Don’t Let Me Break by Linda Verji

 

 

CHAPTER 4

 

I’m back, bitches. That was Hazel’s first thought when she opened her eyes. Marley is gone, and I’m on again.

Even without looking around she could tell that she was in hospital. The ceiling, the bed she was lying in, the curtained cubicle, the annoying beeps, the disgusting smell… it was too familiar to be anything but a hospital.

What the hell had that idiot Marley done to get them in here again?

“Marley!” An unfamiliar (and very handsome) face came into view. “Are you awake? Can you hear me?”

“Wh-” She tried to speak but the weird dryness in her throat had her clearing her throat. “Who are you?”

“Don’t you know who I am?” Immediate worry filled his very pretty eyes. “I’m Sebastian.”

Sebastian! Great name, but no, Hazel had no damn idea who he was. How was she supposed to know who this Sebastian was when she’d been asleep for….

“What’s the date?” she croaked out.

“The twenty-third of August.”

“Year?”

“Twenty-twenty-one.”

Well shoot me in the head and send me to Satan! Twenty-twenty-one? She’d been asleep for two whole years. This was the longest she’d ever been gone. Marley was getting better at handling her problems herself. Which then begged the question, what problem had brought Hazel back this time? What was Marley running from? And why was she in the hospital?

Hazel shifted a little to see if she was hurt. Apart from a little headache, her body didn’t feel injured. However, that was nothing to celebrate because last time when she’d woken up, she’d been uninjured but on a roof about to jump.

Was that it? Had Marley been contemplating suicide again? That dumb idiot. If she wanted to die, then she needed to figure out a way to do it without taking Hazel with her.

Looking even more worried than before, pretty boy Sebastian asked, “You don’t even remember what day it is?”

“Of course I know what day it is,” she returned as she tried to sit up. “The twenty-third of August, twenty-twenty-one.”

“That’s because I just told you,” he countered even as he scooted closer to help her sit up.

Ignoring his comment, Hazel looked around the cubicle. “What am I doing here?”

“Don’t you remember?”

Of course she didn’t remember. She hedged, “My memory’s a little foggy. Why don’t you jog it for me?”

Instead of answering her question, Sebastian leaned forward and pressed on the red button beside her bed. As he did so, he said, “I don’t think you’re fine.”

“I’m fine,” she protested.

But it didn’t work because the moment a doctor appeared, Sebastian tattled on her. “I think there’s a problem with her memory.”

“Is there?” The doctor turned to Hazel. “How are you feeling, Miss Carter?”

“Don’t listen to him.” Hazel offered the doctor a wide smile. “I’m feeling great.”

Despite her smile, Hazel could already feel nervousness building in the pit of her stomach. To some people, waking up in the hospital wouldn’t have been a bad thing, but her case was different. Hospitals were bad news for people like her. As soon as the doctors figured out that she wasn’t Marley, they’d wrap her up in a straitjacket and send her straight to the psych ward.

How did she know that? Because it had happened to her many, many times. When they were younger and naive, Hazel had been adamant about having her own identity and not just living as Marley’s alter. That had gotten them forced into exorcisms, sent to mental hospitals and ostracized from society. She’d soon learned that it was just easier to pretend that she was Marley.

“Do you remember what day, it is?” the doctor asked.

“It’s the twenty-third of August, twenty-twenty one,” Hazel cheerfully answered.

“She only knows because I told her,” Sebastian chimed in.

Shut up, you idiot. She shot him a tight smile before turning to the doctor. “I was just asking him for confirmation.”

“Do you remember how you got here?”

“It was terrible… ah!” She closed her eyes and pressed her fingertips to her temples, pretending to be in pain. “It hurts to even remember it.”

But that backfired because the doctor’s face twisted with worry. “Can you describe exactly where it hurts?”

Hazel immediately dropped her hands and sat up straighter. “It doesn’t hurt that much. It’s nothing.”

“It’s not nothing.” Sebastian’s frown deepened. “She doesn’t even remember who I am.”

This dude! She huffed, “You’re Sebastian.”

“Sebastian who?”

“I don’t feel comfortable just blurting out your last name for everyone to hear,” she hedged. “Doctor, I’m fine. Can I go home?”

The doctor ignored her question and instead asked, “Do you know your name?”

“Marley,” she triumphantly answered. “Marley Carter.”

“Marley, where do you work?”

Ah! Trick question. The last time Hazel had been here, Marley was incapable of holding down a job. So Hazel triumphantly answered, “I’m unemployed.”

Sebastian gave the doctor a pointed look. “I told you there was something wrong with her.”

