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“And howdoyou feel?”
I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Was I ready to tell him I was falling in love with him?
At that moment, his phone chimed, and he pulled it out of his pocket. As he read the message on the screen, his face drained of color. “I have to go.”
“Wait—where are you going?”
“It’s Mom. I have to go.” Before I could say anything else, he fled the house. I followed him, calling his name, but by the time I was in the driveway, he was backing out, buckling himself up as his car rolled toward the street.
I stood in the driveway, watching his taillights retreat until I couldn’t see them any longer, until they had disappeared into the night. I stood alone in the driveway of my huge, empty house, my chest so tight it felt like it was on fire. My eyes burned with unshed tears and I trudged inside, taking long, deep breaths as I went.
Once inside, I found my phone and picked it up. I stared for a long moment at the device, unsure of what to do next. Bennett was gone. Dizziness overtook me and I staggered to the chair and sank down, gripping my chest, which still ached with an impossible pain. Who did I have to talk to? I had no one. I had no friends, no family, nothing. This was the life I’d crafted for myself. I was damaged. I knew it was, in part, because of my mother’s insistence that everybody wanted something. “Trust no one. They’re only after what you can give them,” she’d said more than once. The only people I had left were on my payroll.
Jude. I needed to call Jude. He had left earlier that afternoon for a quick trip away, taking a few days off, but I needed to talk tosomeoneand I had no one else to talk to. I didn’t even have a therapist I could call. I slowed my breathing and navigated to my phone’s contacts, swiping Jude’s name.
It rang several times, which was uncharacteristic of Jude. After four rings, I was sure it would go to voicemail, and I was right. No answer. My stomach was sour and hot, and tears threatened to fall. I had never been more alone in my life. Truly, utterly alone.
Chapter Seventeen
Bennett
Ihad one thought racing through my mind, and that was to get to the hospital as quickly as possible. I drove at what was probably an irresponsible speed to the hospital and whipped into the first open space in the emergency room parking lot I saw. I tore into the ER and raced to the desk, panting.
“Sir, you’ll have to sign in on—”
“Jaclyn Cantrell. She’s my mom. She was admitted a few minutes ago?”
The nurse’s eyebrows knit together. “Oh, right.” She cast her gaze at her computer screen for a few moments before nodding firmly. “Right this way. I’ll take you back.”
I followed the nurse, desperately wishing she’d move at a faster clip, until we reached a bay with the curtain drawn around it. The nurse slid the curtain aside just a bit so I could slip in before she retreated to the front desk.
Inside the curtained bay, I found Mom in a bed with her eyes closed, her leg splinted from the knee down, a bandage wrapped around her head. Tam sat in a chair to Mom’s side, holding oneof Mom’s hands, and when I entered, Tam’s face sagged with relief. She slid her hand out of Mom’s and stood, gesturing to the break in the curtains. I followed her out into what effectively served as a hallway.
I leaned in and spoke in a hushed tone. “What happened?”
Tam exhaled slowly. “She was bringing in groceries and she fell on the stairs. I wasn’t home yet. I found her lying on the sidewalk. She says it’s her ankle, but she hit her head, too.”
“Did she have a concussion or anything?”
She shook her head. “Not sure. They’re still doing tests and everything.” She glanced around and when she spotted a doctor heading our way and slowing down when he approached us, she turned to greet him.
“Good evening,” he murmured. “I’m Dr. Rogers. Ms. Cantrell is your mom, correct?” We both nodded, and he kept talking, referring to the chart in his hands. “We need to get her into surgery to repair her ankle, but it luckily looks like her concussion was pretty mild, according to the notes here. We’d like to get surgery started sooner rather than later, so that’s going to happen here in just a little while. Any questions?” We both shook our heads. “Then let’s go talk to Ms. Cantrell.”
Less than an hour later, Mom had been wheeled up to surgery and Tam and I were in the surgical waiting room, both scrolling our phones. After a little while of sitting there silently, Tam turned in her chair to face me.
“So, what’s new?”
I blinked twice. “Sorry, what?”
“What’s new? I need something to distract me.”
“The guy I’m seeing is a dirty liar, that’s what.”
Tam slapped my arm. “Hold up. You’reseeingsomeone? Who is he? What’s he like? Why are you calling him a liar? Tell me everything.”
“I don’t know if we’re still seeing each other, to be honest. I went to his house to sort some things out and you texted about Mom, and I just sort of… raced over here without finishing the conversation.”
Her face fell. “Oh Ben, I’m so sorry. Tell me everything.”
