Before A Perfect World: Movie Trilogy, Book Two (The Movie Trilogy) (29 page)

“
What about your old boyfriend? Are you going back to him, with Keaton gone?
”

Emmet actually stood up at my side, and I could feel the impending tornado of insults ready to fire from his flowery vocabulary.

“
Keaton’s not
gone
,” I snapped furiously, tears on instaflow the moment I thought of the possibility of him no longer breathing. “He’s going to wake up for me.
For our baby.
”

T
hat
was the moment that the press chose to run over and over and over on the news as they plastered me onto the headline of every tabloid. I became the center of attention across the world overnight.

The men associated with our kidnapping were found and tried, both sentenced to several life terms. They’d been hired by
Derrick, and the entire kidnapping, as well as the other women’s murders, had all been funded by the settlement that he received from Keaton in his lawsuit.

When
Keaton woke, I would make sure that he
never
learned that information.

Matthew and
I had spent hours with the FBI rehashing everything that had happened at the cabin. When I talked about stabbing Derrick through the eye with the toothbrush, the woman taking our information tried but failed to hide her shock.

Matthew reached for my hand, and I let him hold it for a few moments before pulling away.

He went back to Ohio, not saying goodbye, not saying
anything
. I was left with the most disgusted feeling for what I had said to him, but I couldn’t let him think for another moment that I would ever be his again.

Kelsey made a play for attention, lamenting that she hadn’t been there to help us and assuring the tabloids that she had nothing to do with her ex-lover’s actions.

After she was cleared by the authorities, she was photographed making out with Rob Jansen, Hollywood’s next up-and-coming director.

Some things never changed.

“You’re feeling okay? No headache?” Luke asked as he quickly put the groceries away. I shook my head, quickly stocking the refrigerator with the cold items.

“
No, I feel fine. Hey.” I stopped, catching him by the hand as he finished shoving the empty grocery bags under the sink. “Have you heard from Madeline?”

His
hazel eyes, too much like Keaton’s, flashed with pain.

“No. I called her earlier to wish her a merry Christmas, but she never responded
to my message.”

“
You should call her back and say, ‘oh, sorry, wrong number,’” I said, finally eliciting a grin from him.

“Yeah. No. I shouldn’t have called her at all. Hey, any word on the movie?”

I sighed, reaching for my sweater. “It’s officially dropped. They aren’t waiting for Keaton. Ash has other commitments for the next two years. He’d be out of the film, anyway.”

“That’s what you wanted though, right?
You didn’t want to do it without Keaton.”

“
No. Not even when he wakes up. I can’t imagine filming a movie about what I just
lived
through. Makes my skin crawl.”

“I hear you.”

He gestured to the door, and I gave him a thankful smile.

“I really can take a cab,” I said, and he narrowed his eyes, giving me a
look
.

“You’re not standing down there, alone on the curb on Christmas Eve with my niece. You’re bum bait.”

“I have spare change.”

He grinned, and I froze, covering my rounded belly suddenly, and he turned my way.

“What? What’s wrong?”

The repetitive flutter inside continued for another few seconds, and I lifted my eyes to his. “I think she has the hiccups.”

“Really?” he stared at my stomach, fascinated, and I reached for his hand.

“Here… feel her,
” I whispered.

His
fingers rested over the thin material of my t-shirt, splaying over the rhythmic pulse. A slow grin moved across his lips, and he took a step closer, placing his left hand next to his right.

“She’s right there,” he murmured, his voice filled with awe.

The heaviness that fell over me took me by surprise. I felt the hollowness of my heart from deep inside forcing tears to well in my eyes.

It’d been a while since I’d just sat and cried. By November, I’d resolved to
be strong for Keaton, for the baby, and for everyone, refusing to wallow any longer.

Keaton was
going
to wake up. It was only a matter of
when
.

“
Hey.” He sensed my emotional response immediately, moving his hands and wrapping his arms around me. “He’ll come back to us, Vivie.”

“
I miss him.
” I finally broke, balling my fists against his strong back. “I miss him every single day. More and more. He may not even know me if he comes back.
He might not even be the same person,
” I whispered.

I’d only let myself share my darkest fears with Luke, recognizing early on in our friendship that he listened without judgment or sarcasm. Somehow, he was wise, and so intuitive for
being only a year older than I was.

“
That’s the first time I ever heard you say ‘if.’ Look at me.”

He tilted my chin up, wiping the tears away with his thumbs.

“When,” I corrected softly.

“
When
he comes back, he’ll need you more than ever.”

“I know.”

He stared at me for a long, quiet moment, and my eyes fluttered closed as he bent to press a kiss to my forehead.

My stomach churned with nausea, and I backed away, my heart hammering in my chest.

Keaton had always kissed me there, and Luke recognized immediately that he’d crossed a line.

“I’m sorry. Come on,
” he added lightly, opening the apartment door. “Let’s go bash Clint Eastwood movies in front of him until he wakes up.”

I forced a smile, hurrying to the elevator.

The ICU was quiet, and Rhonda, one of my favorite nurses, sat behind the desk and smiled as we entered. “Look at you! Let me see that baby,” she called, standing and moving around to me excitedly.

“She had the hiccups earlier,” Luke said, gesturing to my stomach. “The baby, not Vivian,” he added awkwardly.

Rhonda laughed, and I fished the envelope out of my purse, handing it over to her.

