Cover Up (Cover #2) (2 page)

Today was Saturday, so Suzie and I would hang out her
e with Emily for the entire day, but I dreaded tomorrow. Both Suzie and Diana agreed, Adam was to have this Sunday with Emily and I took it under advisement. Adam was Emily’s ex-boyfriend. Apparently, the man still wanted Emily; and I was unsure if Emily had any residual feelings left for him, which aggravated me to no end. I wasn’t jealous, of course. But the thought of him preying on what was no longer his, what now belonged to me, was enough to enrage me the night Emily was admitted to the hospital.

I had walked out of the bathroom to find
him hovering over Emily, who was recovering from six grueling hours of surgery, declaring his un-fucking-dying-love for her!

Had it not been for that fact that there was a
fairly good chance that Emily could hear us despite her coma, I would have killed him with my bare hands! Suzie, who sat on the other side of the room, managed to calm me down enough with threats of dismemberment if I caused Emily anymore stress. She forced me to allow the man to visit with Emily for ten minutes that night. The next day, Diana and Suzie both teamed up and forced me to
‘do what’s best for Emily.’
I agreed, but only for half a day and only one day a week.
Sunday.
I’d be damned if she awakened to the sounds of
his
voice.

It was bad enough that Emily was on her way to see him when the accident happened
; something I only learned when I overheard Suzie and Diana’s whispers. It was clear that Diana was hurt by the news, although I couldn’t understand why, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. It didn’t matter. What mattered was that, when Emily recovered, I would beg her forgiveness. If she granted it to me, I would never hurt her again and Adam would be gone from her life. I wouldn’t let her go again, not this time.

I hadn’t spoken to Charlette since the night of the gala
, nor did I care to, but I knew that she had to be wondering why I’d disappeared; and knowing the nosey woman, she would barge in here any day demanding answers. The woman was beyond infuriating when she felt snubbed, so I knew I had talk to her soon.

ADAM

When Suzie called me and told me about Emily’s accident and the severity of her injuries, I rushed to the hospital. She met me in the lobby and the look on her face told me all that I needed to know.
Shit, this is bad.

I knew something wasn’t right! Emily called me earlier
, clearly upset, and asked me if I was ready to talk. Of course I was ready! I had been ready since I discovered the truth surrounding our break up. She instructed me to meet her at my place in ten minutes. I arrived in six, nearly getting into an accident myself in my rush to meet with her. When she never arrived, I wasn’t sure what to think.

“Where is she?” I demanded as I approached
a very disheveled Suzie, pulling her into my arms.

“She just came out of surgery
, but we’re not allowed up just yet,” she said between sobs. She clung to me; her arms firmly hugged me in fear.

“Why didn’t you call me sooner?” I urged softly against the top of her dark brown wavy hair as I cupped the back of her head. The thought of Emily going into surgery without me there was painful. I should be
at her side. She would have been by mine…
when she was your girlfriend.

Suzie didn’t answer
, but I could feel her tense. I pulled away to look in her eyes. Something was wrong.

“Why didn’t you call me
, Suzie?” I firmly asked her.

She nibbled on her bottom lip and looked away, walking away slowly to the brightly lit reception area, making me follow close behind her. She didn’t take a seat,
but turned around and finally met my eyes while her arms flew in the air in surrender, “Fuck it! Look, I really didn’t want to get in the middle of this fucked up situation you all have going on with this Diana shit, but…” she began before trailing off.

“But what?
Spill it, Suzie. Whatever it is, it can’t be worse than Emily being hurt in an accident.”

She nodded her head in agreement and began again, “
Well, Emily’s … boyfriend is here … upstairs … with her …”

I didn’t hear anything after the word
‘boyfriend’. I just stared at Suzie, and tried to wrap my mind around the thought of another man tending to her, being with her instead of me.
She has a boyfriend? Why didn’t she tell me?

I spoke to Emily
twice in the past two weeks, and both times I knew that she hadn’t given me that vital piece of information, even though I poured my heart out to her. She never mentioned the
possibility
of another man. That was why I felt comfortable giving her space, to allow Emily time to process the
misunderstanding
that led up to our break up.
Fuck!

Had I known, I would have done things differently. It never occurred to me that Emily would really move on after what
we shared. I’m sure it seemed selfish for me to say; but, before Diana, everything was perfect between Emily and me. We were beginning a new phase in our relationship, although she hadn’t known it at the time.

