Lie Next to Me

  “I’m on my way over. Stay put and don’t move. Do you understand me?”

  He hung up before I could answer. I crawled across the floor to the door and unlocked it. I quickly made it back to the corner and brought my knees up to my chest. I had buried that nightmare years ago and, suddenly, it was back. I heard the door handle turn and Ian ran into the apartment and straight to the corner. He got down on the floor and wrapped his arms around me, hugging me and holding me tight.

  “It’s okay. No one is going to hurt you. You’re okay,” he whispered.

  I couldn’t say a word. I just cried into his chest. He picked me up and carried me to the bed. As he laid me down, he climbed in next to me. He sat up and I rested my head on his lap.

  “I’m calling Dr. Neil tomorrow and you’re going to see her,” he said as he stroked my hair. That was last thing I heard.

  ****

  My eyes flew open at the sound of the opening door.

  “Good morning,” Ian said as he walked over with a brown bag and two cups of coffee.

  “Morning,” I replied as I got up and walked to the bathroom.

  After I finished peeing and splashing my face with cold water, I walked back into the living room and Ian had the couch put back together. He gave me a small smile and held out his hand as I walked towards him.

  “I brought us some coffee.”

  “Thank you, Ian,” I said as I took the cup from him. “What’s in the bag?”

  “Let’s see, shall we?” He smirked.

  He reached inside the bag and pulled out a large muffin. “A chocolate chip muffin for you and a blueberry one for me.”

  “Thank you. I’m sorry about last night. I didn’t mean for you to come all the way over here. I never should’ve called you,” I spoke as I looked down.

  “Rory, don’t apologize. You were scared, and I hate that you’re alone in this tiny place. Something was different with you last night. Was it the same nightmare you’ve been having? Because you were completely out of it.”

  I couldn’t tell him about this nightmare. The one I buried deep inside my head so many years ago so I wouldn’t go crazy. “Yeah, it just lasted a little longer than usual.”

  “I called Amanda and she agreed to see you this morning.”

  “Who?” I asked.

  “Dr. Neil. Dr. Amanda Neil. You need to talk to someone. These nightmares can’t continue.”

  Ian’s phone rang and he pulled it from his pocket and held up his finger, asking me hold on. He looked at me with a strange look like something had just happened. Then Ian said something to whomever it was on the other end that was odd.

  “Let me talk to her first. Keep an eye on him and I’ll get back to you in a few minutes.”

  He hung up and continued to stare at me. His eyes displayed an empathetic look as he spoke.

  “Rory, I found your brother.”

  “What?” I said as I shook my head in disbelief.

  “He was living in a homeless shelter. I had my men take him to the hospital. He needs help, Rory.”

  My mind was racing, and I started to pace back and forth. “Is he hurt?”

  “No. Physically, he’s fine,” he said as he wrapped his arms around me and held me. “Get dressed so we can go.”

  I lifted my head and kissed his lips. “Thank you,” I whispered.

  Ian closed his eyes and took in a sharp breath. I went into the bathroom and changed out of my nightshirt and into some clothes, threw my hair up, and put on some light makeup. We walked out the door and headed to the hospital. Once we arrived, I explained who I was, and Ian and I were shown to the room where Stephen was being kept. As I walked through the door, he turned his head and looked at me. A small smile fell upon his face as he whispered my name. I gulped as I stared at him, lying there, strapped to the bed. My brother, my twin brother, was a mess, not only physically, but emotionally. He hadn’t shaven since the last time I had seen him and he looked dirty. Tears filled my eyes as I walked over to his bedside and put my arms around him.

  “Stephen, thank God you’re okay.”

  “Where’ve you been, Rory?” he whispered. “Why did you leave me?”

  The tears that filled my eyes fell down my face as I held his hand. “You hurt me, Stephen. I had to go.”

  Just as I said that, Ian walked up behind me and clasped my shoulders.

  “I didn’t mean to hurt you, Rory. Just like I didn’t mean to hurt Mom.”

