Chapter Twenty-Four
Blaire
Ryan and I sat in the living room, looking at the magazine. We tried to keep it light hearted and joked about the fact that we had no idea that we were married, but it wasn’t easy. There was a strangeness to everything that had been going on lately. Perhaps nothing was even related to one another, but it all just piled up on top of one another to make it seem so. Between the phone calls, the knocking, Ryan’s diagnosis, and now this magazine headline, life just seemed all too much.
“Wasn’t life much simpler when we were in Seattle eating hot dogs?” I said.
Ryan sighed. “Much simpler. Maybe that’s what we should do. Retire somewhere far away and open up a little hot dog stand.”
“Yeah. We can eat hot dogs all day and get so fat that people stop recognizing us. You know, it’s not a bad idea.”
Ryan laughed. “Think we’d get sick of the hot dogs?”
“Not if we hired those same chefs from the Seattle branch. I think there’s some sort of drug in that food that makes it addictive. Man, this whole thing is so weird. So, what’s the plan now?”
“I definitely want you to come back with me still.”
“Are you sure?” I asked. I didn’t want to put him in an awkward position with the media now. “I mean, all eyes are going to be on us because of this magazine article. If you’d prefer me not to come and stay with you, I totally understand.”
He shook his head. “I honestly don’t care. If there’s one thing I’ve never worried about its what the media thought of me. I’ve had a lot of bad things being said about me in the past, and I’ve just ignored it. This is just another one of those things. Right now the only thing I worry about is you. So, why don’t you pack some things? I need to go and see Nick and tell him what’s been going on, so is there any chance you think Katie might come around?”
I nodded. “I’m glad you’re going to talk to Nick. And yeah, I don’t see why not. Let me call her quickly.”
I called Katie and asked her if she wouldn’t mind coming over. She seemed delighted and wanted to know all about what had happened in Seattle. She said she would be over within the next half hour.
“She’s a good friend,” Ryan said.
I grinned. “She sure is.”
We waited until she arrived, and then Ryan headed out to see Nick. I felt so bad that he had to deal with my issues on top of the issues he was dealing with himself. I figured that at least it gave him something else to think about, but I couldn’t imagine how stressed out he must be. He’d been dreading this conversation with Nick ever since he’d come back from his appointment with Reed.
“Thanks so much for coming over, Katie. And it’s good to see you again,” Ryan said to Katie when she arrived.
“Oh, I don’t mind at all. I couldn’t wait to see Blaire again, anyway. Is everything okay?” she asked suddenly as she looked between Ryan and me.
“I’ll explain,” I said to her. Then I looked at Ryan. “Good luck with today. See you soon.”
“Thanks, Blaire. I won’t be long.”
I closed the door and locked it behind me. Then I looked at Katie and shook my head. “So much to tell you.”
“I can tell. Everything okay?”
“Yeah, I need to pack though, so should we go to my room?”
“Pack? Why? You going away again?”
“Sort of. I’ll explain in the room.”
“Okay, well, do you want some coffee first? I’ll make quickly and bring some up for us.”
“Ah, Katie, that would be amazing. Thank you.”
I went upstairs and pulled a large suitcase out from the top of my closet. Katie came in several minutes later holding a cup of coffee, and I sat on the bed to enjoy it.
“This is great; thank you.”
“So what’s going on? How was Seattle? Are you going back?”
I shook my head. “No, we’re not going back. And Seattle was amazing. Ryan’s brother is awesome, and his niece is just the sweetest girl I’ve ever met. Oh, by the way, before I forget, it turns out I’m really good with kids. So you have yourself a babysitter!”
She laughed. “That’s good to know. So, where are you going?”
“To Ryan’s place.”
I told her all about the phone calls and the knocks on the door. She knew about most of them, but she didn’t know about the more recent stuff.
“What about the police? Did you go and see them?”
“We went straight to see them from the airport. I’d just gotten another weird call, and Ryan wanted us to go and find out what the police could do to help us. Turns out, they can’t do anything. They weren’t interested. Not at all.”
“Seriously? Nothing at all?”
“Nothing. They said it sounds too much like a prank, and that they can’t put all their resources into something that might turn out to be nothing.”
“So much for the support,” she said.
“Exactly. Ryan was really angry. Anyway, he doesn’t want me staying here by myself so he’s asked me to come and stay with him for a while. Just until we get to the bottom of what’s going on.”
“That’s very nice of him,” Katie said. “But, are you sure you don’t want to come and stay with Chris and me? We wouldn’t mind at all. You wouldn’t be putting us out.”