I had just purchased a beautiful half car
at engagement ring for her and was waiting for the right time to propose. I actually solicited Diana’s help in picking out the perfect ring. I figured, “Who would know Emily better than her best friend?”
Boy was I wrong.

I often wondered if I had only purchased that diamond on my own
, without Diana, if my relationship with Emily would have ended. That outing seemed to be the start of our break down. I sighed and pushed the whole thing out of my head. I couldn’t think about what Diana cost me. Each time I did I became flooded with rage.

“It’s been a whole fucking year… Shit, of course she moved on
,” was all I could say to an uncomfortable Suzie, who now sat in one of the many blue chairs that lined the waiting area.

She didn’t respond. She didn’t need to.

My encounter with
Mr. Julien Belmont
was not pleasant. Suzie didn't want to piss off the already distraught Julien. She thought it was a better idea to wait him out, figuring that he would eventually have to go home and rest. Well, that didn't quite go as planned, since the chump looked as though he planned to move right into Emily’s hospital room.
Fucking kiss-ass!

When Suzie came downstairs and told me that I had five minutes before Julien got back from the restroom, I groaned in annoyance. This was so fucking wrong. I had been with Emily for years
! This lame guy just got here, and I’m the one sneaking around, tip toeing around him as if he was some fucking god.

Just get to Emily
, Adam… Fuck that boyfriend of hers!
I thought to myself.

When we got upstairs, Emily
lay silently, seemingly asleep, in the center of a huge bed. Her small, frail, body was bandaged in various places, the centerpiece being her head, which suffered the most damage. My heart broke at the sight. Memories of her laughing and enjoying life flooded my mind while I watched her placid face.

“They put her in
a medically induced coma to allow her body time to heal. Some shit about swelling in her brain,” Suzie said while fighting a fresh wave of tears and nibbling on her bottom lip, as she always did when shit just got too real for her.

I stared at my girl under the harsh florescent lighting over her bed, my heart ach
ed; and I knew that there wasn't much I could do to help her other than let her know that I was here with her. “Baby girl, what did I tell you about talking on the phone and driving, huh? I swear you’re trying to kill me. Don’t you know I love you? I’ll always love you, sweet girl.”

“Just what in the hell do you think you’re doing?” I heard from behind me
and someone grabbed me by the collar of my work shirt.
Ah, Julien.

Needless to say,
Mr. Tall-dark-and-handsome was a pain in my ass! French! Emily was dating a fucking Frenchman.
How in the hell was I going to compete with that shit!

JULIEN

Three days after the accident, I called my brother Shane to unload. My exhaustion, coupled with the guilt that gnawed away at me every second of the day, caused me no end of emotional, physical, and mental pain. I was fucking losing it. No, I had lost it!

I needed relief. I needed someone to talk to
, someone who wouldn’t judge me, but would actually listen. Normally I spoke to my assistant, Sylvie, knowing that whatever advice she offered would more than likely be correct; but I also knew that if I told her what I had done to both Emily and Charlette she would scold me to no end. I couldn’t deal with any more guilt than I already felt, and she would more than likely cause me to jump of the roof of the hospital in an attempt to end the maddening plague of my guilt-ridden heart. The thought had crossed my mind several times. Realistically, ending it all would only cause me to become lose Emily forever; which brought a sobering and resolved attempt to reign in my overwhelmed emotions.

My heart
died a bit each second Emily lay helpless in this hospital. Each time I held her hand, each time I looked upon her angelic face, caused me physical pain. My body was actually forsaking me because I betrayed and hurt her. She owned every inch of me, whether consciously or not.

Shane wasn’t exactly an expert when it came to relationships
, but he was an ear and that was all that I needed.

“Well
, look who finally decided to return his only brother’s call,” he jested when he answered the phone.

Shane had called the day after Emily’s accident and I was no fool. My brother was not the
‘call to just chat’
kind of man. If he was calling, it meant that father had put him up to it! He called a few more times the following day, but I was too worried about Emily to speak with him at the time.

“Ha
ha ha, I take it that father spoke to you?” I asked, despite the fact I already knew the answer.

“You bet!” Shane confirmed. “And he isn’t pleased with your… um
, what did he call it, ‘erratic, vagabond, behavior,’ Shane said, imitating father’s thick French accent. I wasn’t sure how, but Shane managed to rid himself of the accent completely, while I still had a slight accent.

“He said something about your disappearing from work to nurse a harlot
, when you have a wife on whom you should focus. Then he went on and on about grandchildren and legacies. Thanks to you, I got the lecture of my life! What gives big bro?” Shane continued.