Chapter 19: Crashing Reality, Healing Hearts
Kori woke up with a start and fumbled for her cell phone which was lying on the bed next to her. Rubbing her eyes she looked at the time blaring at her in bright blue numbers. "Seven thirty," she said to herself in a raspy voice. Richard would be over at eight to pick her up. Stretching she got out of bed and went over to her large black granite mirror that was hanging on her wall above her dresser. Her dressers were all empty except for her one set of clothes she had put aside for tomorrow.
She looked into the mirror and sighed. 'I have to wash and repack those plates Gar and I used before I got to sleep tonight or I'll forget.' After that thought her mind began to wander back to the times Gar and her had spend together on the pier having fun and laughing even though they were both going through such hard times. She ran her fingers through her hair, which had gotten a little frizzed and disorganized from her nap. Patting it down she tucked some strands on her right side behind her ear. She ran her hand over her dress to straighten it out and get out any wrinkles that may have formed in it from tossing and turning.
That's when it hit her. She was okay. She felt fine. "See," she said to her reflection. "I'm fine, it was just a fluke, it was nothing. Don't worry about it." Now she was reassuring herself and she knew it. In truth, she was scared. This wasn't the first time this had happened to her and she was getting worried. But she didn't want to bother Gar or Raven by telling them of her worries. She knew they were both going through a lot. Starting over, trying to forget the past (or at least work through it). They were together and were happy and she didn't want to bother them with her problems.
Kori's head whipped around to the doorway of her bedroom as she heard the doorbell echo through the almost empty house. She stepped back from the mirror and ran her hands over her hair and dress one more time, just to make sure everything was in order. Then she grabbed her little black purse off the dresser top and threw her cell phone inside. She inhaled and exhaled deeply to regain her composure and then headed down the stairs. She slipped her shoes back on her feet before walking over to the door.
"Richard, hello." Kori smiled at him as she opened the door and stepped aside to let him in. He stepped into the foyer and looked around.
"Wow, you got a lot of work done. I wish you would have let me help. I could have rescheduled my meeting. It really wouldn't have been a prob-"
"Richard," she interrupted. She had told Richard when they were talking over the phone a few days ago that she had started her packing and was doing a big packing day today. He had offered to come over and help and Kori was about to say yes just because she wanted to see him considering over the past couple of weeks since they had been together that night, both of them had been so busy at work. Kori was picking up her modeling career again and Richard had meetings, phone calls and paperwork all hours of the day. However, before she could reply to his offer she remembered that he had told her about having a meeting that day to discuss a very important business deal. 'No, Richard that's alright. I thank you for your offer but it is not that much work and it will not take too long. Besides you have an important meeting that day and I don't want you having any trouble at work on my account.' Though he had protested telling her he could change the meeting to a different time, that his clients wouldn't mind, she refused to let him do that. She didn't want to add anymore work to his plate, she never got to see him that much as it was, and she missed that. Being able to see him everyday…
He turned to her, "yeah?"
She sighed and smiled at him, looking him up and down. He looked deliciously handsome in his dark black suite. "I told you," she said coming over to run her fingers over his silky red tie and kiss him lightly on the lips, "that I didn't want you canceling or missing your meeting to help me pack. I was fine, as you can see, I got it all done."
She felt him wrap a warm arm around her waist and reach over to the line of coat hooks by the door and pull a light black coat from one of them. She looked over at the coat and then up at him, her left hand on his chest, her right on his upper left arm. "Fair enough," he replied before stepping back to swing the coat over her shoulders.
"Thank you," she replied sweetly before pulling her arms through the sleeves and tying the waist band tightly around her in a knot.
Richard turned and rested his hand on the door before freezing. "Wait a minute," he said turning back around to face her.
She looked up at him, nervous that something was wrong. "What's the matter? Is something wrong?"
Without another word she saw him reach into the front pocket of his suite jacket and pull out a large sized black velvet box. She let out a soft gasp when he opened it and she saw what lay inside. "Richard," she was at a loss for words as she looked down at the jade necklace. "I-I, oh Richard," her voice was just above a whisper and laced with tears as she remembered their night in great detail. She had left the necklace there, she had forgotten all about it. Her mind had been so preoccupied lately with the house, her job, her health, everything.
"I thought maybe," he hesitated unsure if he was doing the right thing, "you'd wear it tonight." He knew it was a risk, either she would wear it and everything would work out alright or she would become upset over the whole incident. He never wanted to see her upset again so he prayed to God it would be the first option. He had considered forgetting about the necklace but God did he want to see her wear it again.
She stepped closer to him and ran her fingertips lighting over the stone with the trail of diamonds wrapped around it. Each one shinning brighter than she ever remembered them shine. "Oh, Richard," 'I've been saying that a lot, haven't I?' She inhaled and exhaled trying to get her thoughts together. She couldn't believe he had brought this. When he had first shown it to her memories of Starfire, the Titans, her friends, the way they were, just came flooding back to her in a barrage and she didn't know what to do. So she tried to deflect them, tried to turn away from the memories and the necklace which had broken the dam causing the flood in the first place.
