Disconnected (11 page)

             
"Yes, Mr. Warren?"

             
"Lucas. Lucas Austin was in the car with Katy and Krista. What happened to him? Where is he now? I know Katy will want to see him and Krista, they're really close."

             
"I'm sorry, sir, Mr. Austin didn't make it. He was thrown from the car and killed instantly. We're tracking down his family now."

             
My eyes widen and I lean back against the wall. This is going to crush Katy.

             
As they leave I turn to Scott, who has a blank look on his face. "I can't believe this," he whispers. "Alexia really is crazy. How could she have done this?"

             
"I don't know. But if I ever see her in person again, I won't hesitate in causing her harm."

             
He shakes his head, running his hands through his hair with frustration.

               The next moment a doctor walks into the room and I rush in front of him. "Tell me Katy's ok. They're alright, right?" I speak quickly. They better start talking fast before I lose it.

             
The doctor puts his hand up to silence me. "I'm assuming you're the husband?"

             
"Yes sir. I'm Liam Warren, Katy's husband. And this is Krista's boyfriend, Scott."

             
He nods and motions for us to sit down.  "I'm afraid I can only talk with you, Mr. Warren, regarding the state of your wife. Due to medical laws, Mr. Adams, I can't tell you about Ms. Quinn's condition."

             
"What?!" he stands up and yells. "I'm her boyfriend. Her family is at least a couple hours away from here. Oh, God, I don't even have their number!"

             
"The police are talking with the university to get her next of kin information. But without the permission from her relatives, I can't tell you her condition."

             
Scott growls in the back of his throat and stands, shoving a chair as he storms out of the room.

              "Is Katy ok? Is she out of surgery?" I ask the doctor, bouncing my leg nervously.

             
"She is stable right now. Her leg was broken pretty severely. She had to have pins placed in it. But other than that and a gash to her head, she should be alright in time."

             
I let out a breath and look towards the door. "Can I see her?"

             
"She will be taken to a room soon. One of the nurses will come get you. If you need to use the phone to contact relatives, you're welcome to."

             
I nod. "Right," I absently reply. How am I going to tell our parents this? It's going to crush them. Katy's parents might even hate me after everything that happened.

             
Taking a deep breath, I reach into my pocket and scroll down to my parents' number and shakily press send.

              I hear music playing in the background when my mom answers. She's probably in the kitchen cooking and listening to the radio.

             
"Hi, sweetheart!" she says, and I feel my shaky composure start to crumble. I can do this, I tell myself; I have to tell her what happened.

             
"Mom..." My voice cracks.

             
"Liam, what's wrong?" She turns the music off and I now have her full attention.

             
"I...I found Katy here in Georgia," I start out.

             
"Oh, honey, that's great!"

             
"But...but, there was an accident today, Mom, Katy and two of her friends were in the car. My co-star, Alexia, did it. We had a fling a long time ago and she never let it go," I close my eyes to collect myself. "They found evidence that points to her. She went missing on set, and everyone thought she was just being a diva and left early. But she did this, she ran them off the road and now she's missing and I don't know what to do."

             
"Oh, my God," she whispers into the phone, and I hear something drop right beside her. "Have you talked to Mr. and Mrs. Parker yet?"

             
"No. I haven't had the chance to yet. But they need to know. They might hate me, but from you they'll take it better, Mom."

             
"Don't you worry about anything, ok? I will contact them and we will make our way there as soon as possible. Everything's going to be alright, ok? Just hang tight."

Chapter 13

              Hanging tight isn't easy when you feel like you're going out of your mind. After I get off the phone with my mom I head off in search of Scott, hoping he hasn't punched a hole in a wall or something worse.

             
After looking down the hall and around a couple other waiting rooms, I walk outside and see him sitting on a curb staring straight ahead. Looking around for any stray cameras, I walk over and sit next to him. "Are you ok?"

             
He looks over at me and shakes his head. "No. No, I'm not." He closes his eyes and takes a big breath. "I hate this. Because I don't have a ring on my finger and a piece of paper, I'm not allowed to know anything about the girl I love! I know she's not dead, because I'm sure that would have at least gotten told to me...but to not be allowed to know anything at all? It's killing me, Liam." He looks at me sternly and I'm surprised to see the emotion he has on his face. I've never seen him act like this over anything. He really does love Krista, I can see that now.

             
"You love her? Are you in love with her?" I ask, studying him closely.

             
"I do and I am. When I saw her on that stretcher, it was like my heart fell into my stomach. I wanted to run over and hold her, feel her, know that she was ok. Hear that bubbly laugh of hers-something, anything!" His jaw tightens at his rising temper. "But to see her so broken..." he shakes his head and covers his face with his hands for a minute

             
I pat his shoulder and just sit in the silence.  I'm holding out hope that everything will be ok at the end of this tunnel. It has to be. Krista and Katy are two tough girls. They'll be even stronger once this is all over. I'm just praying that I can be strong enough to make it through this for the both of us.

