Page 40 of Laying it Bare Backstage

Ascher patted my shoulder before he wrapped Ivy into his arms and escorted her to the door. And I returned to my singing.

About an hour later, Serenity started slowly rolling her head along her pillow, a soft moan tumbled from her lips, and her fingers flexed and extended on the mattress beside her.

“Serenity?” Hope bloomed in my chest as a new heaviness settled there. Optimism flared that she was finally coming back to me. I stashed my guitar in my case and then stood at the side of her bed, running my finger tip softly along her arm. “Can you hear me, Baby? Can you open your eyes?”

nine

~ Serenity ~

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My eyes slid open,but I forced them shut again. The singing had stopped and I didn’t want it to end. It had chased away my nightmares and terror. Then Teak’s voice reached through my darkness, his finger a gentle caress on my arm. “Can you hear me, Baby? Can you open your eyes? Please open your eyes. God, I’ve missed you so much.”

Teak was with me. I was safe. When I opened them again, my vision was blurry so I slowly blinked, hoping to bring things into focus. The first thing my gaze landed on was Teak’s anxious face. He had dark circles under his eyes, his hair was a rumpled mess – worse than his usual bed head – and he had more than a bit of scruff on his face. As the picture got clearer, I got a better look at his eyes. “You’ve been crying?” My question rasped out between dry lips.

He gave me a huge smile. “I’ve missed your beautiful eyes and you talking to me.” Leaning over me, he pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead. “I was so worried ...” He didn’t need to finish his thought.

Even though deep down I knew I was safe here with him, terror crawled up my spine and the horror of what I had gone through slammed back at me full force and made it difficult to breathe. “It was her.” Tears welled in my eyes before falling down my cheeks. Shudders rippled through my body. “She tried to kill me.” The words hurt coming out – not only because of my unused throat but because of the memories they summoned.

He cupped my cheeks in his hands. “I know. But it’s okay. You’re safe now. Calm down, Baby. You need to stay calm while you’re still healing. But there’s no reason for you to get upset. They caught her and the bitch hung herself in her cell. It’s all over. She’s gone. She can’t hurt you ever again.”

She was dead?I didn’t even have to face her in court? A strange combination of emotions flitted through me – relief, elation, and sorrow. However, relief was the only one that stuck around. “I should feel bad she killed herself. She was a sick and twisted person who needed help. But she was cruel and almost killed me, so I can’t feel bad.”

“And you shouldn’t. And don’t let Ivy hear you say you should feel bad. She wanted to kill her too.”

Slowly, I raised my hand and set it on top of Teak’s. “I love you. I know you would have done anything for me.” And I was glad the temptation for revenge was removed from both him and Ivy. “Where is Ivy? I couldn’t imagine her being reasonable about not being permitted in here.”

“She was starting to go stir crazy. Which reminds me. I promised I would text her if you woke up. And I should probably alert the nurses to your being awake.” He kissed my cheek before stepping out into the hall. He walked back in a minute later. “I also texted your parents to let them know you were awake.”

“My parents are here?”

“Yeah, I called them Saturday night and they drove right up.”

“Did Ivy give you the number? And thank you so much for thinking of telling them.”

“It wasn’t the way I had planned on meeting them, but they needed to know. And no, I used your phone.”

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