But now, now, everything was different. It hit her hard, stunning her into shock. She wanted to wear that necklace, she wanted to remember. Everything, good and bad, she just wanted to remember. To be able to look back on those memories and laugh, cry, feel embarrassed…just feel something, feel everything. She knew that she couldn't be Starfire again but Starfire could be a part of who she was now and she wanted that.
She looked up from the necklace into Richard's blue eyes, those eyes that she fell in love with, those beautiful crystal blue eyes. Once she found her voice and broke free of the trance that he always put her in she spoke in a quite voice just above a whisper. "I would love to wear this necklace; I would love to wear it more than anything."
Richard smiled, relief coursing through his veins. Pulling the necklace out of the box, he closed the box and put it back in his pocket. Kori turned around and lifted her hair away from her neck. Unclasping the hooks he lowered the necklace over her and clipped it closed trailing kisses along her neck softly before lifting his head and removing her hands from her hair. Kori, her back still to Richard, fingered the diamond laced gemstone around her neck as her dark amber hair fell around her back and shoulders.
He took her hand in his, startling her. She jumped slightly and turned to look at him. "We should go or we'll be late."
Kori walked through the gold bordered glass doors and gasped at the restaurant she had just stepped foot into. The restaurant was massive. Windows covered very inch of the walls so that everywhere you looked you could see the black night sky sprinkled with stars. She looked up at the high vaulted ceiling, at the multiple gold diamond chandeliers. She panned the room looking at the mass of beautifully dressed people eating at large tables with silk, dark green table clothes and large colorful flower arrangements atop of them. She was so mesmerized by the absolute beauty of the place she was standing in that she didn't hear Richard calling her name.
"Kori?" He asked resting a hand on her arm. "Everything okay? Do you not like the restaurant? Because if you don't we could go somewhere else."
"No," she said turning to him and then looking back out at the restaurant, "it's beautiful here."
He smiled, "oh good, I'm glad you like it here. I hoped you would."
At that moment the maitre d came over to them. "Mr. Grayson, Ms. Anders, it's a pleasure to have you both dinning here tonight." Kori smiled at him and saw him turn towards Richard, "I've had the table you requested reserved for you and Ms. Anders." Kori turned to Richard, a questioning look on her face but he merely smiled at her and gestured for her to follow the maitre d who was already moving through the maze of tables that lay ahead of them to the wide granite steps.
Kori adjusted her purse on her shoulder, took hold of the gold banister and followed the maitre d up the stairs, Richard at her side. "What table did you request to be reserved?"
"You'll see."
Kori stared in awe as the maitre d led them up those large granite stairs with the gold banisters to another level of the restaurant. It contained the same tables and had more well dressed people sitting and walking around but now as she looked out one of the windowed walls directly to the back of this level she saw that it looked out over a massive man-made lake with a huge water display. The display had water shooting up rapidly from the lake and it changed from blue, to purple, to red, to green, to blue, to purple, to… It held Kori's attention for a long while, had her mesmerized until she looked and saw the maitre d turn and walk over to an elevator on the left side of the room. "Where are we going?" She asked Richard, following the maitre d. Richard didn't say anything but wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her toward him, and kissed her cheek. "C'mon."
They stepped into the elevator and Kori watched out of the corner of her eye as the elevator attendant pushed 'R' and it lit up orange and the doors closed. The elevator was spacious with mirrors covering the floor, roof, and walls. Kori rested her head on Richard's shoulder wrapping her arms around him. She wanted to be close to him but her headache was also coming back and she felt a bit dizzy. She feared that she might fall down to the rapidly rising ground if she didn't hold him tightly, which she didn't mind doing anyway.
The feeling of the elevator coming to a stop made her head feel worse and she snapped her head up and opened her eyes when the device dinged and the doors opened. Before Kori could register where they had stopped a light, cool night breeze wafted across her face. She closed her eyes and breathed in and out deeply for a second and, combined with the cool night wind, her head seemed to get some relief, some pressure lifting away. With one more deep exhale she opened her eyes and gasped for the millionth time that night, her hand shooting to her neck and touching the jade necklace.
She smiled.
She knew they were going to the roof. That much she had figured out in the elevator. But she hadn't expected what she saw in front of her eyes. In fact, for a split second she thought she was dreaming. The scene in front of her seemed as if it came straight out of a fairy tale, 'or one of the romantic movies like Sleepless in Seattle or While You Were Sleeping.' She just couldn't believe it.
She rested her hand on Richards arm and stared out in front of her in shock. "Oh, Richard, I can't believe that you- how did you? This is…" she looked up at the sky and then at the city around her from the view of the rooftop. "amazing," she breathed out.
"I'll leave you two alone, enjoy your evening Mr. Grayson, Ms. Anders." With that the maitre d bowed his head gracefully and turned swiftly towards the elevator.
Kori watched him go before turning back to Richard, "I can't believe you did this."
It truly was an amazing site. The restaurant was located on the top floors of the tallest building in Jump City. The roof was theirs for the night. Richard had seen to that.
Kori walked to the edge of the building resting her arms on top of each other atop the railing. She breathed in the night air and looked at the city. The colorful lights of the city shinned brightly against the black backdrop that was the night. Reds, blues, whites, oranges…she could see it all. Feel the rush of the cars and the fast moving people. Kori had always loved the city for that reason, everything was fast, just a rush.
