Living In The Shadows Ch. 02

***Melanie***

The news anchor looked serious as she said, "We just received word that Jim Steel died on the operating table from his internal injuries... but was brought back by the surgeon and operating room staff. He's out of surgery, but still in critical condition. Let's go to our local affiliate and Amy Slater for an update."

"Thank you, Jane. Jim Steel is out of surgery and is in critical condition. A hospital source says the actor did die on the table but was brought back by the surgical team. It's unclear if the star actor is going to make it, but he is out of surgery and still under a medically induced coma due to his brain swelling. The hospital will have a press conference at noon local time with an update. Wait! It looks like Jim Steel's wife is coming this way. Mrs. Steel! Mrs. Steel!"

I watched as the camera spun around to see Abby approach in a sprint. As she neared the reporter and camera, I saw her face turn from concern to anger and her fists balled up. She must've pushed the camera operator because the camera was suddenly pointed at the sky then nothing as the screen went black.

"Well, we seem to be having some technical difficulties," the anchor said when the feed went back to the studio.

"Technical difficulties, my ass. More like Abby gave them some physical difficulties," I said. "Joe, get a bag packed right away. We'll get you in a few minutes. I don't want you driving anywhere right now."

He looked like he was in shock. I wasn't sure if he heard a word I said. "Joe!" I shouted.

He turned to me and said, "Get packed. Got it." He turned and ran out of the house.

"Keri," I shouted. I hoped she found a flight that wasn't too long of a wait. It was at least a five-hour drive, and I didn't want to do that if we didn't have to. We had to get Joe to Hollywood as fast as we could in case, God forbid, Jim didn't make it.

Keri came out and said, "I found a flight that leaves in an hour. We have three seats, but I need Joe's info to book it."

"Text him to send you a picture of his license."

"Duh! Can't believe I didn't think of that. I'm just so worried about Jim."

I hugged her and my tears fell again. "Me, too. He's out of surgery, but he's still in critical condition and in a medically induced coma."

"Oh, no!"

"No, that's just because of brain swelling. It's not like he's going to be out for a year or anything. Abby just got there and I'm not sure if we'll beat Ken and Lainey or not, so let's get going. Mush!"

She ran off to get the seats booked as I started packing a bag. My tears were constant as I worried about Jim. He was such a great guy, and such a family man. He didn't deserve what happened to him. I thought about how much he loved Abby and his kids. That big time action hero and heartthrob had no time for anyone but his family and closest friends. His idea of a great lunch was having a fried bologna sandwich with potato chips crushed up inside it that his daughters helped make.

I felt like I knew him, as he was always interested in our lives and what we had going on. Whenever he was at Ken and Lainey's, he brought something for me and made me fill him in on everything that happened since the last time I saw him. He always said it was because I said he was my favorite actor. I think it was just to remind Ken that he was.

I finished packing and went to help Keri. She was already packing and said, "The flight is booked. We have to hurry but we should make it if the TSA doesn't hold us up."

"Okay. I'm ready. Do you need any help?"

"No," she said. "I'm just about done. I just have to grab my toiletries."

"Hello!" We heard Joe shout from downstairs. "Are you girls ready?"

"Yeah, hang on," Keri shouted and elbowed me in the ribs. "Go to him! Be there for him."

She pushed me out of her room, and I almost fell down the stairs dragging my heavy bag behind me. He rushed over and grabbed the bag before I broke my neck.

"Thanks," I said as he set the bag by the door. "Got everything you need?"

"I hope so. I'm feeling kind of scatter-brained right now."

I touched his cheek and said, "It's going to be all right. Jim is going to be fine."

I turned on the television to see if there were any updates. The story wasn't about Jim, it was about Abby and her punching the reporter as she ran into the hospital. That made us laugh as there was footage from another camera crew that showed the entire incident from a better angle.

"Okay, let's go," Keri said as she hustled down the stairs. "Check your email, you should have gotten your itineraries."

Just as I was turning off the television, they showed a leaked photo of Jim in his hospital bed hooked up to monitors and machines. Abby was holding his hand and her head lay on his chest. As much as we wanted to kick their ass for leaking the picture, it was a perfect encapsulation of Abby's love for her husband. I had no doubt in my mind that he would have done the same if it were her that was hurt. I hoped to have that kind of love someday.