              A few hours later, Scott and I have forced ourselves to eat some cafeteria food and are walking back towards the waiting room when we see a woman-probably in her late 40's, with very curly blonde hair-animatedly talking with a doctor.

             
 "I'm here now; I need to see my daughter, doctor. I understand that she is just out of surgery, but I have every right to see her." She puts her hands on her hips in a familiar stance, and I have a feeling this might be Krista's mother. They have a strong resemblance, accent and all.

             
"Mrs. Quinn?" Scott asks tentatively.

             
She turns towards him and for a minute her eyes widen, and then she smiles at him. "Scott? Oh, sweetie, Krista's told me so much about you." She walks over and gets on her tip toes to hug around his shoulders. "Have they told you anything?"

             
He scowls, shaking his head, "No, ma'am. Because I'm not her husband, I have no right to know her medical issues without your permission."

             
She sighs, slips her arm into his like she's known him his whole life, and tugs him towards a set of chairs.

             
"Ok, first off, please call me Sarah." She smiles softly up at him. "I have a feeling we're going to be around each other for a long time."

             
He smiles and nods, "Yes, ma'am...Sarah."

             
 She pats his hand and takes a deep breath, and I see tears forming in her eyes. "Krista had to have surgery because she had some internal bleeding. They repaired that, but her brain is swollen. She isn't responsive right now, so they are putting her into a medically induced coma.” A tear rolls down her cheek and she wipes it away. "It's for the best right now, so she won't fight recovery."

             
Scott looks down and silently squeezes her hand. "Thank you for telling me, Mrs. Quinn....uh, Sarah." He smiles tightly and rubs at his eyes. "Is it ok with you if I stick around?"

             
"Of course, sweetheart," She wipes another tear falling down her cheek. "My husband should be getting here soon. He had some things to take care of at his office. I know he'll enjoy meeting you; Krista really talks highly of you."

             
He nods absently and I think he's lost in his own thoughts about what she's told him.

             
"I'm really sorry, Mrs. Quinn," I speak up. "Krista is Katy's best friend and I know she loves her a lot. I hope she’s able to make a quick, full recovery."

             
"Thank you...Liam, right?"

             
"Yes ma'am."

             
"I just love your Katy; she's been the best of friends to Krista through these last couple years of college. She and Krista are tough girls; they'll make it through this, one way or another. I have no doubt."

             
"Thank you...I'm just so worried right now. I just want to be able to sit with her and know she's really ok." I sigh, closing my eyes tight. "I hate this, and I hate Alexia for causing all this!"

             
"Alexia?" Sarah asks, "Whose Alexia?"

             
Scott looks at me and nods. "She should know how all this happened."

             
"Alexia is one of our co-stars. A few years ago when Katy and I separated, we had a...fling. Since then she's been obsessed with me, and I guess she saw Katy as competition." My hands clench into fists and I look up into her eyes. "She did this. Alexia caused the wreck because she wanted Katy dead."

 
              She gasps, putting her hand over her mouth. "Dear God....she really tried to kill her? This wasn't some accident?"

             
"No, ma'am, Alexia planned this. The police found evidence in her trailer."

             
"Have they caught her? She can't just be out and about now, right?"

             
"She hasn't been caught, Sarah," Scott tells her. "They don't know where she is. She was missing from the set and no one thought anything of it until the security guys got the phone call from Kate."

             
"So the security men weren't with them? I thought Krista told me that they were following them everywhere?"

             
I glare and grit my jaw. "They were supposed to. They took their lunch break and weren't aware that the girls had left."

             
She shakes her head sadly and rubs her hands nervously. "I don't understand how someone can have so much jealousy that they could cause all this," she whispers.

             
"Neither do I," Scott says and squeezes her hands. "But I swear to you, I will do everything in my power to keep Krista safe from now on."

             
She looks him in the eyes and smiles weakly. "I believe you."

             
A knock on the door interrupts us and we all jump up when we see a doctor standing there. "So sorry to interrupt, but you can go in and visit now."

Chapter 14

             
When I walk into Katy's room, I hold my breath. She's still unconscious and has IVs going into her. I glance down at the leg that she just had worked on and slowly walk to her side, taking her hand in mine.

             
"I'm so sorry, baby," I whisper. "I wish I could trade places with you right now. I wish Alexia was locked away in jail somewhere and that I could somehow rewind time to fix this." I sigh and lean forward to kiss her forehead. "I'm so sorry."

             
I stand there just holding her hand and watching the machines beside her while they beep every few minutes. Suddenly I hear the door start to open, and I turn around to see Mr. and Mrs. Parker rushing in with my parents right behind them.