“Sorry,” I whispered.
“Everything okay, Chelsey?” my father asked.
“The poor girl is probably bored out of her mind, Henry,” the mayor piped in with a chuckle.
“You know,” my mother chimed in. “I think you’re right, George.”
“It’s not very often I hear a woman say that.” The mayor laughed and everyone followed suit.
The night just kept getting better and better.
“I’m fine. Really,” I rushed. I didn’t want to hear where my mother was going with her observation. I could practically see the wheels turning in her head. “This is all very fascinating.”
I was lying through my teeth.
Josh sat across the table and while I could feel his eyes on me throughout the dinner, this was the first time I actually looked at him. I didn’t know how much help he was going to be, but I was hoping he’d see the SOS in my eyes and help a girl out.
“Nonsense,” my mother said. “I know you kids would rather be out doing something young and fun.”
I frowned and shook my head. “No. We’re fine, Mom.”
She batted a hand at me. “Why don’t the two of you go out and do something. Everyone’s pretty much gone and the men still have a few things to talk about.”
“No,” I protested fiercely. When everyone eyed me, I tried to calm my racing heart. “I mean, I’m sure Josh has other plans.”
“Of course he doesn’t,” the mayor said. “I think Josh would love nothing more than to get out of here. Politics bore him to death. Not to mention, he’s failing science, which means all of his plans have been stopped for a while.”
Josh smiled knowingly across the table at me. He wasn’t going to be any help obviously. Going anywhere with Josh wasn’t going to be good. It was the last thing I wanted to do. Plus, Blaine was coming. I didn’t want to miss spending time with him.
Things were moving too fast, and my brain was firing off different ways I could get out of going anywhere with Josh.
“You know… Chelsey’s very good at science. Maybe she could help Josh with his studies,” my mother pushed.
“That would be fantastic. Speaking of studies, I heard you’re a Columbia girl, Chelsey?” the mayor asked.
I swallowed past the dry lump in my throat.
“Yes, sir. I’m hoping to attend in the fall.”
“You
will
attend,” my father promised with a wink.
“Well, maybe all those smarts your father’s been bragging about with rub off on my son.”
Josh’s smile grew and I knew he was thinking dirty thoughts.
There would be no rubbing of anything when it came to the two of us
, I thought to myself.
There was no getting out of it, which meant I needed to go along with everything and get out and back in as quickly as possible.
“Well, I guess if I have no other choice,” I said, tossing my cloth napkin on the table.
“Chelsey!” my mother cried. “That was rude.”
“It’s okay, Mrs. Ford,” Josh said as he stood. “Chelsey likes to give me a hard time. Should we go, Chelsey?”
Josh went to the doorway of the dining room and waited for me to join him, but it was my mother who swooped in behind me to take my arm firmly. Her nails dug into my skin letting me know she wasn’t very happy with me.
“Let me walk you two to the door,” she said.
Josh followed a few steps behind while my mom practically pulled my arm off as we made our way through the foyer.
“You
will
be on your best behavior, Chelsey Rae Ford,” she growled in my ear. “Be nice to this boy because your father needs all the support he can get.”
I pulled my arm free from her death grip and took my coat from her hands slipping it on. “I’ll do this for you tonight, but this will be the last time you do this.”
Her eyes grew wide at my rebellious tone.
I didn’t wait for her to respond nor did I bother to see if Josh was following me as I pulled open the front door and stomped out. I stood on the steps and waited, pulling my coat tighter around me.
“We don’t have to do anything if you’re that repulsed by my presence,” Josh said as he joined me on the steps.
“Don’t act like your feelings are hurt. You’d rather be out banging some chick right now and we both know it.”
“Not true,” he said, jumping down a step. “Challenges are my favorite, Chelsey Rae.” He mocked my middle name.
I knew inside that he heard my mother, but it was still embarrassing.
“I’m not a challenge, Josh. I’m just not interested.”
“Fair enough.” He held up his hands in surrender. “Let’s part ways here and call it a night.”
He started toward the gravel driveway, pulling his keys from his pocket.
He was calling my bluff, and I wanted nothing more than to go through with it, but I was pretty sure my mother was still watching from the window. It wasn’t like I could leave on my own since I didn’t have my own car yet, which was ridiculous and embarrassing considering who my parents were.
“Wait,” I snapped, following behind him.
I went to his car and waited by the passenger door. I expected him to unlock the doors and get in, but instead he walked around the front and came to my door. I heard the click of the locks before he reached over and pulled it open.
