Noah

Chapter 4

A half an hour later and one of the most excruciating work outs she'd ever endured done, Veronica and Nellie sat on the floor with their backs against the wall as Noah handed them both a suggested diet. Nellie took a couple more hits of her inhaler, shaking it after each time. "Now it's not mandatory for you to stick to this particular diet, but I highly suggest that you do if you want to get the most of your training and lose weight as quickly as possible."

Veronica watched what Nellie called his suckable lips as he spoke and had to admit they were probably the most suckable she'd ever encountered. Too bad she'd never see them again, because if he thought she was coming back for more of this torture tomorrow, he was out of his mind. Luckily, after today's work out, she was pretty sure Nellie wouldn't be anxious to come back either.

Tomorrow—gads! Just the thought. She'd probably be too sore to even walk. Once Noah was done with the rundown of the week's schedule, they were finally out of there. They started very slowly to the door as Noah began picking up their mats from the ground. "Veronica."

Veronica turned to him, her body already aching. "You did good. I'm proud of you."

His smile alone was enough to warm her insides, and she immediately felt ashamed: first, for dismissing the next workout so quickly, but then for the scandalous thoughts that followed about her and her young trainer.

"Thanks," she said, glancing at Nellie.

As soon as they were out the door, she knew Nellie would have something to say, and she did with a smirk. "He didn't tell me I did good or that I made him proud."

Veronica rolled her eyes. "That's probably because he expected you to do well. Obviously, he wasn't expecting much from me."

She moaned as she sat in Nellie's car. "God, I need a hot bath and a glass of wine." She glanced down at the list of food on her suggested diet and frowned. No surprise that wine wasn't on it. She sat back and tossed the paper in the back seat.

She heard Nellie wheeze as she took another hit from her inhaler, cursing as she shook it. "Damn, I'm out."

"You have another one?"

Nellie frowned. "At home." She must've seen the concerned look on Veronica's face because she smiled, turning on the car. "I'll be fine. That just goes to show how out of shape I am."

Even as they drove, Veronica could hear the low wheezing in Nellie's breathing. She saw Nellie reach for her phone from the cup holder.

"No texting and driving, Nellie." Veronica warned.

"No, I'm just checking my voicemail." She hit a couple of buttons and put the phone back in the cup holder as her voicemails started on speaker.

"Nellie, I have news for you. It's not good. Call me as soon as you get this message." Nellie's younger sister, Courtney didn't sound too happy and Veronica and Nellie exchanged a concerned glance. Nellie's face was more than concerned almost as if she already knew what it could be.

When the second message started it was Courtney again. "Nellie, Rick is having dinner with her right now. You need to call me. I know you don't want me doing anything, but I can hardly stand this. "

Veronica began to understand the situation. Rick was Nellie's husband and her suddenly labored wheezing said it all. Whoever he was having dinner with was not someone Nellie approved of. The third message started and Nellie pulled over to listen to it. Courtney was louder and sounded furious. "Nellie, I followed them when they left the restaurant. He just checked into a hotel room with the b***h, and their hands were all over each other. I know you said to call you first if I ever found something else, but I can't wait for you to call back. I'm gonna confront the bastard!"

The line clicked, and Nellie was now wheezing out of control. "Honey are you okay?" Veronica asked in a complete panic.

Nellie gestured to the glove compartment, her hand on her chest trying desperately to catch her breath. Veronica flung it open, praying for another inhaler. There was none.

She tried to relax, remembering the worst thing Nellie could do was panic. The slower the breaths she took, the better. She grabbed Nellie's hands and spoke calmly. "Deep breaths, Nel. Relax."

Nellie's wide eyes were frantic. Veronica picked up her phone but continued to stroke Nellie's arm calmly. "Slow breaths. You can do this."

Her own heart felt as if it were about to burst through her chest, but she managed to remain as calm as possible as she explained the situation to the 911 operator.

Nellie's wheezing was only getting worse, and her lips were beginning to darken reminding Veronica of the attack Nellie had when they were kids that nearly killed her. "Please hurry!" Her calm was now almost completely gone, but she had to hold it together for Nellie's sake.

The four minutes it took the paramedics to arrive had to be the longest of Veronica's life. Nellie was barely conscious when they arrived and at this point Veronica was the hysterical one. They let Veronica know what hospital the ambulance was rushing Nellie to, but the paramedics refused to let Veronica drive until they checked her vitals to make sure she wasn't going into shock.

When it was determined she wasn't, they finally let her go. Almost at the hospital, she broke down again in hysterics. She remembered overhearing one of the medics urging the other medic to call the hospital to have a team waiting outside the emergency room for Nellie. This was bad.

What in the world would she do without Nellie? She was all Veronica had now. Surviving her mother's death was hard enough, but it was expected. She'd had years to contemplate and accept it that was coming. But this—Veronica was certain she'd never survive losing Nellie.