My Happy Ending Part 2, page 1
My Happy Ending Part 2
Time Stands Still Book 4
Table of Contents
Title Page
A novel by Carlie Yates
©2021 Carlie Yates, All Rights Reserved. | This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
COMING MARCH 2, 2022 | THE CONCLUSION TO THE TIME STANDS STILL SERIES | My Happy Ending Part 3 | Time Stands Still Book 5
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND THANK YOUS
ALL NOVELS BY CARLIE YATES
A novel by Carlie Yates
©2021 Carlie Yates, All Rights Reserved.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
CHAPTER 1
TALIA
IN THE FOG BETWEEN sleep and total consciousness, it is difficult to tell the difference between fantasy and reality. But this... oh, this must be heaven, or a step so close to it...
“You’ve got to quit doing this to me.”
His voice was different... distant, fading in and out at times, but... different.
“I don’t...” He sniffled as I felt warm, calloused fingers lightly touch my cheek. “I don’t know if I can take seeing you like this anymore.”
That’s when I could pinpoint the difference in his voice.
He’d been crying.
No... no, no, don’t cry. I’m okay. See? I just... I just can’t open my eyes yet. But your touch, it feels so wonderful—so soothing, so healing.
I felt his hand move to my hair, his fingers gently running through it.
“I was going to call you... did you know that? Fuck... no, you didn’t, that was stupid.”
That’s not stupid...and... really? I was going to call you too. Except I was going to be a shit and wait until 2:35 in the morning. Paybacks, Warner. Paybacks.
“You know what’s sad, though?”
Us. Like this.
“I didn’t know what to say.”
I felt the pillow shift beside my head, as if he were leaning down, or perhaps laying his head next to mine.
“How did this happen, Talli? How did we get here?”
I don’t know... I mean, I have an idea, but maybe if we could just, you know... talk about it then...
His voice was much closer, his breath hot on my cheek.
Just stay this close, okay? Stay this close and make me feel safe. Loved.
“It hurts so much to see you like this, all these tubes, these wires. Your... your heart Talli? Did I...” I felt his fingers interlace with mine, his hand trembling. “Did I do this to you?” His voice cracked as he asked the question, and I felt myself struggle, fight to move, to say something.
It’s just this stupid heart condition, I guess it got worse. They think the damage really happened when I had Elizabeth but didn’t really surface...
It wasn’t you, Jase. This physical break in my heart, it wasn’t you.
“They said you... they said stress could...”
I felt his lips lightly brush up against my cheek.
“I’m sorry. I’m so... so sorry, I never meant for this to happen to you.”
Oh...
To me.
Not you never meant to sleep with Bree, never meant to have a relationship with her. Just...
“When was the last time I kissed you, Talli? I mean... really kissed you?”
You can’t even remember that? It was...
“Right before I left for Texas,” he said, and I felt his fingertips touch my lips. “I remember that... it... was real, wasn’t it?”
Of course it was real, damn it! You... you are it for me. And I was going to come to Texas, I really was...and you don’t know it, but I was coming alone. Yeah, the kids were going to be with Linda, and I was going to surprise you, have the concierge let me into your room when you were gone, and...
And then Jack died, and it didn’t happen.
And I’m sorry.
“I... I can see now.”
You can?
“I can see that... that I’ve hurt you enough.”
What are you saying, Jase?
“I... I won’t fight you anymore. We’ve agreed, or... or I think we’re going to agree for the kids’ sake, but I... I just want you to be happy. And I won’t stand in your way anymore.”
What the hell are you talking about?
“I just wish you had been happy with me.”
Oh, this must ... this must be some kind of a flashback, right? I remember this stupid conversation, the one where he tried dropping me off at Lisa’s and...
And we didn’t have kids then...
I felt his lips on my forehead, the odd sensation as a couple of his tears fell on my face.
“I’m going to get our kids back, Talli, I promise. You just... you fight, okay? You fight. For you, for them. Because I... they need you.”
What the hell do you mean, get our kids back? Where the hell are they? Jase... Jase, where did you go? Don’t leave! Don’t... I’m... you’re wrong, okay? You’re so wrong, you have no idea. Don’t go... there was so much going on, and... and even if I don’t agree with everything they have to say, I’ll tell you about it, okay? Don’t go! Don’t...
I gasped as I opened my eyes, the light hurting my head.
“Well, hello there, Talia.”
It was Jase... just a different one.
“Brooks?”
“Yeah, in the absence of your cardiologist who isn’t back from the Cayman Islands yet, they actually called me.”
“You’re... you work pediatrics,” I stammered, squinting up at him.
