Challenge Chasers: The Chubby Trilogy, #3

By Kat Hibbard

Volume 3 of The Chubby Trilogy, Challenge Chasers promises to answer all the questions left  open at athe end of Chance Chasers. Carrolyyn has to go way back to learn about her strange habits and how they formed as she prepares to face The Fastest Trim Down as a contestant and reunite with her birth mother. Early in Challenge ,Derq makes a surprise appearance and Kix comes back in a big way. Hibbard cites the real challenge of Challenge Chasers is wrapping up the trilogy in a neat little package. Later next year, look for The Chubby Trilogy to be rerelased as a full set. In the mean time, catch up before the April 20th release of Challenge Chasers. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Static Publishing
• Release date: Feb 12, 2018
• ISBN: 9780996188265

Book preview

Dedication

For Bailey, David, and Logan

This is all for you. Everything has always been for you.

Thanks for taking chances and for chasing challenges.

I’m proud of you.

Love, Mom

Contents

PART I

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

PART II

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

PART III

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

Epilogue

About The Author

PART I

ONE

Monday morning, Carrolyyn wakes to the sound of a heart monitor. Dazed and confused, she looks around the hospital room. She immediately flashes back to Madge’s hospital room and thinks she is having another nightmare. Carrolyyn gets horribly agitated in not knowing what is happening. Her heart monitor starts beeping like crazy, which results in a nurse rushing in. Behind the nurse are Derq and Ralph. Now Carrolyyn really thinks she is dreaming.

It seems so real, she mutters to the nurse.

Firmly, the nurse tells Derq and Ralph they have to step out. I’m will let you know once we have her calmed down, Nurse Cindy says.

I want to wake up now! I want to wake up now! Please let me wake up now! Carrolyyn yells.

Carrolyyn, I’m your nurse Cindy. You are not dreaming. This is very real so I need you to calm down and listen to me. Once we have had a chat, the doctor will come in and have a look. Your friends have been very patient and also want to see you. Do you know why you are here? Cindy asks.

Carrolyyn closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. When her eyes open, she looks right at Cindy, nods, and solemnly whispers, Yes.

Well you are very lucky. Because of the drugs and potential overdose, there will have to be a psych interview. I’ll assist Dr. Jose with that. As soon as you and I are done, I’ll notify him you’re awake. Hopefully, we can get this taken care of first thing tomorrow so we can set a release date.

Another doctor enters the room. Miss Davidson, I’m Dr. Bentley. I’m the admitting doctor. Do you know why you’re here?

Carrolyyn wonders how many other people are going to ask her this. Yes, I took the red pill.

Well Miss Davidson, the toxicology report tells us it wasn’t only the red pill. There was a cocktail of THC, alcohol, and barbiturates. Any one of those probably wouldn’t have had such a dramatic effect but the mixture is very dangerous, especially with your condition, Dr. Bentley explains.

There is a myriad of questions going through Carrolyyn’s mind so she decides to ask in order of appearance. What time is it?

Cindy checks her watch. 4:30 PM. You took quite the nap. Your friends called EMS around 10:00 PM. It took us some time to get your heart regulated. We finally moved you to this room a couple of hours ago.

Marty! Carrolyyn shrieks.

No, no, there’s a Ralph and a Derq. No Marty. Do you want us to call Marty? Nurse Cindy asks.

No! I want to make sure you don’t call him. What is my condition? Carrolyyn asks Dr. Bentley.

Your heart rate was all over the place. It would go from dangerously low to dangerously high. After we got the toxicology report, we assumed the drugs you took were to blame, but after we ran an echocardiogram, we found a genetic condition—atrial fibrillation. Normally, you might feel your heart race or you might feel lethargic, but when you mix it with the cocktail you used, the condition worsened. It took us a few hours to regulate it. I was truly concerned for your well-being and was not sure what your recovery prognosis would be especially due to your weight. Dr. Bentley was not giving her the news gently. With a good diet and the addition of doctor-guided exercise, you can lead a normal life. I’ll tell you, if you keep going the way you are right now, you could be dead before you hit forty. What other questions do you have for us? Dr. Bentley asks Cindy for the latest charts.

When can I leave? Carrolyyn asks.

Cindy reiterates, Like I said, you have to get through the psych eval. We need to know you’re not a danger to yourself or others. I haven’t heard from Dr. Jose. My shift is ending so I’ll make sure you’re comfortable and will check in with you first thing in the morning. Would you like your friends to come in now?

The thought of this rattles Carrolyyn and her heart monitor starts beeping again.

Listen, Carrolyyn, you have to calm down. If seeing your friends is too much for you then we can tell them to come back another time, Cindy advises.

I’d like to see Ralph. Derq can wait outside. Carrolyyn whimpers.

