Exposed - Part Three (Exposed 3)

Chapter 1

"Sadie." Alexa's voice drifts into my ear as if I'm in some sort of transparent bubble. I can barely hear it, but it feels as though it's vibrating through my body. "Sadie, what the hell is going on?"

I turn to grab hold of her. She'll steady me. She's my anchor. She'll know what to do.

"Is that Hunter with that redhead?" she's whispering now. "Why is she clinging to him like that? Go over there and tell her to get her hands off of him."

"She's Christina," I say as if that's going to somehow make Alexa shut up. She has no idea who Christina is. Until five minutes ago she was just Coral's sister. Now, she's Hunter's fiancé. No, wait; she's Zander's fiancé. How could he be marrying someone else? He said I was his destiny.

"I don't give a fuck who she is. Tell her to back off or I will." She's pulling away from me and I can't let her go. I cling to her arm, clawing at the fabric of her dress, trying desperately to get her to stay here, beside me. I'll fall over if she walks away.

"Sadie?" There's another voice next to me. It's low and unfamiliar. It's so soft but the fraught emotion within it is unmistakable.

I turn slowly. My heart already knows who it is. "I'm Sadie," I say in a broken hush.

She's even more petite than I am. Her hands are trembling. I stare at them. I can't bring myself to look at her face. I know that within it I'm going to see all the pain that has washed over her since that day so many years ago. The day when Coral's heart became mine.

"Sadie," her voice breaks as she speaks my name again. "I'm..." the words trail.

I raise my eyes slowly and I realize in that instant that the air is silent. No one is moving. Alexa is next to me, now holding tightly to my hand.

"You're Coral's mom." I look at her face. It's weathered. The fine lines around her eyes are clear signs of her age but there's more there. I sense the sadness as soon as her gaze catches mine.

She nods silently and her eyes drop to my chest. I pull my hand up to cover the scar. I suddenly feel as though my heart is on display. In this room, it's not my heart anymore. It's Coral's heart.

"I'm sorry," I say to her as I squeeze Alexa's hand willing her to understand that I need to leave. I have to get out of this restaurant. I feel as though the walls are closing in on me so rapidly that soon I'll be buried beneath all of the raw emotion that is permeating the air.

"Sadie, let's go." Alexa takes my cue and guides me softly to the right in the direction of the door.

I can't move. Coral's mom has pulled me into a tight embrace. I close my eyes as I feel her sobs radiate through me. How can I walk away? How can I leave this woman standing here alone? I can't control my own emotions anymore. I feel a tear stream down my cheek.

"This isn't the place or the time." A man's voice, deep and comforting breaks through the heavy cloak of stunned silence that is drifting through the room.

My eyes pop open and his blue eyes lock with mine. He's older than me, his brown hair a soft mess of curls around his handsome face.

"Mother, let her go." He gently grasps the arms of Coral's mom and pries them from my shoulders.

"This is her, Clive," she whispers through her tears. "She's here for us."

"She's overwhelmed, Mother." He pulls his mother's head into his chest, cradling it as she cries. "I don't think she was expecting all of this." The way he raises his eyebrow as he looks at me suggests he's asking me a question.

I shake my head slowly from side-to-side. How could I have ever expected any of this? How did I even end up here? I'm in the middle of a room filled with people who loved Coral. Everything was so perfect just an hour ago when we were standing outside the front door of the restaurant.

"Mother, Zander brought her here for me," Christina's voice is next to me again and I instinctively melt into Alexa.

"Christina, stop." Hunter is so close now too. I can't look at him. "I didn't. It's not like that."

"We have to go," Alexa's voice cracks. Her arm is cradling my waist, pulling me towards the entrance of the restaurant. I glance up and look at the door. That's my salvation. I have to get through it. I have to walk out of here.

"I'll see you out," Hunter says as I feel his hand sweep across my elbow. I yank it away violently as a rush of emotions course through me.

"No." Clive tenderly pushes his mother towards Christina. "I'm seeing her out." His tone is authoritative and calm.

I don't look at anyone but Alexa. I can see the utter confusion in her face. She can't comprehend what's happening. How could she when I can't? I want to go. I want to go to the train station and go back to Boston.

"Sadie." Hunter is behind me. The mere sound of his voice is making me nauseous. How could he make love to me and be engaged to her? How could he have lied to me? How could he be marrying Coral's sister? We talked about Coral so much and he never said anything.

"Leave her alone," Alexa seethes.

I hear sobs. They have to be coming from Coral's mother. I've imagined meeting her for more than a decade but not like this. Never like this.

I turn around abruptly to face her. I sense Hunter to my left and Christina to my right. My eyes are locked on Coral's mom. "Ma'am," I mutter. "I have to go but..." But, what? How can I tell her that I'm thankful that her daughter lost her life so mine could be saved?

"I'll give you her phone number, Sadie." Clive's voice calls from behind me. "You can call when you feel it's time."

I nod as I reach to embrace Coral's mom. "I will call," I whisper into her ear. "I will call."

Chapter 2

"I can't believe he's marrying someone else." Alexa runs her hand over my forehead as we lay together on one of the beds in our hotel room. "How did you know her name?"

I briefly glance up at her face. She's still wearing all the makeup she had on when we left our room hours ago. "Hunter told me about her." I wince as I say his name. Ever since Christina scolded me for calling him that I've been struggling to view

him as Zander. That's who he is though. He's Zander to all of them.

"He told you he was marrying that bitch?" She bolts to her knees. "Why didn't you tell me he was getting married?"

"No." I roll over so I don't have to face her expression once I explain about Christina. "She's Coral's sister. He's marrying her sister. I had no idea."

She reaches for my arm in an effort to pull me back over. "Sadie. You're telling me that he's marrying the sister of the dead girl he used to date?"

I pull in a heavy breath. I know she needs answers but I'm so tired and spent. Talking about this is only adding salt to the open and gaping wound that is my heart. "I don't know." I bite my lip to hold in a sob. "I don't know what's going on."

"I'm sorry." I feel the bed shift as she lies back down and pulls her arm over me. "Let's not talk about him anymore."

I nod at the welcome break in the conversation. I can't wrap my mind around the fact that Hunter is marrying someone else, let alone Coral's sister. "Thanks," I mutter as I close my eyes in the hope that sleep will envelop me quickly and chase away the night's events even if it's just for a few hours.

"Let's talk about Clive." She pulls in a breathy sigh. "He didn't have to ride all the way back here in the taxi with us but he did."

My eyes jar open. Is she seriously talking about him right now? "Alexa, I'm really tired."