“Hello, Love,” Ryan answers.
“Hi,” I reply reluctantly and hesitantly.
“What’s wrong?” He detects my somber mood right away.
“Something happened, but I don’t want you to freak out. I’m already freaked out for the both of us.”
“Don’t tell me not to freak out. What happened? Are you ok?”
“I’m fine.” I explain the scene when Sarah and I pulled up to the house and everything we found out since.
“Fuck!” Ryan explodes. “This is my fault.”
“No, it’s not. Why would it be your fault?”
“Olivia, when did this all start happening to you?” Apparently, that is a rhetorical question because he continues, not letting me answer. “Right after you met me. She was out in Vegas and knocked you out of the way, basically after we went public. And now her stalking turned violent after the awards show. Because you were with me at the show and I thanked you. Anyone who saw that knows how much you mean to me.”
“This is not your fault. We don’t even know who this lady is. Do not take the blame for this. I’ll be fine.”
“Olivia, you know I hate that bloody word,” he interrupts.
I know he hates ‘fine’. But that is exactly what I am – fine.
“Taylor, Sarah or one of the other girls will be staying with me every night for a while. And to be totally honest, I’m glad because I would be terrified to stay by myself right now. Plus, my neighbors are watching out for me, too. Thank goodness I have nice neighbors.”
“Thank God your friends are staying with you. I don’t want you by yourself until that psycho is caught. Are the police going to be doing anything more?”
“They are going to have some officers do drive-bys every so often and make sure everything looks ok.”
“Not great, but if that’s all they can do. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“Trust me. We’re all being safe.”
After calming him down, I finally get off the phone with Ryan. Taylor is going to stay with me tonight. I go back to my bedroom and unpack since I was too preoccupied to do anything with my suitcase earlier. Taylor comes and sits on my bed.
“So, hell of a welcome home party,” she smirks.
I snort but don’t say anything.
“Other than the shitty welcome home, how was your trip?”
My mouth breaks out into a huge grin.
“Oh Taylor! My trip was wonderful. I met so many celebrities and most of them were so nice. I met Leslie Day. She’s awesome, by the way. She took my number and said she would call me sometime. She’s already texted me a couple times. The awards show was amazing.”
“And what about Ryan? His little comment about ‘my Olivia’ was intense.”
“Yeah, Ryan,” I sigh. “I am one hundred percent in love with him. But I haven’t told him yet. I don’t know why I chickened out. And he hasn’t said anything either. I think he might have been about to say something a couple times but stopped. Oh, Taylor. We had the most amazing, wonderful weekend. I didn’t want it to end.”
“Yay! I’m so happy for you! And after that speech of his on Sunday, I’m sure he’s in love with you, too.”
“You think so? I should have told him this weekend, but I’m so damn scared of being rejected. Stupid Craig. I let my fears rule what I said. I’d tell him on the phone, but I’d rather tell him in person so I can see his reaction.”
“I agree with you there. I’d rather tell someone that I love them in person, too. When are you going to see him again?”
“I don’t know. I hope soon. He has to leave for London in a few weeks. He talked about maybe coming out to see me before he goes.”
A quiet and uneventful week and a half passes. On Saturday, the weather is warm. Any leftover snow from the previous weeks have melted. Since the day is so nice, I decide to work in my yard. Sara leaves for an appointment and Taylor is coming over in about an hour. I make sure I have my cell phone on me and I go outside. I kneel to clean out the dead plants from my flower gardens. About fifteen minutes into it, I hear someone approach behind me.
“You made it over earlier than I thought,” I say, thinking it’s Taylor.
When she doesn’t answer, I turn to look behind me. The smile on my face fades quickly when I see it is not Taylor. I am looking at the woman who has been stalking me. It is the same woman from Las Vegas.
Oh, God. What do I do? Try being nice to her? Start screaming?
“Can I help you?” I ask her. My hands are shaking terribly.