But as she felt Richard wrap his arm around her waist from behind and rest his chin on her shoulder, leaning towards her to leave sweet kisses along her neck and cheek, the night seemed to slow down. The city seemed to quite down, the sounds of the cars and the stores, and the masses of people vanishing within that second.
And she loved it. She wanted this evening to be slow, to last forever. She wanted to be with Richard, just the two of them, forever.
"Like it?" he asked. And she couldn't believe it but there was doubt it his voice, how could he for even a second possibly believe that her, or any woman for that matter, wouldn't like what he had done for her?
Turning she looked away from the lit-up skyline at the beautifully set table for two. The silk green table cloth had set upon it two, tall, glowing, white candle sticks in silver holders. The large table was set for two. Whine glasses, water glasses, all the silverware for any type of food they could possibly eat, plates with gold borders, and silky napkins matching the table cloth lay atop the collection of plates at both ends of the table. Atop the napkins, two menus lay, choices between the finest, most exquisite cuisine inside.
A distance away a beautifully patterned rug lay on the smooth rooftop. Atop the rug was a white loveseat which was positioned to face not only the city skyline but the beautiful ocean. The view of the water was decorated with lights of whites, reds, and blues, which shone beautifully together against the background of the mountains, black in the shadows of the night and far off in the distance. A table rested in front of the loveseat, two champagne glasses and a plate of chocolates, cookies, and finger cakes covering its top.
"Like it?" She repeated him, looking at him in disbelief that he could ask such a thing, a smile still on her lips. "I love everything you have done for me Richard; you didn't have to do this at all." She blushed sheepishly, "I am hardly worth it."
He held her waist tighter, "you're worth so much more." His voice, which was close to her ear, was a low, sultry whisper. Kori leaned her head against his shoulder, speechless. "C'mon," he said removing his arms from her waist and taking her hand in his.
He brought her over to the table and pulled out her chair for her. She smiled and couldn't help but giggle and reply to his gesture coyly, "what a gentleman you are Mr. Grayson."
Pushing in her chair he leaned down by her ear and whispered, his voice tantalizingly sensual, "and what a beautiful and stunning woman you are Ms. Anders." He kissed her neck and Kori blushed madly dipping her head down. Coming out of her Richard induced haze she noticed her menu and opened it, beginning to look through it as Richard took his seat across from her.
Kori perused the menu in shock, "everything looks so good…"
Richard smiled but kept his eyes on his menu as well, "glad to here it, order whatever you want."
"I don't know if telling me that is the best of ideas, I do love to eat, very much so actually." Kori laughed nervously, blushing at what she had just said.
But she wasn't embarrassed; she was happy, happier than she ever thought she could be again.
"So you'll be moving into Raven's place tomorrow?" Richard asked Kori after taking a sip of his wine, the finest and most refined Chardonnay he could get his hands on. He looked over at Kori's glass, she had been strangely insistent on having nothing but water all night. He couldn't help but wonder why. Was she afraid that she would get too drunk and…he would take advantage of her? He stomach felt sick at the thought, he hoped she wouldn't think that of him, 'not that you've given her any reason to think any different.'
"Yes," she said after swallowing, "the movers will be taking my possessions straight to Raven's to drop off my most important and most needed belongings and then the movers will bring my most valuable items to Karen and Victor's home." She sipped her water, "the rest will go into storage, for the time being."
Richard knew all this already and he asked her once again, "can I do anything to help? You don't have to leave your stuff in storage, you're more than welcome to leave it at my place." In truth, when she had told him she would be staying with Raven, he wanted to tell her to come move in with him.
But he didn't. He knew he couldn't ask her to do that, he knew she wasn't ready for that. Though she said she didn't regret sleeping with him something told him she would have waited if given the chance to do it over.
She smiled, reaching out her hand to take his, "Richard, thank you, you have been offering to help me with everything, and I am so truly grateful but it is not necessary. Storage is fine, and Raven is one of my closest friends, we have been together for years now. We will enjoy living together again." She paused, hesitant to say her next statement. "Of course, this time it will be under must more ideal conditions. And Karen and Victor said they did not mind. There is no need to trouble yourself, really."
"It wouldn't be any trouble," he voice was serious.
She sighed and smiled. She knew what he was doing, what he had been doing this whole time. He wanted to do anything he could for her, no matter how small or large. He still felt as if he had to make it up to her, for everything that had happened. She hated that he felt that way. Though she had realized that she didn't want to forget the past, she did want to put it behind her, and live her life.
She cleared her throat and placed her knife and fork down, whipping her hands on her napkin which lay in her lap. "Richard," her tone was solemn, "when you showed me that necklace today, do you know what went through my mind?"
He looked up from his plate, "no."
"I thought about the past. About when you gave me that necklace." She couldn't help but wander for a moment and think about that event with vivid detail. It had been wonderful and romantic, not what she had ever expected from Robin. "And at that moment I realized that I was wrong. I don't want to forget the past, I don't. It was as you told me, I may not be the same person that I was, but that person is still a part of me and always will be." She paused, swallowing. "It's the way it should be. I want to keep all my memories, good and bad. The past is important to remember but, it is just that, the past… and though I want to remember it, most importantly it is behind me."
