Masquerade (Masquerade #1) Read online

  She calls the nurse to let her know that immediate family is here to see Lucy. I step back from her desk to wait for the nurse. Alan and Chris come barreling in the entrance doors.

  “Have you heard anything?” Alan says, rubbing my arms.

  As soon as I open my mouth to answer him, I hear, “Miss Falls.”

  Turning around to see the nurse addressing me, I sprint towards her.

  “Miss Falls?” I shake my head yes. “You can come back to see your sister, but . . .” She stops mid-sentence to eye Alan and Chris up and down. “Only you can come back.”

  “That’s fine.” I turn back to the guys. “I will let you know what’s going on as soon as I hear something.”

  Alan hugs me tightly and tells me he loves me. I feel sick to my stomach. Chris hugs me tightly and says he is never leaving my side again. I let go and start following the nurse who has already taken off to my sister’s room.

  The nurse opens the curtain, and I see Lucy sitting and eating ice cream. I walk towards her bed and sit on the edge of it. I envelop her in a big hug. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes, I am. Look, I have ice cream. Wanna bite?”

  Letting her go, I start my inspection of her. She has stitches on her head where she says her forehead was cut open. I look down her face to see her lip a little busted up. Then I make my way down to see she has a cast on her left arm. Other than that, I don’t see any more scratches.

  “The doctor will be here in a few minutes to explain all her injuries and to give you an update on your parents.”

  “Okay. Thank you.”

  She smiles and walks out, closing the curtain back.

  “I am so happy to see that you are okay. You scared me.”

  “I’m sorry. Are you mad at me?”

  I hug her. “No, baby. I love you more than my big toe.”

  “I love you too. More than my new pink cast,” she counters with a giggle.

  The curtain starts to open and the doctor walks into the room. Lucy goes back to eating her ice cream.

  He reaches his hand out to me. “Hi. I am Dr. Weber.”

  I shake his hand. “Hi. I am Julia, Lucy’s sister.”

  “It’s nice to meet you. Lucy sustained very little damage considering how gruesome the car wreck was described to us. She has an abrasion on her forehead, which we sewed up. Her radius, which is her outer bone of the arm, is broken as you can see, but it was a clean break, so it will heal nicely. Other than a busted lip, she is doing great. She has been a champ. I am going to discharge her in your care. Do you have any questions?”

  “Yes. How are my parents?”

  “They are both still in surgery. I don’t have the specifics of the injuries. The surgeon will be in touch with you soon to let you know their progress. Once I release Lucy, if you will just wait in the emergency room waiting area, he will be in touch.”

  “Thank you,” I say, rubbing my face.

  “You’re welcome. I will send a nurse in here to get you to sign paperwork.” On that note, he leaves the room.

  I sit back down to hold Lucy and wait on the nurse. Lucy is watching cartoons and seems to be in a really good mood.

  The nurse comes back in with papers that I sign and also a prescription for pain medication for Lucy. She opens the curtain and leads us back out to the waiting area.

  Alan and Chris both stand, giving me pleading looks.

  “Good news is that Lucy is okay. She has a broken arm, busted lip, and stiches in her forehead. As for my parents, I still don’t know.”

  We all sit down and get comfortable when the lady comes from behind the desk and squats down to look at Lucy sitting in my lap. “Would you like to watch cartoons?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I would love to.”

  She pats her knee, gets up, and walks to the television to turn it to the same thing Lucy was watching in the back: SpongeBob. At least she is entertained.

  “Hey, guys?”

  “Yeah,” they both say at the same time.

  “Can you ask the lady up front if there is a pharmacy in here to get these filled, and if so, could you take them for me?”

  Alan jumps up. “I will. Chris, do you mind staying here with them? I need to do something to occupy my mind.”

  “Go ahead, man. I’m not going anywhere.”

  Alan walks over to the receptionist, and she apparently is pointing him in the direction of the pharmacy. He waves at me and mouths that he will be back.

