Saved By You (3 page)

Tears formed in my eyes, again. It was too much to handle all at once. Why couldn’t things have worked out differently? Why couldn’t Haden have been everything that I thought he was? Why couldn’t he be with me right now?

“What happened last night?” Sarah asked. My eyes darted up to her, and she stared at me quizzically. “That was quite the scene you just put on with Haden,” she said.

I nodded slowly, and knew I should tell her everything. Sarah had been with me since the beginning of it all, and I grown to really trust her opinion. She might have been my younger cousin, but she was wise beyond her years, and always willing to lend an open ear.

So, I told her. I told her everything. I told her all about how I found out who Haden really was—how he was from Los Angeles, and how he was part of that band we’d been hearing on the radio. I told her how he’d run away from LA and eventually ended up in Green Falls. I told her how Kyle was actually his band mate, and all about the video he showed me while I was at their hotel room.

After I’d finished the story, I was surprised to see that Sarah was giving me a bright-eyed smile. She had a glow to her face that seemed out of place.

“Isn’t that so exciting, though?” she said.

“What are you talking about?” I said, incredulous.

“About Haden,” she said, as though that explained everything. “It’s pretty obvious that he loves you if he’s going through all this trouble to stay near you.”

I shook my head. “If he loved me he would have told me the truth from the beginning.” Sarah shook her head and opened her mouth like she was going to come to his defense, but nothing came out. “Besides,” I continued. “They got a call. They’re going on tour with Maroon 5.”

“It didn’t look like he had any intention of leaving anytime soon,” she said, matter-of-factly.

“He will,” I said. “Just as soon as he comes to his senses. Or as soon as he gets what he wants.” I shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t really care anymore. I don’t want anything to do with him.”

She let out a sigh and wrapped her arms around me. “I’m so sorry, Maggie,” she said. “I’m so sorry that all of this is happening. It’s so much. I wish there was something I could do.”

“Me too,” I said.

Huck dropped in on us from the other side of the couch. And when I say dropped in on us, I literally mean fell over the back. He landed with a huff and gave both of us a look.

“Jeez Huck,” Sarah almost yelled. “Were you raised in a barn?”

“My parents do have one,” he said, grinning.

She punched him in the shoulder.

“You can be such a brute,” she said. Her tone was serious, but there was laughter in her eyes.

“I take it we’re not friends with Haden anymore?” he said.

Sarah and I both gave a tiny laugh. She shook her head. “Damn,” he said. “I guess that means he’s not going to help my band.”

“Your band?” I said, curious. “What band?”

Sarah rolled her eyes. “Huck has this fool notion that he’s going to win the Battle this year,” she said. “He and some of his friends have been talking about entering it for a long time, and apparently this was going to be their year.”

He nodded, determined. “Well, yeah,” he said. “It’s our last year around here, there’s no better time. And Sarah was telling me all about how Haden was some musical genius or something, so I figured he could lend us a hand.”

I shrugged. “Well, apparently he
is
some kind of musical genius,” I said. “But, I’m afraid he’s not going to be around for the Battle.”

Huck thought it over for a second, then shrugged his agreement.

“It’s no matter,” he said. “We’ll just have to win it our own way.”

“And besides,” I continued. “I don’t want anything to do with the Battle. I’m done with it, once and for all.”

Sarah gave me a surprised look. “What are you talking about?”

I shook my head. “Without Haden around, the band I signed isn’t going to be able to do the show,” I said. “And, what’s
worse
, apparently Scottie knew about Haden all along.”

“You mean he
knew
?” Sarah said, shocked.

I gave her a wide-eyed look, nodding.

She shook her head, disbelieving.

“What are you going to do about it?”

“Nothing,” I said. “What is there to do? They’re on their own.”

“You’re not going to go talk to Scottie?” she asked.

I rolled a shoulder. “If I get around to it,” I said, curtly. “But, if he’s not going to be open with me, I don’t see any rush in doing so with him.”

She nodded, understanding. Huck reached around her and clapped me on the shoulder.

“Whatever you decide, Maggie,” he said. “We’re family, and we got your back.”

Sarah’s head whipped around toward him, her eyes narrowing.

“
You’re
not family,” she said.

He shrugged. “I may as well be, I’ve known you all my whole life.”

She let out a sharp breath. “But you’re
not
,” she said, insistently.

He gave her a stare so blank I couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

“I appreciate the support,” I said, trying to hold the laugh back. I nudged Sarah on the arm. “We should go eat. I’m starving.”

She fixed Huck with another stare before nodding at me. Like civilized people, we walked around the couch and off into the kitchen. Huck held back a step or two, grumbling something about just trying to be supportive.

I bit back another tiny laugh, hoping Sarah wouldn’t see.

The smell of the food was nearly overpowering. My stomach grumbled louder with each step I took. Uncle Larry was stationed over the stove, and would have looked every part the chef if it weren’t for the cell phone clutched to his ear.

He was a short, squat man who always seemed to have a bright smile plastered to his face. But with the smile came the cell phone in his hand. The one thing I remembered about him was that he was always on the move—always trying get something done. That’s probably why they had been so successful, and how Sarah’s family could now afford to live a life of luxury.