  I froze as I felt Ian’s grip on me tighten. “I know you didn’t, Stephen. You’re sick and you need help. I’m going to get you the help you need.”

  “Rory, tell them to let me go,” he pleaded.

  The tears were now pools of water as I leaned in closer to him and whispered, “You’re going to be okay. The doctors are going to help you.”

  A man in a white coat walked into the room and introduced himself as Dr. Michaels. He was a psychiatrist and he came in to talk to me about Stephen.

  “You must be Stephen’s sister, Aurora?” he said as he held out his hand.

  “Yes, I’m Rory, and this is Ian Braxton.”

  We shook hands and Dr. Michaels went over his assessment of Stephen with me. I already knew what he was going to say and I was scared.

  “When Stephen was brought in, we had to sedate him. He was violent, disoriented, and screaming your name. We found a medical emergency card on him and spoke to your aunt in Indiana. She filled me in on his history. Has he ever hurt you?”

  I closed my eyes and Ian spoke for me. “He stabbed her a few weeks ago. That’s how they became separated.”

  “Your aunt said that she didn’t know you were leaving. She woke up one day and the two of you were gone,” Dr. Michaels spoke.

  “It wasn’t her business. I was the one who’d been taking care of him my entire life. I brought him to L.A. for a trial on a new drug for schizophrenic patients. He’d been off his current meds for a while and he snapped.”

  “I see,” he said as he wrote it down in Stephen’s chart. “Stephen needs round the clock medical care and he needs to be in a place where he’s monitored at all times and won’t be a danger to himself or anyone else. I believe your brother’s condition is worsening or we’re dealing with more than schizophrenia. I’m suggesting Hudson Rock Psychiatric Hospital. It’s about an hour from here and it’s one of the best in the country. He’ll be tested, start new medication and therapy.

  “How much will this cost?” I asked

  “You don’t need to worry about that, Rory. I’m taking care of it,” Ian spoke.

  “I’ll go get the paperwork for you to sign. I’ll be right back,” Dr. Michaels said.

  He walked out of the room and I turned and looked at Stephen. My heart broke for my brother like it had every day since I could remember.

  “They’re going to lock me up, aren’t they? I won’t ever see you again.”

  I undid the straps that were holding him down. “Rory, what the hell are you doing?” Ian snapped.

  I laid my head on his chest and Stephen brought his arms around me. Ian stood close. “You’re going to a wonderful place where you’ll be taken care of. You’ll meet new people and you’ll get the help you need. I’ll come visit you all the time. I promise. I won’t let you down. Do you understand, Stephen?”

  “I’m sorry I hurt you, Rory. I went looking for you, but I couldn’t find you. I wanted to tell you that I was sorry.”

  “I know you’re sorry, Stephen.”

  “I’m tired, Rory. I want to go to sleep. Will you sing to me?”

  I started to sing the song that always calmed him down and helped him sleep, “Over the Rainbow.”

  “We’ll go to that land someday, won’t we, Rory?”

  “Yes, Stephen, one day,” I whispered and I continued to sing.

  Ian took a hold of me and sat me up. “He’s asleep, Rory. Let’s step out for a moment.”

  He handed me a tissue, took my hand, and led me out into the hall. We walked around un
til he found an empty room. He led me inside, shut the door, and then wrapped his arms around me as tightly as he could. He buried his face into my neck and whispered, “I’m so sorry that you have to go through this. But, I don’t want you to worry. I’m taking care of this for you. Stephen will be well taken care of and you can visit him every chance you get.”

  “I can’t have you pay for it, Ian. You don’t even know him. You barely know me.”

  He broke our embrace and stared at me. “You’re my friend, and I help my friends. I’m helping you and Stephen and there will be no more discussion about it. Do you understand me, Rory?”

  I rolled my eyes at him because once again, he was using that commanding tone. “Yes, I understand.”

  “Don’t roll your eyes at me. As cute as it makes you look, I can’t stand that.” He smiled.

  I sighed and told him we better head back to the room. Stephen was still asleep when we walked in. Dr. Michaels came in behind us and went over the paperwork with me. He said that he was going to keep Stephen here overnight and that he’d be transferred to Hudson Rock tomorrow morning.