***

Once we boarded the plane, and Joe could finally sit and think, he got incredibly sad. I saw him look out the window and I knew he was worried about Jim, but it turned out to be much more.

I took his hand and said, "He's gonna be okay, Joe. You have to believe that."

He looked at me and smiled. "I love your optimism, Melanie. It's not that I don't think he'll be okay, it's that we don't really get along and it's my fault."

I asked, "Why? What happened between you two?"

"Nothing specific happened. It's just everything rolled up into a giant ball. He's been a megastar for over a decade, and I've had to live with being Jim Steel's little brother. You saw what I looked like a couple of years ago. I wasn't a jock, or an acting talent. I was a bookworm. I loved to read, to play role playing games. I hated sports. I hated the theater. I hated being asked why I wasn't more like Jim. I despised being asked if I was adopted, and yes, I was asked that all the time. You have no idea what it's like living in the shadow of the great Jim Steel."

I patted his hand and said, "I'm sure that was hard for you, but he loves you. He was always talking about a science award you got or that you made National Honor Society. I was at Lainey's house when he called Ken to brag about you being Valedictorian."

"I know, but it's...well, it's like the college thing. He had to buy me a house. He had to show me that he was the big Hollywood hunk that was a multi-millionaire before he was twenty-five years old. I can't compete with that. I'll never be what everyone expects me to be."

"Does anyone really expect you to be him? Or just the best Joe you can be?" I asked.

He ignored that and said, "The last time we talked, I went off on him. I yelled at him to stop interfering in my life. I saw the look in his eyes, he was heartbroken, but he didn't try to argue. He nodded his head and patted my shoulder. The last thing he said to me was, 'whether I understood his actions or not, he loved me and only wanted the best for me.' He said that he would always be there for me whether I liked hated him or not."

I watched a tear fall from his eye as he turned his head back to look at the clouds.

"I didn't tell him I loved him too. I didn't thank him for the car he bought me that caused the argument. I just watched him sadly walk out of the house. That was just before school started. I haven't talked to him since. He thinks I hate him."

I felt horrible for him. He was putting so much pain on his own shoulders over that last conversation. I couldn't do anything to ease his suffering, so I didn't do anything except hold his hand and lean my head on his shoulder.

***

The plane ride was just a bit over an hour. They could hardly contain us as we waited for them to open the door and let us get to the hospital to see Jim. We knew Keri and I would not get to go in and visit Jim's room, but we were going to be there for him anyway we could, and we'd support Abby, Ken, and Lainey.

We ran through the airport terminal like we were late for a plane. But we were running the opposite direction from the gates, so we got some crazy looks along the way. When we got to the pickup area, we had a few minutes wait for our UBER so I pulled up the news to see if I could find any update. I hoped nothing bad happened in the hour or so I wasn't able to get online.

"Oh, boy!" I said as I read the latest story.

"What happened?" Joe asked in a panic.

"Oh! Nothing with Jim. There's a video going viral of Abby yelling at the nurses. I pressed play and we all watched Abby unsheathe her claws and go all mama bear at the nurse's station for someone leaking the photo of her and Jim.

The last thing she said was, "If the piece of shit that did it doesn't come clean by three o'clock, I will have every one of you fired. If one's guilty, you're all guilty." She looked at one of the nurses who started to complain, and said, "If anything comes out of your mouth other than 'it was me' I'm going to knock your bony ass out. Hear me, bitch?"

Joe was laughing hysterically. "That's our Abby."

We laughed along, as we knew all to well Abby had a nasty temper if anyone messed with her family. At Ken and Lainey's annual 4th of July party, Jim and Abby brought their family. My parents and Keri were there, Ken's mom was there, the Millers and their girls were there, and the paparazzi was there.

No one knew that of course, but the bastard snuck onto Ken's property and was taking pictures from the woods behind the house. It was a fluke that Abby even saw him. She just happened to glance that way and saw that the gate was open, and someone was standing there. Before we knew what was happening, she took off running towards him. The gate was about a hundred yards away and he would probably be gone by the time she got anywhere near him, but she didn't care.

Jim and Ken were inside, and Lainey started yelling for them. They were out of the house in a flash and were sprinting towards Abby, who was still running towards the fence. My mom and Ken's mom ushered the kids into the house and my dad and Mr. Miller got into Ken's golf cart and were about to chase after everyone, when we heard rustling next to the privacy fence at the side of the yard.

