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I know that car.
It’s been sitting in front of my house for weeks.
“W-what’s going on?” I ask, more to myself than anyone else.
My mother clears her throat and suddenly her hand falls onto my shoulder. “Autumn was in an accident, Easton. They’re transporting her to the hospital right now. You should go home.”
Tears are blurring my vision and I look over. “Go home? There’s no way I can go home right now.” Bethany pops into my head and I look around nervously. “Where’s Bethany?”
“She’s in her room. I asked her to stay there for a little bit. She hasn’t seen anything about this,” my mother says.
Savanna’s phone rings from her pocket and she slowly pulls it out while sucking in a sharp breath. “H-hello?” My mother and I are silent as we try to overhear whoever is on the other end of the phone. “I’ll be there soon, thank you.” She hangs up and slides the phone back into her pants, then looks at me sadly. “That was the hospital. Apparently I’m her emergency contact and they wanted to let me know they’re taking her into surgery.”
I nod and wipe furiously at my eyes. “I’ll, uh, come with you. As long as that’s okay with you?” I’m directing the question at my mother, making sure she’s okay with keeping Bethany longer, and both women answer me with a slow nod. “I can drive us there,” I say while following Savanna out of the house.
“I’m good to drive, Easton.”
“Please?” It’s bad enough that every memory of Elena’s accident is coming back all at once, I don’t need to worry about my sister getting into an accident next. “Just let me do this.”
Savanna sighs and nods, then walks slowly toward my truck while I turn to my mother with a sad smile. “Don’t say anything to Bethany just yet, please?”
My mother nods. “I’ll try to keep her occupied.”
When I slip into the truck, Savanna is sitting in the passenger seat quietly with her gaze pointed out the window. “How do I do this again, Sav?”
Savanna sniffles and shakes her head. “I’m not even sure how I’m going to do this, Easton. She has to be okay though, right?”
That’s exactly what I thought when I got the news that Elena was in an accident. I thought there was no way she would be taken from her daughter, but I was proven wrong as soon as I walked into the hospital. Is that what’s going to happen this time?
The thought of a doctor coming up to Savanna and telling her that Autumn didn’t make it makes me physically ill, but I still manage to put the car in reverse and start down the driveway. Music is spilling from the speakers and I lean forward to turn it off. Music is the last thing I want to hear right now.
I want to let my thoughts take over.
Now would be a great time to call my therapist because I’m definitely going to need her advice. What should I do? I had every intention of finding Autumn and telling her I wanted to live a life with her, work through all my issues together, but can I do that now?
It took a lot for me to admit that I had feelings for her and that I wanted to get myself better so I could be with her, and now I’m on my way to the hospital because she got into an accident. The exact thing I was terrified of happening in the first place.
What are the odds?
I shake my head before making the turn into the hospital parking lot and pulling into an empty spot close to the front entrance. Savanna and I sit there for a few moments, silently watching others as they walk through the automatic doors leading inside, and I let out a loud groan. On autopilot, I slam my fist against the steering wheel, then calmly step out of the truck and wait for Savanna to step beside me.
“Ready?” I ask.
She sighs. “Not at all.”
Same, sis, same. With a heavy heart, I thread my fingers through Savanna’s and lead us toward the entrance, all while running through every possible scenario in my head. One of the nurses sitting at the front desk gives us a polite smile, then Savanna lets her know who we are here for and asks if there’s any information about Autumn. It makes me feel a little better when the nurse tells us that she’s still in surgery, which means nothing has gone wrong so far and she should be okay.
At least that’s what I’m hoping for.
That fear in the back of my mind is desperate to rear its ugly head though and I’m worried it’s going to force a decision out of me that I’m not sure I want to make.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Autumn
Everything hurts.
I’m desperate to open my eyes, but I can’t do it.