Richard stared at her; he didn't know what to say. Was she trying to tell him that everything was going to be okay? That she had forgiven him? At this point he didn't even know if he deserved her forgiveness, if he deserved her. He wanted her, he knew that, but they were entirely two different things.
When he didn't say anything she stood up from her seat, him doing the same thing when she did, and went over to him. Wrapping her arms around his neck she rested her head on his shoulder for a moment and closed her eyes, listening to the silence. Then she looked up at him. "It's going to be okay, we're going to be okay. You know that don't you?"
He pulled her closer to him, kissing her lips softly, "yeah, I do."
"Oh, Richard! Look at that!" Kori screamed excitedly jumping up from the loveseat, a bright, beautiful smile on her face as she happily pointed to the sky. Her finger followed a large shooting star as it made its way across the sky in a stream of luminous, white light.
Richard smiled and couldn't help but laugh a little as he grabbed Kori by the waist and pulled her onto his lap. They had been sitting for hours, staring out at the night sky, the city skyline, and the gorgeous, spacious ocean before them. But most importantly, while they stared out at these sights they had been talking, about anything…about everything.
"Wow, amazing," he said slowly, longingly, his eyes never leaving hers.
Kori threw her head back and laughed. A moment later she brought her head forward to rest on Richard's forehead. She slid her hands, which had wrapped around his neck, up to cup the sides of his face. Then she turned his head toward the sky in the direction of the shooting star. "I meant the star." Resting her cheek against his she stared at the star with him until it disappeared into the night. Kori wondered where it was going next, what magical places it would pass over.
But at the same time and she kissed Richard's temple and ran her fingers through his hair, she realized she didn't want to be anywhere but here. As long as she and Richard were together she would always have all the magic she needed and could ever want.
Raven awoke with a start in her bed, panting heavily. Sweat covered her face, soaking her hairline. She looked around the room. The light of the moon came into the room through the large windows behind her bed and on the wall to her right. Everything was okay, as it should be. She inhaled and exhaled deeply, 'that was a bad one,' she thought referring to the terrible dreams that had been plaguing her mind since she had passed out and wound up in the hospital. The truth was that since then, Raven had really begun to face her own mortality. Gar had asked her many times if she was okay, if she wanted to talk. Every time she had said she was fine and there was nothing to talk about.
Raven closed her eyes and ran her hands over her face, pushing her hair back away from it.
She knew the truth.
She knew she was afraid to confide in Gar because she didn't trust him, she didn't trust anyone, not even Kori…not fully anyway. But it was different with Garfield. She loved him…was in love with him. She had never felt this way about anyone, ever before. It had been different with both Malchior and Alex; it was so much stronger with Gar. She was afraid that if she opened up to him, gave him her heart and poured out to him all her fears…all of herself…and he rejected her, he left her, he cheated on her, he hurt her, she would die of a broken heart.
Flinging her covers off she got out of bed and crept out of the room. Kori had moved in a little over a week ago and was just about settled in. Her room was diagonal from Raven's, the room next to Kori being a bathroom and the room next to Raven being a room for anything. Raven's room was built more like a suit and had its own bathroom so the bathroom next to Kori's room was hers. Kori's room was nice though, large none the less with a wonderful view of the skyline, Raven's room having the view of the ocean, and a nice walk in closet.
She tried her hardest to keep the creaking of the hardwood floors under her plush white carpet to a minimum. She didn't want to wake Kori.
Silently she crept through the hallway and down the stairs, into the foyer, and out the door.
It was cold out in the hallway and she hugged herself for a moment, bouncing on her heels to try and warm herself. With jittering hands she then flicked open her lighter, brought it to her lips, and ran it over the end of the cigarette. Taking the cigarette between two fingers and pulled it from her lips and let out a trail of smoke. She sighed and leaned against her front door. This would be her last one. She promised herself…
for the fifth time that week.
Raven headed back up the stairs and into the hallway, intent on going back into her room and not coming out until morning no matter what. She was not going to go bother Kori. 'Kori has enough to deal with,' she told herself.
But as she opened the door of her room she saw that the door directly across from her, which led into the bathroom, was closed but the light was turned on. She wasn't going to give it a second thought until she heard a strange noise come from the other side of the door.
Walking closer she rested her hands on the door and leaned her ear to it. It was the sound of a person vomiting. Kori was throwing up.
She was sick.
Raven's stomach dropped and she leaned her back against the door, feeling as if she was about to cry. She had a bad dream and she had left her room to bother Kori. And here Kori was, sick, and she was going to go through it alone. Raven knew if she hadn't been awake, and heard it for herself, she would have never known. Kori would never have mentioned it, she would have gone on as if everything was ok.
For Raven's sake. And Raven knew she had to do the same.
Turning Raven tried the door…it was locked. She sighed, Kori obviously wanted to keep her out. She didn't want Raven worrying about her. 'Like that's happening,' Raven thought heading down the hall to the stairs and into the kitchen.
