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Wendy had called in a panic five minutes after I’d arrived on the scene. Once I’d convinced her that Maddy was fine and I had everything under control, she’d told me she was heading home to meet us at the house when we were done here.
I brushed Maddy’s dark bangs back, frowning as I inspected the red spot on her forehead. “Are you sure you don’t want me to take you to the ER to have that looked at? Just in case.”
The force of the impact when her car was hit had caused her head to bounce against the side window a little. Not hard enough to break either the glass or her skin, but still. She’d declined the police officer’s offer to call the paramedics, but I couldn’t help worrying.
“It’s not that bad,” she said, wrinkling her nose as she batted my hand away. “The airbags didn’t even go off.”
“Yeah, I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.” I had to admit she wasn’t showing any signs of a concussion. It’d probably leave a small bruise, but it didn’t seem to be forming much of a lump.
“I promise it’s nothing. Trust me.” She offered a watery smile. “I’ve gotten worse injuries hitting myself in the head with the hair dryer.”
“Fine. You’re the boss.” As we watched the tow truck driver secure her car to the now-flat bed of his truck, I draped my arm around Maddy’s shoulders. For once, she didn’t pull away.
Christ, how I’d missed being able to hold her like this. It’d been years since she’d let me be this close to her. As I kissed the side of her head, I prayed to a higher power I no longer believed in that Maddy had finally started to forgive me for all the times I’d let her down.
“My poor car,” she said, leaning against me. “Do you think they’ll be able to fix it?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
“I loved that car. You let me pick it out for myself.”
“Yeah.” That day was one of the best family memories I had from the last few years. “You picked a good one.”
Wendy had wanted to give Maddy a car for her sixteenth birthday so she could drive herself and her brother to and from school. I’d had some concerns about granting her that much freedom, but I’d gone along with it because I was tired of feeling like the bad guy all the time.
The four of us had gone to the used car lot together, and I’d talked Maddy through the pros and cons of all the cars that fit the budget we’d agreed on. But I’d let her make the final choice herself, and she’d picked the extremely sensible Honda sedan I’d secretly been pulling for. For a few wonderful hours that day, she hadn’t seemed to mind being around me so much. It was the last time I could remember the four of us being all together and feeling like a happy, close-knit family. Six months later, Wendy asked me for a divorce and I moved out.
The police officer who’d showed up to the accident scene had finished talking to the other driver, and he made his way back toward us. “I’ve taken everyone’s statements, so you’re free to go. Here’s the case number to give your insurance company.”
I thanked him as I accepted the slip of paper he tore off his clipboard.
“He was kind of cute,” Maddy said as we watched him stride back to his cruiser.
I grunted in response. If she was doing well enough to care what the cop looked like, she must be getting over the initial shock of the accident. My brilliant, resilient kid was going to be just fine.
“Come on, let’s get you home,” I said, leading her toward my car. “Your mom said she was going to pick up some of your favorite ice cream for you.”
“Oh yay!” Maddy practically skipped the rest of the way to my car.
Yeah, she was definitely fine.
I fastened my seat belt and started the engine. While Maddy played with the stereo system, pulling up one of her playlists, I checked my phone to make sure I hadn’t heard back from Tess yet.
Still nothing. Not a good sign.
I’d called her while I was racing to my car after getting off the phone with Maddy earlier and left a panicked message explaining the situation. But I knew from our weekly trips to visit her dad that Tess’s cell reception was shit at the care home. I had no way of knowing if she’d even gotten my message. Based on the texts she’d sent while I was driving across town to get to Maddy, it sounded like not.
A painful lump settled in the pit of my stomach as I thumbed through them again.
Tess: I’m here. Waiting in the parking lot.
Tess: Are you running late?
Tess: You didn’t forget, did you?
Tess: Please tell me you’re on your way.
And then finally:
