Rush
Rush 5

Chapter 5

Alicia was hanging out at the end of the hotel corridor, grinning like the cat that got the cream. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the drama unfolding before her. Fiona sure had it bad for Matthew. Well, Alicia wondered if Fiona would still be all over him once everyone got a whiff of this Juicy gossip!

Her phone broke the silence, pulling Alicia hack to trality. The caller ID flashed the Slater residence’s home number. “Oh no, she mumbled, quickly answering while darting out the door. The man’s voice on the other line sounded, “Mrs. Slater, we’ve got a situation–Mr. Slater, he is in had shape now…”

Dalton needed his treatment on the dot–same time every day, no exceptions. Alicia had traipsed over here to catch Matthew making a clown of himself, but almost forgot what she really needed to do. She booked it back to the Slater residence, dove into Dalton’s medical routine, and had him stable in no time.

With everything calming down, Lillian called the family doctor, just in case. The doctor showed up. checked Dalton over, and gave the all–clear, so there was no need to make a big fuss to Ellen.

Alicia showed the doctor out, gave Lillian a few pointers, and then headed off to her room.

It wasn’t long before Fiona’s furious call came blasting through. “Alicia Mayer, you snake! How could you do this to my Mat? You wrecked everything. You played Mat and now his name’s mud. You’re dead to me!”

Fiona was fit to be tied–she’d taken everything from Alicia and was all set to marry into the Gibson family and become their new darling. She thought she’d left Alicia in the dust for good, but now, thanks to Alicia, her world was coming undone. And she was ready to lay Alicia out herself.

Alicia sighed. “Me, fool him? You think a guy like Matthew could be tricked into a hotel by just anybody? Why don’t you ask him–why he hightailed it to the hotel after just one call from me?” Alicia had zero time for this drama and hung up.

Dalton was right there, and Alicia murmured, “Dalton, if you’re listening, do you think I’m being. too cold? But hey, they’ve got no one to blame but themselves.”

Matthew’s hotel scandal had Hofcaster townsfolk all abuzz, everyone guessing if the Mayer family. would cancel the big wedding. But out of the blue, both the Mayer and Gibson families declared. the wedding was on. They even snagged a bunch of top spots on social media, trying to smooth things over.

Time flies. Blink and a whole month zooms by. After the drama, Alicia kept a super low profile, practically a ghost around town. Tonight, after a bath and just about to hit the hay, she got the shock of her life. Dalton, who’d been out cold in a coma, suddenly flicked his eyes open.

“Ah!” Alicia yelped. Frozen for a second, she bolted for the door to get Lillian, the maid. “Lillian, Dalton’s awake!”

1/2

Clupter 1

The news lit up the Slater family like the Fourth of July. Ellen rushed over with the doctor. Post- checkup, the doctor was grinning ear to ear. “It’s a miracle! Mrs. Slater, I’m blown away. A guy comatose this long, just waking up? Unreal! Mr. Slater’s looking good. Just needs some more care, and he’ll be back on his feet before you know it!”

Ellen was crying happy tears.

Back in the bed, Dalton’s eyes were like ice drills, zeroing in on Alicia. His voice was all scratchy and low, like he was just figuring out how to talk, kinda scary. “She… who… is she?” He dragged out every

word.

The room clammed up–nobody peeped. Ellen, drying her eyes, filled him in. “Dalton, that’s Alicia. 1 picked her for you when you were knocked out…

Dalton, propped up in bed, gave Alicia the evil eye like she was some sort of stranger. “Where is she?”

Alicia couldn’t help but wonder, ‘Who’s he talking about?”

Ellen’s face turned dark, and she let out a cold snort “Dalton, forget her–the chick who ditched you after your wreck. She flew the coop, saying, ‘Me, from a fancy family, won’t stick around for some living corpse. It’s Alicia who stood by you, choosing you even in a coma, so-

Dalton chopped her off, his voice like a winter breeze, “Someone who’d tie the knot with a living corpse -what kinda saint could that be? I don’t want a marriage like that. Tell her to hit the road and never come back.”

Ellen, all wound up, straight–up passed out. Everybody frenzied, rushing her to the hospital. Left in the room were just Dalton and Alicia.

2/2