  “You may come here tomorrow morning and ride with him to Hudson Rock so you can say goodbye and see for yourself that he’ll be well taken care of.”

  “We’ll be taking him in my limo so Rory can spend some time with him,” Ian said.

  I took the pen from the doctor and signed the papers to commit my twin brother to a psychiatric hospital and cried while doing it.

  “I know this is hard, but it’s the best thing for him,” Dr. Michaels said as he put his hand on my shoulder and then left the room. I looked over at Stephen as he opened his eyes.

  “Don’t cry, Rory. It’ll be okay. You can’t take care of me anymore and I know that now.”

  “I’m sorry, Stephen. I have to go now, but I’ll see you in the morning,” I said as I kissed his head.

  “Bye, Rory.”

  I ran out of the room as fast as I could and down the hallway until I found the exit. I ran down the sidewalk. I wouldn’t stop running. I couldn’t stop running. Ian caught up with me and grabbed me. He held me so tight that I couldn’t move.

  “Stop, Rory! You need to stop, right now!” he whispered in my ear.

  We were near a park and people were watching.

  “People are staring. Now, I’m going to let go of you, and I’m going to take your hand, and we’re going to go sit under that tree over there. Okay?”

  I nodded my head, and Ian did exactly what he said he would. He took my hand and led me to the big oak tree. As we sat down underneath it, Ian looked at me and smiled. “Have you calmed down?”

  I nodded and laid my head on his shoulder.

  “Talk to me, Rory. Tell me what’s going on in that pretty little head of yours.”

  “I let my mom and my brother down.”

  “How did you let them down? None of this is your fault. I heard Stephen say that he didn’t mean to hurt you or your mom. What did he do?”

  I took in a sharp breath. The air around us was getting cool. “One night, I was on the couch watching TV and my mom was in the kitchen with Stephen. All of a sudden, I heard her scream and a crash on the floor. I jumped up from the couch and Stephen was standing over her, holding a bloody knife. He had stabbed her in the leg. The way he looked at her was so blank, like he wasn’t even there. She started to back away from him, and I could see the fear in her eyes. I told her that I was calling 911 and she screamed at me not to. She told me to take the knife from him. I remember standing there, shaking uncontrollably. I took tiny steps towards him as I asked him to drop the knife. I’ll never forget the look in his eyes when he turned his head and looked at me. He dropped the knife and curled up in a ball on the floor next to my mom. She said that if we told anyone what Stephen had done, they’d take him away from us and she couldn’t let that happen. So, she took him to the doctor to have him evaluated and told them about his hallucinations and conversations with himself and they diagnosed him with schizophrenia.”

  “Christ, Rory,” Ian said as he laid me down so I was on my back and my head was in his lap.

  I looked up at him as he stared down at me and gently wiped the tears from my eyes with his thumb. “I have no words. I think that once we get Stephen situated and you know he’s going to be okay, you can start to heal physically and emotionally. What about your aunt? Does she know any of this?”

  My eyes left his as I looked down and started picking at the blades of grass. “Yes. She came over right after it happened and helped my mom take care of the wound. It was only a few months later that she passed away from pneumonia. My aunt didn’t want anything to do with us. She said that Stephen was evil and needed to be locked away. Personally, I think she was afraid of him.”

  “That’s understandable, considering what he did to your mom,” Ian said as he played with the strands of my hair.

  “The night my mom died, she called for me to come in her room. When I went in there, she told me to sit down next to her on the bed. She reached up and put her hand on the side of my face.

  “‘My beautiful Aurora. I need you to promise me something. I need you to promise that you’ll always take care of Stephen and protect him. If you don’t protect your brother, they’ll take him away from you and he needs you. He’ll never survive by himself. The two of you need to stay together. Can you do that for Mommy?’

  “I remember sitting there as she stared at me, begging me to promise her. Damn it, I was only ten years old,” I said as I sat up.