She actually looks crazy. She could be pretty but it looks like she’s been sleeping in her clothes and hasn’t taken a shower for a while. Her rat’s nest of hair is hastily pulled back into a ponytail. She didn’t look this way when I first saw her out in Vegas.
“You can’t have him,” she says so quiet that I barely heard her.
Ohmigod. We were right. This is about Ryan. She’s stalking me because of Ryan. What the hell am I supposed to do? I try playing dumb?
“Can’t have who?”
“You…can’t…have…Ryan… you bitch!”
As I scramble to get off the ground, she lands a punch to my side, knocking the breath out of me, making me fall right back down to the ground.
“You bitch! He’s mine! You can’t have him!” she is screaming at me now. Then she kicks me in the ribs. I think I hear a couple cracks. I scream, it hurts so bad, but I’m too angry up to just give up. She is not going to win this.
I lay completely still until she gets a little closer to me. As she comes closer, I’m able to kick her hard in her right knee. She backs up a few steps and looks at me as if she cannot believe I kicked her. While she is slightly distracted, I get up, run up and tackle her. I pray my neighbors have heard one us screaming. I get a good punch to her eye, knocking her head back. Her craziness must make her stronger because I start losing ground. She gives me an uppercut to my nose. I stagger back a few steps while blood pours out of my broken nose. That’s when she kicks me hard in my calf. I crumple to the ground withering in pain. I try to grab my calf but all of a sudden something hit me on my head and everything goes black.
There’s a steady, rhythmic beeping coming from somewhere around me. My alarm is set for radio, so it’s not that. Wonder if it has anything to do with the new alarm system. I can’t figure out what it is but it’s loud enough that it wakes me up. I open my eyes. I can’t focus in on anything. It’s too bright and blurry and my head hurts. What is going on? I close my eyes again, willing them to focus. I take a breath in, which makes pain shoot thru my rib. I wince and groan quietly. I open my eyes again. I see a tiled ceiling. I’m not in bed at home. Where am I? The beeping increases with my racing heart. I turn my head to look around. Oh, I’m in a hospital room. That’s when my memory of the psycho comes rushing back to me. My stalker attacked me!
Ryan is sitting in a chair next to the bed. Ryan is here! I gaze at him. I am so happy that he is here. He has dozed off, still holding my hand. I try to squeeze it to wake him up. I’m too weak because Ryan doesn’t even stir. I concentrate and try again. This time Ryan’s eyes fly open.
“Olivia! Oh my God. Oh, Sweetheart!” He grabs my hand with both of his. “Thank God you’re awake. You’re going to be ok.”
He stands up and leans over me to kiss my forehead.
“What are you doing here?” I’m very hoarse so it comes out in a whisper.
“You end up in the hospital because of me and you don’t expect me to come be with you? I don’t think so. As soon as Taylor called me, I made arrangements. Unfortunately, the press heard about it too. They’re all over.”
I groan. “How long was I out? What day is it?”
“It’s Monday. You were out for two days.”
“Wow. Two days.”
“Yep. I’m just glad I was able to be here when you woke up. Are you hurting?”
“All over,” I barley mumble but Ryan sharp ears hear me.
“You sh
ould. You have a couple broken ribs, a broken leg, a broken nose, a concussion and lots of bumps and bruises.”
“Was she caught?”
“She uh… she won’t hurt you anymore.”
I know he’s not telling me something but my head hurts so much I can’t think about it.
“What happened? I mean when everything went black?”
“She knocked you out with your garden spade. After that your neighbor scared her away. He heard you scream and called police. He had to stay on the phone to give them information otherwise he would have been out sooner to help. He’s been beating himself up over that. Anyway, you have been out for two days now. You had swelling of the brain and kept you in a coma until it started going down. I’m so relieved you’re finally awake. You’re going to be ok.”
I’m quiet, thinking about what Ryan told me happened.
“She was crazy,” I mumble.
“Delusional. Well, like I said, you don’t have to worry about her anymore.”
“I hope she rots in jail.”
While watching him, his eyes kind of cloud for a second before he clears them. He smiles at me, running his knuckles down my face.
