Unrequited (Chosen #3) (18 page)

THIRTY THREE - SAM

I stared at myself in front of the bathroom mirror. I had taken to the bathroom for several hours a day. I stared at myself, I picked at pimples on my chin and forehead. Sometimes I would wash my hands until my fingers were raisins. Sometimes I prettied myself up with makeup but I didn’t leave my apartment. I don’t know how long it had been exactly. I hadn’t washed any of my clothes in a while so I was at the point where I just didn’t wear underwear. My tee shirts were dirty.

I could hear my mother’s voice. “Samantha, what in the heavens do you have on?” I would run up the stairs and change immediately. I grinned wickedly in the mirror. I didn’t have to fucking run anywhere for my parents any longer. I had cut off all communication and I was free. The irony wasn’t lost on me that I couldn’t leave the bathroom. I would go to turn the lock but back off. I just didn’t know what to expect from the rest of the apartment.

Clay was coming over less and less. When he did show up, he would bring enough powder to last me a while. Sometimes he brought a girl over. Sometimes he brought a few guys. If I was in the mood, I would join in their fun. Otherwise, I would take a stash and head to the bathroom. Clay and I didn’t speak at all. He never asked why I spent so much time by myself. I never asked what he did when he was gone.

I heard a shrilling laugh come from the living room. It almost sounded like an animal in pain. Before I could think
twice, I unlocked and opened the door to find Clay and a girl making out on the couch. Her laugh was so fucking annoying and if I had to listen to her one more time; I was going to rip my fucking teeth out. It wouldn’t hurt that much since my whole face felt numb.

“Hey Clay, can you come here?” I yelled. It felt so weird to talk. I worked my jaw and looked up to see him walking towards me with a big smile on his face.

“What’s up Sammy baby?” he asked as he licked my neck.

“You and that girl need to leave,” I commanded.

“What? Why?” he asked concerned.

“She is annoying. I don’t want her in my apartment. Please go.”

I turned around and went back into the bathroom. I locked the door and ignored Clay’s inquisition through the door. He just needed to take that screeching animal away.

After what felt like forever, I heard him talking to the girl. A few minutes after that, the front door closed and I exhaled. I snorted another line and grabbed the vodka bottle from the bottom cabinet. After I took a few swills, I decided to do my makeup.

THIRTY FOUR - NICK

Lizzie and I made love well into the early evening. When it was time to head out to the movie, I started to get out of bed and she pulled me back in.

“Nah, movies are overrated. Besides why do I need Ben Affleck when I have Nick Sawyer?” Lizzie asked.

“Are you sure baby?” I wrapped my arms around her bare waist. I proceeded to tickle and rub her ass. She sighed. She loved it when I rubbed her ass. She implied that it was soothing but I thought it was arousing. I couldn’t do it for long or I needed to have my wicked way with her. I think watching me contain my self control was what Lizzie really loved the most from her ass rubs.

“Yes, I am positive,” she answered in a sweet quiet voice. “Although, you know we need to eat.”

“Let me guess, something with avocados?” I chuckled.

She wrinkled her nose. “That sounds really disgusting right now,” she replied.

We both lay there for a moment in silence while I started to inch my fingers down her inner thighs and she was clearly thinking about what we were going to eat for dinner.

As I started to kiss her neck, the phone rang. Neither one of us moved. “I am clearly not getting out of this bed unless I have to pee or the food is here,” Lizzie protested.

I nodded. “Me neither.” We continued to relish in each other’s bodies. I kissed her fair skinned breasts. They were so incredibly hot these days. Pregnancy had its perks and I was taking pleasure in all of them. She moaned as she pushed her belly up against me. She moaned louder when she felt that I was ready for her again. I was somewhere between her right and left breast when the phone rang again.

“Not it,” she breathed out. I popped my head off of her chest and frowned. She sighed.

“If we didn’t answer the phone the first time, then we are obviously not home. So please tell me why people call a second time. It is a mystery I have never been able to solve.” She looked perplexed. “And while we are at it, why don’t people call you on your cell phone if they need you so badly?”

