GAGE
As happy asI was to see Everett and his son in such close proximity to one another, and that Reese was even reaching out to his father, I was nervous about what Everett had to say to us. I wouldn’t have thought he would have been keeping any more secrets from us, but clearly, he was. I knew it wouldn’t change anything about how Nash and I felt about him, though. Just like when I’d told him the truth about what had happened to my mother and the revenge I’d taken against her killer.
“I met Ronan about six months after Pierce died,” Everett began. “Grady knew how much I was struggling to focus, so he suggested a trip to Texas. He grew up there and knew of a family that had a house near the water that they often rented out. It was remote enough that the press wouldn’t be in my face twenty-four seven. I’d just have to do the obligatory press walk now and again to show I was having a good time. I managed to smile for the cameras, but inside… inside I was dying. I hadn’t been sleeping much at all since Pierce died, so my doctor had prescribed me some sleeping pills.”
I tensed at that and looked at Nash. He shot me a glance, then looked at Grady, whose expression was unreadable.
No, there was just no way…
But when Everett looked at Grady, I knew my fears were true. I instinctively reached out to grab Nash’s hand, and he immediately curled his fingers around mine.
“I found him in the bathroom,” Grady said. “He’d turned the water for the bathtub on, but had passed out before he’d actually gotten into it. It overflowed and that’s how I knew something was wrong. It was just me in the house with him – the other agents were outside patrolling the grounds. I broke down the door. I hadn’t realized what he’d done at first. He’d been drinking that night, so I thought he’d just passed out because of the alcohol. I managed to wake him up, but he was slurring his words and couldn’t focus on me. That was when I realized he’d taken something. I found the pill bottle, but there was no way to know how many he’d taken,” Grady explained.
It was all I could do not to get up and go to Everett. My only saving grace was that Reese had grabbed his hand at some point again, and was holding onto it… hard.
“I forced Everett to throw up. There were several pills that came up solid, so I knew they hadn’t been in his system long. But I also knew there was no way to know how many were still left in his stomach. When I couldn’t get him to throw up again, I called another agent in and had him help me get Everett to his bedroom. I told him Everett was sick and that I needed him to go find me an ER doctor who was off his or her shift at the local hospital.”
Grady looked at me and Nash. There was a hint of uncertainty in his eyes. “I knew if I took him to the ER, the news would get out and his career would be over.” He shifted his gaze to Everett. “Knowing what I know now, if I could do it all over again, that’s exactly what I would have done.”
“Was Ronan the doctor the agent brought back with him?” I asked.
Grady nodded. “He only lived about five miles from the house we were staying in. I knew there was no way I could force him to keep quiet about the whole thing, but I was hoping I could somehow convince him it had been an accident. At that point, Ididn’t even know for sure that it hadn’t been, you know?” Grady rubbed his hand over his head and said, “I was just so damn scared.”
After a moment, Grady continued. “Ronan was a young doctor, only a resident at the time. But even knowing who Everett was, he jumped right in and took control. He told me straight away that if he couldn’t get Everett to come out of it after he treated him, or he even showed the slightest bit of decline, that he was calling 911 himself. He put in a call to a paramedic he trusted and had him bring him the supplies he needed. Together they pumped Everett’s stomach, gave him fluids and monitored his vitals. There’d been enough pills in his body to do the deed,” Grady murmured.
I put my hand over my mouth and closed my eyes. I could feel Nash’s fingers biting into mine, so I knew he wasn’t faring much better.
“I don’t remember much of the before,” Everett admitted. “I just remember being really tired and just wanting to be with Pierce again. I don’t recall taking that many pills, but I can’t claim that I didn’t know what I was doing at the time, either.”
“Dad,” Reese whispered, as he shook his head.
Everett hung his head, and I knew there wasn’t much he could really say to take away the shock we were all feeling.
“Everett’s vitals improved shortly after Ronan got the pills out of his system, and he woke up the next morning not remembering any of it. Ronan asked me to leave the room, which I did,” Grady said.
“I told Ronan about Pierce,” Everett said as he picked up the story from there. “We talked for a long time. He stayed for two days and mostly all we did was talk. The press was led to believe I had the stomach flu. Ronan convinced me that I needed to talk to a professional, which I did. But I couldn’t risk the truth about my relationship with Pierce getting out, or the suicide attempt, so I told the psychiatrist I was dealing with depression. I was prescribed some medication, which helped me focus enough that I could work. Ronan and I stayed in touch for a while, but I lost track of him after he suffered his own loss a few years later. We reconnected when he called me about you,” Everett said as he looked at Reese.
Reese shook his head. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “If I’d been there?—”
“No,” Everett said firmly as he put his arm around his son. “It absolutely wasn’t your fault.”
“You didn’t have anyone?—”
“I had people like Grady and Vincent. But as close as I was to them, I was still too afraid to ask for help. To admit that I wasn’t the man they all thought I was. What I did was selfish and wrong and I’m so very grateful to Grady, Ronan, and that paramedic for getting me through it.” Everett’s eyes shifted to me and Nash. “I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”
“Doesn’t matter,” I managed to say. “You hear me? It. Doesn’t. Matter.”
Everett nodded. “Nash?” he said softly, because Nash had gone really quiet next to me. His leg was tapping on the ground like crazy and it felt like he was going to break the bones in my hand, he was squeezing it so hard.
“Fuck it,” he suddenly snapped, then he was jumping to his feet. He dropped my hand and strode over to Everett. “Your kid is just going to have to get the fuck over it, because I’m done with this no-touching-you shit,” he bit out. He pulled Everett to his feet, then wrapped his arms around him.
I smiled as I got to my feet. Leave it to Nash to find the fastest way to end this mess. I risked a glance at Reese and saw that he hadn’t moved at all. He looked completely worn out, but I didn’t see any hatred or anger in his eyes as he looked at his father.
Nash kissed Everett sweetly. “Love you,” he whispered to Everett before he passed him off to me. I took my turn kissing him, though I kept it chaste.
“I love you,” Everett murmured into my ear as I hugged him.
“Still going to figure this out,” I reminded him, then I let him go.
