Unveiled (Torn #6)(5)

You have got to be joking!

“Perfume bottles?” For the love of God! Carter, what the flying f*uk? Perfumes? Shit. This was enough to make me think he was a serious basket case.

“I know what you’re thinking—I thought the same, too—but I had to call the paramedics so they could immediately take him to the hospital. I’m on my way there as we speak.”

“I’m on my way,” I whispered my response, ending the call before I crumbled to the floor, my feet unable to hold my weight any longer.

“Lindsey! What is going on? What’s wrong with Carter?” Dimitris took control. He calmly grasped ahold of me and carried me towards the nearest chair, cradling me on his lap while he patiently waited for me to tell him what had happened.

Tears welled in my eyes as images of my parents’ death and their funeral flashed through my mind. It was Carter who had held my hand through it all, shedding not one tear, remaining stoic and acting like the big, strong brother he was.

If I lost him, too, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.





Chapter 3


Lindsey


After my quick explanation to Dimitris, he immediately led us downstairs to the lobby and had the valet bring his hired car around. Through the process, I was in a daze, wondering if that day was the one I’d lose my brother. It was a wretched way of thinking, but as the past had taught me, one could never be too prepared. I had once wrapped myself in a protective bubble of idiocy; however, I had vowed never to do that to myself again. It was best I be prepared for the worst case scenario, and if it did go downhill from there, I knew I’d never repair myself, never recover from the loss of losing my only brother.

The drive from LA to Santa Barbara was a silent one. With Dimitris holding on to my left hand, I felt his strength giving me a little courage. It was as if it was his way of telling me that, no matter what happened, he’d be there for me, and I couldn’t have asked for anything more from him right then. He knew I was drawing out a bleak picture ahead. He knew the ghosts of my pasts were out and haunting me as the seconds ticked away. His simple gesture might have been little to some, but this—him—was all I needed to keep sane.

Funny how I’d thought once that I’d survive being all by myself, that I was tough enough to fight my own battles. Maybe it was true when I applied that sentiment with Brody in mind, but with Dimitris? No. I needed him just like I needed air to breathe.

Emma had warned me about obsessive love. Not the petty one I had shared with Brody, but the ‘can’t live without you’ kind. She once shared that experiencing the profound element with Bass Cole had shaped her as a woman, although even then, she had said that kind of power was like antimatter—magnificently uncontrollable yet supremely and explosively deadly to all.





My brother hadn’t stood a chance once Bass had entered Emma’s heart. It had been game over, yet he hadn’t seen it that way. Maybe he’d considered it a challenge. However, he’d had no idea what type of hell he’d be fighting against. There was no way he could have won battling against something as massive as antimatter, nor did Claudine, for that matter.

Without even asking about her to Dimitris, I knew the French woman was trying to get him back. We would see how far she’d go to win him over. Heartbroken people always tended to go for dramatics to get their ex’s attention back. Heck, I was the master of that before. Her antics wouldn’t faze me.

The unsettling feeling I had in the pit of my stomach intensified once I knew we were fifteen minutes away from the exit off the freeway. I wasn’t sure how I would react upon seeing Carter’s face. The hospital he had been admitted to was the same one the girls did volunteer work for in the children’s wing. It was Trista’s haven in the beginning, but she’d stretched her influence amongst us four. It was also where Emma had done her due whilst heartbroken from her break-up from Bass Cole, and the very same place my brother would go by to drop off coffee or whatever sweets he could think of that Emma might like during her volunteer shifts. Having Emma on a temporary basis didn’t deter him from trying to win her over, but he had been too late. It was sad, but sometimes timing was everything.

It was just fortunate things weren’t too late for me when I realized how in love I was with my ex-husband. My regrets with him would forever make me indebted to him, though he had no idea about that. I had made a promise to myself that I would never give up on him just because things might become difficult between us. It was already a given that things would eventually get harder. Long distance relationships always did. We were no different, even though we were nuts and bolts about each other.

It didn’t take long before we had arrived to the familiar parking lot with Dimitris gearing the car to park.

“Ready, my love?” Dimitris’s soft voice gave me a little power to push through this.

Giving him a wan smile, I felt him squeeze my hand, and I responded in the same manner, showing him I was stronger than I looked. He made a curt nod, as if to say we were both ready to go inside the emergency room.

Once we were out of the car, we strode towards the daunting building as we held each other, hand in hand. The second we entered the emergency room, nurses stood for what seemed like a stretched minute, staring boldly at the man beside me. Usually, I was used to that type of reaction, but that night, I could have done without it.