Chapter Four

Before Rachel opened her eyes she knew she was alone. Lance was not in the room. She didn't feel him and wondering where he was. If he had gone home or just stepped out. She did felt bad about making Lance stay with her during the night. She knew it couldn't have been comfortable for him to sleep in the chair especially is his insomnia kicked in. With the pain medication she was on, once it hit her system it was hard to stay awake.

She opened her eyes and looked around the empty room. All was quiet. She sighed. She didn't know why she was disappointed. Okay maybe she did. In her mind she had high hopes of waking up and being able to miraculously hear again. Judging from the complete silence it didn't happen.

Rachel stared at the window in her room. The blinds were pulled shut but sunlight still filtered through. She wished there were open; least the room wouldn't feel so dreary. Being alone left her to her own thoughts and that wasn't good at all. She didn't want to think about what all this meant. She wasn't ready to concede that she might never sing again.

It was not to think that way. How could she sing when she couldn't hear? She wouldn't be able hear herself; make sure she was in the right range. She wouldn't be able to hear the music to sing along with. How would she know if she was singing too fast or not fast enough? If the tempo was wrong?

'What am I going to do with the rest of my life?' Her thoughts definitely turned crazy. She didn't have to do anything for the rest of her life. In the last five years she had made more than enough money where she could lounge by the pool at her house every day for the rest of her life. That wasn't what she wanted to do. She wanted to sing. She wanted to finish the rest of her tour. She wanted to hear the fans screaming her name and singing along with her songs. She wanted to hear the music the other ladies of country music put out. She wanted to hear the music the men were singing. She wanted to hear music.

That statement stopped her. More than anything. Even more than singing on stage herself, she wanted to be able to hear music. She wanted to hear the melody flow through her veins. She wanted to hear the words that would tug at her heartstrings or make her want to get up and dance. Music had been a part of her life for as long as she could remember and now it had been ripped away without warning.

Could she deal with living the rest of her life in silence? Not only never hearing music again, but never hearing the sounds of the waves crashing on the shore. Never hear her mother's voice during those daily phone calls that kept her grounded. Nothing could make her feel like a small town girl than hearing her mother's southern accent on the phone. Her father's voice telling her he loved her and how proud he was of her. The shouts and shrieks of her niece and nephews when she came to visit. Her sister's voice as she kept Rachel abreast of all the gossip in Laurel, Mississippi about former classmates, who was dating who, who was pregnant, who was mad at who. No longer would she be able to flip on the radio from any state and hear Lance's voice; hear the excitement in his voice as he talked about the latest news from the industry and outrageous topics. She wouldn't hear the love and happiness in his voice when he talked about Michael.

Megan knocked on the door to Rachel's room before she pushed it open. A blush crossed her face when she realized Rachel wouldn't be able to hear but it was still a courtesy. She bit her lip seeing Rachel turned away from the door and wondered how she could announce herself without startling her boss.

Rachel turned her head when she saw the light change in the room and saw Megan standing inside the door looking scared. She sent her assistant a welcoming smile. She raised her hand, waving her toward the bed.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" The blush deepened and she looked down at her feet. How could she be such an idiot? She slipped the bag from her shoulder sitting it on the hospital bed and withdrew a small dry erase board. 'I'm sorry. I feel like such a moron now.' She turned the board so Rachel could read.

Rachel read the words and shook her head, a small smile playing at her lips. She wasn't angry or upset with Megan. She knew how it felt on her side but figured it was just as difficult on the other side too.

'I brought you something.' Megan wrote and showed Rachel before placing the board down on the bed so she could dig in the bag. She withdrew another dry erase board, complete with an eraser and a pink marker. At the corner was a bright pink bow complete with curled ribbons.

Rachel grinned widely accepting the gift. She immediately uncapped the marker and scribbled. 'Thank you, thank you, thank you! You're getting a raise!'

Megan laughed out loud and Rachel mentally added that to the list of things she'd miss hearing. Laughter. 'I don't know about that. I feel way out of my norm dealing with everyone. Lance was a great help yesterday.'

'I'm sure you've been doing just fine. I know it has to be crazy and I'm sorry.' She frowned. She hadn't really thought of what Megan would have been dealing with. There would have been people calling nonstop wanting updates on her condition, asking questions about her tour, her Grammy performance next week, and other appearances she has slated.

'Don't be sorry. This is what you pay me for. I think I've gotten settled now. A lot of people wanted to see you.'

Rachel read the list of people Megan wrote down that included her publicist, her manager, one of the major bosses from her record label, the cops...'The cops?' She wrote with a bunch of question marks behind.

