Someone To Watch Over Me

Chapter Sixteen

I open my eyes and immediately shield them with my arm from the fluorescent lights that are glaring down at me. Wait, fluorescent lights? Where the hell am I?

I blink a few times and notice I appear to be in an emergency room, hospital gown and all. "What am I...?"

"You're in the hospital, Cat. You fainted." I see William sitting next to me. "You gave Alex quite a scare."

"Alex?" I look around and still feel a bit disoriented. "Where is he?"

"He left when I got here. He said he had to get back to the event because you had stuff you hadn't finished yet."

"The fundraiser?!" I try to push myself up but immediately feel dizzy and lay back against the pillows.

"Alex has got it covered, Cat. You have nothing to worry about. He promised he'd be back as soon as the trucks came to pick up the rentals."

"How did you end up here?"

"Alex called me immediately after the ambulance came and picked you up to tell me what hospital they were taking you to. I rushed right over, of course. Alex stayed by your side until I got here to take his place. He didn't want to leave you alone. He didn't tell me much since he was pressed for time, needing to get back to campus. What caused you to black out, Cat? Do you know?" 

"I'm afraid I know as much as you. I don't even remember fainting. We were at the fundraiser, it was all over... and then..."

The memories come back like snapshots in my mind. Alex and the apron. Olivia telling me about Liam. Liam wanting to fight Alex, demanding I come home with him. My hands cover my eyes. I just don't want to see anymore, but as these images are in my mind's eye, so there is little I can do to make them stop.

"Liam!" I say.

"What about him?"

"He was there. He started some trouble with Alex. He's got the nerve to be mad at me when he's been cheating this whole time."

William's eyes widened in surprise. "Why would Liam be mad at you over Alex? Wait, you know?!"

"Ugh!" I pull my hands away and look over at him. "Don't tell me you knew too? Why would you keep it from me? Why is everyone so okay with keeping me in the dark?"

William reaches out to me and grabs my hand. "I didn't, Cat! I swear it! If I had solid proof, I would have told you in a heartbeat."

"But you suspected?" I challenge.

"Didn't you?" he counters, and he's right, I did. I just didn't want to believe it was true. I didn't want to believe he would cheat on me. "Yes," I admit with a heavy heart.

"Well, I did too. I just couldn't prove it, and I knew you would never believe me without proof."

He's right about that, too. I definitely wouldn't have. I had it staring me right in the face and I had stayed in denial. "God only knows what he's exposed me to."

Suddenly, the baby springs to my mind. "The baby!" This time I do sit straight up in bed, though it makes the whole room spin.

"Is the baby...is everything alright?" I ask William, who is looking at me apologetically.

"I have nothing to tell you, Cat. There has been a nurse checking in on you and a doctor dropped by, but as you were still out, they just checked on you and moved on. No one has told me anything."

The curtain pulls back and I'm hoping to see a doctor, but it's Alex instead.

"Guess, I'm not who you were hoping to see," he says, sounding a little disappointed.