Kori stood up shakily, whipping her mouth. She felt terrible. Her head hurt, her stomach hurt, her body ached. What was wrong with her? Breathing in and out deeply, she flushed the toilet one last time and whipped her mouth again. And now to make matters worse, her throat hurt and her mouth tasted vile.
She unsteadily got to her feet, grasping the sink for support to keep her standing. She headed to the door. Determined to make it to her bedroom without stopping at Raven's room to look in and see if she was awake.
She wanted to so badly. If, on the off chance, she was, Kori knew she wouldn't do anything. She'd just hope that Raven would see her and ask if everything was okay. Kori wanted her to, so she could tell her everything wasn't okay. That she had been feeling sick for almost a month, viciously sick, on and off all month. She held her stomach and winced, hoping it would pass and she wouldn't need to go back to the toilet.
She brought her hand up to her mouth and stifled a sob, the other hand grasping the door handle.
She was scared, so terribly scared and she wanted someone. She didn't want to be alone. She wanted her best friend to stay with her, to tell her everything was going to be okay. But she didn't want to burden Raven with her problems.
Opening the door she gasped. There, right in front of her, stood Raven. A silver tray with a teapot, two tea cups, and some saltine crackers, rested on its surface. Kori looked at the tray and then up at Raven again, she sniffled, "oh, Raven," her voice sounded pained.
Raven swallowed. "I'd ask if everything was okay, but I know it isn't."
That did it. In an instant the dam broke in Kori's heart and mind and she dropped to the floor, leaning against the doorframe of the bathroom, as the tears gushed from her eyes. Raven got to her knees and placed the tray on the floor. Before sitting down next to Kori and wrapping her arms around her, using her right hand to rest Kori's head against her.
And she let Kori cry, as Raven held her, rocking slowly back and forth, she let Kori cry, whispering in her ear every few moments that everything was going to be okay.
Kori drank the tea slowly, the hot, sweet liquid numbing her throat and slowly removing the bitter taste within it. Raven had managed, after some time, to get a shaking, breathless Kori back to her room. Now, the two sat on her bed, Kori under her sheets (on Raven's demand) leaning against her pillow and the headboard, Raven, sitting crossed-legged next to her on the soft comforter.
"Here," Raven said quietly, pushing the plate of crackers closer to Kori, "they'll help settle your stomach."
Kori hesitated, afraid to put anything into her stomach. At this point she was only throwing up water which she preferred. "They'll help," Raven pressed.
Kori took one, and nibbled at it, cautious. "Thank you, Raven."
It was spoken at a whisper, but Raven heard it and looked up from her teacup, "for what? Kori, don't thank me for this. I love you so much, you're my best friend. I will always be here for you."
"I know." She wasn't sure how to say this next statement but she knew that it did need to be said. "Something has to change Raven. What's happened to us?"
"What are you talking about?" She asked, almost sure she knew what Kori was thinking, but not wanting to say it in case she was wrong.
"You've been smoking again."
Kori said it stoically, as a fact. And it was a fact, she could smell Raven, could since she opened the bathroom door. Yet, Raven looked at her eyes wide, shocked that Kori had found out.
She had always been so careful.
And that's when it hit her. She had been heading to the bathroom in her room to wash her mouth and change her clothes when she had heard Kori in the bathroom.
Kori came first. Kori always came before herself and everything else was put on the back burner, and that's the only way Raven would have it. The people she cared about came before anything else.
"Why?"
The question was one word, one syllable. Yet it had Raven tongue tied and falling over herself for an answer.
Then, Raven knew that she was being stupid. Here Kori was, her best friend, needing her help and offering her own as well. Why weren't they helping each other? Why were they keeping secrets, when they could help each other and maybe both have a chance at happiness?
With that thought Raven poured out her whole story, all of it, the fears, the nightmares, everything. And Kori listened. She listened and tried to understand.
And when Raven was done, Kori smiled at her, "you are," she began, "the strongest woman I have ever met Raven. I know you're going to be okay." She sat up more and pulled Raven into a hug, "but you're not going to have to go through anything alone anymore. No matter what, I'm here for you, I always will be."
Raven breathed in deeply and opened her eyes. She looked up to the window; with the curtains drawn back she could see that it was going to be a gray, cloudy, dreary day. Sitting up she lifted her arms over her head and stretched before looking around the room.
It was then that she realized that she wasn't in her room. She looked down and saw Kori sleeping peacefully on her side one arm under her head, the other at her side. Raven smiled, after everything that happened last night seeing Kori so serene made her happy. She looked at the digital clock on the nightstand by the bed; its blaring green lights read 6:18 A.M.
Raven sighed, she knew she should get up and get ready for work. Usually the only getting ready for work Raven had to do was making a cup of tea, turning on her computer, and sitting on the couch. But today was different. She'd have to get an early start for a long drive and she wouldn't be back until very late tonight, early tomorrow morning. She had a scheduled meeting with her publisher, which she didn't do often considering his office was far upstate. Usually she just talked to him by phone and faxed or e-mailed him anything he needed. But every once in a while a meeting face to face was necessary to make sure they were both on the same page and she knew that… unfortunately.
