Chapter One
KATIE
I feel like I’m moving at hyper speed as I follow the ambulance to the hospital. It took them nearly twenty minutes to find us, and I felt relief when I finally heard the sirens. Noah’s blood is on my hands and clothes, but I don’t care. The paramedics tried to calm me down, but nothing they said registered because shock took hold. I wish Noah wouldn’t have answered Brittany’s call and ignored her ass.
Brittany.
I grip the steering wheel tight with one hand as I call Jerry with the other. When he answers, I can tell he’s smiling, but when I croak out that there’s been an accident, it quickly fades.
“Which hospital?” he asks. I hear keys jingling and know he’s already out the door.
“Mobile General Hospital,” I say.
“I’m on my way now,” he tells me. I hear Belinda in the background asking what’s wrong. “I’ll bring Owen with us too unless you want me to take him to your mother’s.”
“It’s fine. He can come. Thank you so much,” I reply, and the call ends. The next logical person to contact is Gemma, and my heart races as her phone rings. When she answers, the strength I had when I spoke with Jerry quickly vanishes. I try not to cry so my vision doesn’t blur while I’m driving, but I fail. I talk a million miles per hour as I explain exactly what happened.
“Oh my God!” she shrieks.
“I thought he was dead,” I whisper. “I can’t lose him, Gemma. Not now. Not when we’ve decided to finally be together.”
My emotions bubble to the surface, and my words come out in sobs.
“He’s strong, Katie. My brother’s a fighter. If anyone can survive an accident like that, it’ll be Noah. Tyler and I are on our way now. I’ll let Everleigh know too. I know you’re upset,” she says. “Please be careful.”
“I will, I promise. We’re in town now and should be at the hospital in five minutes,” I tell her.
“Okay, I’ll see you soon.”
When I pull into the parking lot, the ambulance goes to the emergency room entrance. I park in the visitor’s area, then run inside and explain the situation to the woman at the front desk. Since he’s just arrived, she hasn’t received any patient information yet and asks me to sit in the waiting area.
The hospital has a certain smell to it, and it brings me back to the night of Gabe’s accident. While I’ve been here a few times over the years, those memories never go away. I find myself staring at the wall, drowning out the surrounding chatter and the TV in the corner. Nothing else matters besides Noah right now.
The doctor finally comes out. He explains what’s going on, then asks me questions about Noah’s health history, mostly things I don’t know.
“They just took him back for a CT scan, and once we have the results of that, we’ll let you know. He’s banged up but remaining stable. As soon as we have more information, I’ll come find you.”
“Thank you,” I say. “Other family members are on their way now.”
He gives me a smile, then returns through the double doors.
When I sit down, I just keep thinking about the what-ifs. What if I wouldn’t have searched for him? Would he have survived? For all I know, he’d still be unconscious and bleeding in his mangled truck. There’s not much traffic on those country roads so there’s no real way to know, but not one car passed while I was there. My mind goes crazy with all the horrible scenarios, and I try to push it all away. The reality is I could’ve lost Noah tonight, and the thought makes me sick to my stomach, almost to the point of dry heaving.
I try to suck in air, but it feels like the ceiling is closing in as my mind reels. The only thing that brings me back to reality is the sound of Belinda’s soft voice. Owen rushes to me and wraps his arms around me.
“I’m fine,” I tell him, knowing he was probably worried. I never randomly leave him with anyone. In this instance, I had to follow my gut.
“How is he?” Jerry asks with concern written on his face.
“Not sure. They just brought him back there. As soon as there’s an update, they said they’d let me know.” Owen sits next to me as Belinda pulls me in for a hug. Just as she lets go of me, a frazzled Gemma and Tyler rush through the door.
As soon as she’s close, Gemma pulls me into her as close as she can. “You okay?” she asks when we break apart.
“I will be once I know he’s fine,” I admit.
“He will be,” she confidently says.
Everleigh arrives, and we sit in the waiting room, but no one really says much. Owen has his tablet and headphones, which keep him occupied. Although he’s next to me, he leans in as close as he can until we’re touching. Having him here brings me comfort. As Gemma and Everleigh ask me a myriad of questions, I lose track of time.
“So what the hell happened?” Everleigh finally asks.
I keep my voice low, trying to put all the pieces together. “Noah called and said he was gonna help Brittany because she had a flat and didn’t have a spare. She was stranded on the side of the road with Anthony and needed help.”
Everleigh gives me the side-eye. “Why didn’t she call someone else? Why him?”
“Exactly,” I mumble. “I asked, and he said he was her last resort. Anyway, we were getting pastries for our movie night, and I saw Belinda, who explained Brittany had left early. Her SUV was parked behind the deli.”
Gemma looks as confused as I feel. “I thought she had car trouble?”
“Apparently, she had a rental,” I say. “I’m not buying any of this. There’s something deeper going on, and while I hate to admit this…” I glance over at Owen, making sure his headphones are still on, and drop to a whisper. “I’m not convinced Brittany is solely responsible for this, but I think Loretta is paying her to do her bidding. Brittany’s a single mom struggling to get by. Today, Loretta conveniently withdrew twenty thousand from the bank. I don’t think any of this is coincidental.”
Gemma places her hand on her chest over her heart, and I don’t want to upset her any more than she already is because of the baby. “You think they’re conspiring against Noah together?”
I nod, unable to meet her eyes.
Everleigh clears her throat. “Looks like Imma need to stab two bitches then.”
It’s the only thing that makes me smile. Before we can continue our conversation, the doctor interrupts us. Jerry stands and greets him. We wait with bated breaths as he informs us of Noah's condition.
“He's doing fine. Noah has a concussion, some bruised ribs, and a lot of cuts and scrapes. We'd like to keep him overnight for observation. He’s been given medication for the pain, and we’re in the process of moving him to another room. I believe the nurse said he’s going to room 327, but it might take some time to get him transferred. In the meantime, do you have any questions for me?”
“No, sir, I don't think we do,” Jerry says after he looks at us, and we shake our heads.
“Not many people have walked away from such a severe accident. From what I've heard, his slow speed, along with the side airbags, helped with the impact. He's lucky to be alive.”