“My phone is strictly for work and for you. And besides, who is to say the phone is for me. Maybe it is Sean being an ass because he telepathically knows we are having sex.”

“Hmm…that sounds nice. Having sex.” The phone continued to ring as we stared into each other’s eyes and smiled. She pulled me down for a kiss and I got lost in her tongue. Her teeth nipped at my lips and I growled. Just as I was about ready to flip her over, the fucking phone rang again.

“Okay, holy shit. What the fucking hell is going on?” I asked while I trampled out of bed and angrily walked to the kitchen.

“What?” I barked.

“Mr. Sawyer? Nick Sawyer?”

“Yes, who is this?”

“Sir, this is Paul. We spoke a while back about Samantha Hughes? You came over one morning to help us turn down the music?”

“Yes. What is it now? Another party?” I growled. I thought she was going to take my name off the list. This guy called me more than she did. Sam and I basically weren’t even friends anymore. She wanted me to leave her alone so I wasn’t going to save her every time she got into trouble, for fuck’s sake.

“No sir. There isn’t a party. We received an anonymous call from a young man who says that Samantha Hughes has overdosed. We don’t know if it is a joke or not but she won’t answer the door. I have the police and an ambulance here. I would really like to go into the apartment. I feel this qualifies as a dire emergency.”

I didn’t understand what Paul was saying. Anonymous call, overdosed, no answer, emergency.

“Should I come let you in? What do I do?” I started to panic. I wouldn’t be able to get there in time if she had already overdosed. She needed CPR or something right now. Hell, I didn’t know what the hell to do for an overdose. They lived though. I knew that.

“Nick. I want it on the record that you and I spoke and you allowed us to enter Ms. Hughes’ apartment.”

“Yes, yes. Fuck yes. Go! I will be right there.” I slammed down the phone and ran back into the room. I pulled my jeans up and threw on a shirt. Lizzie walked out of the bathroom. “Liz, it is Sam. Someone called in that she overdosed. I need to get over there. What if something happens and I am not there to save her? She put me down as her emergency contact. I am supposed to be there already. Fuck. I need to go.”
Lizzie was wide eyed as she started pulling on her clothes. She put her hand on my arm. “Calm down, baby. We are going. Tell me. Did they call an ambulance?”

I nodded quickly as I ran my hand through my hair. I started to pace, while I watched her throw on her shoes. She started out the door without saying a word. I followed her. She picked up the keys on the breakfast nook and walked to the elevator. I followed her. My legs started to shake. I crossed my arms, uncrossed them and then crossed them again. Lizzie remained calm and indifferent as she walked in the elevator. She pushed the down button. She called for the car. I followed her.

Lizzie got into the driver’s seat. I automatically got in the passenger seat. She started to drive and she drove fast and with precision. I realized in that moment, I had never been a passenger when Lizzie drove. She was in control and knew all the side streets and shortcuts. We were there in less than ten minutes.

She pulled up to the front of the building and watched me jump out. When I closed the door, she squealed away towards the back parking lot. I stared at the fire truck, three police cars and an ambulance, wondering if Sam was in one of them. I
ran into the building and quickly glanced around the room for anyone who could help me. Paul was talking to a police officer when he looked up to see me.

I must have had
the
question written on my forehead because he closed his eyes tight and shook his head slowly. I bolted for Paul and slammed into him.

“Don’t you dare fucking shake your head at me.” I was shaking and he was petrified. I wanted to punch the mother fucker and I didn’t even care. Who was he to shake his head at me? Did he think he was God?  Someone peeled me off Paul and I was taken out of the building. The police officer who had a strong hold on me told me to wait next to his car as Lizzie hurriedly walked up to us.

“What’s happening? What did they say?” she asked, sounding concerned for the first time since I told her that Sam had overdosed.

“I…ah…I…” I choked on the words. I ran over to the bush next to the police car and started to dry heave. I felt Lizzie’s warm hand rub my back. “Don’t!” I growled. Immediately, she left my backside and walked away. My stomach would not stop rolling. I gagged and spit. Right when I felt like I was okay and could stand up, her naked body in the middle of all of those men flashed through my head and I started to gag again.

