AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Come on, I’m going to take you to the hospital. You can decide if you want to see Brady when we get there.” Mrs. Parks stood up, cleaned the sandwich papers and drinks from the table, and led her daughter out of the restaurant into the car.
Elizabeth’s mind raced as she sat in the passenger seat. Feelings were flooding her insides. Worry, concern, fear, nervousness. They all churned together making her scared she might throw up the sandwich and chips she just shoved in her mouth. She held her stomach, willing it to hold down the food, and also to feel close to the child whose father was injured.
When her mom pulled into the parking lot and searched for a spot to park, Elizabeth grabbed her phone and sent a text to Christian’s number.
It’s Elizabeth. My mom and I are parking. Can I talk to you first before going in to see Brady?
It took a few seconds until she got an answer. During that time, her mom had found a spot, pulled in and turned off the car, waiting to see what her daughter was going to decide.
Sure. I’ll meet you in the lobby at the main entrance. I’mwearing jeans, boots, and a red T-shirt.
“Christian’s gonna meet us in the lobby. I want to talk to him first.” Elizabeth let her mom know and got out of the car quickly before she lost her nerve.
When the two women made it to the entrance, Elizabeth’s mother excused herself to call her dad, but she promised to meet up with Elizabeth inside.
Elizabeth stood outside the hospital watching her mom walk away. She contemplated leaving and going back to the car, but that thought only took a second as she felt a kick in her stomach like the baby was letting her know he, or she, wanted to go inside.
“Okay, little one. We’ll go.” She took a deep calming breath and stepped through the large sliding doors which opened into the hospital lobby.
Elizabeth would have recognized Christian without a description. He had the same brown wavy hair as Brady.
The two brothers looked so much alike Elizabeth did a quick double take trying to remember if Brady was a twin even though she knew that he wasn’t.
Christian was a few years older, and Elizabeth thought she remembered Brady saying something about his nephews, Christian’s sons.
He must have had a description of her also, because as soon as they made eye contact, he smiled and walked toward her.
When they got close, he put his hand out in greeting. “You must be Elizabeth.”
Nodding her head yes, Elizabeth shook his hand.
“Well, you are just as pretty as Brady always said.”
He looked down at her belly and his smile grew wider. “Wow. My brother is really gonna be a dad.” Grasping both her hands and holding her gaze he finished his sentence. “He’s so excited. Really, he is. I also want you to know he talked about you all summer, even before you contacted him. His biggest regret was not keeping a relationship with you. He always talked about you as the ‘one who got away.’ He was so excited when you contacted him, and I have to admit, a little scared and shocked when you told him the news.”
Elizabeth was overwhelmed at all she just heard. “He never said anything at school that he had real feelings for me. I thought we were just close friends. Anyway…” She waved her hand in front of them like she was trying to erase all that from memory. “What happened? How did he get here?”
“Well, that’s a story he doesn’t want you to know.” Christian walked away and sat down on a couch in the waiting area. Elizabeth followed and took the seat across from him.
He looked at her as he continued. “He told me all about your talk at the park, the baby, how he felt. I can tell you, excited, isn’t quite the word, but very happy? That might be good enough, anyway. He was happy that you both were talking, and he thought things were going well. To him, it was like you both picked right back up from where things were left at the end of school. He was nervous about becoming a dad, but never thought twice about standing up and taking responsibility. Our family is important to us.” He looked at her, making sure she understood this.
“When he got back from your house the last time, he asked me if he could come over. He needed to talk to someone. Of course, I said yes. I could tell by the tone in his voice there was something wrong. He told me about how well things seemed to go with your parents, and that he thought things were going well between you both. Then he told me about seeing you making out with that guy, Jacob, I think he said his name was? In the parking lot.”
Again, Christian stopped talking and made eye contact with her. “I’ve gotta tell you, he was hurt that you didn’t deny your feelings for that guy. It was getting late. He decided to leave my house. I could tell he was upset, and I tried to get him to spend the night. Anyway, he insisted on driving home. At some point on the drive, he lost control, and hit a tree. He’s lucky that he didn’t get hurt worse than he did, or that he didn’t hit anyone else.”
Christian stood up and walked away before he turned and continued. “I should have forced him to stay at my place. He shouldn’t have been driving. He was angry and frustrated.” Christian covered his eyes with his hands.
Elizabeth could tell he was upset, and she didn’t blame him for feeling that way at all. She slowly stood up and walked toward him cautiously. “How bad is he hurt? You said he had surgery.”
Christian pushed his fingers on the bridge of his nose. “Like I told you on the phone, his surgery was on his leg. He needed to get a rod placed because the break was so serious, and he has a concussion. He’ll be fine. He just needs time to heal.” Elizabeth felt that there was a hidden message in those last words, and they hit her hard in her heart.
“Can I go see him?”
“Sure, but remember, he doesn’t know you’re here. I’ll go in first and talk to him.”
Elizabeth agreed and followed Christian into the elevator and down a hallway to another waiting room. He walked ahead to an older man and lady. He said something Elizabeth couldn’t hear. The woman looked over at Elizabeth, nodded her head and walked toward her.
“Hi. You’re Elizabeth?” Elizabeth nodded her head. “I’m Joanna Warren. Brady and Christian’s mother. It’s nice to finally meet you.”
