lies lies lies || book three

chapter twenty

Laney stood up making Jack lean back and blink, but she spoke, "I'm sorry but that's just not going to happen".

"I'm sorry," he truthfully apologized understanding the boundary she was putting in place. He understood that she was still in love with Morgan. But to her, she was still in the process of grieving.

Walking out of the room, Ana looked up from her laptop giving her an "I heard everything" look before speaking, "Took you long enough. Want some hot chocolate?".

Laney nodded, "That sounds so good".

"So what did you decide?" Ana asked as Jack walked out of the bedroom as Laney sat next to Ana.

"I'm not forcing him to sign yet," Laney said.

The two of them nodded in support of her choice before Ana brought up Christmas, "Guys Christmas is soon. What are you guys doing?".

Laney began to tear up, she didn't even realize Christmas was around the corner. The Christmas plans at their house were cancelled but she was so excited to host. She had gotten Morgan a little Jason Aldeans souvenir to commemorate their relationship and a custom sweatshirt with her name embroidered into the sleeve. It was small and cheesy, but efficient and cute. And she knew it was just rotting away in their mailbox.

Nine months. She had been harboring their daughter in her stomach for almost nine months now. She'd even got Christmas decorations for the nursery room, but now she didn't even have the chance to put them up.

"I'll be flying back to Georgia to see my parents," Ana mentioned.

There wasn't any interest for Laney in this conversation. She didn't even want to think of the holidays, she had completely forgotten. She had tuned out of the conversation and spoke abruptly, "When can I move to the apartment?".

"It's ready now if you want to look at it," Jack said. Laney nodded as Ana began to put her shoes on and grabbed Laney's shoes as well. All three of them crowded into the elevator as they made their way down to the second floor.

It looked identical to Jack's apartment but more like a model home rather than having any personal touches. She should have been happy as she thanked him and the two left Laney by herself, but she felt more depressed than anything. She missed him.

The faster she would get over him, the faster she could move on. But as every single day passed by, she buried herself in the apartment bed every day on bed rest. Refusing anyone's help or seeing anyone except Jack and Ana once in a while, she preferred the confinements of the apartment. Even though it was suffocating, she was in hiding. And as every day passed, she found herself looking at photos and videos of them from her camera roll.

Pictures of them appeared on her home screen from the photo widget. Today's was specifically from when he pushed her into the lake behind the house and she dragged him in with her. The smiles on their faces were irreplaceable and she would have done anything g to go back to that place.

Doing what she did every day, she checked his fan accounts to see if there were any updates on him. But there were practically none unless they regarded Lies Lies Lies and potential music videos or something from his Instagram. But she knew most of that shit was posted due to PR, she wasn't stupid. Sometimes she would get the buzz on her phone saying Morgan left the house but it would be to get groceries or to see his mom, she had never seen his location go anywhere else.

And somehow, she managed to make it to Christmas. But her Christmas Day was dreary, she had shut off her phone to avoid everyone. She cooped herself into her apartment. Her mom offered for her to come over to keep her company but Laney declined and said she was spending it with friends. When Jack asked what she was doing, she said she was going home. She didn't expect him to come and knock on the door, but luckily she saw through the peephole and didn't answer, she knew it was a test.

She only imagined what he was doing on Christmas day. But she knew it was best not to even check and turn her phone back on. Plus, their baby girl had taken all the energy out of her. Waking up, she hobbled to the bathroom to empty the contents of her stomach. But she felt out of breath as if she was gasping for air. She was throwing up more than usual and felt like she could barely breathe. Staying crouched over the toilet, she felt like something was different. As her vision blurred and her head began to feel faint, she shakily dialed for an ambulance.

Her heart was beginning to burn and her ears were beginning to ring. Closing and opening her eyes slowly, she heard the door bust open and blinked slowly as she looked at the flashlight being shined in her face, "Laney Wallen?" was all she heard as she nodded.

"I don't feel good," Laney slowly croaked as she weakly began to cry, but no tears came out.

As the medic spoke to her, she let her body give out. She could feel herself being laid on a stretcher but she didn't have the strength to open her eyes. It wasn't her sign to give up, but she just wanted to rest. After everything that had happened lately, all she wanted was a moment to rest.

The beeps were rhythmic and paced as she fluttered her eyes open. Taking her surroundings in, she let out a big sigh of relief. She was hooked to two IVs and there was a balloon in the room from "Santa Claus" which was really from the hospital. She blinked emotionless, what a way for her to ruin her own Christmas. Pressing the 'call nurse' button, she heard a ping as it went off.

A nurse came in with a smile on her face, "Hi Laney! How are you?".

Laney just wanted the hospital visit to be over with, "I'm okay".

"Well, you were severely dehydrated and lacking iron in your body. Is there any reason why?" the nurse asked, "This caused you to essentially pass out and throw up as much as you did? We saw the contents in the toilet".

She didn't carry any stamina to exhibit emotion but she wished she could have shown her disappointment in herself, "How is the baby?" she questioned.

"She is doing good, and she is healthy. You need to keep your body hydrated, that's why we have hooked you on these IVs... Are you a victim of self-harm?" the nurse whispered.

Her eyes widened in astonishment, "What? No. I have just been put under pressure from working and haven't been taking care of myself well enough I guess," she lied.

She didn't realize the physical toll this divorce was putting her through. Let alone how unhealthy she was becoming from not taking care of herself if she knew it would catch up to her and the baby, she would have forced herself out of bed.

"Ok, well you'll be discharged soon but I'll let your visitors come visit in the meantime. Let me go get your husband first, he's been anxiously waiting for you to wake up," the nurse said.