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“Is she breathing?” I sat beside my motionless sister, taking in the sight of her deadly pale skin. Every muscle fiber in my body was lifeless, unable to move any further. “Is she alive?”
Audrey got to work, pressing a finger to her neck for a pulse and then listening for her breath. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I registered Trina talking on the phone with 911. All the while, I sat shivering next to Charlotte, my arms wrapped tightly around my knees and a silent prayer on my lips.
“Help is on the way,” Trina said, rubbing my shoulder.
I squeezed my eyes shut. This was all a nightmare. I was going to wake up soon. Charlotte would be in her bed and I would walk to the fridge and pour myself a glass of milk to go back to sleep. None of this was real. It couldn’t be.
Everything I’d done, I’d done to protect her.
How could I have failed so miserably?
Chapter Twenty-One
I officially hated hospitals. I hated their bright lights, and white-washed walls, and their sanitized odors. I hated even more the bleak vibe in the waiting room while I sat, waiting for the chance to go see my sister again.
All the while, my mind was whirling. This was just like before, with Mom and her heart condition. How many times would I nearly lose someone in this very hospital?
Trina wrapped her arm reassuringly around my shoulder. “The doctor said she’s going to be okay. Cheer up, M. It’s good news.”
I gave her a half-hearted smile. She and Audrey hadn’t left my side. They’d driven behind us in the ambulance and stayed at the hospital with me, even after my parents showed up in a crazy whirlwind of questions and fear.
Charlotte had woken up at the Cascades only moments after Trina called 911. A mouthful of water had spouted out of her mouth like she was some kind of water fountain. The cough that followed it had racked her entire body, until she could finally breathe normally again.
Still, the sight of my sister looking so small on that ambulance stretcher had done nothing to calm me. So here I sat, sandwiched between my best friends, still shaking like a leaf in yesterday’s rain storm.
“Seems like the news is out at school,” Audrey said, looking down at her phone. “There’s even a post about it on RockValleyBiz. No picture, thank goodness. I guess Sarah and her gang got out of there before the police could show up.”
A sour taste filled my mouth. That was twice that Sarah had hung my sister out to dry. This second time had nearly killed her. If I had my way, I’d drag Sarah to the Cascades by her perfectly styled hair and toss her in myself.
“I guess Jayden’s been texting Collin like a maniac,” Audrey added, still staring at her phone. “He wants to know if you’re okay and if he can come see you. What should I say?”
I placed my heels on the edge of the seat cushion and wrapped my arms around my knees. My boot and one shoe had been abandoned at the Cascades in all of the rush, but Audrey had loaned me a pair of black flip flops. I didn’t miss that old clunky thing.
“Tell him I’m fine. And they’re not allowing any more visitors.”
It was hard to miss my best friends exchanging glances over my head. I knew they were worried about me, but I wasn’t the one currently lying in a hospital bed with cords and monitors connected to me. I didn’t need any distractions today. I needed to be there for my family—one hundred percent.
I’d been slacking in my duties and this was what it had come to. I’d thought that I could handle things with Charlotte and eventually get the relationship I wanted with Jayden. That had been a fairytale dream. A dream that had distracted me from what was really going on with my sister. It wasn’t Jayden’s fault. He was sweet and kind and way too good for me. The guilt was all mine. And that guilt sat like a two-ton boulder on my chest, making it impossible to even think about Jayden without breaking down, let alone see him.
“Mandy, it might be nice to have him here,” Trina said gently. “He could cheer you up. Or at the least, annoy you enough so that don’t feel so down.”
“I’m good,” I grumbled.
“Well, at least be sure to call him when you can.” Audrey slipped her phone back into her pocket. “According to Collin, the boy’s freaking out. He really cares about you.”
I gave her a pained look. Calling Jayden meant hearing his voice. And if I heard his voice, I might not be able to stop myself from running back to him. I couldn’t do that. I had to stay here and take care of my family.
“I know this was traumatic, Mandy.” Trina draped an arm around my back and pulled me into a hug. “And you might need some time to heal. But don’t completely shut down. Your sister is fine. Your parents are on board now. You don’t need to go through this alone. We’ve got you. Jayden’s got you.”
I tried to let her words soothe me, but they bounced off of me like rubber. Everything felt so numb. The only emotion bursting through the dim was the strong undeniable need to do better for my family.
“Mandy!” My mom came shuffling down the hall toward us, her hair half falling out of her bun. She still wore her apron from the diner with grease stains on the front.
I jumped out of my chair, a shot of adrenaline spiking through my chest. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
“Nothing’s wrong.” She waved her hands. “The doctors are working on clearing her for release. She should be out in the next hour or so, but Charlotte just got off the phone with Hunter and she wants to talk to you now.”
I breathed out my anxiety. “Okay, I’ll go.”