"Dad!," I shouted. "He's headed towards the front."

My dad took off in the cart and went to the front gate to cut him off. I looked at the back gate and didn't see anyone, so I wondered which direction they ran. It didn't take long to hear them all at the side fence yelling at the man to stop.

Keri and I ran to the front of the house and saw that they caught the guy and my dad had him pinned to the golf cart. Abby stood and watched Ken take the guy's camera and break it into pieces. When Jim told my dad to call the police, Abby walked up to the guy and slapped the shit out of him.

She yelled, "No one takes pictures of my kids except me and my family. Do you understand me, shithead?"

He nodded.

Abby turned and stormed back towards the house. I swear steam was coming out of her ears she was so mad. I knew then, Abby was a bad bitch and I'd never get on her bad side.

***

We got to the hospital and saw the crowd of reporters off to the side. Joe saw the look on my face and said, "Don't worry about them. They don't know us."

The UBER stopped in front of the main entrance, and we walked past the crowd of reporters. What I hadn't seen from the car was the group of fans that were standing behind the reporters. There was about twenty people with signs, and some dressed as Jim's character from the Patriot Squad films. It was kind of creepy, but nice of them to be worried about him too.

We made it up to the waiting room outside of the Intensive Care Unit and found several police officers and a guy that Joe recognized.

"Hey, Joe," the tall older man called out.

"Hi, Jackie," Joe answered. "Any news?"

"Nothing, kid," he said gruffly. "I'm a fucking wreck out here because they won't let me in there, and then Abby went and got herself viral by bitching out the nurses. It's a God damned nightmare."

Joe nodded and one of the police walked up. "Can I see some ID please?"

"Yeah," Joe said. "I'm Jim's brother Joe. These are my friends Melanie and Keri."

"This ICU is pretty strict. They only allow one visitor at a time for a half-hour. Mr. Steel's wife raised hell with the administrators to allow her to violate that rule and sit with him. You'll have to stay out here," he said handing the ID back.

"Yeah, my sister-in-law can be pretty hard to handle sometimes."

All of the police officers and Jackie laughed at that like they already knew it.

"Melanie, Keri, this is my brother's agent, Jackie."

"Hi, girls. Nice to meet you. I assume you're Lainey's sister."

I nodded and he smiled. "Nice kid, your sister. I'm glad for Ken. He deserves to be happy."

I saw Joe texting someone and he said, "I let Abby know we're here. She's coming right out."

The door opened and Abby walked through with tears streaking down her cheeks. It was almost funny watching the cops step back or walk to the other side of the room when they saw her.

"Joe," she sobbed pulling him into a hug. "There's no change. The doctor said he'll be okay if he doesn't have any issues from the head injury, and if he doesn't develop an infection."

"It'll be okay, Abby. He's a superhero."

I watched her shoulders shake as she sobbed in his arms. A tinge of jealousy swept over me briefly as I wanted desperately to be held like that. Then I felt bad for that stupid thought.

"Mel, Keri, thanks for bringing Joe to us," she said as she let him go. We each hugged her and expressed our sorrow.

"Joe," she said, "You can see him if you want. I'll wait out here. He's still in a coma though."

"How does he look? I don't want to see..." Joe started but broke down crying and couldn't finish his thought.

I went to him and hugged him, "It'll be okay, Joe. Go to him. Tell him he's gonna be okay. Even though he's out of it, he needs to hear your voice. Tell him you love him."

He stepped back from my embrace and shocked me by kissing me. It wasn't passionate, but it was tender. I felt his love in that kiss. Our first kiss and I'd only known him less than a day.

He touched my cheek, but it was to wipe a tear I didn't realize was falling.

"Thank you for everything, Melanie."

He walked through the doors, and I watched him until they closed. I turned and saw Abby and Keri grinning at me.

"What?" I asked coquettishly.

Abby shook her head, "If I didn't know any better, sugar, I'd say someone's smitten."

Keri laughed and said, "She's in love." They laughed together and I wanted to scream.

"Okay, that's enough of that," Abby said gracefully. "I can't fault a girl for falling for a Steel man. They are incredible."

I rolled my eyes and fell into a chair. "We have bigger things to worry about than me and Joe," I said.

