I felt cold and numb and utterly devastated. Creeping death must be inside me now, devouring everything.

Kyle glanced around my feet. “Where is your luggage?” he muttered.

I looked down at my hands - they were empty and trembling. The edge of my blue cast stuck out the end of my sleeve; water dripped from the gauze packing.

I couldn’t remember if I was supposed to have anything in my hands or not. Instantly my chest tightened and it felt very hard to breathe.

“Hey, hey…” Kyle pulled me into his chest. “Calm down. Shh, it will be all right. I’m here.”

I tried to block him with my hands. I wanted him to stop touching me. No man would ever touch me again.

He whispered in my ear, “Don’t worry, babe. I’ll take care of you. Let’s get you home.”

Chapter 34 - Shattered

“Taryn, sweetie. Thank God!” Marie rushed to my bedside. “It’s gonna be okay. We’re here.” She wrenched her hands around my neck and shoulders to hug me.

Pete was frantically turning on all my bedroom lamps. It was dark outside so I presumed it must be night again. My eyes were swollen; I had a hard time focusing them in the new light.

“Should I call Nine-One-One?” Tammy asked in a panic from the opening where my bedroom door once stood.

Marie ran her hand across my face to wipe my hair from my eyes.

“Taryn, talk to me. Do you need to go to the hospital?” Marie’s voice cracked when she asked.

Extreme sadness burst back into my chest and I started to weep again. I doubted any hospital in the world would be able to mend a shattered heart.

“I don’t think she needs an ambulance, Tammy,” Pete said from the other side of my bed. I felt him pet my hair.

“Oh, Taryn, it will be all right!” Marie hugged me tightly. “Sweetie, what happened?”

“It’s… over,” I choked out. It was pure agony to say the words out loud.

Marie looked over at Pete and shook her head.

“Tell us what happened,” Marie whispered.

“I saw him with her,” I uttered between sobs. “I saw it with my own eyes. He touched her face, and kissed her hand, and I watched as he leaned over the table to kiss her. Right there in the restaurant for everyone to see.” The magnitude of my admission crushed me again.

“Who, Taryn? Who was he with?” Pete asked gently.

“Lauren. He was with Lauren. All the rumors about them… they’re true.” I barely had the will to speak.

“Taryn, Ryan was filming,” Marie spoke cautiously.

I stared at her face through my tears, wondering why she believed him.

“Sure he was. That’s why the paparazzi were there,” I muttered.

She grimaced at me. “What’s all over your shirt?”

I looked at my chest, noticing yellow spots on the fabric.

“I think I threw up last night,” I sputtered. Another crack of unbearable sadness struck my heart.

“Come on; let’s get you in the shower.” She tore the blankets off my body and wrapped her arm around my back to help me out of bed.

“Have you eaten anything?” Marie asked, walking me to the bathroom.

I felt confused and weak. I couldn’t remember when I ate last. When I shook my head, the motion made me feel dizzy.

“Tammy, see if you can make something for Taryn to eat,” Marie requested.

“I’m not hungry,” I whispered. I deserved to feel the emptiness inside my chest. After all, it was the result of my own stupidity.

“Taryn! You have to eat!” Marie scolded, turning on the shower.

“What happened to your cast?” She peeled a big chunk of the casing off. The gauze padding was hanging out over my hand.

“I got it wet,” I answered, pulling on a piece of cotton thread that hung out from the hole around my thumb.

“Pete, do you have any tape? Look at this! It’s falling apart. I’ll call her doctor tomorrow.”

Pete came back with his toolbox. I wished he would have just cut it off instead of wrapping it in silver tape.

“Why didn’t you call us, Taryn? We’re your friends!” Tammy stressed, pulling my sweatpants off my body. “You’re not alone in this!”

“Tammy, let’s just get her washed.” Marie pulled my T-shirt off over my head and tossed it across the bathroom. “We need to wrap her cast in plastic first.”

“I’ll go strip her bed then,” Tammy volunteered. “Are these her antidepressants? Here Taryn, take this. Drink.”