33. Audrey
33
AUDREY
“I need to call Ginger,” I said as soon as we walked out of the hospital.
Thumper looked over at me, his hand wrapped around my bicep as he guided me over to a vehicle. This one was new, probably a rental. “You can talk to her later.”
“I need to know what she said to the studio.”
He opened the back door and practically shoved me inside. I didn’t like being manhandled, but I understood his frustration and his need to get moving. We both saw the announcement on the news about our wreck, how they told everyone Spencer and I had been in an accident. Luckily, we were on our way out the door. But that didn’t mean news trucks weren’t already on their way here.
“Let’s get out of here first and then you can call her,” he said, slamming the door behind me.
I didn’t argue with him. I knew what we were about to encounter. I didn’t like it, but he was right. Getting somewhere safe was our best bet at hiding from the studio.
As he slipped into the front and Rae got into the back, there was a huge problem. “Where’s Spencer?”
“In the other vehicle,” Thumper announced from the passenger side.
“Why? He’s supposed to be with me!” My heart started pounding at the thought of him not being with me. We were always together.
“It’s best if we split up,” Slider said, pulling away from the curb. We have four vehicles and we’re all taking different routes. That means we should be able to confuse anyone who follows.”
“But what about Spencer?” I asked again.
“He’ll meet up with us at the safe house,” Rae answered. “Trust us, it’s just to keep everyone on their toes. As soon as we walked out, those nurses were watching, and when the media gets to the hospital, the only thing they’ll tell them is that you and Spencer got in two separate vehicles.”
I took a deep breath and calmed down. That made sense. All of it did, and I trusted Slider with my life. In fact, I trusted everyone. They’d kept me alive this long, so if they told me Spencer needed to ride separately, I’d trust them.
I could have sworn I saw vans flying past us, but I ignored it all, closing my eyes and focusing on my breathing. I wasn’t exactly thrilled about being back in a vehicle after having survived two accidents. Luckily, this accident hadn’t done much damage. I’d barely hit my head and I had no broken bones. Yes, I was sore and probably needed a little Valium to calm down, but other than that, it was nothing a good night of sleep couldn’t fix.
“Still want to jump out of a plane?” Slider asked, drawing me out of my thoughts.
I chuckled, remembering how just yesterday…or was it this morning? God, I couldn’t even keep my days straight anymore. I wanted to jump out of a plane and enjoy the free fall and excitement, but that was then. Now, I just hoped I lived to see tomorrow.
“I think my adrenaline junkie days are over.”
“They don’t have to be,” he said quietly.
Ever since my vision started diminishing, Spencer and I had been doing everything possible to squeeze every ounce of excitement into my life. Lately, I really felt the clock ticking like a time bomb. Just as we started this last movie, the blank spots in my left eye grew worse, and I knew the end was coming. My action movie days were no longer counting down. They were at an end.
“We’re here.”
I had no idea how much time had passed. I must have dozed or something because when we pulled up to the house, the sun was coming up. I blinked away the tiredness, knowing that wasn’t enough. I needed at least another twelve hours of sleep. I was tired as hell.
The door opened and Slider was there, gripping my arm and guiding me toward the house. Was this the way it was going to be from now on? Was he going to lead me around like a dog wherever we went? At least Spencer held my hand or let me slide my hand through his arm.
“I’ll take you to your room,” he grumbled, leading me through the two-story house. He started to head for the stairs, but then seemed to change his mind. “I’ll put you in the bedroom downstairs.”
“Why?”
“Because you could fall down the stairs.”
I tore my arm out of his grasp and stepped back. “Don’t do that.”
“Do what? Take your condition into account?”
“Baby me,” I seethed. “I’m not an invalid. I won’t fall down the stairs.”
“You don’t know that,” he argued.
“Show me where to go and tell me where the stairs are. I’ll be fine,” I argued, not wanting to be a burden.
“Like you were when you were in the kitchen and you put your hand on the fucking burner?” he snapped.
My nostrils flared in anger. I couldn’t believe he just said that to me. “That was an accident.”
“Fuck,” he cursed under his breath. “I know. I’m sorry. This is just…it’s a lot to take in.”
I laughed sardonically at that. “Yeah, well, you should have been there for the first three years after I found out. It wasn’t exactly a joy to live through.”
I felt him move forward more than I saw. I was so exhausted that everything was blurring. My head was pounding and my body ached. I just wanted to lay down and get some sleep.
“Come on. I’ll take you upstairs,” he whispered, sliding his hand around mine. I followed him up the stairs, wanting nothing more than to fall into his arms and have him hold me. But he was so angry with me, I wasn’t sure he would let that happen.
My feet dragged on the stairs and every step made my muscles protest the movement.
“I’m gonna put you in the bedroom at the other end so you’re not right by the stairs.”
“‘Kay.”
As he led me to the room, I held out my hand, feeling for anything that might be in the way. I only met the wall, but I was pretty sure that after a good night’s sleep, I’d be able to see better and could easily map out my way around.
“Over here.” He guided me to the bed and sank down with me, sighing as he ran his hand along my cheek. “Are you really okay?”
“Sore. Tired,” I told him. “Irritated that I wasn’t the one who told you. I did intend to tell you. I just wanted to discuss things with my lawyer first.”
“Because of your contract.”
I nodded.
“Run this through with me. Tell me what happened.”