She considered waking Kori but decided against it. She needed her sleep. No doubt Raven was very worried about her. She wasn't sure if Kori just ate something that didn't agree with her or what but she was very nervous about leaving her alone. Getting up as slowly and lightly off the bed as she could she headed into her room to shower and get ready to leave.
Pouring a pot of boiling water into a cup Raven reached for the phone. She dialed and rested it between her ear and shoulder, dipping a tea bag into her cup she grabbed its handle and sat at the small table in her kitchen.
When a very familiar, groggy voice answered the phone she couldn't help but feel her stomach knot and her spine tingle.
"Hello, Gar." She replied, a smile on her face. She loved the idea of having a boyfriend. She hadn't been with anyone in years and having someone like Gar, someone who made her feel like the most important person in the world, made her happy. So very happy…she was so lucky, and she knew that.
So what was she so worried about? What had she been agonizing about for so long, torturing herself over? He was a wonderful man who loved her, not that she could understand why but he did. And she loved him, this should be easy!
"Raven? Hey, Raven you there?"
His voice, stronger now, more alert broke through her deep, thoughts. She shook her head, a nervous laugh passing between her lips. "Sorry, Gar. Yeah I'm here. You know I'm going to be out of town for the whole day and I won't be back until later tonight and I wanted to ask a favor of you."
"Yeah sure Rae, anything."
She hesitated for moment thinking about the best and most gentle way to say it. She knew as soon as she told him that Kori had been sick last night he would be upset about it, Kori was so very important to him, she really was his sister. "Um, well, last night Kori was very sick and-"
He cut her off, just as she'd expected. "Kori's sick? Is she okay? What happened?"
"Yeah she's okay. At least, I think she is. That's why I called. I won't be around today and I'm a lot apprehensive about leaving her here alone. I just wanted to ask if sometime during the day you could check on her, make sure she was okay, or at least call."
"Yeah of course, what happened last night?"
Raven sighed, blinking back tears. Just picturing last night, finding Kori crying made her so terribly distressed that she struggled to think of something else, anything else. "She was in the bathroom throwing up and when she came out I could tell she was going to cry and when she saw me," she paused for a moment, "she just broke down."
She heard Gar sigh over the line. Clearly Kori's emotional state scared Gar as much as it did Raven. They both knew how fragile she was, "oh god, she doin' okay now?"
Raven couldn't help but glance behind her even though she couldn't see the hallway from where she sat. "She's still asleep. After last night I figured it'd be best to just," she sighed, "let her sleep."
"You okay?"
"Yeah I'm okay, just worried is all. She glanced at the digital red numbers on the top of her oven which now read 7:45 A.M." Her meeting was at two and she didn't want to rush and she also wanted to allot time for traffic. She knew she had to leave. "I have to go. I'll speak to you soon. I love you."
"I love you too. And I'll stop by and check on Kori, hang out for awhile, make sure everything's okay."
She sighed, this time of relief. "Thank you so much. I really appreciate it, I hate leaving her like this. I just hope she's okay. I'll never forgive myself if I left her alone and something happens."
"Hey," his voice was calming. "Everything is going to be fine, don't worry. Drive safe and I want to hear how everything went, okay?"
She smiled over the phone. "Okay, bye."
Kori turned over onto her back and stretched her arms out over her head with her eyes still squeezed tight. Groaning she sat up and rubbed her eyes, looking around the room.
Turning to look at the clock on the night stand she saw a post-it note covering the numbers.
Kori-
Left for meeting w/ my pub.
Will be back late
Call my cell if you need me for anything
Raven
Oh, yeah Raven would be gone for the day, she had forgotten. She hoped everything went well and couldn't wait for Raven to get home and tell her all about it. For now Kori unstuck the note from the clock and looked at the numbers, 9:56 A.M. She looked again in shock. 9:56? She had never slept that late before in her life, she couldn't believe it. She was always an early riser, so early that she considered waking up at eight being late.
Getting out of bed she headed into the kitchen, taking each step slowly and trying not to move her head too fast. She didn't want her stomachache or headache to return and she was scared that it would. She remembered what Raven had told her last night, to have something that wouldn't upset her stomach. 'Have something like toast and a cup of warm water or chamomile tea.' Following Raven's orders she put some toast in the toaster oven which rested on the counter and began to boil some water.
Kori flipped through her portfolio which she had spread out across the coffee table in front of her in the living room. Sitting on the couch she leaned forward and flipped through pictures and papers. She thought it wise to update and organize her portfolio for next week when she was meeting with a few different agents. She was so excited, her career was finally picking up again since her accident. After taking off those many weeks which she used to rest and recuperate, she couldn't wait to get back into her work.
Looking up at the cable box on top of the television, she saw that it was already 3:45 P.M., she sighed and leaned back. She had been working for hours which, she felt, was enough time on a portfolio.
Putting everything into its proper folders she closed the portfolio and got up to put it back in her room.
Kori breathed in deeply, resting both palms on the countertop in the kitchen to steady herself. Her headache was coming back, this time stronger than ever before. She looked up from the white tiles at a spinning room. She turned, her hands gripping her head instantly.
In the next second, before she ever knew what was happening, her eyes rolled back into her head and she fell to the hard kitchen floor.