Hazel was so stunned that despite her resolve to not give away her lack of memories, she blurted out, “What? I’m employed? Seriously?”

“Yes, you’re employed,” Sebastian answered, “and I’m your boss.”

Well, look at you, Marley Carter. Getting your life together, keeping a job… Good for you.

Wait! If Marley had her life together, then what was Hazel doing here? What had happened? Unfortunately, she couldn’t ask these two men without making them even more suspicious than they already were.

“Ha ha!” She forced a laugh. “I was just kidding. I know who you are. I was just checking to see if you knew who you were.”

“Why would you-” Sebastian stopped talking and drew a breath. “Doctor, maybe we should just do that CT scan like you suggested and check if everything’s fine.”

“You’re right. We should,” the doctor agreed. “But like I said, we need a guardian’s approval for that.”

Guardian! Oh, there’s an escape route. Hazel rushed in with, “I’d like to make a phone call.”

“A phone call to who?” Sebastian asked.

“My sister, Kenny.” Or as Hazel preferred to call her, ‘The Warden’.

“You remember who your sister is?”

“Of course I do. I told you I was fine.” Hazel demanded, “Give me a phone.”

“I think yours is in here.” Sebastian handed her a purse. It was black, sensible, and quite boring… just like Marley.

Hazel unzipped the purse and reached inside. But just as she grasped the phone, she realized that Marley’s phone was probably locked. It wouldn’t do her any good to fumble around, trying to guess Marley’s code, in front of these two hawk-eyed gentlemen.

She took her empty hand out of the purse and groaned. “Ugh! I must have forgotten my phone in the office.” She wiggled her fingers at Sebastian. “Can I borrow yours?”

Still watching her with overt suspicion, Sebastian dug into the pocket of his jacket and drew out his phone. After unlocking it, he handed it to Hazel. Praying that Kenny hadn’t changed her number in the last two years, Hazel typed the digits then pressed the phone to her ear.

Despite their frictional relationship, Kenny was the only person who’d always had Hazel’s back. She was the one who saved them from exorcisms and the one who lied to authorities so Marley and Hazel wouldn’t have to rot in a mental hospital. Hazel knew that Kenny did all of that just to protect Marley, and she resented both sisters for it. But whenever she was in trouble, she still always went back to Kenny.

Relief pulsed through her when the phone began to ring. As always, it didn’t even take Kenny two rings to pick up the phone.

“Marley, what’s up?” Kenny’s voice echoed over the line. Loud music was playing in the background so she shouted, “Are you okay?”

“I’m good.” Hazel wanted to tell her sister who she was, but the doctor and Sebastian were still watching her. So she just said, “I’m in hospital. Come and get me out of here.”

Hazel had no idea what clued Kenny in on the situation. Was it something in her voice? Was it the words she used? Either way, Kenny’s sharp gasp echoed over the line. “Hazel? Is that you?”

“Yeah, it’s me.” Hazel forced a smile to keep the men in her cubicle from getting suspicious. “I got into a little accident, but I’m fine. Come and get me.”

Panic lacing her voice, Kenny ordered, “Tell me where you are.”

Hazel took the phone off her ear to ask the doctor and Sebastian. “Where are we?”

They told her the name of the hospital, and she gave it to her sister.

“Okay, sit tight. I’m coming to get you.” Kenny sounded breathless and shaky, as if she was running. “Don’t let them know you’re not Marley.”

“I won’t.” Hazel ended the call with a smile. Now that Kenny was on her way, everything would be just fine.

 

* * * * *

 

THIS WASN’TTHE same Marley who’d poured coffee on him just a few hours ago. That Marley was apologetic, reserved, and seemingly scared of him. This Marley had eyes that danced with amusement and a smile that wouldn’t quit. She was like a whole different person. There was just something more animated, more seductive and flirtier about her.

“So why are you here though?” Marley asked him as she playfully twirled one of her braids. She’d long since pulled her braids out of their ponytail so that they now fell over the side of her face and one shoulder sensually. “Why did you bring me to hospital yourself?”

“Because I’m your boss,” Sebastian said.

Frankly, he should’ve left the hospital by now. She was a subordinate he’d just met today. Furthermore, the doctors were already keeping a close eye on her, and her sister was on the way. There was no real reason for him to still be here. Still, he couldn’t leave. Worry and an emotion that he couldn’t quite identify yet kept him planted at her side.

Her keen eyes studying him, Marley commented, “You could’ve gotten someone else to bring me.”

“There was no one else.”

“So we were alone in the office?” She pointed to him then to herself then to him again. “Just the two of us?”