“Well, judging by your chart you’ve been acting like a child about this, so it’s rather fitting isn’t it?” He winked and grinned at me before pulling up a chair. “How are you feeling?”
“I hurt,” was all I could say, unable to find other words to explain, my hand coming up to remove the tubing from my nose.
“No...no, don’t. You inhaled some smoke; I want you to leave that on. Besides.” He lifted up a monitor, showing my oxygen absorption rate to be 96. “Don’t argue with me.”
Smoke? What the hell happened?
“You went into atrial fibrillation,” he said, leaning in slightly. “They shocked your heart back into rhythm on the scene.”
“On the scene,” I repeated, racking my brain to remember the events leading up to it.
“And while that has brought you back here,” he continued, holding one hand out as if to display the room, “unfortunately, it hasn’t eliminated the problem.”
I glanced over at the machine, where my heart was beating a steady rhythm...just a very fast one.
“Dr. Mendez,” I began, trying to gather my thoughts, “he said... cardiac ablation.”
“And he’s right, but...”
“I can’t do that, Jase,” I said, shaking my head. “I can’t take all that time, not... not yet.”
“Would you quit interrupting me? Damn, I’m not your husband,” he said with a smirk. “He’s right about the ablation, however...shut it, Talli... he wanted to do the maze. I think we can do this through catheterization.”
“Really?” I asked, feeling just a little bit of relief. “So... outpatient, then?”
“No,” he replied. “No, I’d still want you here for a day, possibly two, but... what the hell are you shaking your head for now?”
“I can’t do that,” I said. “Not... not yet.”
“Why the hell not?”
Because I have no more paid leave left. Because I can’t even afford September’s rent, and I have no one to ask to help... I just can’t go to Jase for this. Because our children can’t be with him yet, and...
Our children...
“Where are my kids?”
Brooks blinked a couple of times, a frown on his face. “I’m not... sure. With Jase?”
“Are they?” I asked quickly, placing a hand on his arm. “I have to know.”
“Talli, you have got to...”
“If you want me to calm down, you tell me where the hell my kids are.”
He took a deep breath and nodded. “Jase’s just down the hall.”
“And the kids?”
“I’ll go get Jase. But you and I aren’t through talking, got it?”
“Yeah,” I said, absentmindedly chewing on my thumbnail. But didn’t Brooks just say that maybe the kids were with Jase? He has to be lying, because they wouldn’t be down the hall with him. Maybe... maybe they were with Linda or Jackie
“Hi.”
I was stunned silent at the sight of Jase in front of me, his hair more tousled than usual, his shirt only half tucked in. His eyes were swollen slightly, red rimmed, and I wondered in a brief moment of hysteria what had happened to make him look this way.
“Oh no...” I began, but he held his hand up, shaking his head.
“They’re okay.”
His voice sounded strained, rough.
“Are they with Linda?” I asked, and he shook his head, staying close to the door. “Where...” My voice trailed off as his eyes dropped to the floor. “Jase, talk to me.”
“I’m going to get them back,” he said, his eyes locked with mine once more. “I called Rebecca, and... and she’s working on it.”
Wait a minute... he’d... he’d said that earlier, hadn’t he?
“What do you mean back?” I asked. His eyes were pained as he looked at the machines hooked up to me, the heart rate increasing once more.
“Talli, please... calm... I can’t stay...”
“Don’t you walk out that door,” I snapped. “Where are our babies?”
“They won’t let me stay if... if that happens,” he finished, gesturing to the machine.
Just hold my hand... please, just hold my hand, it would make me feel so much better...
“Please tell me,” I sobbed, a tear escaping and trailing down my cheek.
“They took... they took them.”
“They who?”
“We don’t have any relatives that live here.”
“They have you.”
He winced at my words, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I’m not allowed to have them, Talli.”
Oh fuck...
What have I done?
“But Rebecca, she’s waking up any judge who will listen, and... and she’s trying to fix this, okay?”
“I’ve got to get out of here,” I said, sitting up abruptly and swinging my legs over to the side. The room immediately began to spin.
“Hey... hey, just...” He was beside me suddenly, his hands lightly touching my shoulders but his fingers outstretched, as if touching me were the last thing he wanted to do. “You’re in no shape to just leave.”
“They took...” I closed my eyes against the wave of nausea, leaning sideways down into the pillow.
“What... happened?”
He wasn’t touching me anymore. He’d moved back, his hands back in his pockets as he stared down at me.
“There was... there was the alarm, and...”
“Your heart, Talli. What’s...” He licked his lips, almost acting afraid to ask. “What’s wrong?”
“Atrial fibrillation,” I replied. “It’s just... well, that’s what happened there, and they shocked it back.”
“Shocked it?” he repeated, biting his lip as I nodded. “Is it... a... fluke, or...”