"Kori! Kori, you in there?" Gar yelled to the closed penthouse door. His brow knitted in worry. Raven didn't tell him that she was planning on going anywhere. Though, that doesn't mean she didn't. She could have not told Raven she was leaving the house or she could have run on an errand or something like that. After all, she was allowed to do whatever she wanted. Or maybe, she was in there, and she just didn't hear him. Maybe she had music playing or the television was on very loud. 'No, if it was that loud, wouldn't I hear it?' Or, she could have been sleeping, taking a nap. That might have been it, he thought to himself trying to calm his worries, Raven told him that Kori wasn't feeling well, she might just be very tired.
Pulling a key out of his jacket pocket he slipped it into the locks. "Kori," his voice propelled into the large foyer. He opened the door more and stepped inside.
He looked into the living room, which was a step up on his right, it was empty. Quiet.
He turned to head up the stairs in front of him which would lead him to the hallway where both Kori and Raven's bedrooms were.
And that's when he saw her.
He looked up into the kitchen and saw her lying there, unmoving on the white, cold floor, her dark amber hair covering her face.
"Oh, god Kori!" Rushing to her, his stomach knotted in scared pain, he jumped the stairs and fell to his knees beside her.
"Kori…" this time his voice was breathier, shock overtaking his body and brain. He stared at her, unmoving, not knowing what to do, his head shaking, his mouth opening and closing. "Kori…" he said again, this time brushing her hair out of her face with his hand. Pulling his hand back he stared at it for a moment, 'blood?'
It registered a second later. Blood…she was bleeding.
Gently he turned her on her back, her left hand hanging limply across her stomach, her right on the floor next to her. He moved his hand slowly to touch the wound on her right temple. She must have fallen onto her right side, he thought. Bending close to her, he sighed with immense relief when he felt her hot breathe on his face. "You're going to be okay, Kor." He said quietly, comfortingly, his hand stroking her hair for a moment before he reached down and picked her up, one arm supporting her head in his arms, the other wrapped around her legs. Holding her close, Gar carried her down the stairs and laid her on the couch before quickly pulling his cell phone from his pocket and calling 911.
Pacing the rough, blackened carpet of the hospital waiting room Gar stared down at his cell phone which lay in his hand. He knew he had to call Raven, she would never forgive him if he didn't. But he thought he should wait until he had something to tell her. Which brought his thoughts right back to Kori, what was wrong with her? What had happened to her? Was she sick? What did she have?
He was able to ride with her to the hospital in the ambulance, watching as they put an oxygen mask over her face and hooked her up to an intravenous. But as soon as the ambulance workers rushed her through the sliding hospital doors he was asked by a nurse to wait in the waiting room before she joined the other doctors and nurses who were wheeling Kori down the hall.
He had no choice but to wait here until someone came to tell him what was going on. This was killing him. Kori was his sister; she meant so much to him that coming in through that door and seeing her lying on the floor like that made his breathe almost stop completely. He wanted to do more…felt like he should be doing more…but he knew that all he could do was wait, just…wait.
"Excuse me sir, you came in with Miss Anders right?" Gar looked up at a doctor in a long, clean white coat. Her long, black, curly hair was pulled out of her face and into a loose, low ponytail behind her head.
"Yeah," he said tired. He had been too worried to do anything else but pace or sit and shake his leg. "Are you here to ask me more questions, cause I've talked to two nurses already who both asked me the same things and I'm not in the mood to do it again." And it was true. In the past hour and a half that he had been waiting in that room, two different nurses had come by asking about the woman the he had come in which, who they learned shortly after was Kori Anders. Though very close with her, he didn't know the answers to many of the questions they were asking him, about her medical history and her parent's medical history and things of that nature. When it came to hospitals and medical issues, Kori was a…unique case to say the least.
"No," was her calm, soothing reply to his curt, rude statement. "May I ask your name, sir?" She had looked as if she was about to say something else before this question struck her.
"Gar Logan."
"Well, Mr. Logan," she said holding out her hand. "It is nice to meet you. I am Doctor Lilian Stine. I wanted to let you know as soon as possible that Miss Anders is going to be fine. She should come to any moment now. You can go see her if you like. I'll show you her room."
"Thank you," he said, his voice laced deeply with gratitude. She was going to be okay. Thank god, she was going to be okay. "Doctor Stine," she turned her head to the side to look at him, "what happened exactly?"
"I am not entirely sure yet, but I'm having some test run and when I get the results I'll be able to tell you more specifically. Right now, I believe it may have just been exhaustion."
To Gar that did make sense, she might have just been over exerting herself. She had been very excited this past couples of weeks about getting back into work. She was keeping long hours to make up for lost time and he thought that might be what was taking such a heavy toll on her.
"She's in here," Doctor Stine said resting a hand on the wooden door before smiling to Gar one last time and walking away. He looked through the window in the door and saw Kori. Wires in her arms, tubes on her face…again he thought, growing sick to his stomach. She was in the hospital again. He sighed, turning the knob on the door and walking inside as quietly as possible.
Kori groaned turning her head to the side, squinting at the harsh lighting illuminating from the ceiling. "Gar?"
He smiled at her, taking her hand, "hey, how're you feeling?"