He nodded. “Just the two of us.”

“Hmm, okay, alright!” A wicked smile lifted her lips. “We have something going on, don’t we?”

“Something going on?” He arched his eyebrows. “Something like what?”

Her smile widened. “You know what I’m talking about.”

Of course Sebastian knew what she was talking about. He was just struggling to accept that such flirtatious talk was coming from the same Marley who’d been all stammers and apologies just a few hours ago.

“We just met today,” he reminded her. “What kind of thing could we possibly have?”

“So we don’t have a thing, huh?” She chuckled. “Just testing you again.”

Yeah, right! Like he was going to believe that excuse again.

If anyone needed testing in this room, it was her. Even an idiot could tell that her story about being fine was a load of crock. He could tell that she had no idea how or why she was in the hospital. Every word she spoke only reaffirmed his suspicion that she’d hurt her head and lost some of her memories. The question was; why was she intent on hiding it?

“How long did your sister say it would take for her to get here?” Sebastian asked. Since Marley was being so dodgy about her injuries, the only one who could help them get her treated was her sister.

“Dunno!” Marley shrugged then changed the subject. “So has anyone ever told you that you’re ridiculously hot?”

“No one that wasn’t ridiculously drunk,” he retorted.

“You’re hot. You’re really hot.” The slow onceover she gave him couldn’t be mistaken for anything other than sexual interest. “You’ve got that sexy, telenovela hero thing going for you and I dig it. Plus your suit tells me that you’ve got a fat bank account. It’s a Burberry suit, right?”

It was a Burberry. But how did Marley know? During their first conversation, she hadn’t struck him as the kind of woman who’d be interested in men’s suits and their worth. She also hadn’t seemed like the kind of woman who’d just tell a man straight to his face that he was hot. Then again, they’d only said a few words to each other so maybe this was a side of her that she was hiding.

“It’s a Burberry,” he reluctantly admitted.

“Cool! You’re rich and you’re hot. I can take that.” She paused to take a breath then asked, “So, hypothetically; am I your type?”

The question caught him off guard. He blinked once, then again. Maybe he hadn’t heard her right. “Are you asking if you’re my type?”

“Yeah, like would you date me if I asked,” she clarified. Gesturing to her body, she added, “Ignore this ugly t-shirt and jeans, and imagine me nicely made up and in a pretty dress. Would you date me?”

Not quite believing that this conversation was actually happening, he swallowed then asked, “You want to date me?”

“No, I’m asking if you want to date me.” She repeated, “Am I your type?”

He chocked out, “I’m your boss.”

“Yes, we already established that.” Impatiently, she repeated, “But am I your type?”

This wasn’t his first time getting hit on. However, usually he could see it coming. This time was different. He already had a mental image of Marley’s personality. He’d already pegged her as shy and reserved; the kind of woman a man had to chase. Having her chase him threw him off kilter.

“We just met today,” he reminded her again, his voice strangled. “How am I supposed to know if you’re my type?”

“Aah! So you’re saying there’s a chance?” She grinned. But soon that grin turned into a sigh. “It’s a pity though… she’ll never take that chance.”

“She?” Confusion furrowed Sebastian’s brow. “Who’s she?”

Instant panic flared in Marley’s eyes. However, a breath later, the panic was gone. Instead of answering his question, she asked, “Do they have any food here? I’m really hungry.”

Sebastian had more questions for her. However, worry about her wellbeing took over, and he stood. “I’ll go check if they can find you something.”

He left the Observation Unit and headed to the waiting room. Just as he was approaching the reception desk, he noticed the panicked woman who was already there with the nurses. There was something familiar about the pretty, chocolate-skinned, curvy woman. He tilted his neck, trying to remember where he’d met her, but couldn’t figure it out. Strange, because he had a pretty good memory and she was pretty memorable. A second later, he realized why she seemed so familiar yet wasn’t part of his memories.

“It’s Kennedy,” the woman frantically told the nurse. “Kennedy Carter. I’m her sister.”

Ah! She was Marley’s sister. No wonder she looked so familiar. The resemblance between her and Marley was uncanny. Though Kennedy carried a little more weight, she had the same skin tone, eyes and lips as Marley.

Sebastian’s steps to the counter sped up. He got there just as the nurse was saying, “Give me a second. Let me check.”

As soon as he got close to Kennedy, the sickly sweet smell of alcohol invaded his senses. It was obvious that she’d been drinking. At a club? Her short, tight, green dress and the silver, gladiator heels she was wearing said yes.

Ignoring the smell, Sebastian approached her. “Hi, are you looking for Marley Carter?”

