Then it was my phone’s turn to ring. “You guys ready for tonight?” Jon asked.
I smiled widely. “Yeah, we’re actually almost packed up.”
“I promise you I got extra security in case one of your fans, uh, um, gets too close. OK?” His tone was off.
“Thanks, Jon. What’s wrong?”
“Dean ain’t here yet, and he’s not answering his phone.” He exhaled loudly. “The doorman said both his cars and the truck are in the parking lot. So he’s home. I ain’t got time for this today.”
“We could go pick him up.”
Giovanni put a hand on my shoulder. “Pick who up?”
I moved the phone. “Dean. He’s late. Can we go there first?”
“I don’t see why not.” Then he turned. “Hey, we’re stopping at Dean’s first.”
Mark shouted back, “Me and Phil are gonna meet you at the arena. I gotta go home.”
“And I’m his excuse for not staying long,” Phil added.
The vans were loaded by then, actually overloaded. We had some equipment on the passenger side floor of both vans. Jon had assured us there was room on one of their equipment trucks to store everything after the show. Giovanni shrugged his coat off and handed it to me. I took my own off and lay them both in the middle of the van’s bench seat.
As we drove away from Chad’s house, I looked in the side mirror. Chris was in Chad’s van behind us. I smiled. Our success was all because he became our singer. He changed all of our lives. Forever.
Me and Giovanni’s future came to mind. We were to be married in a month. Time had gone by so fast. I glanced at him. He was the best thing that ever happened to me. Maybe I overreacted? Maybe the condom breaking isn’t so bad. Maybe it’ll work out just fine. I really hope so.
At a major intersection, near Dean’s house, we stopped at a red light. I turned to Giovanni. “I changed my mind. If I’m not pregnant already, can we start trying for a baby now?”
He reached his hand out to me and grinned madly. “We can do whatever you want.” He kissed my fingers, and the smile remained.
I held his hand as we started to drive through the green light. Suddenly, I heard a loud engine and saw a blur of red from the corner of my left eye. I turned my head toward the noise. A big red pickup truck headed for us.
“Look out!”
Giovanni pulled his hand from me and jerked the wheel as hard as he could. “Fuck!”
Everything started to move in slow motion. There was a bang. Then the crunch of metal and glass muted all other sound. It felt like the van moved sideways. I screamed, terrified. Tires screeches came from every direction.
Something hit my face, and it stung. Then I slid across the seat, fast. Why didn’t the seatbelt lock? I wished the van wasn’t so old. Seconds later, my head hit a window, and it broke. That was painful, but my body continued to move, like the van had flipped.
Things stared to get fuzzy, and I was really dizzy. My arm fell out of the missing window. Pain shot all along my arm. Then something hit my foot…
Chapter 13
I woke up to ringing in my ears. My entire body hurt, but I couldn’t recall anything. Slowly, I looked around somewhat. Giovanni’s van? Then I realized I hung in my seat sideways. It seemed like a dream. Things faded in and out for a bit. Until I realized Giovanni had been driving.
“Giovanni? You OK?” I groaned when I tried to find him. My head hurt badly. “Giovanni?” I could hear him breathing, but it sounded odd and painful. “You awake?”
He didn’t answer, so I moved an amp against my leg then released my seatbelt. I landed on his mangled door with a scream. Fragments pierced my back at odd angles. Tears fell fast with the added pain. I screamed again as I pulled myself off the door. I braced my hand on something soft that lay on the door. Most likely, it was one of our jackets.
With a grimace, I pushed the pain away and straddled Giovanni’s motionless body. It was no easy task. My right arm wouldn’t move and my right ankle burned. I hugged him with my left arm and lay my aching head on his shoulder.
“Giovanni, wake up. Please,” I quietly pleaded as I cried. He took a very labored breath. Then a soft groan passed his lips.
I touched his face and hoped he would open his eyes. Blood oozed from his mouth and nose. Confused and scared, I ran my fingers through his hair. My hand was quickly covered in blood. Then I noticed blood on my arm and my blouse. It came from everywhere. He had gotten hurt so much worse then I had. A cold breeze whipped through the van, and I shivered, but the cold was unimportant.
