Page 23 of Laying it Bare Backstage

When Ascher stopped at Ivy’s chair, he picked her up, sat down, and placed her in his lap.

“I guess girl talk is officially over.” She laughed before twisting her head so she could give him a kiss.

The four of us relaxed out on the loungers until it was time to leave so we weren’t late for our reservation. It was adorable seeing Teak interact with his fans. He was bombarded when we first arrived at the restaurant. But true to his word, after he spent some time signing pictures and CD’s and smiling for selfies, they left him alone. Then we were able to enjoy a delicious dinner. And it was so therapeutic being on a double date with friends, doing something normal and pushing aside my worries, for a least a few hours. Although these happenings caused me to have to adjust my living arrangement – which I didn’t mind one bit and as I had told Ivy I would make sure we took a step back when this was over if needed so I didn’t harm our relationship. But I refused to allow them to disrupt my life to the point I curled into a ball and stopped enjoying things. And as for one of the major benefits of my new temporary living arrangement; I asked Teak to sing his new song to me again before we ended the night making love. I couldn’t find any negatives about that part.

The next morning, I had a staff meeting so after we ate breakfast, I kissed Teak and headed out to my car, letting him know I wouldn’t behome– that was a little crazy to think but I let the slip go – until around two. Our meetings normally weren’t more than an hour or so, but to make it worth my while for the trip in to work; I helped out with some other things and then took off right before they broke for lunch. Although once a month, I would stick around to have lunch with the girls. Since Teak would be busy – and I didn’t want to give him a reason to take a break if it wasn’t necessary – I planned to tag along with the girls today too even though I had last week as well. So hopefully that would mean he wouldn’t pause his writing until he was ready to eat lunch.

After I slipped into my car, I headed down the driveway, punched in the code at the gate, and turned onto the main road. A mile down the street, I came to a stop sign. Since I was the first one to pull to a stop, I checked the other directions again to make sure everyone saw me, and then put my foot on the gas. However, once I was in the middle of the intersection, out of nowhere, a car came barreling toward me and hit me broadside. I didn’t have a chance to swerve or discern what the hell had happened because as soon as the car connected with my driver’s side, my head thumped off of my window and darkness engulfed me.

Six

~ Teak ~

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For the past two hoursor so, I had been slouched in my writing chair with my guitar and phone at the ready, busy working on the song I had started yesterday and was making decent progress. Some of the melody wasn’t flowing quite right, but more of the pieces were coming together. Even though Serenity was at work, my thoughts still drifted to her. And this probably sounded really strange, but the house seemed unusually quiet with her not being here. Not that she ever made noise while I was working – the complete opposite really; she made sure I didn’t hear her at all no matter if she was inside watching television or reading or busy in the kitchen or heading out to my deck. But I couldfeelthat she wasn’t here. And that might have been more distracting than actually having her here. I shook my head at my nonsense. But I couldn’t help it. I loved her and she was already a huge part of my life.

Alright, I needed to focus my attention on my lyrics. She’d be home in the afternoon. Then my house would feel normal again. I chuckled to myself. Maybe I needed to write a song about that. While I was reading over the lyrics I had just jotted down, my phone buzzed with an incoming call from Serenity. Maybe she had changed her mind about going to lunch with her co-workers and had wanted to meet me somewhere. Smiling, I hit accept on my screen.

“Hey, Sweetheart.”

“Hey.” Something was off in her voice and I immediately tensed. Had she been harassed again? Or did the cops find something?

“Don’t freak out. I’m okay. But could you come get me at the emergency room?”

“What happened?” My heart leapt into my throat as my heart pounded against my rib cage. Worse case scenarios tore through my mind for several long beats before I was able to force out a moderately calming breath. And then another one. After all, she was talking to me so that was a good sign. Right? And asking me to come get her; not telling me she had been admitted to the hospital.

“I was hit broadside at the intersection not far from the house and because I had been knocked unconscious the ambulance brought me to the hospital. But I’ve been released.”

Relief washed over me, but fear still constricted my chest, making it difficult to take my next breath. I wouldn’t be able to suck in a deep one until I saw her with my own eyes to see for certain she was okay. “I’m leaving now.” Rushing out of my office and to my front door, I grabbed my keys on the way and then sprinted to my car. After slipping inside my SUV, I took in a few steadying breaths. It would do me no good to get involved in an accident and not be able to get her. Convinced I was as calm as I could manage, I headed down to the gate and out onto the main road. During the drive, my thoughts whirled in my mind.Was this connected to the other happenings?Or was she just in the wrong place at the wrong time? I didn’t believe for a second that she was a careless driver, but you couldn’t control other drivers.

About thirty minutes later, I pulled into a spot down from the entrance to the hospital. Then I raced down the sidewalk to the main doors. Stepping inside, my eyes anxiously darted around the waiting area. Serenity was sitting in one of the plastic chairs staring at the television on the opposite wall. Not giving it much thought that it was a hospital setting, I rushed over to her. When I got to her seat, I gently pulled her into my arms and hugged her to my chest, kissing the top of her head. “Are you sure you’re okay?” She had bruises all along her left arm and a huge one on her left cheek and a bump on her forehead. Although the fact that she was just involved in a car accident, her injuries could have been a lot worse. However, I didn’t like seeing her in any pain, but I’d take the bruises over broken bones ...or even worse. Fuck, I shook that disturbing thought the hell away.

“Just a little sore and probably have a mild concussion, but I just want to go home.” Hearing her use the wordhomedid crazy things to my heart. But now wasn’t the time to rejoice in that. I needed to take care of my girl.

Cuddling her to my side, I walked her out to my car. Once I got her situated, I hopped in the other side and drove us home.

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