It felt like a lifetime had passed waiting by my phone for Eli to call. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the damn thing. My legs twitched as I tapped my fingers on my knees over and over again, every muscle of my body poised and ready to spring into action the moment my phone rang.
I was so intent on waiting for the call that I almost missed it. The phone buzzed on and on as I watched it, my eyes sightless and my brain so over-stimulated that it had crashed. It was only after blinking a few times that I noticed it was Eli.
Quickly, I picked it up. “Is she okay? Is she okay? Is Ma okay—” My voice was as tightly wound as my body.
“I’m on my way to the hospital with her right now,” Eli cut in. His voice was level and calming, but underneath it, I could hear the fear.
Oh, no. This isn’t good.
“Wh-what happened, Eli?”
There was a pause. “She was unconscious on the floor. She has a good gash on her head. Don’t worry. She’s breathing. I’ll be at the hospital soon. I’ll call you when I know more.”
“Eli—”
“Can’t talk. Weather’s too bad. Have to concentrate on the road.”
The way his voice came out in short, clipped statements drove the point home. The storm over Frazier Falls was dangerous, and Eli was driving in it because of me.
I struggled to contain the fluctuations in my voice. “Okay. Thanks, Eli.”
“Emily, I …” He paused. “You should get yourself to the airport. Get on the first flight you can.”
Those final sentences washed over me like an ice bath. They left me cold and numb. I knew what the underlying meaning of his words was. My mother might not make it.
Choking back a sob, I threw together an overnight bag and ran out to my car, but my hands were trembling so hard, I couldn’t start the engine. I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t drive like this, and Sadie had gone out for drinks with her friends. She’d be halfway sloshed by now.
I called Don.
It took a few rings before he picked up, but when he did, his voice was full of concern. “Is it your mother, Emily?”
“She—my friend went to check on her and found her unconscious on the floor. He’s taking her to the hospital now.”
It felt bizarre to call Eli my friend. We had never just been friends, had we? But I couldn’t think about that now.
“What do you need me to do?” He asked in a gentle voice.
“Can you—can you take me to the airport? I can’t stop shaking. I can’t stop crying. I can’t drive like this.”
“Of course.” There were a few seconds of silence before he added on, “They won’t have any flights until the storm passes. Wouldn’t it be better to stay in your apartment until then? I could keep you company until—”
“No,” I interrupted. “I’d rather be at the airport. I won’t be able … if I sit at home, it will feel like I’m doing nothing.”
“I understand. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. Don’t go anywhere, okay?”
“I won’t. I’ll be out front in my car.”
I sat in my car sobbing in the driver’s seat while my shoulders shook, and my insides trembled. I couldn’t stop blaming myself. My mother’s health had only been getting worse. She and I both knew that. I thought I was doing the right thing by staying in Los Angeles, but in hindsight, I knew I was wrong. I stayed for the money to provide her with the things she needed, but what she really needed was me. If she died, I’d never be able to see her again. If she died, I’d never forgive myself.
Regardless of the circumstances under which I left Frazier Falls, I still left. I was halfway to being able to afford that generator, but what would it matter if mom wasn’t there to use it.
“I’ve been so stupid,” I cried out, the words barely audible around the tears in my throat.
All I could hope for was that Eli would get my mother to the hospital in time and save her. He could have so easily refused to answer my call—he’d have had every right to—and yet he hadn’t. He picked up the phone because it was me. He didn’t lecture me, or shout, or sneer at me. He didn’t think to suggest that whatever I was dealing with wasn’t his problem.
No, he immediately sprang to action as soon as he knew what was going on. Even if I had been overreacting, and my mother had been fine, Eli would never have angrily turned on me for wasting his time.
If I had stayed in Frazier Falls like I should have done in the first place, then the two of us could have been happy together. No, we would have. There were no two ways about it. The only thing that had made our relationship anything less than a proverbial match made in heaven had been my job, and my inability to tell him what was in my heart.
As I waited for Don to arrive, I talked myself into a life in Frazier Falls. I could find a job. Taking over for Rachel Wilkes would be a gift to the entire town.
And now that I had started getting to know some people like John Reilly and my mom’s friend Lucy, I had to admit that Frazier Falls wasn’t as awful as I had made it out to be. It was like my mom described, the town was bigger than home and smaller than Los Angeles. It was the right size. I was only beginning to understand what she meant now that it might be too late.
“I’m so stupid!” I yelled out again, banging my head against the steering wheel. Suddenly, a sharp rap on the window alerted me to Don’s presence. He took one look at my face and opened the door, hugging me before I had an opportunity to say anything.
“Stop crying,” he said. “It’ll be fine. Let’s get you in my car.”
Neither of us said anything for most of the drive to the airport. I was drained, and I didn’t think I could utter any words, even if I wanted to. When we arrived, Don led me to a seat before heading into one of the shops. When he returned, he collapsed beside me and handed over a bottle of water.
“You should eat, but something tells me you don’t have an appetite right now, so drink and take some painkillers.” He handed me two aspirin. “I have no doubt a massive headache is coming your way after all that crying.”
I let out a humorless laugh. “No doubt.”
He glanced at me. “I’m sure your mom will be okay.”
“I don’t know,” I whispered, looking up at the high ceilings of the airport. Unshed tears clung to my eyes, causing the lights above me to blur and blend into one another. “This might be it. I have to consider that.”
“Emily …”
“No, it’s okay. Well, it’s not. I should have been there. There were so many reasons for me to stay.”
Don smiled. “You’re right, but hindsight is always 20/20.”
“Yes, and much clearer when you’re looking from above. I messed everything up.”
“I take it Frazier Falls isn’t as awful as you thought?”
I dropped my head. “It was before I opened my eyes and saw how beautiful it could be. Can you really hate a place when the people who are most important to you live there?”
“I suppose not. In which case, I have a suggestion.”
I turned my face slightly to look at him. His expression was sad even though he was smiling.