Page 38 of Laying it Bare Backstage

A beautiful woman stood beside him. An older version of Serenity with blonde hair cut to her shoulders, only her eyes were a lovely blue that was almost aquamarine in color. But I guessed violet colored eyes were rare so it was highly unlikely a parent would share the same trait. And who knew why my thoughts were drifting that way. Other than I was dying to see Serenity’s gorgeous eyes staring back at me, with a huge smile on her face.

“Serenity told us a bit about you. But she didn’t mention anything about being engaged.” Even though her face was tear stained and her eyes were puffy, her entire expression crestfallen, Mrs.Hayes still managed to give me a small smile.

“Well, that kinda happened abruptly.” I shot them both a sheepish grin.

“Thank you for that. Whether it’s true or not, we’re glad she hasn’t been alone here. That you were here for her. We were told you were back to see her earlier.”

“Yes. I got a couple of minutes with her. I love your daughter more than anything and no we haven’t gotten to that commitment yet, but we’re heading that way. We talked about it. But I needed to make sure I was given access to her and information, especially until you guys were able to get here. Although, I’d still appreciate being considered the fiancé.”

“Your secret is safe with us. We have a hotel room nearby. We’ll be back in the morning. I’m guessing you are staying the night?” Mr.Hayes gestured to my bag on the seat beside me. Then he smiled at the one holding my guitar.

“I’ll be staying until she comes home with me.” I hid my wince, hoping they didn’t read too much into that statement.

“We’ll bring you some breakfast with us in the morning. Are you a coffee drinker?” Either Mr.Hayes was planning to kick my ass later for my slip, or they didn’t interpret that to mean what I knew it did, or they were willing to discuss things with us later.

“Yes. And I’ll be in desperate need to chug some. I really appreciate that.” Although maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to get a little bit of sleep, as restless as it would be. As long as someone woke me if anything changed with Serenity. I’d have to ask a nurse to do so. And use my status as rock star to get that cooperation if necessary. I wasn’t above using my stardom to get special treatment in this case.

“Have a good night, Teak. And we’ll see you in the morning.” Mr.Hayes grabbed his wife’s hand and led her to the elevators.

And once again I was left alone. Grief and worry and anguish ripping me apart. I prayed she opened her eyes tomorrow. And if not, I would beg them to allow me to sit with her anyway. I believed if I played her song for her, it would help bring her back to me.

With the promise that one of the nurses would wake me if things changed with Serenity, I settled in for a long restless attempt at some sleep.

I jerked awake the next morning, my back and neck stiff and screaming obscenities at my poor treatment of them. Glancing around the room, I took a few moments to get my bearings straight. Even though the haunting nightmares that had plagued my erratic sleep didn’t allow me to forget where I was or the reason. The waiting room was still rather scarce; although with it being Sunday, it didn’t surprise me.

Serenity’s parents brought me a breakfast sandwich and some fruit from a local café along with a supersized coffee. It wasn’t that I was above eating hospital cafeteria food, but I wasn’t moving from the floor that housed Serenity’s room.

The hospital staff was still limiting visiting time for Serenity. She hadn’t gotten worse over night, but she hadn’t made significant progress either. But at least I wasn’t restricted to only once now. The only stipulation was no more than ten minutes at a clip. And much to Ivy’s delight, they did permit her some time with her best friend. After Serenity’s parents spent some time with her, they headed out for some air, stating they would return near lunch time with some food for me and the chance to get to see their daughter again.

Ivy and Ascher opted to stay with me. Ivy and I constantly shifted between nervously twitching in our seats and pacing the room like two caged tigers as we eagerly awaited for the opportunity to pop back into Serenity’s room for a brief visit.

I would hop onto social media or scroll through the internet, but my mind never strayed from Serenity. Time dragged on for relentless eons. The permitted visits were too brief to do much to break up the edgy monotony. At lunch time, Ivy and Ascher stepped out for some food while I ate the burger and fries Mr.and Mrs.Hayes had brought for me. It made me feel bad to toss away half of the food while they were visiting with their daughter. But I didn’t want to hurt their feelings. I appreciated their kindness and acceptance of me and the fact that they wanted to help me out, but my stomach was in such knots I could barely eat. The only reason I forced myself to eat anything was so I would have my strength when it came time to take care of Serenity. I couldn’t afford to let my health slip.

After I assured her parents I didn’t need anything else, they headed out again. Mrs.Hayes still looked washed out. Even though she was sleeping in an actual bed and not slouched in a plastic chair, I doubted her sleep was restful.

Hoping not to abuse the relaxed visiting restrictions, I headed back to sit with Serenity again. I was still itching to sing to her and be permitted to stay with her the entire time and I hoped today would be the last day of this torment. When they moved her to her own private room, I would not only be allowed to stay with her constantly, but it would be a sign that her recovery was progressing in the right direction, not staying stagnant.

Sometime later in the afternoon after Ivy, Ascher and I had had another opportunity to sit with Serenity, my phone buzzed in my pocket. Pulling it out, I glanced at the screen. It was a PD number. Leaning my shoulder up against one of the walls, I slid the accept button and put the phone to my ear. “Yeah.”

“Is this Teak Pierce?”

“Yes, it is. Is this one of the officers working on Serenity Hayes’ case?”

“Yes. Officer Hagen. I spoke with you yesterday at the hospital. I wanted to give you an update. The blood found in Naomi’s car matched the blood on the shirt. It was Serenity’s.”

“That means that bitch is going to be spending the rest of her life in prison.” I growled.

“Well, not exactly.”

It was like I had been sucker punched in the gut. I almost couldn’t breathe. “What the fuck do you mean?! That is pretty damning evidence right there.”

Ivy’s shocked gaze shot over to mine at my furious outburst.

“Easy. You didn’t let me finish. Naomi hung herself yesterday. Your fiancé’s attacker is dead, Teak. We also gained some new information from her that she wasn’t working alone in her abduction plan. It seems one of the security guards at the hall where you were performing helped get Serenity into Naomi’s car. We brought him in yesterday for questioning. When Serenity awakens, we are hoping she can identify him.”

My mind spun wildly. I had no doubt the bloods were going to match, but it was so refreshing to finally have something concrete. We had been skating around this shit far too long for my liking. And then to add to the mix that the security guard was an accomplice. My blood boiled in my veins. No wonder he had looked at her funny. Fuck.

“Thank you.”

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