“I love you,” I whispered through tears. Then I kissed his lips. “It’s gonna be OK. Help’s coming, my love.” I stroked his hair. “Giovanni. Giovanni, talk to me. Please!”
By then, nothing hurt anymore. My heart raced, and I felt different. My right side was still limp, but it didn’t faze me. Adrenaline had taken over.
I shook Giovanni and angrily shouted, “Don’t you leave me!”
His eyes opened, slightly. “I’m fine, my love,” he softly uttered as a finger touched my thigh.
The eerie silence outside was broken by distant sirens and shouts. I clung to Giovanni, to will him to be better. I wanted to cry out for help but sobs overcame me. Then his breathing started to fade.
“Crystal!” Chad’s voice was full of fear. “Please tell me you’re OK.”
I looked up through the hole where the passenger side window had been.
Chad was on top of the van. “Oh God, Crystal. You’re bleeding all over.” He looked away and pulled his lips in before he reached out to me. “Take my hands. I’ll get you out.” When I shook my head at him, he turned away. “Chris, she’s hurt bad. Get someone!”
He yanked on the door handle hard and the entire door gave. Then the damaged door crashed onto the ground. Carefully, he put a foot on the dashboard and made his way to us.
“Go,” Giovanni quietly told me and gasped.
I couldn’t let go of him. “Chad, please help me! He needs help!” Suddenly, I was distracted by the taste of blood. I slowly touched my cheek and found that a trail came from my forehead.
“You gotta let go of him,” Chad begged me. “You’re bleeding bad. Please, baby. I gotta get you help.”
Giovanni moved his hand a little. “Please go.”
“No. I love you. I’m not leaving you,” I insisted. I didn't care about my own wounds.
“Go with… Chad. He’ll… ah… take care… of you.” He took in a ragged, odd sounding breath. “Don’t forget… I’ll—I’ll love you… for—ever.”
I soon felt hands around my waist. “Crystal, please. Let him go.”
“No, Chad. He needs me.”
Giovanni gasped then groaned before he whispered, “Chad… you better keep… your… promise.”
Chad held me with one arm then put the other around Giovanni. “I will. I swear. Love you, man.” A tear fell from his eye.
“They’re gonna save you,” I assured Giovanni and kissed his lips repeatedly. He didn’t respond, but for a quiver to his lip. I caressed his bloody cheek. “It’s gonna be a’right.” His eyes had closed, and his hand was limp against my thigh. “One more month.”
Chad pulled me hard, and Giovanni slipped out of my grasp. “Baby, we’re going now.”
“No!” I screamed as Chad climbed out of the van with me in his arms. Then I looked back. “Giovanni!”
Chad carried me to a paramedic, as he held my face to his chest and covered my eyes. He had wrapped me in what had to be Giovanni’s leather jacket since it was so big. Soon after, I was on a stretcher in an ambulance. My head hurt badly, but the rest of me was quite numb. The confusion worsened as the paramedic cut my clothes away.
“The front of her top is soaked with blood, but I can’t find more lacerations.”
Chad whispered, “She was holding the driver for a while.”
I whimpered when my bra came off, but for some reason I couldn’t react in any other way.
Chad held my ha
nd. “It’ll be OK, Crystal. He won’t hurt you.”
The paramedic shined a light into my eyes. “Did she pass out? She’s not acting very alert.”
“I don’t know.”
With every second, I felt worse. I was light-headed and cold. I was also frightened but not because of the paramedic. “Ch—Chad…” My voice sounded strange. “It… h—h—hur—rts…”
Chad kissed my lips. “I’m right here, baby.”
Then I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. I tried to get up, but I couldn’t. I just turned my head and vomited.
The paramedic blurted out. “Shit!”
“I—I’m s—s—sor—ry,” I brokenly whined.
He handed Chad a towel then banged on the partition between us and the driver. “Hey, we gotta get a move on.”
“Ch—Chad, I’m t—ti—tir—ed.”
“Don’t let her go to sleep!” the paramedic shouted to Chad.