“What kind of gentlemen would I be if I didn’t at least open the door for you?” He grinned.
“What kind of girl would I be if I thought for one second you were a gentlemen?”
I enjoyed the look on his face as I climbed in and shut the door. My night had just gotten longer.
We ended up at a movie, and I spent the entire time checking my phone for the time. The people behind me got mad every time my phone lit up. By the time the credits were rolling across the screen it was eleven.
I practically ran to Josh’s car, and groaned to myself when I saw he picked tonight to follow the rules and go the speed limit. I’d never been so happy to see my house when we pulled up in the driveway.
All the cars were gone, which meant the party was over. I unbuckled my seatbelt and prepared for a quick goodbye, but Josh had different plans. I rolled my eyes when I realized he was going to walk me to my door as if we were on an actual date.
We walked side by side across the drive to the front porch.
“That was fun,” he said, his eyes moving over my face and making me extremely uncomfortable.
“Yeah. It was,” I agreed.
Really I was thinking about how badly I wished he’d leave so I could rush upstairs to my room.
“Well, I guess I’ll see you at school.”
I turned toward the door, but before I could grab the knob, I was pulled into Josh’s arms. His mouth came crashing down on mine—his lips abusing mine and his tongue trying to aggressively press into my mouth.
My fingers pressed into his chest as I tried hard to free myself from him, but his arms were locked around me and he was much stronger than he looked.
Finally, his arms loosened and I was able to move. Pulling away, I broke the kiss and used the back of my hand to roughly wipe him from my lips.
“You asshole!” I shrieked. “How dare you?”
He didn’t answer. Instead, he chuckled softly to himself and smiled. His cocky attitude and devilish grin filled me with so much anger I felt like I was going to explode.
And then I did.
Lifting my hand, I reared back and slapped him right across his face. My palm stung at the connection. His smile slipped from his face as he covered his reddening cheek. I shook my head at him when he started to say something.
The bastard. I should’ve known better than to trust him.
Opening the front door, I slipped inside and slammed door in his face for extra measure. Taking the stairs two at a time, I ran up to my room. I couldn’t wait to see Blaine, and I could only hope he’d be waiting in my room for me when I got there, but he wasn’t.
23
BLAINE
EVERYTHING HURT.
It even hurt to open my eyes, so I kept them closed as I tried to breathe through bruised lungs. Everything was fuzzy, and it was hard to concentrate on anything when all I could focus on was the pain pulsating through my body.
There was a loud buzzing in my ears, as if thousands of bees had come to take me away. Slowly the buzzing subsided and an annoying beeping took its place. Cracking my eyes open, a bright light above me hummed. Voices I didn’t recognize broke through the beeping and humming, but their words ran together creating a jumbled mess I couldn’t comprehend.
The more I became conscious, the more everything became clearer and the events of the night swarmed my head. My thoughts were dizzying, leaving me gasping for air that wasn’t available.
Memories of the crash assaulted me. The bright headlights through my window in the backseat, the screams of my sister and mother seconds before we were T-boned by a vehicle much larger than ours, and the sickening sound of someone choking on their final breaths from the front seat—all of it moved through my head making me cry out in pain.
My eyes fluttered closed when tears filled them, and when I opened them again I instantly regretted it. The ceiling above me spun making my stomach lunge. I swallowed hard, forcing the bile from rushing up my throat.
I couldn’t just lay there. I needed to get up. I needed to get to my family. And then a new memory of my father and his dead eyes moved in, sucking away the tiny bit of oxygen I could get and sending a massive pain through my chest.
My dad. He was gone. He was dead. There was no mistaking that.
Sitting up, I saw that I was in an empty room. A curtain separated me from the rest of the world, but I could hear the chaos of the emergency room just on the other side. Tubes and wires surrounded me, and an IV dug deep into my arm.
My body was shaking uncontrollably and I wasn’t positive I could stand on my own, but I knew I had to find my sister and my mother. I had to know they were okay. Ripping the IV from my arm, my blood spurted out and covered my bruised skin.
It’s not like it mattered since I was already covered in blood and grime. Looking down, I took in my ripped shirt and jeans and shook my head. This wasn’t happening. None of it felt real to me. It was as if I was in a daze or the fucking Twilight Zone.
I turned and climbed out of the bed. My legs felt weak beneath me as I moved through the tiny room toward the curtain. And then I was pulling the curtain back and staring out at a frantic emergency room. Nurses ran from room to room and the phones were ringing off the hook.