My hearing was blocked off from the rest of the world as my throat made its own tormenting sounds. Those sounds were always more disturbing than the actual act of throwing up. My eyes felt like they were going to bug out of my head.

As I took a deep breath, I heard my wife’s cry. I slowly turned around and watched the two EMT’s push and pull the stretcher with a large black vinyl looking bag as its passenger. I quickly looked over to Lizzie where she was being consoled by one of the fireman. He was having her sit down and she was sobbing. She wasn’t loud but she wasn’t quiet. She wasn’t crying like she had for Conner the night I went to her. Lizzie cried like she just watched a really bad death scene in a movie. Her cries didn’t even come close to the louder cries nearby.

The begging, the coughing and the profound sobs of the man were so thunderous that I had to cover my ears to block him out. I couldn’t see anything. Everything was so blurry and I couldn’t breathe. I scrubbed my eyes only to realize my whole face was wet and I was the man sobbing.

THIRTY FIVE - SAM

“Hi, Princess,” a male voice reverberated off the tiled bathroom. His strong presence was behind me. I was applying the last of my mascara to have a bathroom party for one tonight.

“Leave me alone Clay,” I snapped.

Arms came around me and that familiar scent made my whole body freeze up. I dropped the mascara in the sink and I looked down at it. I heard him. I felt him. I smelled him. “Conner?” I whispered.

“Oh, Princess. My sweet Southern Belle,” he crooned as he kissed the side of my neck. I looked up into the mirror again and his face was saddened. I had missed him calling me his Princess Southern Belle.

“What’s wrong, Conner? What happened?” I cried.

He kissed me on the top of my head and looked pained.

“You fucked up, baby.” He was so beautiful to look at. He wore my favorite black button up shirt and his hair was perfectly messed up in a style that screamed rock God.

His arms wrapped around me tighter and I fell back into him. I closed my eyes and we slowly lay on the bathroom floor together.

“How did I fuck up?” I asked, feeling his warmth and security all around me.

“You snorted too much of that cocaine tonight. But, baby, it wasn’t just cocaine,” he cautioned. I was confused as I held on to Conner. What did he mean? How did he know?

Another male’s voice came from above us. I tried to look up to see who it was but Conner held me tight to him and I couldn’t move. I didn’t want to move when he held me like this. Finally, someone was holding on to me so tight that I knew they didn’t want to let go. I was loved. I was wanted.

“It looks the same shit. Fentanyl laced. She probably dropped pretty quickly, like the rest of them,” the man’s voice boomed throughout the room. “It’s a damn epidemic.”

I ignored him and focused on Conner’s arms and his smell. He was my home. I missed him so much. “Conner, am I alive?”

“I don’t know baby. Your body can’t breathe right now but you are going to be fine. You are going to be more than fine. I am here with you now and I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise.” I smiled at his words. It was the first genuine smile I felt in a long time. I tried to turn over in his arms but he kept me locked up against his chest.

“What is it, honey?” he asked, sounding concerned.

“I want you to feel how much I love you. I want you to understand, to see the love I have for you. I was so wrong Conner. I wanted our baby. I wanted us forever and I messed everything up that night. I am so sorry Conner. I am so, so sorry,” I begged.  I waited for the crying to begin but there was nothing. Tears didn’t fall from my face. I felt the guilt
from that night that he died but I didn’t feel sad. I was simply content to be here in his arms.

“I love you, too, Samantha. Don’t worry. I know how much you love me, sweetheart.” He kissed the back of my head. “You will always be the girl for me. Please don’t worry about any of that right now, okay? Just lay here in my arms and fall asleep with me, okay?” he asked softly. I nodded and leaned further back into him.

Conner started to sing one of my favorite songs in my ear while kissing my hair intermittently. I started to feel tired.  I was so tired from being up for so many days. I was ready to sleep and my love was right here with me. I felt complete. I knew everything would turn out just fine. As Conner started to sing another song, my body loosened up completely and I drifted off into a deep sleep.