I vomited again. Then my eyes started to close as Chad shook me. “Crystal, wake up! Baby, I love you. Wake up. You can’t sleep now.” I tried to fight the urge, but I lost the battle quickly.
Chapter 14
When I woke up again, I had a slight headache and was on a bed. I couldn’t see much, but I could tell it was about sunset outside. I tried to move my right arm to lift the sheet over me, but I found it strapped down. Instead, I used my left hand, which moved sluggishly. I was in a hospital gown with an IV in my hand.
Eyes half closed, I looked around. My eyelids were so heavy. Chad stood next to the bed covered in blood. He definitely had been crying.
Then I noticed a doctor. “She’ll be better in a few days. The swelling went down. So the surgery’s been cancelled. But I want to keep her here. She has too many injuries, and the arm won’t be ready for almost a week. Keep a close eye on her, and let us know if she vomits again, or if she starts to act out of character. OK?”
“No problem,” Chad replied.
I truly had no idea what they meant. The last thing I remembered at that point, was telling Giovanni we could try for a baby. There were a few flashes of noises and voices but no images. It was as if I forgot something. I rubbed my abdomen and wondered if…
Then Chad uttered, “Um, what if she doesn’t wake up?” I could hear how scared he was.
“She will. Have faith.” Then the doctor left the room.
I strained to talk and managed a quiet and raspy, “Ch—ad?”
“Oh, thank God!” He hugged me gently and kissed my cheek. “I was so… uh… I was just worried.”
“Where’s Giovanni? I need him.”
“He… can’t… be here right now. But I am. You got me, baby.” There was pain in his eyes as well as fear and sadness in his tone.
I felt bad I even asked. “I know. I’m sorry. I just… I need to see he’s OK too. Chad, where is he?”
“Um… uh… he’s… downstairs.” He took a deep breath. “We’ll talk about it later. Chris, Phil and Mark came to see you twice yesterday and again this morning. They’ll be back tomorrow. Tommy was here last night with Dominic and again this afternoon by himself. We’re all with you baby. OK?”
“Yesterday?” That confused me.
“Yeah, baby. The accident was yesterday. You’ve been out a long time.”
“Am I gonna be OK?” More flashes came to me, but they didn’t make any sense.
He caressed my cheek and kissed my forehead lightly. “Give it time. I’m gonna take care of you. I swear.”
I looked at my hands. “Where’s my ring?”
Chad leaned over me a bit more. The guitar charm I had custom made for him as a Christmas gift swung close to me. I could see my engagement ring next to it.
He whispered, “It’s safe. Now relax. You have to rest.”
“I’m scared.”
I felt exposed. Someone had undressed me, and I hated that I didn’t remember it. I was always afraid of hospitals and especially doctors. I’m staying here for a while? My anxiety built. However, if I knew Chad, I was never alone.
“What’s wrong with me?”
Chad came around the bed to my left side and sat down in a chair next to me. He picked up my hand and kissed it. Then he wiped the tears from my cheeks. The look on his face told me I wouldn’t like the answer.
“You shattered your ankle and your elbow. Your wrist and a few ribs broke. You have a pretty bad concussion, a bruised hip and a bunch of minor injuries. I swear I never left you. They’re worried because you have some brain swelling.” Then he laughed. “You threw up on me.”
I smiled also then remembered something. “Where’s my ankle bracelet?”
“They cut it off you.” He stood up and pulled the broken chain from his pocket. “I’ll get it fixed.” Then he put it away and sat back down. He was not remotely in a normal state of mind. His hands shook too.
I cautiously asked, “When’s Giovanni coming back?”
Chad looked at me as tears fell. “I don’t know what to say.” He looked toward the window.
“What’s wrong?” I waited, but he didn’t answer or look at me. “Chad, tell me why you’re so upset. What happened?” I tried harder to remember the accident, but it was still just sounds.
He slowly turned around and took my hand in his again. “You need sleep. I’m gonna call your mom and tell her you woke up. She probably landed by now.” He pulled in his lips and sucked on them. He only did that when he dealt with something huge.
“Chad, please. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Then he got up and walked to the window. “Everything’s fine.” He started for the door. “I’m gonna go tell the nurse you’re up.”