'They want your statement from the accident yesterday. We've kept them at bay yesterday'

'I don't remember much from the accident. Don't remember it at all.' As Rachel wrote the words another thought came to mind. 'It wasn't my fault was it? Did I injure someone?'

'No you weren't at fault,' Megan wrote. 'The guy driving the truck had minor injuries. He ran the red light.'

'Anything else I should know about?'

'Lance said not to bother you with anything.'

'Lance isn't here right now. And you work for me.' She added a smiley face at the end of the statement.

'Yes Ma'am!' Megan wrote in big letters with her black marker. Instead of writing everything out word for word, she paraphrased. 'A lot of people want interviews. Morning news shows, Today, GMA want you on their show. Grammys have pulled your performance. Getting someone else to fill in.'

Reading that stung. She had been looking forward to the Grammy performance next weekend. The concept they had planned...well she couldn't wait for everyone to see. She knew the performance would have to be cancelled. Even if she did have her hearing there would have been no way she could have performed. 'That sucks.'

Megan frowned as she erased her board. 'I'm sorry Rachel. I know how much you were looking forward to the Grammys.'

Trying to push the Grammy disappointment to the back of her mind, Rachel moved on. 'Have you talked with Alison?'  She mentioned her publicist.

'Yes. Right now she's heading off all interviews for later. You're in the hospital Rachel. You don't have to do anything but concentrate on getting better. People can wait. If they manage to get passed Alison, you can bet they won't get passed Lance.

Rachel shook her head. Lance would be overprotective. She would deal with him later. 'Let the police department know that I will talk today. And this is the only way to communicate.'

'Lance isn't going to like this.' Megan wrote.

'I'll deal with him, don't worry.'

Megan snapped her head up when the door opened with a whoosh. She hid her disdain seeing Ben amble through. She didn't like the man. She hadn't been in the business long - Rachel was her first boss - but there was something about Ben that rubbed her the wrong way. She didn't like his attitude. Thought he came off shifty and slick, hiding behind the handsome face.

Seeing Megan's movements, Rachel looked toward the door hoping to see Lance. She tried not to be too disappointment when she saw Ben instead. She tried to smile; deciding to blame it on the medication and broken bones in her face when she was unable to produce one. His actions from yesterday slammed back into her mind and she fought to let the hurt from showing.

"My lovely angel," Ben smiled as he danced to Rachel's side. He was awake and lively after a night out. He leaned down placing a kiss on Rachel's lips, ignoring her grimace of pain. "What isn't Lance going to like?" He asked seeing the words on the dry erase board.

"Uhm," Megan cleared her throat, flickering her eyes to look at Rachel. She couldn't believe Ben was acting like this. He knew Rachel couldn't hear, but he was making an effort not to use the boards so Rachel could understand the conversation. "Rachel's going to talk to the police today."

"Police!" Ben spun around looking at his girlfriend. He narrowed his eyes. "What are you going to the police about?"

Rachel stared at Ben. His face was awash with anger. She was taken back by the amount of anger Ben exuded. She had tried to follow the conversation but she wasn't much of a lip reader. She couldn't catch a single word. She looked at Megan seeing her writing on the board.

"Answer me!"

"Ben stop it!" Megan said, her voice rising. "Yelling at her is not going to get you anywhere. She can't hear you." She turned the board around; her handwriting was hurried and sloppy. 'He wants to know why you are going to talk to the police.'

Rachel looked from the board to Ben, rolling her eyes. She picked the pink marker and scribbled, 'They want my statement about the accident.'

"You're not talking to anyone without a lawyer," Ben said. "I know you. You're gonna do something stupid and take the blame and you're gonna get sued. You can't afford to get sued! You can't fucking sing anymore; how are you going to make money! They'll take everything we have and then what will be do? End up living with your faggot brother and his boyfriend."

Megan was horrified. She stared in shock at Ben as he continued to spew vile words about Lance and Michael. The hate and bigotry came forth and Megan just listened in shock. For once she was thankful Rachel couldn't hear. "Ben!" She yelled bringing the man's words to a halt.

Ben stared at Megan. He blinked a couple times in shock. He had actually forgotten she was standing there. He quickly smiled at the young woman and grabbed the board she was holding. He swiped his hands across the board, erasing Megan's last message and wrote down one of his one. When he turned the board toward Rachel, he tilted his head and sent Rachel a crocked grin. 'I love you.'

Megan rolled her eyes seeing the message but wisely kept her mouth shut.

"Can you give us some time alone?" Ben turned his charming smile on Megan.