I stepped into the hallway and moved my eyes around the room. My mom and Maddie were somewhere close. They had to be. I limped to the curtains around me, pulling them back in search of my mom and sister. I got yelled out a few times—some by patients and some by nurses—until finally I pulled back the right curtain and saw Maddie lying in a bed.
I rushed to her side, pain radiating down my side as I bent over her. Her eyes were closed and a light flush reddened her soft cheeks. There were no marks on her face, and except for her cracked lips and a small bruise on her arm, she looked perfectly fine.
A single IV was in her arm, but other than that, there were no tubes and wires. She was simply sleeping. After the night she had, that was expected. Leaning over her, I pressed a soft kiss on her forehead and swiped at the tear that lingered down my cheek. She was alive. My baby sister was alive.
“You can’t be in here, sir,” a nurse said at my side.
I didn’t even look her way. I kept my eyes pasted on Maddie. I needed to see her breathing. I needed to know she was alive.
“My mom,” I started. “Where’s my mom?”
“Excuse me?” the nurse asked.
I knew I wasn’t being clear, and I could only imagine what I looked like. My eyes were probably as crazy as I felt and I already knew my clothes looked like hell. There I was leaning over a sleeping angel with tears on my cheeks and blood on my clothes.
“We were in an accident,” I snapped. “Me and my family. This is my sister. I already know my dad is dead.” I winced when I said the words and I dropped my head and struggled to keep back the tears. “I’m asking you where my mom is. Did she—” The words choked me. “Is she alive?”
The sounds of someone choking in the front seat played over and over through my mind. I didn’t know if it was my mom or my dad struggling to live, but I knew those sounds would haunt me for the rest of my life.
I turned to face the nurse and saw the moment when realization filled her eyes.
“Sir, you shouldn’t be up. We need to get you back to your room.”
She moved toward me and softly grabbed me by the arm. I tugged away from her and the room spun at my quick movements.
“Tell me!” I roared.
Still, she didn’t answer my earlier question. Instead she attempted to reach for me.
“Sir, if you don’t return to your room I’ll have to call security to escort you there. There are tests that need to be done and you’re scheduled for a CT scan, as well. You really shouldn’t be up like this.”
Again, I pulled away from her. Tugging at my hair, I met her eye for eye. Her green eyes moved over my face and sadness set into her expression.
“Please,” I begged. “Please tell me where my mom is.”
The nurse looked behind her to check if anyone was in the room with us, and when she turned to face me again I saw my answer in her expression.
“No,” I whispered.
Tears rushed to my eyes and I choked on my breath. Nausea rolled through my stomach and dizziness moved in. I gripped my hand on the wall beside me to keep from falling, before I collapsed in the chair next to my sister’s bed.
“I’m so sorry,” the nurse muttered.
A loud cry escaped me, broken and full of despair. This was really happening. My world crumbled around me and I felt as if I was dying right along with my parents.
They were gone. Both of them. My mom and my dad. Dead. Not of this world. Passed on. However you wanted to say it. I’d never hear my mom’s laughter again. I’d never feel my dad pat my shoulder when I’d done something to make him proud of me. Never again.
Gravity ceased to exist, and I felt as though I was floating around aimlessly. Everything was out of control and I needed something—anything—to hold me to the earth. Maddie would need me more than ever now. I couldn’t afford to lose it. I had to stay for her. I had to keep myself going for my baby sister and there was only one person in the world who made me feel like I was alive.
Chelsey.
I needed her. I needed her to hold me—tell me everything was going to be okay. I needed to see her face—her sweet smile. I wanted to breathe her in. I wanted to know I still had her there to keep me strong. She and Maddie were all I had left.
I stood, dizziness sweeping in, and shook my head. I moved back to Maddie’s side and kissed her again. When she woke up, I’d be there, but first I needed to see Chelsey.
Without another word to the nurse, I fled from the room and out of the hospital. The night air was cool on my heated skin, and I stopped and took a deep pull of oxygen. My lungs screamed in pain, but I pushed through.
I was slowly losing it, and I needed the one person who kept me grounded. I needed Chelsey.
**********
SNEAKING UP THE TREE OUTSIDE
Chelsey’s window was already hard as fuck, but doing it with what I was sure was a sprained wrist and a few broken ribs was absolute hell. I’d never been so happy when I stepped foot on the shingled roof outside her bedroom.