“No!” I almost shouted. “You’re not telling me something.”
He froze in the doorway. “Baby, not now.”
“Where’s Giovanni?”
“Don’t. Please. Don’t.”
“Chad.” Suddenly, my eyes welled up with tears. I could feel his pain. Something awful had happened. “Please tell me.”
He put his hands up and grabbed the doorframe. I watched him take several deep breaths, and he relaxed a bit. Then he slowly walked back to me.
With a loud exhale, he sat in the chair and lifted my hand once more. “I can’t say it.”
“Then have Giovanni tell me. Call him.”
“I can’t, baby.” Tears rolled down his cheeks.
I rubbed the back of his hand with my thumb. “Then I’ll wait till he comes back.”
“He… Baby, I’m sorry.”
A vision of Giovanni, bloody and in pain came to me. “Is he OK?” I had felt him fight to stay conscious as I held him. No wait, to stay alive…
Chad closed his eyes for a few seconds and sniffled. Then he squeezed my hand and looked up. “He’s not coming back.” He paused. “He—He didn’t make it. I’m so sorry.”
Even though I knew that was what he would say, it hit me like a ton of bricks. “No! He can’t be gone. We just got together.” I felt like my heart had been ripped open.
Chad climbed up on the bed and held me. Then he kissed my forehead. “I love you, baby. I’m here for you.”
“This isn’t happening. Chad. Maybe they’re wrong. He has to be alive.”
Chad took in a ragged breath. “I was there. I’m so sorry. There was just no way. So much went wrong.” He started to shake. “He told me to tell you he loved you before…”
He grabbed me, as gently as he could and held me close while we sobbed together. I was so exhausted and distraught, it overwhelmed me. However, the pain in my heart was even worse. I was happier than ever that my best friend had me in his arms. I could never get through it alone.
* * *
The next thing I remembered, was my mother’s voice. “Chad, what happened to my baby? And why do you have so much blood on you?” I tried to open my eyes, but I couldn’t. It felt like I was drugged.
“Ma, she’ll be OK. It’s not my blood. It’s theirs,” Chad groggily replied as he lifted his head, which made my
pillow move. “She’s on morphine. So she’s not in much pain. I’m taking good care of her.” He called my mother Ma, just like I did to his. He felt calling her Pam was disrespectful.
“Chad,” I called to him, barely coherent. “Why d’ I feel high?”
He caressed my face. “You whimpered in your sleep. So I hit the button. It’ll wear off.”
“I can barely open my eyes,” I complained, a bit slurred from the extra pain medicine.
He slowly got off the bed. “It was for your own good.” His lips touched my forehead. “You needed it.”
I forced my eyes open a bit more. “Mom, I’m so happy to see you.” There was a slight hoarseness to my voice.
She looked at me with tears in her eyes. “How could this happen to you? I want to hug you but I’m afraid to touch you.”
Chad took my mom’s hand and pulled her to my left side. “Just don’t touch her right side. She’s hurt all the way up and down.”
My mom gingerly put her hands on my neck and under me. She kissed my forehead and held me as close as she could. “I’m so sorry, Crystal. I liked Giovanni. I’ll be here for you. Daddy’ll be here in a few days. He had work to take care of. You know how his job is.”
She didn’t let go of me for a long while. Her tears fell slowly, but I knew she wanted to sob. I was glad she held back. Otherwise, I would have cried with her, and I was tired of it already.
When there was a knock on the door, she let me go. Jon, Tommy and Dominic came in the room. The three of them looked sad, more so than I expected.
“Crystal’s mom, right? I’m Jon.” He forced a smile and shook her hand before he kissed my forehead. “Glad you’re awake.”
My mom seemed a bit taken aback. “Um, I’m Pam, who’s—”
“Sorry, Ma,” Chad interrupted. He blinked his eyes, obviously out of it. “This is Jon, Dominic and Tommy. They’re from the band Gasoline.” He walked toward Jon. “Thanks for getting her a private room. Makes things easier.”
“Can someone tell me why there’s a bouncer outside her door?” My mom touched my face. “Is she in danger?”
Dual Desires (Triple Threat Book 3) Page 11