"I'm," she shifted in the bed, her voice shaky, "a little queasy. Where are we?"
"In the hospital Kori," he struggled with the words, "I found you on the kitchen floor." He touched the bandage on her temple and she winced, her eye squinting, and turned her head away. "Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. I don't know what I was thinking doing that."
She turned back to face him and by the lost, dazed look he saw in her eyes he could tell that she was still coming out of the drug induced state the doctors had put her in. "Where is Richard?"
Startled, Gar stared at her, "I didn't think you'd want me to call him, do you?"
More alert Kori shook her head, "no, you're right, don't call him."
The door began to open and Gar looked over to see who it was.
"Hello Mr. Logan," Doctor Stein said her voice kind and warm, "and Miss Anders, it's good to see you awake. I have the results from the tests we ran and I'd like to talk to Miss Anders about them alone, if you don't mind, Mr. Logan."
Gar looked worriedly at Kori, why did the doctor need to talk to Kori alone? Why couldn't he be there to hear what she had to say? Was it that bad? His stomach hurt and he was so lost in his thoughts it wasn't until Kori shook his arm roughly that he looked at her.
She smiled, though he could tell she was scared of what the doctor was going to tell her she knew she had to be strong. Smiling back at her Gar took her hand, "I'm going to call Raven, tell her what happened and that you're okay now, alright? I'll be right outside the door, okay?"
Kori looked alarmed, "No, don't call Raven. Please, don't call Raven. I do not want her worrying about me."
"She'd want to know, Kori, you know that."
She hesitated a moment, looking down at her hands and playing with her thumbs, "…o-okay."
Gar smiled at her one more time and kissed her forehead affectionately before getting up to leave.
"I asked Mr. Logan to leave only because I wasn't sure this would be something that you would want him to hear from me. I feel that this is something that you yourself would prefer to tell people, in your own way…"
Tapping his foot impatiently outside of the hospital he sighed, waiting for Raven to answer her phone. He wanted to get back to Kori as soon as he could. When he had taken out his cell phone in front of Kori's hospital room door a nurse walking by had told him that cell phone use was prohibited in that area. He thought it best to go outside, call Raven, and get some air. "Hello, Raven? Hi, it's me, Gar."
"Yeah, I know. Did you check on Kori? Is everything okay?"
Gar hesitated, he didn't know what way to tell her what was going on without her going insane with worry. "Where are you right now?" If she was driving he didn't know if telling her would be the best idea, he didn't want her having an accident.
"I'm having dinner with my publisher. I got your call and excused myself from the table, now I'm in the bathroom." Suddenly realizing what an odd question it was she grew worried, "why? What's wrong? What happened?"
"Kori's in the hospital, but she's okay!" He said the last part quickly, trying to keep Raven as calm as he could.
"What! Wh-" Gar could hear her ragged breathing over the phone and she was having trouble speaking. "I-is she okay? Oh god I never should have left, I had a bad feeling from the beginning and I knew it was a bad idea. Oh, I'm a terrible friend I can't believe I did this to her I-"
"Raven!" He screamed into the phone, he couldn't take her saying those things, torturing herself, blaming herself. "You didn't do anything to Kori. She's alright, nothing is your fault here, okay? Please try and calm down."
"I'm coming home, now. I'll be there as soon as possible."
"No, Raven everything's okay here. You stay and finish what you have to do. I just wanted to call you because I knew you would want to know."
"It's just dinner, it's nothing I can't skip out on. He'll understand. Our business is done, this was just to catch up before I left to come home. He won't mind. I'm leaving." With that she closed her phone and headed back to her table to explain the situation to her publisher. She knew she shouldn't have hung up on him but she didn't want him talking her out of coming home. She needed to be there with Kori, taking care of her if she was sick. She would always be there for Kori, she had promised.
Sighing, Gar closed his phone and headed back into the hospital to Kori. He knew why Raven had done that. She didn't want him telling her to stay. He knew it had been futile, she was coming home no matter what she had to do to get here. She was going to be here for Kori, he knew she would be. He just hoped Kori was okay.
When he saw Doctor Stein leave Kori's room and walk down the hall he figured it was safe to go in. Upon entering he saw Kori sitting up in bed, breathing heavily, and staring at the sheets balled up in her shaking hands. Her face showed a look of disbelief and she looked as if she was contemplating something very deeply.
"Kori?" When she didn't respond he called to her again, and again…and again. "Kori!" he said resting a hand on her cheek. This time she looked up at him, confused, disoriented. He stared at her for a long moment. "What did the doctor say?"
She just looked at him. "She said I'm pregnant."
The big question on everyone's mind should be…who's the father???? Well…who do you think it is?
I can't apologize enough for how long this took. I have been so busy. I am so so soooo sorry. I am going to start working on the next chapter immediately. There will be two more chapters and then this story will be finished. But good news!!! After the end of the last chapter in that same post I am putting so excerpts to my next story, which if you look at my profile you will see if a high school fanfiction, romance/drama, Kori/Richard, Raven/Gar, Karen/Victor, Jennifer/Wally, and a few more couples along the way and in between. It's going to be an amazing story!!! If you like this then you will absolutely love the next one!!!!!!