Page 33 of Edge of Heaven (Crimson Edge #2)

Taryn

The doctor insisted I stay in the hospital one more day for observation. I had to talk to the police multiple times. Callum is still in jail and the media is talking about us non-stop. Even though my bloodwork showed no drugs or alcohol in my system.

Even though I’m the supposed victim.

The court of public opinion is crucifying me, and I’ve never felt so humiliated.

On top of that, I don’t have my phone, my ID, or even the key to the room I was sharing with Callum, so I don’t know how I’m going to get my things.

Basically, my life is a nightmare and I don’t even have clean underwear.

I’d laugh if it weren’t so ludicrous.

And the only person I have to blame is myself.

As usual, I’m the fuck-up, the one who makes bad decisions and screws everything up. My own mother doesn’t even believe me when I tell her that the things they’re saying about me aren’t true.

But what else is new.

She didn’t believe me when I told her the condom broke, that Trevor and I weren’t careless. It was truly an accident.

She didn’t believe that the modeling jobs I was getting were legitimate or a jumping-off point for my career.

She didn’t even believe I was capable of taking care of my child.

And she doesn’t believe me now.

Of course, in Toby’s case, she’s probably right.

I have enough money for one of Toby’s payments, but not both, so I’m going to swallow my pride and borrow the money from Ryleigh.

I’ll pay her back with interest, but I need time to heal enough to get a job waiting tables or whatever is going to bring in the most money in the shortest amount of time.

I just don’t know how long it’s going to take my ribs to heal. It could be six to eight weeks, maybe more. My ankle isn’t broken but it’s severely sprained so I’m wearing a boot for a few weeks, and I’m basically a mess. I don’t even want to look in the mirror.

“Hey, you ready to blow this popsicle stand?” Ryleigh comes in with…my little rolling carry-on suitcase.

“Hi. Where did you get that?”

“Angus worked his magic and got us a key to Callum’s room. We packed up all your stuff and brought it back to our room for now. And I brought you some stuff I thought you’d need. Including…” She pauses dramatically as she pulls something out of her bag. “Your purse and your phone!”

“Oh my God, you’re the best!” I say in surprise. “How did you get them?”

“They were in the room. Apparently, Callum went back there and dropped the stuff off before he came to the hospital.”

“Thank fuck. The hospital has been freaking out about payment and all that.”

“We took care of it,” she says gently.

“What?” I gape at her. “No, you can’t?—”

“We can afford it, okay? And you can file with your insurance and give us back the money once you get it. It’s just a loan to make this less stressful.”

Tears sting my eyelids.

Again .

I’ve done a lot of crying the last two days.

“Thank you.”

“Now, how about a shower and then you can put on your own clothes.”

“That sounds amazing.”

She helps me gather my things, and a nurse comes to remove the IV so I can shower. I’m getting released soon anyway, so I don’t need it anymore.

It feels good to be clean and wash away dried blood and as many remnants of that morning as possible.

It’s only been two days but it feels like a year.

Possibly more. I can’t even begin to process everything that’s happening but all I can focus on right now is making sure Toby finishes the treatment.

His six-month scans looked good, and according to my mother, his energy is coming back.

I told her I’d make the payments, not to worry about it, and we left it at that.

She didn’t seem interested in finding out how I’m doing or where I’m getting the money, and that’s fine with me.

She and I are going to have a heart-to-heart when I get home to L.A.

, but right now I can’t think about getting on a plane.

I can barely walk across the room without help so there’s no way I can navigate an airport.

“What’s going on with the tour?” I ask Ryleigh once we’re settled at the hotel.

“It’s done,” she says. “Karnal Death has cancelled the remaining dates, and Crimson Edge starts their club tour in just under two weeks.”

“Oh, so is everyone already on the way home?”

“They just made the announcement this morning, so we’re flying out tomorrow.

Although, I’ll stay here with you until you’re ready to leave.

I’m not leaving you, so don’t start that ‘you don’t have to’ bullshit.

This is what friends do. I don’t know what kind of shitty people you’ve had in your life since college, but I’m not like them. ”

I smile. “No. You definitely are not.”

“Okay, here’s the plan: I’m going to run down to the deli around the corner and get us lunch.

Angus is in a band meeting, so you’ll have a little time to relax.

Then we can eat and if you’re not too tired, come up with a plan for what you need going forward.

You also need to go through your stuff and make sure we got everything. ”

“I’m going to need a favor,” I begin.

She stops me with her hand. “Whatever you need. But first, you relax and let me get food. I’m starving. You want turkey and Swiss or a meatball sub?”

Those were my two favorite sandwiches in college, and she remembers.

“Turkey and Swiss,” I say. “Lettuce and tomato. No mayo or mustard.”

“You got it.” A minute later she’s gone and for the first time in two days, I’m alone.