“Thanks, Katie. I appreciate that. I think I’m better off staying with Ryan. He’s home all the time so I won’t really be alone, and he said his house has great security. Look, this whole thing might just be a prank. There’s still a huge chance that we are all overreacting. But there’s also a small chance that it’s something more serious. And if it is, then we don’t want to take the chance of something happening. The last thing I want to do is to put you and Chris in any danger. Especially when the two of you are planning on having a baby. I don’t want some weirdo creeping around. And I know how busy the two of you are too.”
“Okay, I do understand you feeling safer with Ryan. But if you’re not okay with putting us in danger, then are you okay with putting him in danger?”
I hadn’t thought about that before. I actually didn’t realize that perhaps I would be putting Ryan in a situation that he didn’t deserve to be in. I shook my head and sighed.
“Of course I don’t want to put him in danger. I don’t want to put anyone in danger. But Ryan won’t hear of it. He really wants to be there for me. I already told him that he didn’t have to. Anyway, I’m still hoping that it’s nothing more than just a prank. Maybe some creepy fan who does this to all the actors that live nearby. I don’t know. I’m just going to have to be super careful.”
“Where did Ryan go now?”
“Katie, just keep this between us . . .” I started.
“You’re my best friend,” she said. “Of course I will keep this between us. What’s going on?”
I sighed. It was good to finally have someone to talk to about everything. “Ryan has been getting a lot of headaches, and he decided to go and visit his brother in Seattle. Reed is a neurosurgeon and brilliant at what he does. Anyway, Ryan went for a checkup. Reed did a CAT scan just to make sure that everything was okay. I think Ryan was downplaying the headaches all this time. Turns out he has head trauma.”
Katie’s eyes widened. “What? Head trauma? That’s awful. What does that mean for his fighting career?”
“That’s the thing; I don’t know. Reed said that fighting could put him in very serious danger. I’m worried that he’s going to fight regardless. You know what these guys are like. Fighting is their life. But I don’t know. We haven’t talked about it much. I think he’s still trying to process what’s going on. It’s a lot to take in. He’s on his way to have a chat with Nick now. At least the two of them can discuss what to do going forward. I think he was really nervous for the talk.”
“Flip, Blaire, I’m so sorry. I had no idea all of this was going on. He seems like such a nice guy. The fact that he cares for you so much is great. Ah, I feel so bad for him. I don’t know him all that well, but even I can see how much fighting means to him. I wonder what Nick is going to say?”
I sighed. “I have no idea. Anyway, I better start packing.”
“How long are you going to stay with him?”
“I have no idea. Hopefully we can sort things out quickly. Have you seen the headlines by the way?” I asked. I stood up and started putting things into my suitcase. I had no idea what to pack, and my mind wasn’t even completely with it, so I just threw anything in and hoped for the best.
“Headlines? No. I haven’t really looked at any magazines lately, to be honest. Why? What’s going on?”
“Apparently,” I said, “Ryan and I got married in secret.”
“What? Why would anyone even make that up?”
I shrugged. “Someone clearly had no other news that day. They even wrote an article all about it. They used a photo from that night we went out for dinner at the local fighting arena. And they even doctored a ring on my finger. It’s so ridiculous.”
Katie groaned. “That’s crazy. Goes to show, you can never trust what you read. What did Ryan say about it all?”
I was just about to say something when I heard a knock on the door. I looked at Katie.
“Stay right here,” she said. “I’ll go.”
I wasn’t sure what Katie thought she could do better me, but in a way, I was grateful not to go myself. I nodded and held my breath until she got back. She came running up the stairs minutes later looking a little spooked.
“There was nobody there,” she said. “But this letter was lying on the floor.”
“A letter?”
Katie handed me a plain brown envelope. It didn’t have my name on it, but I knew immediately that it was going to be for me. I held it for a while before opening it.
“Want me to open it?” Katie asked eventually.
I shook my head and opened it with trembling hands. I looked at the letter and gasped.
“What is it?” she asked.
I couldn’t talk so I handed her the letter to read. It was a death threat, accusing me of getting married to Ryan.
“A death threat? Who the hell is this, Blaire?”
“I don’t know. What the hell is going on? For the first time since all this began, I really feel like I’m in danger.”
“And I don’t feel safe with just the two of us alone in this house. Chris is not home yet so I can’t even call him. Maybe you should call Ryan and tell him to come back.”
I nodded. I wasn’t sure if Ryan even had a chance to speak to Nick yet. I didn’t think so but I didn’t want to wait any longer. I picked up the phone and called him.
“Blaire? What’s wrong? I just got here. Did something happen?”
“Ryan, please, can you come back. We don’t feel safe here.”
“I’ll be right there.”