  Lucy decides to lay her head on my lap while watching television. I start rubbing her head as we sit in pure silence. Chris is rubbing my neck with his hand, comforting me. How did my life get so fucked up in the matter of hours? Between my parents’ accident and Chris having the same feelings as me, I feel like the world has tilted on its axis.

  All I can do is stare at Lucy, thanking God she made it with very little injuries. Her eyes start getting heavy and close several times before she finally lets sleep take her. She looks so peaceful.

  I feel like we have been sitting for hours when I see a man walking towards me wearing green scrubs and a surgical mask hanging around his neck.

  “Mrs. Falls?”

  “Yes.” I slide Lucy out from my lap without waking her.

  “I am Dr. Bryan. I’m the surgeon that has been operating on your dad. I hate to tell you this.” My stomach drops. “But your dad didn’t make it. He had a lot of damage to his head. His brain was bleeding, and we tried to save him by getting some of the blood off, but during surgery his heart stopped. I am so sorry.”

  Tears fall down my face. “Umm, what about my mom?”

  “She is out of surgery but in ICU. Dr. Middleton has performed the surgery and as of right now, we are just keeping her comfortable. If you would like to go see her, you can.”

  “Okay. Thank you.”

  He hugs me. “I’m so sorry.”

  I watch him walk off then turn back to Chris who is standing behind me. I fall into his arms and sob. He holds me, saying words I can’t make out. What the hell just happened? My family is gone. My mom is alive, but for how much longer?

  Alan walks around the corner. “What happened?”

  “Her dad didn’t make it, and her mom is in ICU being kept comfortable.”

  Alan takes me from Chris and smooths my hair. “It’s okay, Red. It’s okay.”

  Lucy wakes up. “Julia, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?”

  I wipe my face with the back of my hand. “Lucy, let’s go see mom.”

  She smiles and nods her head. I take her hand, and we walk to the elevators. I see a Coke machine. “Lucy, are you in pain?”

  “My head hurts a little bit.”

  I dig in my purse and find a dollar to buy her a drink to take her medicine. Alan fills up the cup with the right amount of pain medicine, and Lucy downs it.

  We continue walking until we find the ICU waiting area. We walk in and ask the receptionist if we can see our mom. She tells me only one at a time, so Lucy sits with the guys while I walk back.

  I walk into my mother’s room and see her hooked up to all kinds of machines. She has a tube down her throat, a blood pressure cuff on, a heart monitor, and an IV stuck in her arm. Walking over to her, I look at her face, not even seeing my mom lying there. She looks so much older than she actually is.

  “Hey, mom. I know you can’t hear me, but I love you. Dad’s gone, mom. You are all me and Lucy have. Please come back.” All of a sudden, alarms start going off. My mom’s chest starts convulsing. Doctors and nurses run into the room in a blur.

  They have a crash cart and are trying to revive her. “One, two, three, clear.” They did it several times before they said, “The time is 12:14, and the patient, Tara Falls, is deceased.”

  “No! No! No! This can’t be happening. No! Please, God, no.”

  Nurses are surrounding me, holding me while walking me out of the room back to the waiting room.

  Seeing Lucy terrified, I turn to the nurses whispering, “Please let me go. I am
okay. I don’t want my little sister to see me like this. I need to tell her outside of the hospital.”

  They let me go and pat me on my back before leaving the room. I walk towards Lucy. “Let’s get home, okay. We are all tired, and you need some sleep.”

  She yawns. “Okay.”

  We walk to leave the hospital and a nurse stops me in the hallway. “Ma’am, I need you to sign some paperwork.”

  Snatching the papers from her, I sign them quickly and shove them back into her hands. I turn to continue walking and leave this place. I can’t stomach to be here at the moment.

  Alan takes us back to my parent’s house. Lucy falls asleep on the way home in Chris’ lap. When we get home, Chris carries Lucy to her room, laying her down in her bed.

