White Lies (A Twisted Fate 1)

Carson coughed again. I realized he was close to me but on the wrong side of the limo. Why was he not buckled?

“I wanted—” Carson coughed again, unable to finish his sentence.

At least we were both awake.

Everything was okay.

There was more shouting. They were yelling Andre’s name.

I coughed, too, as dust filled my throat. “We’re going to be okay, Carson.”

“Tell Francesca I love her.”

Those weren’t words of hope. Those were words of despair. No, no, no. I refused to believe the tone I was hearing from Carson. My voice grew stronger. “You’re going to tell her yourself, Carson.”

The darkness came again as I fought to keep my eyelids open. It was hard to stave off the tiredness that threatened to consume me. “I love you, too, Willow.”

I knew the impending exhaustion was about to win, but we needed to remain conscious. “Carson, fight. I love you, too. You’re my best friend.”

“I know, Willow.”

Our voices were growing more tired. I knew it. He knew it. We needed to save our energy. I wanted to sleep.

“I love my baby, Willow. I want to be a father.” Now he sounded scared.

I was scared. I wanted to respond, but nothing came out.

The darkness had come to claim me.

Blackness.

People surrounded me. There were so many flashing lights, and they hurt my head. “Get her IV hooked up. What are her vitals?”

The plastic oxygen mask covered my mouth. I slapped at it. A hand stopped me. “Careful, Ms. Russo. We’re loading you into the ambulance.”

“Pregnant.” It took everything I had in me to say the one word. The mask kept it from being understood.

Someone moved closer to me. The mask lifted. “What, Ms. Russo?”

With the last of my energy, I managed to say louder, “Pregnant.”

The darkness claimed me again.

My body refused to respond. More people were talking.

Nonno. Why was Nonno here?

Where was I?

Carson. Where was Carson?

My baby. Was my baby okay?

The blackness tried to pull at me again. I fought it as I strained to listen to the voices. It sounded like Bennett was here, too.

“Did you know?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Thank goodness they’re okay.”

“I know, Bennett.”

There was a sadness to their voices.

Why were they sad?

The blackness moved in more aggressively.

No, no, no! I needed to hear more.

It was useless. I succumbed.

Lips pressed against my forehead. “Thank God you and the baby are okay.”

Tack was here. Tack. He came for me.

The sludge kept me from responding. He was here, within reach. I wanted to be near him. See him.

“I need to leave, sweetheart. I won’t be far away ever again. I’m never going to let anyone come near you again.”

Tack. I needed him to stay.

Another kiss. “Fight, Willow. Fight for the baby. Fight for us. Don’t give up.”

And then I was pulled back under.

More voices.

Bleach filled my nostrils.

There was beeping.

“When will she wake up?” Nonno was here again. Worried.

There was a clearing of a voice. One I wasn’t familiar with. “Her body is healing. Hopefully within the next twenty-four hours.”

Another day.

How long had I been sleeping?

I wanted to scream I was here, but nothing worked.

Carson. Where was Carson?

My baby. How was the baby?

The blackness approached again. I wanted to run away from it, but nothing worked. I was vulnerable. Fighting the impending slumber, I strained my ears.

Nothing.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

My eyes fluttered open but then squinted shut at the brightness. It hurt like of son of a bitch as pain radiated through my head.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

What was that noise? This time, I barely opened my eyes to keep some of the light out. Nonno sat in a chair beside me, sleeping. His hand was on top of mine. Odd. I hadn’t noticed it until now.

“Nonno?” The voice coming from me sounded like a stranger’s. Rough, like sandpaper.

He stirred and his eyes grew wide. Quickly, he pressed a button near the side of my head. “Thank God. I’m here, baby girl.”

More pain shot through me, and I closed my eyes. Barely, I managed, “The light.”

Mercifully, the light in the room dimmed.

“Where… am… I?” The dryness in my throat became more apparent. I needed water.

Nonno spoke again. “You’re in the hospital. There was a wreck.”

Wreck? I tried to remember something… anything.

We were at the art gallery. Then the limo. I think we talked about the future. Andre came over the intercom.

Bits and pieces came to me, but it was all a jumbled mess.

We were hit. Near the ravine. The car tumbled. I spoke with Carson. Then I remembered nothing.

The baby.

The monitor beeped a little faster. I can’t lose my baby. “What about the baby?”

A sniffle came from my left. On instinct, I moved my head to look.

It hurt. Everything hurt.

Marie was by my side with a tear-streaked face. She reached down and touched my hand. “The baby is fine. You were in distress, but you’ve both pulled through.”

I nodded. The baby was fine.

“Carson?”

Nonno grabbed my hand. “He’s in the hospital, too.”

Carson was fine. We were fine. Everything was going to be okay. “What… happened?”

Bennett stepped to the side. How many people were here? I closed my eyes again. “A Hummer approached from the hill and pushed your car off the road into the ravine. Andre carried you to the road before the ambulance got there, saving precious time we didn’t have. He got Carson out of the car, too. He saved your life. That’s all we know. Trent has a team here and hasn’t stopped investigating.”

There were so many words to focus on that I’d have to ask again later. The door opened, and I cracked my eyes. A doctor and two nurses came in. He was an older gentleman. “Good afternoon, Ms. Russo. We’ve been waiting for you to wake up.”

“Hello.” Again my voice sounded like sandpaper, and I started coughing from the dryness. With a nod, the black-haired nurse put some ice chips in front of my lips. Gently I managed to get them in. “The baby?”

I knew Marie had told me, but I needed the doctor’s confirmation.

He looked at a sheet the nurse gave him. “You sustained a head injury from the car accident. A few bruises and minor cuts. With the trauma, we were afraid the baby would abort itself, but you have a fighter on your hands. We’re going to monitor you and limit the amount of tests we do to make sure the baby stays unaffected. It’s important you follow our directions.”

“I will. When can I see Carson? What about Andre and Paul?” All the information wore me out. My eyes fought to close.

Nonno stepped in. “Tomorrow, baby girl. Francesca is with Carson right now. Andre had a few bumps and bruises. Paul is here, too.”

I had no remaining energy to demand to see Carson now. At least there was comfort in knowing we were okay. “Tell Paul and Andre thank you from me. Will you tell Carson I’m awake?”

Marie took my hand. “Of course we will. We’re going to head to his room shortly. We’ve been keeping him updated.”

Our last conversation flitted through my mind.

I coughed, too, as the dust filled my throat. “We’re going to be okay, Carson.”