“Taryn?” I heard the familiar voices urgently calling my name. Something cool and wet was touching my face. Something annoying was smacking my cheek.
“Hey there! Welcome back.” Pete smiled, dabbing my face with a cold washrag.
“What?” I tried to sit up. “What happened?” The room was still spinning slightly.
“You blacked out. You’re okay. Here, can you drink this?” Pete held the cup to my mouth.
“Ugh! That tastes awful!” I picked a small chunk of something grainy off of my tongue.
“Tammy crushed some vitamins into a cup of water. We need to get some nourishment into you,” he gently spoke. “It’s either this or we’re going to take you to the emergency room.”
I reached for the cup. “I don’t want to go to the hospital,” I muttered. “Reporters…”
The next hour was spent quietly getting me to eat and drink, and most importantly – to stay calm.
Parts of my trip to Florida flashed through my thoughts, but I couldn’t remember all the details for some reason. Perhaps my last fragments of self-preservation and survival suppressed the memories deep in my subconscious to protect me from having a complete mental breakdown?
I remembered crying on an airplane. I remembered Kyle helping me into a car.
“I can’t do this anymore,” I whispered, staring blankly at my bowl of spaghetti. Tammy was sitting in front of me on the ottoman. She patted my leg.
“You need to eat some more, Taryn.” Tammy nudged me. “Marie will get to the bottom of it.”
I couldn’t eat. Marie was filling Ryan in on my current state of mental collapse.
“Stop it, Ryan! She is not sneaking around with Kyle behind your back!” Marie groaned angrily. “Because you didn’t see the state she was in when we found her, that’s how I’m sure!
“Ryan, what part of we had to kick your bedroom door in to get to her is unclear to you? We almost called for an ambulance – she was that bad! Believe me, Taryn is far from happy and in love with some other guy right now. Yes, she knows I’m talking to you. I’m looking right at her.”
I scoffed. Of course this would get turned around on me! My supposed infidelity with Kyle gave him an excuse.
“Ryan! Listen to me! Taryn said she found the note in your suite, and then right after that someone called her on her cell. This mystery caller guy is the one who told her where you were! He led her to believe you were cheating on her. I mean, how else would Taryn be able to find you when you were out on location?”
I watched Marie pace the floor while she talked to him.
“No, Taryn said he never gave a name. He told her that they were taking pictures of you, so I guess he was paparazzi?”
She moved the phone away from her ear. I could hear Ryan shouting.
“Ryan! Calm down, all right? Think. Who else has her number?” Marie asked.
She looked at me. “Taryn, do you remember if there was a name or number on your cell?”
“No, there wasn’t,” I whispered.
“Where is your phone?” She grasped the air. “Get it for me.”
I regretted my foolishness, but there was nothing I could do to change it.
“It’s on a highway in Florida,” I admitted.
Tammy rolled her eyes at me.
“Ryan, I’m telling you, she didn’t know you were still filming! Well, did you tell her that your schedule changed?” Marie yelled back at him.
“He said the morning shoot got pushed back because Lauren was feeling sick but later she felt better so they were behind schedule when they filmed the restaurant scene,” she whispered to me. “He didn’t get a chance to call because you were already on the plane and he was on location.”
“I guess he was in such a hurry to see her that he forgot to throw her love note away?” I muttered, thoroughly disgusted with the lies. “Ask him how long he’s been fucking her.”
Marie gave me a dirty look and covered her phone with her hand so Ryan wouldn’t hear me.
“Let him cover his tracks,” I said scornfully. “Go ahead and believe him because I sure don’t.”
Marie groaned. “Ryan, she hasn’t been answering your calls because apparently she no longer has a cell phone.
“Quit yelling in my ear!” she yelled back at him. “Stop it, Ryan! You love Taryn and Taryn loves you. She’s a mess; you’re a mess. You both need to chill out!
“Ryan, listen to the facts! Does any of this sound logical to either one of you?”