Chapter 25
Present Day
Gemma
I sped right through the front doors of Denver Point Hospital and straight towards the wide reception desk at the front. There was a middle aged woman behind the counter, busily rustling through a drawer.
“Excuse me,” I said quickly, “where's Zack Logan?”
She looked up at me, her eyes showing signs that she recognized who I was.
“Are you family?” she asked.
“I'm a friend. Can you tell me where he is please. Is he OK?”
She eyed me for a moment before turning to her computer and bringing up his notes. “OK, Zack Logan. He was brought in on Saturday evening,” she said, reading off the screen, “and was taken to room....124. It's just down the hall in that direction.” She pointed over to my left with her eyes towards the hospital wards.
“Thank you,” I said, turning and walking briskly off down the hall.
My heart was beating rapidly as I went, my eyes darting around looking for the right room. I hadn't been to a hospital in many years, not since I'd fractured my arm as a little girl back in New York. The place seemed so alien to me, somewhere I'd only ever see on television or when watching a film.
But this was real. Zack was laid up somewhere down the corridor and it was all down to that scheming bitch Tara and her puppetmaster, Mrs Banks. I didn't know what sort of state he'd be in. I didn't even know if he'd be conscious. For all I knew he could be in a coma or f*cking brain-dead or something.
When I got to room 124 I stopped briefly outside, my hand shaking as I lifted it up to turn the door handle. I peered through the window, afraid I'd see Cade or Crash or another one of his brothers sitting by his bedside.
No, he was alone, lying staring at the ceiling, his eyes fixed in place, unmoving. I felt my gut wrench at the sight, at the way he was just staring into space, this vacant expression on his face. He looked lost, like he didn't know who he was anymore.
I turned back to the door and steadied my hand over the handle, twisting carefully before pushing it open. His eyes slowly fell on me as I entered and a smile grew quickly on his face. He looked completely worn and battered, his face badly bruised and this large white bandage wrapped around his head.
I rushed forward when I saw him turn to me, his eyes twinkling through their veil of sorrow when he saw me appear round the door. I hugged him, bending down onto the bed and wrapping my arms over him. I felt a huge surge of relief rush out of me at seeing him there, safe, in the hospital bed. I'd been so worried that something worse had happened, that he'd been seriously hurt, or worse.
I heard him groan beneath my grip as I hugged him tight, and quickly loosened up my arms, leaning back up. He smiled up at me and lifted his hand to wipe the tear that was now building in the corner of me eye.
“I had no idea you were here Zack,” I said, sniffing. “I've only just heard...I'm so glad you're OK.”
He smiled brightly, his sullen and weary eyes sparking into life. “It's good to see you Gem,” he said, rubbing his fingers gently over my cheek.
I looked at his head, wrapped tight in bandages. “Is your head OK?” I asked tentatively, still fearing the worst.
“It's fine, just a bad cut, nothing more.”
I let out a deep sigh. “Thank God. When are you getting out?”
“They said I can leave today if I want. The sooner the better as far as I'm concerned.”
“Well, are you ready to leave now? I could take you home? I've got my car outside...it's no problem.”
He shook his head. “That's sweet Gem, but that might not be the best idea...you know, with everything that's gone on.”
“Oh...yeah...maybe you're right.”
A short silence filled the air, the weight of the lies that were blighting our lives like a heavy storm cloud hanging over us.
Zack's eyes once again grew with worry, this empty look appearing on his face. It was killing me to see him like this, to see his life collapsing around him with nothing he could do to stop it.
He lay for a while, staring up at the ceiling again, before slowly bringing his eyes back to me. His voice was grave when he spoke next, buried under the heavy rubble of his crumbling life.
“I'm leaving Gem.”
The words struck at me like a knife through the chest.
“I'm leaving Branton for a while, until everything dies down.”
I lost my breath for a second and spontaneously began shaking my head. “Why...you've done nothing wrong... you can't leave Zack.”
He lay there, his green eyes still fixed on mine. “Why not? There's nothing for me here now...”
I was still shaking my head, finding it hard to stop. “What about your job...the club. What about your family and friends?”
He huffed lightly. “No one will care if I'm gone...not when all of this gets out. That paparazzo will take those pictures to print Gem, and when they do, people will hate me. Cade's their local hero now...and I'm nothing, just the jealous twin brother who tried to steal his girlfriend.”
“Well I'll care Zack...you can't go, not now. You've done nothing wrong!”
He looked on at me, his eyes deep wells of feeling. “I...I have Gemma, I can't be here anymore, it's too difficult.”
“But this is your home. I know who took those pictures Zack, it was a girl in my office...we can get her to admit the truth, clear our names....”
His voice cut me off. “No, I deserve all of this.”
My eyebrows shot down in a frown. “What do you mean? How could you possibly deserve all of this.” I said, gesturing with my head around the room.
He looked away from me, his eyes falling down. “Nothing has happened between us Gem, but....” his voice grew even quieter, cracking slightly under the weight of his words, “but that doesn't change how I feel.”
I reached in and touched his shoulder, bringing his eyes back to mine. “What do you mean?” I whispered, leaning in closer.
His eyes were set straight on me, unblinking. “I love you Gemma....I always have.”
I felt my heart drop several inches in my chest, my breathing caught short.
“We may not have done anything...but I've always wanted to. Ever since you came back into my life, I've wanted you to be my girlfriend, Gem, not Cade's. If the clock hadn't struck the other night I'd have kissed you, and then all of this would have been real. So I do deserve it. I deserve everything I get.”
I could feel tears welling in my eyes, three words still striking at my heart. I whispered quietly, my words low and disbelieving: “you love me?”
He turned his eyes away from me, looking out of the window against the opposite wall. “I'm sorry Gemma, I've tried to fight it. I've loved you since high school, that's never changed.”
I reached forward and gently pulled his head back towards me with my hand. His eyes stayed low now, refusing to meet mine. I leaned in, his words now fusing through me. He loves me.
I saw his eyes rise gradually to mine as my lips approached his. I felt my heart race as our lips slowly came together, memories of our first kiss, my first kiss, flooding through my mind. His lips were gentle against mine, soft and warm. I closed my eyes as I felt his hand rise to my neck, his fingers sliding over my skin. I felt tingles rush through me at his touch, delicate yet sensual as his hand slid up and through my hair.
The kiss lasted only a few moments, but there was more meaning in it than all the kisses I'd shared with Cade. His touch felt right to my skin, his lips causing a stir inside me that I hadn't felt for years.
I leaned back, the irony of it all bringing a smirk to my face. The lies that were destroying us had begun to morph into reality, like some sort of warped self-fulfilling prophesy. The look on Zack's face showed that he was thinking the same.
But no, it wasn't like that at all. The lies, the slander that was about to be printed and shown to the masses wasn't the truth. They'd paint a picture of the two of us cheating on Cade, of breaking the heart of the local hero. No, Cade and I were doomed from the start, and it was never going to work.
The truth was that every time I spent any time with Zack, I felt warm and safe and happier than I ever did with Cade. There was something more there, something that Cade could never have given me. His life was the ring, and I was simply becoming a facilitator for his success. There was no such motive with Zack, no alternate desire. We had history and memories. We could laugh over anything and tease each other without ever getting mad. We could sit in silence or talk for hours, and neither ever made us feel uncomfortable. I could tell him anything, reveal my deepest desires and greatest fears and he's listen to every word.
It all made sense with Zack....it always did. And now he was lying there, telling me he loved me, and that made sense as well.
It made sense because I loved him too.