Nurse Cindy wishes her a good night and exits with Dr. Bentley. Carrolyyn can hear the voices outside the door until finally Ralph slowly enters. As freaked out as Carrolyyn is, Ralph is equally distraught. He never expected this behavior from her. As he walks over, he keeps thinking about how much he has admired Carrolyyn and how important her friendship is. Ralph also feels embarrassed for her, as he’s sure this moment has to be extremely uncomfortable for his friend.

Hey girl, how are you feeling? Ralph asks as genuinely as possible.

Ralph, I’m so sorry. Carrolyyn starts sobbing and her monitor starts beeping again, which brings in a new nurse.

Patty, the nightshift nurse, walks over to Carrolyyn and asks if she is okay along with another warning that her guest will have to leave if she continues to be agitated.

Should I come back another time? Ralph asks Carrolyyn.

Very softly she replies, I need to ask you some questions. I’ll be cool. Carrolyyn looks toward Patty and nods.

Once Patty leaves, Carrolyyn continues. Ralph, I realize there’s information you want and there’s some I would like as well. Can we get through that now and work up to the rest?

I agree. I don’t need to know all the details right now. I’m only trying to understand. Do you want me to call Marty or Sue? We haven’t done that yet. Derq and I felt as long as you were stable, there would be no need to have them worry. Ralph waits for Carrolyyn’s reply.

You’re right. I’ve done something really horrible here and there’s no use in other innocent people suffering. But how did you and Derq end up here together? Carrolyyn has no recollection of sending Derq the picture but only vaguely remembers his message to her and her response.

Ralph hangs his head, thinking for a moment, and then looks up at Carrolyyn. "The way Derq tells it, you sent him a very disturbing message followed by an equally disturbing selfie. Attached to the picture was text stating you were going to take pills from Jannette’s drug dealer. When you didn’t answer, he panicked. Not knowing who else to contact, he found me on social media and messaged Emergency in regard to CD. Since I get notifications on my phone, I saw it right away and texted him your address. I was at the airport and knew I wouldn’t get to you in time. I told him to call EMS with the address and suggested we all meet at the hospital. You left your front door unlocked. Since you were unresponsive when they found you, they took you in the ambulance."

When Carrolyyn hears the word unresponsive, she gets very sad. This was the same way Marty told her about Madge. Carrolyyn realizes if she gets upset and triggers the alarm again, they will make Ralph leave so she does her best to keep it at bay.

Ralph asks if it’s okay to keep talking for a few moments.

Sure, it’s fine, Carrolyyn mumbles.

What the hell happened? I knew something was up, but I thought it was grief. I had no idea you were messing around with chemicals. When did this start? I wish you would’ve come to me. You know I would do anything for you. Ralph waits for her answer.

Well Ralph, you know I don’t have a lot of control along with a binge tendency. Haven’t you ever wondered why I’m so fat? It’s because I can’t stop myself. So when I was in Beaver Bay, someone turned me on to some things. I was out of control with it. Then I met this guy who used to run around with Jannette. I felt like I wanted something stronger to kill the pain. He was able to supply. I kept trying to talk myself out of it but there’s this whole problem with Stephanie. Carrolyyn realizes she is not telling Ralph what he wants to know.

Who’s Stephanie? You never mentioned her before. I still don’t understand how it spiraled so quickly. Ralph is almost pleading with Carrolyyn. He is exhausted and exasperated. I think I’m going to let you rest. When you invite me over for dinner, we can try this again. I think it’s too close to the situation and you’re probably still not well from this whole mess. Do you want to see Derq?

Carrolyyn’s monitor starts beeping and she does her best to calm herself before Nurse Patty barges in again. Listen Ralph, I appreciate what he did for me but no, I don’t want to see him. You can tell him I’ll contact him and thank him personally. I can’t do it right now. I’m a mess. I’ll also take the time to talk with you when I’m more coherent. I don’t know if I can ever forgive myself for what I have done to you. Thank goodness Marty and Sue have been saved from my rampage. This would certainly break their hearts. I’m a heartbreaker, Ralph. Perhaps you should stay away from me. I can’t predict what I’m going to do next. Tears are streaming down Carrolyyn’s face.

Carrolyyn Davidson! I’m in no way finished with you. While I feel a high level of dismay, I don’t feel betrayed by you. You will now get the help you need and be able to carry on bigger and better than you were before. Upon the utterance of bigger, the two simultaneously let out a giggle. You know what I mean, Ralph expounds. I’m going to let Derq know. Don’t worry about him. He’s a big boy. I’m still holding him accountable for leaving you in a crisis. I don’t have much use for ol’ Derqy Boy right now."