“Yes.” Kennedy immediately turned to him and the alcohol in her breath smacked him right in the face. It was a wonder it didn’t lay him flat on the floor. She asked, “Do you know her?”

“I’m the one who brought her in.” He introduced himself. “Sebastian Levy.”

“Kennedy Carter.” Worry in her expression and voice, she asked, “What happened to Marley?”

Before Sebastian could answer, the nurse cut into their conversation with, “Okay, I’ve found her. She’s in the observation unit, bed five.”

“I can take her there,” Sebastian offered.

“Thank you.” The nurse let them go on their way.

“What happened to her?” Kennedy repeated as they headed to the observation unit.

One would think that given the tubful of alcohol that she’d presumably soaked herself in, the woman would be slurring her words and teetering on her heels. But no. Apart from the slightly glazed look in her eyes and the smell, she seemed perfectly sober.

Sebastian explained, “She was attacked when walking to her car.”

“What?” Kennedy stopped walking. Her eyes wide and her voice rising in obvious shock, she demanded, “By who?”

“I don’t know.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “He was wearing a mask and ran away as soon as I showed up.”

“Oh, my poor Marley.” Tears sprung to Kennedy’s eyes. “No wonder she-” She stopped speaking and took a breath. “I have to make sure she’s fine.”

She started to walk again, but Sebastian stopped her. “Wait! I actually need to talk to you about her condition.”

Fresh worry flashed in Kennedy’s eyes. “She sounded fine over the phone.”

“Maybe she did, but she’s not fine.” He pulled in a breath then announced, “I think Marley might’ve lost some of her memories.”

“What?” Kennedy’s gaze went from worried to wary in the blink of an eye.

“She didn’t seem to know who I was, what date it was or even what had happened when she woke up,” he explained. “The doctor thinks that she needs a more comprehensive check up and I agree.”

Sebastian didn’t know what reaction he was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t the lukewarm, “Oh, I see,” that Kennedy gave him. She topped it off with a non-committal, “I’ll talk to the doctor and see if it’s necessary.”

In silence, they walked the rest of the way. Once they got to the observation unit, Kennedy went ahead of him and pulled aside the curtain to Marley’s cubicle.

“Kenny!” Even though Sebastian couldn’t see Marley’s face yet, he heard the excitement in her voice as she welcomed her sister. When he entered the cubicle, Marley was beaming up at Kennedy. “I knew you’d come for me.”

“Are you okay?” Kennedy came closer to take her sister’s hand.

“Ye-” Marley’s face screwed up in distaste. “Ew… you smell like a brewery. Are you drunk?”

Kennedy started, “No-”

“Don’t lie to me. It’s obvious that you’re drunk. Why are you still drinking? You said that you’d quit,” Marley scolded her angrily. “Are you crazy? Who’ll take care of us if you fry your liver? Does Marley know that you’re still-”

“Hush!” Kennedy slapped a hand over her sister’s mouth. Throwing a look over her shoulder as if to gesture at Sebastian, she repeated, “Hush!”

Marley’s gaze flew to Sebastian and, in the blink of a second, her eyes went from angry to cautious.

Kennedy must’ve noticed the change too because she took her hand off her sister’s mouth then turned to Sebastian. Wearing a smile that was quite obviously forced, Kennedy said, “Thank you for bringing her here and staying with her. I’ll handle it from here now. You can go.”

Obviously, he was being dismissed, but he couldn’t just go without making sure Marley was really fine.

“I can stay until the doctor gives her a proper check up,” he offered.

“You don’t have to,” Kenny reiterated. “I got this.”

“Are you sure?” Desperately grasping at any straws that would give him a reason to stay, he proposed, “If she’s released today, you’ll need someone to drive you home. I can do that.”

“You don’t have to. I saw many cabs on my way in.” Kennedy gave him another stiff smile. “Don’t worry about us. We’ll be fine.”

Though Kennedy’s words were polite, her tone was firm. She did not want him here.

Reluctantly, Sebastian said, “Okay, I’ll leave.” He reached into his jacket and took out his wallet. From his wallet, he pulled out a card. “But if you need any help, just call me on this number.”

“Thank you.” Kennedy took the card, but her expression left him with the impression that as soon as he was gone, his card would end up in a trashcan.

“Bye, Handsome.” Marley’s smile was more genuine and wider than her sister’s. She waved. “I’ll see you at work.”

“Bye.” He closed the curtains behind him and headed to the exit. As he walked, he frowned in confusion. Had he misread Marley the first time? Or was her drastic change in personality a result of hurting her head during the scuffle with her attacker?