“It’s been bothering me for a while,” I said, watching his face as my words registered, waiting for the anger to flash in his eyes.
There was none.
Only a profound sadness.
“How long?” His question was so quiet I barely heard it. I thought it over, wanting to be completely honest with him.
“Em’s party,” I replied. “I think... I think that’s what happened.”
“Why...” He took a deep breath and looked away, leaving the question unfinished.
But I already knew the rest of it.
“I...”
I didn’t know how to tell you. I didn’t think you’d care. You were already trying to say I was on drugs, trying to take the kids away. You were with Bree, what did it matter if something was wrong with me?
The silence was deafening as it stretched on, only the beeping of the machines filling the air.
How did it come to this?
“I should have,” I finally said, and he lifted his eyes from the floor.
“What are they saying now?” he asked, and I took in a quivering breath.
“I need to have cardiac ablation,” I answered. “But I can’t...”
“You have to.” His voice was strong, forceful when he said this.
“I... I have to get out of here, Jase. I can’t...” I covered my mouth to stifle a sob before continuing. “One night. That’s it, Jase. That’s all they’ve ever spent without you... or... or me. One night.”
“You let me worry about that.”
“Are you fucking crazy?” I asked, and he shrugged.
“I’ve been called worse.”
“I... I need to call Sherise. And I need to call...”
“You need to rest,” he cut me off. “I’ll... I’ll fix this. You tell Brooks that you’ll do the surgery.”
“It’s not...”
My voice trailed off as he narrowed his eyes, a muscle in his jaw twitching. “Don’t make me be a dick about this, Talli.”
Under any other circumstances I might scoff at him, tell him to bring his best he’d never beat me.
But not today.
“Not until our babies are back with you. If... if they won’t give them back, then I say no. And I leave, and I get them, and...” I closed my eyes as another wave of nausea swept over me. When I opened them, he was standing by the door, swallowing repeatedly as he looked at me.
“Okay,” he said softly. “Deal.”
JASE
SILENCE IS MY ENEMY.
It cost me my marriage; it has at least temporarily cost me my children. And right now, it’s costing me what’s left of my mind.
As the minutes ticked away, the what ifs and should haves were eating away at my sanity. I sat in the darkness outside the hospital, the hard metal bench my only company as I watched the occasional car pass by on their way to the emergency department, or the parking garage. I wondered how many husbands were fretting over their wives, how many fathers were praying for their children to be safe, and to come home.
At least by that point I was fairly certain I’d cried all the tears I had.
My phone buzzed in my pocket and I pulled it out, squinting at the text from Rebecca.
Going to judge’s chambers now.
My hands were shaking as I shot back my quick reply.
Thank you so much for this. If it helps, Jackie is picking my Nan up from the airport now.
I didn’t know how much good it would do, if any at all. But they’d told me that because their custodial parent was incapacitated and there were no other relatives...besides me, of course... that the children were going to be placed in temporary emergency foster care.
Foster care.
With strangers.
For the first time I was almost thankful for the paparazzi. See, Rebecca explained to me how their stalking of the bowling alley had helped in more ways than one—it showed that Talli accepted me in their lives, for one. And for two, they plastered my children’s faces over every rag mag that would buy them. While that pissed me off to no end when it happened, the fact that they were now recognizable would help with my case that no foster family could possibly keep them safe. And if they wouldn’t let me take them, then there was no shortage of people who could.
Especially my Nan.
My Mam who cried along with me, who promised to bring my babies home.
Rebecca seemed very confident, though, that her presence, if needed at all, would only be temporary, and that I would be granted full custody until such time as Talli was able to care for them as well.
I want her to understand.
I want her to forgive me if it seems that I’m trying to take them away from her.
It had been fifteen minutes since I’d shot that text to Rebecca and had yet to see a reply, so I was truly hoping that she was in there making my case. She’d shot me a text earlier that said Sherise Adler didn’t even show up herself and had sent one of her associates to iron out any details. Apparently conceding is not part of Ms. Adler’s repertoire, not that I gave a damn.
One glance at my watch told me it was almost 11 pm. It had been nearly five hours since I felt my fragile existence begin to crumble even more. I looked up the side of the building, wondering if Talli was getting the rest she was ordered to, wishing that even if she was, she wanted my company.
I just didn’t want to ask.
I just want her to be happy. I want her to smile as freely as she used to, laugh as if she didn’t have a care in the world. I want that sparkle in her eyes, the blush in her cheeks when she’s full of joy. I want her to enjoy life again, the way she used to, before... well, before it had all changed, and she’d become a shell of herself, only going through the motions, sacrificing her own happiness for everyone around her.