“I can’t believe you’re here. I know it hasn’t been long, but I’ve missed you,” I say.
“Oh Sweetheart, I’ve missed you too. So much has happened in that short time we’ve been apart.”
A nurse comes in to check on me. Ryan lets go of my hand so he can move out of her way. She’s surprised to find me awake. She takes my vitals, says everything looks good but that I need to get more rest. She also tells me that the doctor will be in to see me in the morning. He will be able to tell me when I can go home. She puts something in my IV, tells me to sleep, gives Ryan an intense look and walks out of the room.
Ryan comes back to sit by me after the nurse leaves. He takes my hand in both of his, brings it up to his lips and kisses it.
“I’m so relieved you’re going to be ok. When you’re able to go home, I’ll feel much better. I’ve canceled the couple interviews I had so I’ll be staying here with you until I have to leave for London.”
“Really?” I ask, already feeling the effects of whatever the nurse put in my IV.
“Yes, really. Everyone has heard what’s happened to the girl I’ve been seeing, so they were very understanding. I might need your help going over my script with me. But I don’t see that being a problem. Honey, you look like you’re extremely tired. Go to sleep. Get better.”
“Rrryan,” I slur.
“Baby. Just go to sleep. You need to heal.”
“No, I should have told you out in Los Angeles, but was too scared.” My eyes drift shut and I fight to open them again. “I love you…” I whisper and I pass out.
The next time I open my eyes, the sun is shining in through the window in the hospital room. Ryan is gone, but my parents are here, quietly talking to each other.
“Hi guys,” I croak out.
“Olivia!” Mom rushes over to me and lightly hugs me. “Oh, I’ve been so worried about you. I don’t know what was wrong with that woman.”
“At least she won’t be bothering anyone again,” dad says. “How are you feeling, Baby Girl?”
“Better than I felt last night when I woke up. I guess that’s good.”
“Yes, that’s good. The doctor told us that most likely you’ll have to stay here again tonight, but might be able to go home tomorrow,” Dad informs me. “And I need to go tell the nurse that you’re awake. They want to check on you and then get you some breakfast. See if you can keep anything down.”
He’s out the door before I can say anything. On the table beside the door are a bunch of beautiful flowers.
“Who are all the flowers from?”
“The beautiful red roses, your favorite, are from Ryan. The daisy/rose bouquet is from the girls. This bouquet is from your father and me. That one is from that actress, Leslie Day and the rest Sarah said are from your work and clients. Oh, and the plant over there is from all your wonderful neighbors.”
“Wow. That was really nice of everyone.”
“They’re worried about you too,” mom says. “You look better today - more color in your cheeks.”
I smile at her. “Thanks for coming to be with me, Mom.”
“Of course we would be here. Nothing and no one was going to stop me from coming. I was so worried when Taylor called. Your dad had to stop me a couple time to tell me to breath. If only I could have been alone in a room with her.”
I laugh at her comment.
“Don’t laugh. I would and so would a lot of other people. Olivia, you have some really good friends. And a very special guy that really cares about you.”
“I know. Ryan’s great isn’t he?”
“Yes, he has been wonderful and supportive and doesn’t want to leave your side. In fact, I’m sure he’ll be here soon. He only left because we badgered him in going back to your house to take a shower and change clothes.”
“I love him, Mom. I know it’s so soon, but I can’t help it.”
“Honey, I don’t blame you. And I’m pretty positive that he loves you, too.”
The nurse and my dad comes back into the room. The nurse records my information and then brings me a breakfast tray and tells me to eat as much as I can and to let her know if I get nauseous.
I eat while mom and dad talk about things going on in their life. I think they’re busier now that they’re retired than when they were still working. I hope they are enjoying retirement. I am about half way through my breakfast when Ryan walks through the door. He pauses to look at me intently. He smiles and comes over to me.
“You’re awake!” He gives me a kiss on my cheek. “Hi, Beautiful. You look much better today.”
