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“I knew something wasn’t right with him,” Beau mutters. I turn back in my seat to look at him.
“What the fuck are we going to do?” I ask.
“We’re going to go to the hospital, and take it one step at a time,” Jason responds. He’s always been the most level head. The most calm of us brothers.
Thomas nods, his eyes empty, tears streaming down them. I probably have a similar look on my face. I don’t know how to process this pain, this fear, so I shut down. I make my mind go blank, and I slowly breathe in and out, letting that be the only thing I focus on.
34
JOSIE
Something is wrong.
Andrew is over an hour late to pick me up, and I haven’t heard from him since we last messaged shortly after one, even after my texts letting him know I had news. Usually he’s texting me all the time, whether it be an emoji, a picture of Travis, or actual conversation, I hear from him often. I don’t mind the frequent messaging, but the fact that there’s been radio silence for the last two hours worries me. He knew he was supposed to pick me up at four-thirty, but ever since I told him I didn’t need him to come help, he’s been absent.
Did I upset him? I worry for a moment that he’s doing this out of malice, that he’s angry that I didn't accept his offer for help, but I shut it down instantly. Andrew would never do that. No matter how angry he might be, he’d never do something like this to spite me.
Something has to be wrong.
I put my phone to my ear, calling him for the fifth time. It rings and rings, then goes to voicemail. I leave him yet another message.
“Hey honey, it’s me. Can you call me back? I’m starting to worry.” I hang up, shoving my phone in the pocket of my black leggings. I bounce up and down on the balls of my feet as my nerves tingle with anxiety.
I pull my phone back out of my pocket, checking it again to see if there’s been any change in the two seconds since I last checked it.
I wish I had any of his family's numbers so I could call them and see if they’ve heard from him, but then again, I wouldn’t want to unnecessarily worry them. He was with his brothers for most of the day. Maybe they got drunk and are asleep? That idea gets shoved away immediately. It’s five thirty in the afternoon. I don’t think he’d get drunk that early, especially knowing he had to come get me.
My eyes burn with tears, because god, I’m so fucking scared. I try not to let my mind stray to the possibility of him getting in an accident, but the thought is there. How could it not be?
Think, Josie. What are your options here? I could ask an event staff member to hold my things in a room, call a ride share to get me home, and go from there? Or, I could sit here, and keep waiting, because he’ll show up. He has to.
Or I could call Marley and ask her for a ride. Maybe she’d know where he is. She could ask Beau what they’ve been up to.
My finger is sliding across my screen to unlock it without a second thought. I have to get some sort of information, and if she doesn’t know where he might be, then at least she can help me find him.
The line rings and rings, and I worry it will go to voicemail when Marley answers on the last ring.
“Josie, thank god,” she breathes. “How are you? How’s Andrew?” The anxiety in her voice cracks my already breaking heart.
A tear slides down my face. I don’t even know what is happening, but yet I’m crying. “Marley, what is going on? Why are you asking me how Andrew is?”
“Aren’t you with him?” she asks.
“No!” I nearly shout. The tears are streaming freely now, and I’m almost sobbing. “He was supposed to pick me up after I finished this wedding, and he didn’t show. Now he’s not answering his phone, and I have this feeling that something is wrong.”
“Fuck,” Marley swears. I can hear her mom in the background and the jangle of keys. “Where are you? I’m coming to get you.”
“Meadow Grove Winery, but Marley, what is happening?”
“Earl passed out, and they couldn’t wake him. He was being transported to a hospital in St. Paul last I heard.” The sound of a car door slamming and a car starting is the only thing I hear.
I slide to the ground, the words sinking in. “Oh my god,” I whisper.
“Andrew and the boys are at the hospital with their parents.” Marley continues to speak, but I don’t have any other thoughts besides getting to him. “I’ll be there in thirty minutes to get you. Don’t move.”
“I won’t,” I murmur. The call disconnects. I lean back against the siding of the winery, trying to collect myself. I need to be strong for him now.
Time passes, and soon, Marley is whipping into the parking lot in her crossover SUV. She throws it in park, getting out while leaving it running. I collapse into her arms as soon as she reaches me, letting her squeeze me. “I’m a horrible person,” I murmur into her neck.
