*Serene’s POV*
I pulled out from my memories and looked back at the man lying next to me.
Damon, the only person that paid me any kindness in my last life...
Then I realized his face was ghastly pale and his chest was barely moving. Was he...dead?!
“Oh my god,” my voice came out as a whisper at first. I tried to keep myself composed, but I couldn’t stop repeating myself.
"Oh my god, oh my GOD. OH MY GOD!” I didn’t care who heard me at that point. He needed help, and I needed to do something, right now!
I rushed to the phone and dialed 9-1...then stopped.
Something wasn’t right. I shook my head to clear my mind and tried to focus on the immediate situation, which only aggravated my headache.
After a couple seconds, I put down my phone. No, No-no, I shouldn’t do that.
I remembered in my last life, I lived through the same situation, and it resulted in a disaster for Damon.
I remembered after I called 9-1-1, the head supervisor burst into the room with police, as well as paparazzi. They quickly came to the conclusion that Damon had attempted suicide because he broke up with his girlfriend the night before.
Before his attempted suicide, he and his actress girlfriend Aileen were also the most beloved screen couple. Fans were crazy in love with them. However, she recently posted a picture of Damon seeming to kiss another actress and her caption read, “DO YOU BELIEVE WHAT HE IS DOING TO ME?”
Aileen got so much sympathy and the love for Damon from the public fell away. The scandal was immediately followed by the news of his attempted suicide, and his career tanked ever since then.
Returning to the present, I looked at his solemn face. I would not make the same mistake this time.
I took a closer look at his chest, and it was still rising and falling, ever so slightly. Thank god, he was alive. But still, I needed to get help.
I knew I couldn’t take him to the hospital – that would still draw too much attention to him, and besides, he was way too heavy to carry with him being unconscious. That’s when I remembered Dr. Bryant.
He had been a family friend for years, almost like a father figure to me. I remembered he took care of my sweet Levi before... this. He used to always tell me that I could call him in any emergency.
Oh boy, did I have an emergency for him.
The line only rang twice before I heard his familiar voice, “Serene! It’s nice to hear from you. To what do I owe this pleasure?”
“Hi Dr. Bryant, I need your help...” I told him about my situation, minus the whole being dead and reborn thing.
There was a long pause, then he instructed me, “Monitor his breathing and I’ll be there in 15 minutes.”
After hanging up with Dr. Bryant, I called the front desk to extend his stay in the name of Damon’s assistant, and triple checked that I had cleaned up all the pills scattered on the floor.
Then I spent the next twenty minutes pacing and watching Damon’s chest until there was a knock on the door.
“Serene?” Relief flooded my body when I heard Dr. Bryant’s voice.
He rushed over dropping his bag next to the bed, and began checking Damon’s vitals.
After examining the man in the bed and one of the pills I saved, he sighed, stood slowly, and turned to me.
“He is going to be alright,” I exhaled as though I was holding my breath all day.
“All he took was some low-grade sleeping pills. He’ll need to stay here and rest for a few days. When he wakes up, be ready for him to vomit. Otherwise, he should be back to his normal physical health soon,” he said while he packed his bag.
“Thank you,” I choked out through my tears, “thank you so much.”
“Of course, Serene. You know where to reach me if you need anything,” he said as he handed me a cup of water, “by the way, he’s a good-looking guy, don’t break his heart like this.”
“Ahem! Ahem!” I nearly choked myself. “Doctor...he’s not...”
“Okay okay. Calm down girl. No need to explain. I get it. Let me know if you need anything else.” Then he winked at me and exited the room, leaving me speechless.
Once again, I was left alone with my thoughts and this sleeping man.
After an hour of staring and hoping he would wake up, I decided to go splash my face with some water in the bathroom. This day felt like it was years long, and in some ways, it was.
As I dried off my face, the bathroom door swung open and Damon ran to the toilet, heaving his guts out.
He didn’t see me, so I cleared my throat.
He simply looked at me, still slightly dazed, but becoming more coherent by the second. He turned away from me as he began to retch some more.
“Who are you? What are you doing here?” he croaked out after he was finished. His skin was still pale and his eyes were still sunken, but he was speaking. That was a good start.
Filled with relief that he was going to be okay, I sat on the floor next to him.
“Just a hotel staff. I thought you were dead...” was all I managed to say. “Are you okay?” I found myself asking him. I felt very uncomfortable, like I shouldn't be there. I still felt my head spinning from what happened when I showed up here suddenly.
“I’m okay,” he answered, still watching me. “Sorry, it's just my head is a fog.”
“Can I ask, why did you do that?” I said slowly. I did not want to say “suicide” because the word was too heavy.
“I didn't do it,” he said firmly.
“What?” My jaw dropped open.
“I was staying at the hotel and Aileen, my girlfriend, oh, well, my ex-girlfriend, came to visit. I made the mistake of asking her for water and she put drugs in it. I remember feeling my consciousness slipping away and she told me just before I passed out. She was laughing at me and mocking me.”
I stared back at him blankly, unsure about what feelings to commit to. I felt sorrow, sadness, anger, disbelief, and surprise passing through me quickly. He seemed to misinterpret my expression. His face quickly turned hard and he looked away.
“I know no one believes me,” he told me looking out the window. “Everyone believes that dumb photo. No one ever thinks to ask me what is going on.”
“No, no!” I exclaimed quickly, running to his bedside. “I just needed to process everything. That was a lot of information. I believe you.”
He looked back at me. His eyes were soft and kind. He seemed surprised by my exclamation. “You believe me?”
I nodded quickly, “Why would she do that?” I asked.
He looked up at the ceiling as if trying to recollect his thoughts.
“I don’t fully understand it all,” he began slowly as if recounting the events of the past couple years. “I know it has something to do with Darcy.”
I thought hard for a second as he paused to think. Darcy... Darcy...
Oh right!
Darcy was a popular dark-haired devil of a man from sitcoms. He was known for being hot as h*ll, but having no real talent. He was a porn star before he finally broke into sitcoms. Damon was his main competition in the film industry because they were both hunks that women fawned over.
“So, maybe it has something to do with Darcy,” he seemed to be speaking more to himself than to me. “She wants me out of the picture so she and Darcy can break into film and be the new acting couple.”
I nodded slowly, and elaborated the situation as I could tell his energy was slipping away. “I think I got it. You two were the most popular film couple,” I helped him up and walked him back on the bed, “She must want to break out of your shadow though. You’re the only reason anyone knows who she is. She hopes that by destroying your career, she can take the spotlight along with that boy-toy Darcy.”
His eyes were filled with sadness. He must have really loved Aileen.
I saw his fists grip the sheets hard. I wanted to reach out and comfort him, but felt too shy. Instead, I tried to encourage him.
“What do you plan to do about it?” I asked.
“Nothing, I guess,” he said sadly, not looking me in the eye. “They’ve been trying to ruin me for a long time now. Maybe they’ve won. I am tired of fighting them.”
“No!” I said, finding myself jumping up and throwing my hands at my side. “You deserve so much more. If you have to give yourself up, then at least give up for something worthy. Not these dirty trash people.”
He gazed back at me, and a grin creased his face. He did not say he would, but I knew his answer.
“By the way, my name is Serene Jones. Nice to meet you, Damon Wilson.”