  The guys decided to spend the night with us, which I am glad for because I don’t want to be left alone right now. I sleep in my bed with Chris on the couch and Alan on my bedroom floor. Sleep evades me. I can’t cry. I can’t scream, but I can’t do anything. I just lie there numbly.

  Chapter Nine

  Staring at the ceiling, I really can’t remember if I actually slept, or if I laid here all night. I look over at the clock to see it’s seven in the morning, so I start to get up. I throw my legs over the side of the bed and my head is throbbing. If I didn’t know any better, I would say I drank a bottle of tequila last night. I wish it was that.

  I walk into the bathroom and turn on the water to the shower. I go back to the sink to brush my teeth. I look up in the mirror to see a face I have never seen before. What makeup I had on is gone and the dullness in my face is showing. My eyes are red, sunken in, and puffy. My hair is in a mess all over my head.

  Pulling myself away from the mirror, I remove all my clothes and climb into the shower to stand under hot water. I wash my face, my hair, and my body, hoping to scrub the hospital smell off of me. Gradually, I ease down until I am sitting with my arms wrapped around my legs along with my head resting on my knees.

  It sounds like someone is about to break the door down they are pounding so hard on it. I then realize I must have been sitting here a while because I am shivering with ice water falling on top of me. I pull myself up to turn the water off.

  Still with the knocking going on, I shout, “I will be out in a minute.” I hear whomever it was walking back down the hall. I pull my robe off the hook on the back of the door and swing it around my body, pulling it tightly around me. I then put my hair up in a towel to help it dry somewhat faster.

  I make my way into the kitchen where I smell fresh brewed coffee. I find a cup and begin pouring. I sit at the bar, sipping my coffee, still in a fog over everything that has happened in the last twelve hours. I repeat in my mind over and over again, this is all a dream; I will wake up to see it back to the way it was.

  “Hey.”

  I all but drop my coffee on the floor as I jump in my chair at that voice.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  “It’s not your fault,” I say with a forced smile on my face.

  “Did you sleep well?”

  “Not really. I slept like shit. Thank you for staying here last night, Chris. It means a lot to me.”

  He kisses my lips swiftly, but he backs away. “You okay?”

  I glance around as if any minute we are going to get caught. “It’s okay, Jules. He went out to get some breakfast.”

  Leaping out of my chair and sprinting towards him like a mad woman, I push him into the counter with my body flush with his. I stand on my tiptoes to kiss him again. He pulls me into him, kissing me back. I open my mouth and push my tongue into his mouth to explore every part.

  I moan in his mouth when the front door opens and closes. I pull back and race back to my seat to sip on my coffee. Alan comes strolling in the kitchen and sets down the food he has picked up from a waffle place not too far from my house.

  He leans down and kisses my cheek, making me tense. “You doing okay, Red?”

  “As good as I can be.” I get up hurriedly. “I need to check on Lucy. I need to get my head straight to explain to her what is going on. “

  I get dressed in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and begin brushing my hair out. I leave it wet, and I decide it’s now or never. As I walk down the hall to her room, my mind is reeling on how to say this all to her. How do you tell a five year old that both of her parents are dead?

  When I reach her room and open the door, it looks like she just woke up. “Hey, sleepy head.”

  She smiles her bright smile. “Hey.”

  “How about you go run and brush your teeth then come back in here to put your clothes on and meet me in the living room when you’re done. I need to talk to you. Okay?”

  “Okay. I will be there soon.” She giggles and leaves.

  I walk into the living room and find a seat on the couch, trying to get ready for this talk.

  As I am staring off into space, she jumps on the couch. “I am ready. Unless I am in trouble.”

  “No, you’re not in trouble, but I do need to talk to you about where mom and dad are.”

  “Are they still in the hospital?”

  This is the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I don’t know if I can do it. Letting a breath out, I tell her, “No, baby. They aren’t at the hospital.”

  “Yay. That means there are here and better.”

