t
ried to listen to the voice screaming inside of me, but instead I shook the thoughts out of my head. I needed to do this. I needed to be sure she was ok. Although Emily did not love me, I still loved her.

I
turned the knob, the door flew open, and a stunned Dr. Avery stood before me. Assuming that she thought I had left, I gave her a small forced smile, trying to make light of my embarrassment. She must think me a child to storm off that way.

“Is she ok?” I whispered as she stepped out of the doorway, pulling
the door closed behind her.

She
sighed and gestured for us to walk together before taking the lead. I followed behind her, aware of the discomfort in the air.
Please say she’s going to be ok!

She was silent at first
, until we reached the end of the hall to the far right of Emily’s room away from everyone. She stood, clutching her clipboard so tightly that her knuckles turned white, and shifted from foot to foot. My stomach churned nervously while I waited for the news.

“Just tell me
, Dr. Avery. Whatever it is, I need to know,” I grunted and immediately regretted my tone. I rolled my eyes; for once again, I was unable to control my emotions.