“Merry Christmas, Rhonda,” I said, and she
tsked
, accepting the envelope. Her dark braids were pulled back as they always were. During our first conversation, we’d bonded over our love of ponytails.

“Girl,” she protested, opening the card and spa package gift certificate. “Thank you, honey. You know you’re coming with me. They do prenatal massages.”

“Sounds like a plan,” I replied, gesturing toward Keaton’s room. “How is he?”

I asked every day, every hour, every time I arrived at the hospital that had
practically become my second home.

Rhonda smiled, taking a step toward me.

“Well, that’s my Christmas present for you, hon.” She reached for my hands, her dark eyes sparkling. “He woke up for about two minutes today, Vivian. That’s why I called you. He hasn’t since, but when he did, he asked for you.”

If Luke hadn’t put his arm around me, I would have fallen to the ground.

“Breathe, honey,” Rhonda added, and I nodded, trying to get ahold of myself while running to Keaton’s room.

“I should have been here,” I cried, turning to Luke
in frustration. “I should have
been
here when he opened his eyes.”

“You can’t live here,” Rhonda argued gently. “
And there’s been no change since. You know it will most likely happen very slowly,” she reminded me. “No Hollywood endings in here, sweetie.”

“I know.” I lowered to the seat next to the bed, taking his hand as I always did.

Four months.

Four months, and Keaton was down from one hundred and ninety pounds to one hundred and
sixty.

He had
regular physical therapy for his muscles and to prevent bedsores. The hospital staff had been absolutely wonderful to me, keeping me up to date on every aspect of his care.

“He needs a haircut,” Lu
ke said, settling into his seat on the other side of Keaton. “He’d be pissed knowing it was so long.”

“We can have someone come in,” Rhonda assured me. “Just let me know.”

“
Keaton
,” I whispered, moving my lips closer to his ear. “Merry Christmas. You have to wake up again. Charlie had the hiccups today,” I murmured, kissing his head softly. “And she’s been moving around like crazy. I think she’s got some Red Bull in her blood,” I added with a smile.

“Doc said he’ll be in around ten in the morning, if you want to talk with him then,” Rhonda said, f
olding a blanket at Keaton’s feet.

“Okay.” I rested my head on Keaton’s shoulder. “Thanks Rhonda.”

She gave me a tender smile before heading back to the desk.

Luke sat back against the chair, meeting my eyes.

“Do you want to be alone with him?” he asked, his calming voice easing my nerves.

“Please stay,” I replied, moving to stretch out on the bed
beside my fiancé. I took Keaton’s hand, resting it over my rounded belly. “I’m just going to close my eyes for a few minutes.”

He stood, unfolding the bl
anket that Rhonda had just left. “Goodnight,” he replied knowingly, spreading the blanket over us both. “I’m putting the rail up so you don’t fall.”

“Thank you, Luke,” I murmured, careful not to move too much to
disturb the feeding tube in Keaton’s stomach.

“
Merry Christmas, Vivie,
” he said softly, brushing his hand over my hair before moving back to the chair.

V

“Fucking security guards, Viv. They were useless. The police were useless. I let this happen to you both.” Frank sniffed, and I could tell that he was fighting back his unmanly emotions. “Jesus Christ, he’s like my son. I see him in that bed, and I fucking lose it. Look at you, ready to pop that kid out any day. Fuck.”

“Frank,” Kathy scolded lightly, turning to me with flowers. “Darling, if there is anything at all that we can do, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Thank you both,” I’d answered, grateful when they finally left.

Frank was absolutely devastated over Keaton, and stopped over to see me at least twice a week. He
was Keaton’s Power of Attorney, and managed his finances in his absence. He continued paying on Keaton’s apartment, making sure that I had more than enough money every week to take care of myself.

“I can’t spend his money,” I’d protested,
sickened just thinking about him in the hospital as I cut checks from his bank account.

“Yes you can,” Frank said.
“You can help me. I can’t be running this company and doing stupid shit like paying utilities and cleaning ladies. You are almost his wife. You’re in charge of this apartment.” Frank slapped a checkbook and credit card into my hand, kissing my cheek.

That was almost seven months ago.

I spent my days reading through the scripts that Frank sent to me and keeping up the apartment. I read everything that I could about the production business, pouring over how-tos and business management strategies. Finally, I asked Frank to find me an acting coach. Two days a week, I went with Luke to the studio, working with a woman named Marissa Mack. She was in her late thirties and full of energy, always positive while giving me plenty of direction and ideas for improving my skills. Ultimately, she said that I was very used to the stage and overacted to compensate, and she gave me exercises to work on that would help me become more familiar with screen acting.

She was amazing, and I was so thankful that we became fast friends.

“You’ve been working really hard, and it shows, Vivian,” Marissa complimented me, nearly a month into our sessions. “I’m so proud of you.”

“I want to impress him, when he wakes up,” I told her. She stopped reading over the script in her hands, pinching her lips together into a sad smile.

“I know you do, honey. And you will.”

She hugged me then, and we ended up going out to lunch together. It was nice to have a girlfriend to ta
lk to after being surrounded by men for so long. Luke was a calming force in my life, both of us united by our love for Keaton. When it came down to talking through my emotions, though, he would simply stand up and hold his arms out to me.

“Come on, let’s hug it out,” Luke would say, and I’d give in every time.
He’d force a smile from me, but I’d end up burying everything inside, knowing full well that whatever I needed to deal with would surface again in time.