The inside of her room was dark, and I thought maybe she’d gotten tired of waiting for me and went to bed. I wasn’t sure of the time since I had no fucking clue where my phone was and I had no idea how long I’d been out, but it didn’t mattered. If she was asleep, I’d wake her up. I needed her.
Her window wasn’t open already as usual, but it was unlocked. I lifted it, gritting my teeth through the pain, and climbed through before collapsing on her bedroom floor. I leaned my head against the windowsill behind me and caught my breath.
My eyes moved around Chelsey’s space before landing on her bed. I expected her to be sleeping there. I expected to see her snuggled up in her bed with a sweet smile on her face, but she was nowhere to be found. Her room was completely empty.
The clock next to her bed lit up the small space on top of her night table and my eyes latched onto the time. It was a little after eleven, which meant Chelsey should’ve been in her room.
Worry moved through me.
Why wasn’t she there? Where could she be? Was she okay?
It was weird. Chelsey was always in her room waiting for me by this time at night.
I decided to wait for her. Maybe she was downstairs with her parents. Maybe she’d run to the restroom real quick. It was totally normal for a person to get out of bed in the middle of the night to take a piss. Or maybe she was in the shower getting ready for bed.
I waited in her room for thirty minutes before I realized she wasn’t coming. The thought that maybe she heard about the accident and went to the hospital moved through my mind, but that didn’t make any sense. We didn’t know the same people. Actually, no one from school knew anyone from my side of town. At least I didn’t know anyone who did.
Something came up—that was the only way Chelsey would miss our night together.
I pushed myself into a standing position and rested my arms on the window ledge to catch my breath again. If Chelsey had gone to the hospital for me, then I needed to be there. I needed to get back to Maddie anyway.
I pushed myself through her window, closing it softly behind me, and then I limped over the shingled room to the edge where I usually climbed the tree down, but I paused when I took in the sight below.
There was a car parked in the driveway, and Chelsey was climbing from the passenger’s side looking beautiful as always. I smiled down at her as I watched her shut the car door behind her, but my smile disappeared and pain exploded through my chest when the driver’s side opened and Josh the fucking jock climbed out.
I swallowed the bile that rose up my throat and controlled myself from jumping from the roof and beating the breath from his body. My eyes roamed over them as they walked side by side to the steps of the front porch, and then they disappeared beneath the roof and I could no longer see what they were doing.
A date. I lost my parents and almost died in a car accident, and my Chelsey was out on a fucking date. At least it looked like a date, but then again, if it looked like a duck and walked like a duck then it was fucking duck.
She was just below me on the porch saying goodnight to the fuck face, and there I was, standing on her roof and needing her more than my next breath.
What a fucking fool I was.
I thought she loved me the way I loved her. I thought she was my future. But all that was gone now. My parents were gone and so was my future. Apparently, I was losing everything I loved, and I fucking loved Chelsey so much it hurt worse than any injury from the accident.
The thought of Josh kissing her goodnight—touching any part of her—made me collapse on my ass. The shingles from the roof scraped across my ripped jeans as I sat there, gripping my hair and trying to silence the demons within.
I might not have died in the accident with my parents, but I was dead. Chelsey killed me in that moment. The Blaine Wesley that loved her so completely was gone.
When I got back to the hospital my grandmother was there crying next to Maddie’s bed. She’d obviously flown in from New York because of the accident. There was no telling how she’d found out about it.
Maddie was awake, and the minute I walked into the room she burst into tears and reached for me. I went to her and held her in my arms. She was young and probably had no idea what was going on. She kept calling out for mom and dad, which did nothing to soothe my broken heart.
**********
A WEEK LATER WE BURIED MY PARENTS.
My grandma took care of everything, which was a good thing since I had no fucking idea where to begin with shit like that.
People came by the house afterward and brought food and their condolences. It was a small gathering, but a few of my boys from the neighborhood stopped by. I thought that was a nice of them.
The details about the accident were released and did nothing to lift my shitty mood.
A drunk driver.
That’s who killed my parents.
And I swear if the fucker wasn’t already dead, I would’ve strangled him with my bare hands and watched the life leave his body with pleasure. I swore the moment I found out that I’d never drink again. Never again.
Once the house was empty and it was just me, Maddie, and Grandma, reality really set it. There I was, in my home without half of my family. I sat on the porch in the heated, night air and watched lightening bugs light up and disappear around the bushes in the yard.
“I know it’s probably a terrible time to talk about this, but what are your plans?” Grandma asked as she took the seat next to me.