Abby frowned. "You're right. Those jerks from the hospital are going to do a press conference soon. I refuse to be a part of any sideshow about my husband. I'll give updates as I get them to Jim's fans through Jackie. He can put it on Twitter and the other social media sites. I refuse to talk to the press though."

"I don't blame you," Keri said. "They're probably hoping he dies because it would be a better story."

Abby nodded in agreement and then the doors opened. Joe walked out and smiled through his tears.

"Do you need anything, Abby? Can we get you some breakfast or something?" he asked.

"No, I couldn't possibly eat right now. My stomach has been in knots for the last few hours."

"Okay. Just let me know."

"You're a good guy, Joe," she said. "Thank you. Will you let me know when Ken and Lainey get here? Should be around two our time."

"Of course," he said, and Abby rushed back through the doors to be with her love.

I thought about the time difference and realized that Jim's accident was early in the morning. I wondered if they always started filming that early. "Maybe they wanted the sunrise in the shot or something?" I thought. Then I shook it off. It didn't matter. It only mattered that Jim was hurt.

***

I woke up with a start. I saw Lainey and Ken standing in front of me with smirks on their faces. I was leaning into Joe with my head nestled into his chest while he had his arm around me. I wanted to stay that way forever.

It wasn't to be. Joe woke up and quickly removed his arm as if he were embarrassed to be caught like that. I'd have to work on him to make him realize that a girl likes to wake up in her man's arms. There I went again. Referring to him as my man when we hadn't even gone on a date. I sighed.

"Hi, guys," I said as I got up and stretched. "Abby said to let her know when you got here."

"We've already spoken to Abby. We were letting you guys sleep. It's been a stressful morning for all of us," Ken said. "Besides, you looked really comfortable."

Lainey smacked his shoulder. "Don't be an ass, Ken. There's no update, guys. Jim's as stable as he can be. They'll know more tomorrow. If the swelling's gone down enough, they'll bring him out of the induced coma. There's still an infection risk, but the more time passes, the better off he is in that regard."

Ken looked around and frowned. "Jackie left, so I'm going to go downstairs and give the press a quick statement on Abby's behalf, unless you want to do it, Joe. You have every right to as his brother. I don't want to overstep my place."

Joe laughed and said, "I'd appreciate you doing it, Ken. I don't want to go anywhere near a camera. I like having my anonymity."

Ken patted Joe on the shoulder and said, "It's my pleasure to help. I'm used to the press, and I agree, you should keep as low of a profile as you can. There're benefits to being in the shadows, bud. I'll just give them the news that there's no news and that the family requests privacy at this trying time."

"Sounds good. You don't know how much I appreciate it," Joe sighed.

Ken nodded and left the room.

Joe looked at me and asked, "Do you and Keri want to get a room near here? There isn't much we can do sitting here watching the clock tick."

Keri said, "It's up to you, Joe. We're here for you and we'll stay as long as you stay."

I quickly agreed.

"Okay. Lainey are you staying near here? Do you know where Abby's staying?" He asked.

"She's staying with us. We've already booked rooms for all of you at our hotel, it's about a half a mile away. I've got the keys right here."

She gave us the info and we agreed to walk the short distance to the hotel. Joe showed off by carrying all the bags.

***

Our rooms were on the same floor and next to each other. Keri and mine were adjoining rooms and Joe's was across from us. We agreed that we'd wait to hear from Ken and Lainey about what they were doing for dinner before getting something. We didn't want to be rude. I texted my sister and told her to let us know when they were hungry.

I had just gotten out of the shower when there was a soft knock on the door. I put on shorts and a t-shirt and answered.

"Hi, Melanie."

"Hi, Joe, come on in."

He followed me in and sat on the chair in the corner. "Melanie, I'm sorry our date got ruined this morning. I was looking forward to it."

"Well," I answered, "it may not be the most romantic date ever, but we have spent the day together. We even had our first kiss."

He smiled and blushed. "I kind of surprised myself doing that. I was just so thankful for your support. I'm sorry if I embarrassed you."

I shook my head, "No, I was cool with it. You have soft lips." I winked at him, and he took a deep breath.

"Is it weird that I feel like I've known you for years? I feel comfortable with you in a way I've never felt with a girl before. I'm not sure how to explain it."