Megan stared at him before looking at Rachel torn. She didn't want to leave Rachel alone with Ben and subject her to any of his abuse. Even when Rachel nodded, she was still hesitant. She sent Rachel a small smile before shouldering her bag, leaving the dry erase boards. Once she was in the hallway she connected with the precinct in charge of the accident and informed them Rachel would be available to talk with them today.

After setting up a time for an officer to come down and take Rachel's statement she leaned the wall down a ways from Rachel's room. Tilting her head back, she closed her eyes thinking about the scene she just witnessed. She had never seen Ben act like that. He was always so charming and pleasant when she was around him. This was a side of the man she had never seen before and wondered just what went on behind closed doors. Lance needed to know this.

She picked up her phone to send a text to Lance when she heard her name being called. Megan looked up and smiled seeing JC walking down the hall. The grin widened when she saw what he carried. "You come bearing gifts I see."

"Pretty sure you can't visit someone in the hospital without bringing them something," JC smiled, blushing as Rachel's assistant aww'd.

"This is going to cheer her right up," Megan said with a smile. In one hand, JC held a soft brown Teddy Bear. The bear had gauze wrapped around its head and stitched to both paws was a piece of fabric made out to look like a scroll. Written on the scroll, in pink stitching was, 'Get Well Soon' with a simple flower design. The petals were pink and the middle yellow. Tied securely to one of the bear's arms, was a yellow ribbon that proudly carried a balloon. The balloon was pink with small flowers covering it. In the middle was a bigger imprint of the flowers in yellow. Inside the yellow flower was the message 'Thinking of you!' A handful of small butterflies closed out the design.

In JC's other hand was a bouquet of pink and white Lilies, wrapped in pink tissue paper. Hanging over his ring finger and pinkie was a medium-sized purple gift bag. "Out of pink gift bags?"

JC blushed and looked down. "Yes."

Megan laughed. "The flowers are so beautiful. She is gonna love these."

"I hope so," JC grinned. "I spent all morning trolling her fan sites to find out what color she likes and her favorite flower."

Megan laughed not believing JC for a minute. "You two should definitely date." She was horrified as the words tumbled out of her mouth from nowhere. She couldn't believe she blurted that out.

"You know," JC chuckled softly as Megan's face reddened. "You're the second person to tell me that in two days. Maybe I should start listening. What?" JC asked seeing her expression falter. "What's wrong?"

Megan shook her head. She reached out fingering a tip of one of the pink Lilies. "The jerk didn't bring her anything."

"The jerk?" JC repeated before it donned on him. "Oh. Ben. Is... is he here? What is it?" He moved from the middle of the hall toward the wall. "What's on your mind? As I walked up it looked like something was troubling you."

"Having your boss in a major accident can do that to you." Megan sighed and leaned against the wall. She looked at the gifts in JC's hands and sighed. "Ben freaked out earlier. JC... I'm worried about Rachel."

JC stilled hearing Megan's words. "Explain."

"Ben's always...I don't know... happy. Joking. Having a good time. Smiling, always helpful. But a few minutes ago. God JC," she raised her eyes to look at him. "He was yelling at her. I know she couldn't hear what he was saying. But I could. He flipped over the most mundane thing! She needs to speak with the police about the accident and she told me to set something up today. He flipped about her talking with the cops started spouting off about lawyers and being sued. That wasn't the worst though... he started trashing Lance. Going completely off about him and his lifestyle. It was horrible JC. Since this whole thing happened I was actually glad that Rachel couldn't hear."

The anger JC was feeling grew as he listened to Megan recount the scene in Rachel's hospital room. He couldn't believe what Ben had done. He had never liked the guy but this... he shook his head trying to calm down.

"The way he just completely disregarded the dry erase board I brought," Megan continued. "She can't hear. Writing is the only way we can communicate with her. But he paid it no attention. Just talked to her like this was any other day. She's not talking."

"Yes. Lance told me."

"There's no reason for it JC," Megan told him. "No medical reason," she amended. "Ben saw her first after the accident. He created such a stink that Lance finally let him go ahead of him."

"You think he did something?" JC asked feeling angry all over again at the thought of Ben doing something to Rachel to take away her voice as well.

"I'm not sure. I didn't want to believe it, but after that scene..." Megan shook her head. "I'm worried about her now. Ben's never showed this side to anyone before. Seeing that... it has me worried that it wasn't the first time Rachel's seen that side of him."

JC stared down the hallway at the nurse's milling about. "There's a lot I don't think Ben shares with everyone." He told her thinking about the news he had learned last night from Matthew. "I'm not going to tell you what to do," he told Megan. "This is your job and Rachel is your boss. If you are really worried and you feel like you have to tell Lance. Do it."

Megan nodded. "What are you going to do?"

JC pushed away from the wall. "Go see my friend."