And I can finally turn on my phone. It’s not charged but she grabbed my charger so I plug it in and give it a minute to power up.

Holy crap.

Two hundred text messages.

A dozen missed calls.

And hundreds of notifications from my social media accounts.

I’m nervous about reading everything, but I might as well start with the ugliest.

There are two from Callum demanding to know where I am—apparently he was so high he forgot he took my phone away from me.

Then there are voicemails from my mother, asking why I haven’t answered Toby’s video calls or called to check in.

But then there are other messages.

STEVIE: Hey, I saw what happened online. Are you okay? Do you need anything? Please reach out. You know I’ve been where you are.

HETTIE: You okay, hon? I saw you on the news with that shithead of a boyfriend. If you need anything, call me. And when you’re feeling better, let’s talk about the next shoot—I’m looking at mid-July if you’re healed by then.

CHEY: Hey, if you need a place to stay while you’re healing, Ivan and I are right on the beach and have plenty of room. We’ll be traveling, so you’ll have the place all to yourself. And Stevie has a key. Offer is open-ended if you need it. Callum isn’t invited, though.

I cover my mouth with my hand as sobs escape me.

I never expected this type of support. I thought sure my modeling career was over, but even if it’s not, I don’t know what I’m going to do.

How can I prove to my mother and to Toby that I’m capable of being his mom?

Of taking care of him, both physically and financially.

L.A. is expensive so I don’t know how I can live on my own, not right now anyway, but if we moved somewhere else, I wouldn’t have any support.

And now I don’t even have Mick.

It’s been twenty-four hours since I asked him to leave my hospital room, and I haven’t heard from him. Ryleigh and I haven’t talked about him in any detail but she did mention that he’s hurt and frustrated.

But that’s the thing—so am I.

Hurt that I thought I had a plan and then it blew up in my face.

Frustrated that I have to borrow money from Ryleigh even though I don’t want to.

Hurt that Mick wouldn’t even try to understand how I feel.

Frustrated that he didn’t come back later, so we could talk things out.

I’m probably being unreasonable, but I’ve been through a lot over the last six months or so. If he’s truly in love with me, shouldn’t he have tried again? Tried harder to understand what I was trying to say or at least appreciate the fact that I don’t want to bring baggage to our relationship?

I don’t know anymore.

It just feels like my world is crashing down around me, and I don’t know where to turn.

“Hey.” Ryleigh walks in with a bag of food that smells wonderful. “They were out of Swiss cheese so instead of guessing what else you’d want, I got you a meatball sub. I know they’re fattening but someone who just got out of the hospital should have a treat.”

“Thank you.” I take the sandwich and open the paper wrapping it. There’s cheese and sauce all over the place and I take a big bite, unconcerned about the sauce on my nose and cheeks. It hurts my lip a little but I don’t care. The taste is worth it. “Oh, fuck, that’s almost better than sex.”

Ryleigh laughs. “I don’t think so, but okay. You do you.”

“Listen, about that favor.”

“Anything.”

“I need ten thousand dollars. I’ll pay you back as soon as?—”

She interrupts me shaking her head. “Done. Don’t worry about how long it’ll take you to pay it back. Take care of Toby. I meant what I said about that. Your kid has cancer. This isn’t like you need a loan because you spent your grocery money on new shoes. Okay? Stop being stubborn.”

“Thank you. You’re a good friend.”

“What else?”

That gives me pause because I don’t know. Making sure Toby is taken care of is really all I’ve had the energy to focus on.

“I don’t know,” I admit. “I’m tired and everything hurts, to be honest.”

“Then rest. You can have the bedroom and we’ll sleep on the pull-out couch—and don’t say no!

” She gives me an exasperated look. “You just got out of the hospital and can probably use a little privacy. We’ll survive one night on a sofa bed.

Geez. You’re our friend. If they had availability, we would’ve gotten you your own room but I guess the place is sold out. ”

“Oh.” I don’t want to argue about anything anymore, so I just nod. “Thank you.”

“How about you relax and don’t worry about what’s next. We’ll see what Angus says when he gets back from the meeting and we can make some decisions from there.”

The lock whirs on the door and Angus comes in.

“Hey, Taryn. Welcome home. So to speak.”

“Thanks.”

He picks up the sandwich Ryleigh got for him and takes a bite.

“So?” Ryleigh asks. “What’s the plan?”

“We’re going home to Minnesota for ten days until we leave on our tour.”

“Excellent.” She nods.

“Is, uh, Mick around?” I ask quietly. “I need to talk to him.”

Angus makes a weird face. “Actually, no. He left a little while ago. He was headed to the airport. Said he had things to take care of before we hit the road again.”

My heart sinks.

He left without even saying goodbye.

Which is pretty telling.

And my heart shatters into a million pieces.