“From the top? That could take a while.”
“Then give me bullet points.”
I hated going back and thinking about that time in my life. The shock of finding out that I didn’t just need glasses…But he deserved to know.
“Spencer and I were doing our first movie together. It was exciting to do all those action scenes. I remember he wasn’t exactly as thrilled as I was to work on the project, but it was a huge break for both of us. Anyway, it was about halfway through filming when things started getting kind of bad. At first, it was just blurry lines. I figured I needed glasses. And things like lines on a crosswalk would look bent. So, anyway, I made an appointment to get my eyes checked, figuring I needed to wear contacts. Spencer drove me because he didn’t trust me to take a cab instead of driving myself.”
“You actually had a car?”
I could hear the smile in his voice and I grinned, thinking about my little roadster. “She was red. I loved to put the top down and feel the wind in my hair. It was the most amazing feeling.”
“You got rid of it,” he assumed.
“I sort of had to. You can’t drive a car when you start going blind. When the doctor told me, I was shocked. Angry. Disbelieving. I thought for sure he had it wrong. Spencer took me to at least four other doctors before I finally let it sink in that the diagnosis wasn’t wrong.
“There was a lot of drinking and showing up late on set. I almost got kicked off set a few times. If it wasn’t for Spencer, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have survived those first few years. I just kept going in these cycles of anger, acceptance, and crying. And every time I thought I was okay, it started over again.”
“Where was Ginger through all of this?”
I huffed out a laugh at that. “You’ve met Ginger. She pretty much told me it was no big deal and moved on.”
“She didn’t go with you to appointments or try and help in any way?”
“Nope. That was all Spencer. That’s why he lives with me. He’s the one who helps me with everything. And it’s not that I can’t function on my own. He’s just always been there, looking out for me in a way that no one else has.”
“And that’s why you want him to move on.”
I nodded. “He’s wanted to do something else for so long, but I love action movies. I was clinging so hard to this life of action and fun, and I didn’t want to let it go. I was trying to stuff as much life as possible in before I go blind.”
“But you could still act.”
I could hear the skepticism in his voice, but he just didn’t understand. “Yes, I can still do so much, but action movies? I don’t even know how that would work.”
“Maybe a movie about a blind action star,” he teases, cheering me up instantly.
“Maybe.”
“I know just the director for it. She’d take it on in an instant.”
“Is this Zoe that everyone keeps talking about?”
He sighed heavily. I could feel the annoyance coming off him before he spoke the words. “It’s this whole thing. We get involved in it and film the script for her…It’s this whole ordeal and?—”
I grabbed him by the wrists, my heart thumping wildly in my chest. It couldn’t be. “Zoe. Zoe Warren is the woman you’re talking about?”
“Yeah, she’s my buddy’s wife.”
My hands flew to my mouth as a squeak of laughter left my lips. “Holy shit! I can’t believe you know her! She’s amazing and the most coveted director to work with!”
“Seriously?”
I nodded excitedly. I couldn’t believe this. Maybe I had a chance at still making something happen if she was involved. I ignored the way he groaned, knowing he was already trying to find a way out of this, though I wouldn’t let him.
“You’re going to introduce me, right?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“I can’t believe this. I’m going to meet Zoe Warren! We’re going to be best friends!”
“Well, if you’re going to be best friends with her, you should know that Fox is also her best friend and godfather to her kids, which means you’ll have to watch musicals with him.”
I waved him off. “Totally worth it. Besides, Spencer will love him.”
“And what about me?”
I stopped, cocking my head at him, unsure of what he was saying. “What do you mean?”
“Spencer will love him,” he repeated, almost like he was trying to get to a different question. And then it dawned on me.
“Do you want Spencer to love you?” I hedged.
His hand slid over mine and I sucked in a breath at the swift wave of emotion that washed over me. “That’s not exactly what I’m asking.”
I knew what he wanted to know, but up until a few days ago, he didn’t even want to sleep with me. He kept pushing me away. And when we left the safe house, he once again put up walls so he didn’t have to deal with me. Would it always be like that?
“I don’t think I’m the one who needs to figure out what I want.”
“I already know what I want.”
“Then why did you push me away?”
My eyes slipped closed as his hand cradled my jaw in his large hand. “Because I knew I couldn’t protect you when I was already in love with you.”
I sucked in a breath, blinking rapidly as I took in his words. “You…you love me?”
“I probably should have found a better way to say that,” he muttered.
“I can’t believe you love me,” I whispered.
“Why not?”
“Because you didn’t even want to sleep with me.”
“Trust me, I always wanted to sleep with you.” He tugged me to him and his warmth seeped into my skin. My eyes slipped closed as his voice rumbled against my chest. “I didn’t think I’d ever fall for you. I never saw you coming.”
Tears pricked my eyes at his admission. “Dammit!”
“What?”
I scrunched my hand in his shirt, pissed as hell at the circumstances. “Why did you have to go and say all that stuff? I’m tired and my vision is shit right now. I can’t even see your face!”
A choked laugh slipped from his lips and he kissed my forehead. “Sorry. I’ll try this again after you’ve gotten a full night’s sleep. Though, I can’t guarantee that it’ll be as good. The stress from the day won’t be at the same level.”
“Then you’ll just have to get us in another car accident.”
“Another?”
I shrugged in his arms. “What’s one more?”