Page 52 of The Road Back to Us

“Okay, yes. Absolutely. I’m on my way.”

We hung up, and then I grabbed my phone and tucked it in my pocket as I rushed back to the house to let Sherry know what had happened.

“What’s wrong?” Sherry asked, immediately noticing the panic on my face as I rushed through the front door and grabbed my keys and purse from the hook beside it.

“Kara got hurt at school. I need to take her to the clinic.”

“Do you want me to go with you?”

“No, I’m fine. Thank you, though. I’ll call with an update as soon as I have one.” I checked my watch, not wanting to waste any time getting to Kara. It might have been because I was so far into my pregnancy that the mom instincts were in overdrive, or it might have been because I’d gotten so close to the kids that the thought one of them was hurt made me frantic.

“Can you call Cole and let him know?” I asked with one foot out the door.

“Absolutely,” Sherry confirmed, waving me off. “Go, go, we’ve got things here.”

I nodded and then pulled the door closed behind me before hopping into my car, putting it in drive as I pulled the seatbelt across my lap.

Traffic was light, as usual, so I took the liberty of speeding a little, trying to get to Kara as quickly as possible. I knew the nurse said she was okay, but getting hit in the face with a baseball had to hurt, and I wouldn’t feel better until we saw a doctor and got her checked out.

I turned onto the street leading to the school, feeling my phone vibrate in my pocket. I glanced at the road, making sure everything was okay before I looked down to pull it out. The screen showed Cole’s name as I went to answer it.

“Hey,” I said, more breathless than I intended. This pregnancy weight was really taking its toll on me. “Did your mom call?”

Just as I looked up, a truck was heading directly at me, going well over the speed limit.

“No, why?” he asked.

But before I could answer, I let the phone drop as I gripped the steering wheel with both hands and braced myself for impact as the truck collided with my car head-on.

The sound of metal crunching and glass shattering filled my ears before everything went black.

Forty-Six

Cole

“Lyric! Lyric!” I shouted, pressing the phone to my ear as if that would allow me to hear anything other than the sound of a horn after what sounded like a horrific accident.

I was in my truck in a matter of seconds, not wanting to hang up with Lyric but desperate to know where she was heading. She had asked if my mom called, which left me even more anxious—had something happened to Lyric and the babies? Was something wrong?

Knowing that I didn’t have any other choice, I hung up and immediately dialed my mom as I started the truck and headed for home.

“I was just getting ready—” my mom started before I cut her off.

“Where was Lyric going?” I demanded, checking my mirrors before cutting across several lanes to do a U-turn.

“She’s headed to the school. Kara got hurt, and Lyric was taking her to the clinic. What’s wrong?”

“I called to check in, and there was a loud sound, like she got into a car accident.”

“Oh my God,” my mother whispered. “Go find Lyric, and I’ll take Chloe to pick up Kara. I’ll call your dad and have him—”

“I found her,” I said, swallowing hard as I came upon the accident that blocked the middle of the road. I pulled over to the side and threw the truck in park as I stared in disbelief.

People were out of their cars, walking around with cell phones pressed to their ears, while several people huddled around Lyric’s car. I didn’t wait to hear what my mom said before I tossed the phone into the passenger seat and hopped out of the truck. I took off running, ignoring everyone around me as I tried to get to her.

“You need to stand back—” someone started to say until they realized who it was that was running at them.

I recognized the woman but couldn’t remember her name. Shit, I couldn’t remember anything at that moment.