  I shake my head. “No, Lucy, they are not here either. Mom and dad went to Heaven.”

  “They went to Heaven? Well, when are they coming home?”

  Tears fall down my face. “They aren’t. Remember that accident you were in with them?”

  She looks like what has happened just hit her. “Yeah.”

  “They didn’t make it. They died from all the injuries they got during the wreck.”

  She puts her head down and when she looks back up, tears are spilling over her eyelids. “Why?”

  I can’t hold it any longer. Bawling, I pull her into my lap and hold her tightly. “I don’t know, baby. I have asked myself the same question. You know they loved you very much, right?”

  She can’t talk. All she does is cry. We both sit weeping until we can’t any more. Alan walks in and puts his arms around me. Chris takes Lucy and holds her. We sit there in silence for what feels like hours.

  Lucy cries so much that she falls asleep in Chris’ arms. “Chris, you can put her in bed if you want. You look uncomfortable.” His arms have to be asleep.

  “No, I’m good. I don’t want to let go of her right now. She needs that comfort.”

  If I didn’t already love him, I would have just fell head over heels, but I feel Alan still wrapped around me. Shit. I feel bad enough, but honestly, I can’t help it. I need to get away from him.

  “I am going to eat a little then start doing all the calling I need to do to start funeral arrangements.”

  Alan gives me a worried look, but he just shakes his head. I look back at Chris to see him staring a Lucy. He looks so peaceful holding her.

  Who knew calling all these places and making arrangements could be so time consuming. I had to set up appointments with everyone I talked to. I called the funeral home to be asked questions I wasn’t sure of. They then directed me into calling my parents’ attorney to find out if they had a will and exactly what was written about the burial process.

  I did find out that my parents both wanted to be cremated with their ashes spread in the ocean at Tybee Island Beach. I also found out that I would have to come into his office once the funeral was over to go over the will with him. Needless to say, I have learned a lot today on what it takes to bury your parents who died too soon and too fast.

  I am to meet the funeral directors to discuss arrangements in an hour. Alan takes it upon himself to come with me and tells Chris to stay at the house with Lucy.

  When we get to the funeral home, I immediately open the door of the car and rush to the entrance. I need to get this over with. The sooner, the better.

  I find the office with a w
oman sitting behind a desk typing on a computer. She peeks above her glasses saying, “Can I help you?”

  Being friendly, I extend my hand. “Hi. I am Julia Falls. I have an appointment with Mr. Carson.”

  “Good afternoon, Mrs. Falls. Have a seat, and I will let him know you’re here.”

  “Thank you.” I turn and walk to a chair beside where Alan is sitting.

  Alan puts his arm around me and rubs my shoulder. “Red, I think you need to talk about all of this. You don’t have to always be strong.”

  “I’m good.” I say a little more rigidly than I intend to.

  “Whatever you say, Julia.” He removes his arm from around me.

  “Miss. Falls.” Mr. Carson, I presume is waking towards me. “If you could just follow me this way.”

  I get up, making my way behind him into his office. His office looks as stiff as the people he services here. It is beige with a plain wood desk that looks like it was stolen out of an old country school and a book shelf off to the side. The carpet is worn and beige as well.

  The only thing sitting on his desk is a name badge, a phone, a lamp from the eighties, and a picture frame, which I can only assume contains a picture of his family.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Julia, but not under these circumstances. I am sorry to hear about your loss, but I am here for anything you may need.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Let’s get started.” He pulls a notebook out of a drawer along with a pen. The Falls is written at the top. “I have some notes that I have received from the hospital that the coroner dropped off this morning. Your parents’ names were Mike and Tara, correct?”

  “Yes, that is correct.”

  “Cause of death was car accident?”

  I sigh. “Yes.”

  “I’m sorry to ask these questions. I just want to make sure everything I have is correct.” I nod my head acknowledging him.

  “Now I need to know some of your current and deceased family members, if you can do that for me.”

  “I believe I can.” I say, trying to be pleasant.