“Hi,” I reply, grabbing his hand. “I’m glad you’re here. I missed you.”
Still looking into my eyes, he runs his knuckles down my cheek bone to my jaw and chin. It sends a shiver throughout my body. I love it when he does that, makes me feel so special.
“I missed you, too,” he says. “What do you have for breakfast?”
“Eggs, toast, fruit and juice. But I’m full.”
“You should eat more, Honey. You’ve got to get your strength back,” mom says.
“I just can’t eat anymore. My stomach is too upset yet.”
“It’s ok, Sweetheart. Your appetite will come back,” dad replies. “Donna, let’s go get some coffee in the cafeteria. We’ll be back a little later.”
As soon as they leave, Ryan sits on the bed with me, staring intently at me.
“Sweetheart, please tell me again what you said last night before the medicine knocked you out,” he begs.
I smile. Good, I want to talk about that, too.
“I love you, Ryan.”
He closes his eyes for a few seconds then opens them and put his hands on either side of my face. “I love hearing those words come from you. Olivia, I love you, too.”
Thank God! My heart soars. Ryan leans in to kiss me. It’s very gentle and sweet.
“She’s supposed to be resting, not getting all worked up,” I hear Sarah say from the doorway.
Ryan pulls away and I can see both Sarah and Taylor standing there grinning at us.
“But then Ryan gets anybody all worked up. You should see how the nurses do anything Ryan asks,” Taylor says.
I smirk. It looks like they got to know Ryan much better over the past couple days, enough to feel comfortable teasing him.
“Hi Taylor, Sarah” Ryan says.
“How you doing, Sweetie?” Taylor asks me.
“Better today. I’m still waiting for the doctor to come in and check on me. Dad said the doctor was in earlier while I was still sleeping and told him that I would most likely have to stay tonight but if everything looked good, I might be able to go home tomorrow.”
“Yay! You’ll be more comfortable and will re-coop better at home,” Sarah says. “Oh, and don’t worry about work. They said you should t
ake as much time as you need. We’re all pitching in to cover your accounts. We just told your clients that you had to take an emergency medical leave. Most of them have already heard what happened to you, though. I’m surprised everyone doesn’t know with all the reporters outside.”
“Yeah, I got flowers from a few clients. That was very nice of them.”
We are interrupted by a man at the door. I assume he’s the doctor since he’s in a white coat. He’s cute and I catch both Sarah and Taylor checking him out. He isn’t wearing a ring so they might be ok.
“Well, Miss Sterling. Good to see you awake. I’m Dr. Kyle Bruce,” he says as he enters the room. “You look much better today.”
“Feel better, too.”
“We’ll be back in a little bit,” Taylor says. She gestures to Sarah and Ryan.
Ryan’s still sitting on my bed, holding my hand. “Ryan, would you please stay with me?” I ask him, keeping a tight hold of him.
“Of course I will. But I will get out of Dr. Bruce’s way.” He gets up and moves to the window.
After looking at my chart, Dr. Bruce checks my ribs and leg and checks out my eyes. He says everything looks good. He wants me to stay at the hospital one more night to make sure there are no complications from the concussion. If there’s none, he will release me tomorrow. Before he leaves, Dr. Bruce gives Ryan some instructions about what to look for if problems arise once I am home.
Dr. Bruce leaves and Ryan comes back to sit on the bed with me.
“So, I guess I’m staying at your house with you? I wasn’t sure with your parents here.”
“Yes, please stay with me. Mom and Dad can deal with it.”
“How can I say no when you ask so nicely?” he teases and kisses me again.
There’s a knock on my door. Both Ryan and I look towards it and see Craig standing in the doorway. Ryan growls under his breath and curses. I squeeze his hand.
“Hi, Craig.”
“Hi,” he says apprehensively. “Sorry to bother you. But I heard about what happened to you and… well, I was already here so I…uh… just wanted to make sure you’re ok.”
“I’m going to be just fine. Thanks. Why were you already here?”
He looks down and seems almost sad. “Annabelle had a miscarriage.”
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