Hearing Ralph say it is both funny and startling to Carrolyyn. Maybe you do live in my head, Ralph. I’m going to fix this. You did so many great things for me and look at what I did to repay you. Shameful. That’s what it is. Just shameful.

I don’t want to hear it anymore. We will get past it. I’ll call you tomorrow. Let me know how the eval goes. That’s going to be a rough ride. Ralph kisses Carrolyyn on the forehead. She can see the corner of Derq’s head when Ralph exits. It makes her queasy.

As Ralph leaves, Dr. Jose enters.

It’s like a freaking revolving door, Carrolyyn mutters.

Miss Davidson, I’m Dr. Jose. Did nurse Cindy inform you of my visit?

Carrolyyn feels as if Dr. Jose is looking right through her. Yes, she told me but I don’t feel up to doing this right now, Carrolyyn bluntly states.

I understand, and I wasn’t planning on completing your assessment today; however, we will want to discharge you tomorrow afternoon so you and I have an appointment at 9:00 AM tomorrow. Is there anything you want me to know in the meantime?

Carrolyyn pushes herself to sit up a bit straighter. I’ll be ready and no, I don’t need anything right now except I’m feeling hungry. Do you think they will give me dinner?

Dr. Jose calls for Nurse Patty. Is Miss Davidson clear to eat?

After checking the chart, Nurse Patty nods and hands Carrolyyn a menu. Mark off what you would like. We can have it delivered within the next hour.

Looking around, Carrolyyn asks about her phone. Your friends brought it in. I believe it’s with your clothes. Nurse Patty finds the phone and hands it to her.

If you’re all set, we’ll leave you be. I’ll see you in the morning, Miss Davidson. Try to get some rest. Dr. Jose softly pats Carrolyyn’s shoulder and exits with nurse Patty.

Turning to nurse Patty, Dr. Jose advises, I know she’s not on suicide watch, but there’s something in her eyes that tells me she’s not stable. Put her on the night watch. I’d like someone checking in every hour throughout the night.

Meanwhile, Carrolyyn is frantically going through her texts and phone messages. There were no less than thirty missed calls from Derq. She hurriedly erases them all. She listens to voicemails from Marty, Sue, Derq, and a few other friends and family checking in on her. Carrolyyn wonders when the best time to call Marty will be. She realizes there will be so much hospital noise and staff popping in and out. Her concentration is on how to cover it up. Then she has a brainstorm while dialing the number.

Pops, how’s it going? she asks as calmly as possible.

Where have you been? I was starting to worry. I called you a couple of times this morning and I know it’s not like you to leave me hanging. I’m so glad to hear your voice. What’s going on over there? Marty sounds concerned.

Oh, Pops. It’s been kind of crazy. After I talked with you, I found some dinner and sat down to relax and catch up on TV. Do you know Ralph had my cable and TV all set up for me? It really is amazing what a good friend he is. So just as I sat down to relax, Derq called. Normally, I wouldn’t pick up because I wasn’t sure I wanted to talk to him. He kept calling. Carrolyyn is doing her best to make up a lie that is at least close to the truth so she won’t feel too badly for doing it.

What did he want? Marty sounds curious.

Carrolyyn is relieved to be distracting him in this way. Well, I finally picked up. He was feeling horrible about us breaking up and for not going to the service so he went out to the bar and had a few too many. Like an idiot, he got in his car to drive home. He hit a parked car and got banged up. Thank goodness he didn’t hurt anyone else. The police brought him to the hospital after filling out the report. He’s in a lot of trouble but like I said, he’s lucky to be alive and also lucky his recklessness didn’t take anyone else out. I got up first thing this morning to come see him. I’m just about to go back home now. Carrolyyn waits for Marty’s reaction.

Marty is silent for what seems to be longer than the fifteen seconds it took him to respond. This is just horrible. Imagine someone losing control like this. I don’t understand what gets into people that leads them to act so irresponsibly. I’m very disappointed. I am, however, so glad you are okay and am also glad you two broke up. We don’t need drama like this, especially now.

Now Carrolyyn is the one who is silent. She can only think about what she has just done. If there’s ever a time her and Derq reconcile, this would be very hard to explain.

Carrolyyn, Carrolyyn, are you there? Do you need someone to come pick you up? Do you want me to call Sue? Marty sounds insistent.

No, no, Pops. I’m fine, only lost my train of thought for a moment. I’m not going to take this on right now. Anyway, I want to tell you I’m going to travel to see JJ on Wednesday so I most likely will not check in until the weekend. Do you have anything to report? Carrolyyn figures she will need some time away so thinks this is a good excuse since she will go to LA soon anyway.

"A very nice family came to see the condo today and they were very interested. This may go fast. I hope they decide to buy. It