  Ian pulled me into his chest and held my head against him. “Shh…it’s okay. You never broke your promise to her and you still haven’t. You’re getting Stephen the help he needs. She’d be so proud of you for the way you took care of him all these years.”

  “That’s the reason my aunt wanted nothing to do with either of us. But she was so desperate for money to feed her drug addiction.”

  I broke free from his embrace and stared into his eyes, which reminded me so much of the blue ocean water. “Now you know. You know everything and the reason why I’m not broken, just shattered.”

  I swore I saw a tear in Ian’s eye when he turned his head and looked away. “Come on. I’m taking you back to your place to pack an overnight bag. You’re staying at my house tonight. I don’t think you should be alone.”

  I didn’t argue with him because I didn’t want to be alone. “I have to call Jordyn and let her know that I won’t be in tomorrow,” I said as we walked across the grass.

  “I already talked to her and I told her you won’t be in the rest of the week.”

  “Ian, why the hell would you do that? I’m going to get fired.”

  The corners of his mouth curved up as he looked at me. “No, you’re not. You’re going to quit. But that’s something we’ll talk about when we get back to my place.”

  Chapter 12

  I was soaking in the luxurious tub that I’d grown to love since I first came to Ian’s house. As I was taking in the lavender-scented bubbles, there was a light knock on the door.

  “Rory, can I come in?”

  “Ian, I’m taking a bath. No!”

  “I’m assuming you’re covered in bubbles and, anyway, we’ve done things and I’ve seen you, so there’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

  Oh my God, he did this every time I was taking a bath. Why couldn’t he ever wait until I was done? I scooted myself down so I was fully covered up to my neck in bubbles.

  “Come in.”

  He opened the door and gave me that cocky smile. “I want to talk to you,” he said as he took a seat on the toilet.

  “It can’t wait until I’m out of the tub?”

  “No. You know I’m an impatient man. So when I want to talk, I want to talk now, no matter the circumstances.”

  I just looked at him and shook my head. “What do you want to talk about?”

  “You quitting your job and coming to work for me as my assistant.”

  Where the hell did that
come from? “Why would you do that?” I asked in confusion.

  “Because I think you’d make a good assistant and I need one. My other assistant just quit. You’d be working here, from the house. I will pay you very well in salary, medical benefits, and vacation time. You’ll find that I’m a very generous man.” He smiled.

  I glared at him, trying to figure out what his plan was. “Listen, Rory, you can’t work in a coffee house the rest of your life, and I’m offering you one hell of a deal. Now, sit up and I’ll wash your back for you.”

  “No! I’m fine.”

  Ian sighed. “Rory, I’ve fondled your breasts. I’ve had my fingers inside you and I gave you an amazing orgasm. You don’t need to hide from me and there’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

  Ugh, he was right, but for some reason, I still didn’t want him to see me. I slowly sat all the way up and brought my knees to my chest.

  “That’s a good girl,” he said as he took the sponge from the hook and the shower gel from the shelf.

  He started rubbing my back in a soft, circular motion. I closed my eyes because that ache was back. The ache that begged for his touch.

  “I would just need you to do some paperwork for me. You know how to use a computer. Can you type?” he asked.

  “Yes, I can type.”

  “Good. I’ll need you to type up some contracts, run some errands, handle some appointments, and there may be the need for you to travel with me sometimes.”

  Why did I have a feeling this was going to involve more than just office work? I needed the money, and I definitely needed the medical benefits. “How much do you pay your assistants?” I asked casually.

  “I would pay you $2,000 a week.”

  I gasped. “What?!” I exclaimed.

  Ian chuckled as he continued across my shoulders. “This is Malibu, Rory.”

  I was lucky if I made that in three months. Two thousand dollars a week was like gold to me. That was a ridiculous amount to pay someone with no experience.

  “So, let me get this straight. You’re going to pay me $2,000 a week to be your assistant, with no experience?”

  Ian leaned in closer and lightly began kissing my neck. “You have some experience, so I don’t mind, and when I get done training you, you’ll have more experience than you’ll know what to do with,” he whispered.