Uncle Larry waved at me as he saw us come in from the living room. With the hand clutching a spatula, he motioned toward the breakfast nook. Grandma appeared in the doorway from the den, having put on some new clothes and freshened herself up. It had been a long night for everyone, and the bags under everyone’s eyes marked just how everyone was feeling. Sarah slid into a seat next to mine, and Huck sat next to her. She watched her dad for a second before giving me a knowing look.

After a minute, Uncle Larry clicked the cell phone shut, and the kitchen reverberated as he roared to full life.

“Maggie, it’s so good to see you,” he boomed, rushing over to me.

I leaped up and gave him a hug. Food sizzled next to us as he threw an arm around me.

“How was your vacation?” I asked.

“Oh, you know,” he said, waving a hand. “It’s a good thing your aunt and I see things the same way. I see myself sitting in the hotel room with a good book, and she sees me doing that while she goes out exploring.” His face widened. “I read five books, so it was a pretty good vacation.”

I grinned. “So you went to the Bahamas so you could sit in a hotel room reading books?” I asked.

“Beauty is what you make it,” he said. “Ain’t no beach as beautiful as what I got going on up here.” He poked at his head.

I shrugged. “If you say so,” I said. “But, next time let me know and
I’ll
fly to the Bahamas and you can stay home.”

“
That’s
why you’re my favorite niece,” he said, pulling me in for another hug.

I smiled at him. Going to the Bahamas sounded amazing - but the idea of it sent chills up my spine. I realized that Mom wasn’t going to get to go on that trip. She wasn’t going to get to go on any other trips. Uncle Larry’s eyes peered right through me, as though he could see exactly what I was thinking. His smile flattened, and his face went slack. He squeezed me in closer, the thickness of his arms tightening until I could barely breathe. Tears began welling in my eyes, but I was able to hold them back. After a full minute, he finally let me go.

“I hope you like bacon,” he said. “I made plenty of it.”

“Larry, are you trying to give us a heart attack?” Grandma chimed in, though she had a soft smile on her face.

He frowned, gruffly, and shook his head.

“Breakfast of champions,” he bellowed. “The girl’s a twig—it’s like she ain’t been fed proper since she left Texas.”

I frowned. “It’s been a stressful few days,” I agreed.

I sat down, and watched as Uncle Larry went back to the stove. Despite his size, he carried himself with surprising grace. A few minutes later, he was heaping piles of sausage, bacon, eggs, biscuits, and gravy onto plates in front of us. He gave me three times what I could possibly eat, and gave Sarah just as much. Our eyes widened as we took it all in. Then, we feasted.

“You should be a chef,” I said, through a full mouth.

Uncle Larry grinned at us, his face lighting up with the same brightness that Sarah always had. We ate in silence. I didn’t even make it through half the plate before I felt a heavy lump in my stomach. It swelled, quickly, and I was convinced that if I took another bite it would be the death of me.

When we were finished, we leaned back and sat in a blissful silence. Uncle Larry beamed at me, proud that we were satisfied.

“Thanks for letting me use the ‘Vette while you were gone,” I said. “It’s a really nice car.”

Uncle Larry beamed at me. “I’m glad you like it,” he said. “It was an anniversary present for your aunt—kind of a spur of the moment thing.”

My eyes bulged when I imagined him buying a car on a whim. They really did have more money than they knew what to do with.

“That’s very sweet of you,” I said. “I guess I’ll start driving Mom’s beater around...” I stuttered the words as they were coming out of my mouth. “She won’t be driving it around for a while.”

Everyone’s eyes were locked on me for a second before they all looked away, pretending to be distracted. Was Mom really never going to drive the car again? The lump in my stomach grew tighter.

“Well, if you ever need to use it, feel free,” he said.

“Thanks,” I said.

We were all quiet for a while. The silence grew tenser with each passing second. I could feel everyone’s eyes studying me while I stared at the table. It felt odd being the center of attention so indirectly.

“I heard you slept at the hospital last night,” Uncle Larry said, finally breaking the tension.

“By the look of it, she didn’t sleep much,” Grandma said.

“I’m fine,” I said.

But, even as I said it, I could feel the exhaustion pulling me down again. The food still sitting heavy in my stomach was enough to make me roll over and sleep for an entire day. A huge yawn escaped me, and Grandma gave me a warm smile.

“Come, child,” she said, getting out of her chair. “You can sleep in the guesthouse where it’s nice and quiet.”

I was too tired to put up an argument. I gave my thanks to Uncle Larry for breakfast, and waved goodbye to Huck and Sarah. Grandma led me into the same room that had been set up for my mom, and I climbed into bed. Her things were still scattered around the room, and her smell was still on the pillow. If I hadn’t been so tired, I was sure it would have been eerie to be sleeping there where she had just been two nights before.

As it was, sleep overcame me before I had time to consider anything.

Dreams haunted me for hours. Dark visions flashed in my head, though I didn’t know where they were coming from, and I didn’t know what they meant. There were two people, outlined in white, and one of them was stooped over the other. I didn’t know what was happening, but I was sure that I didn’t want them to find me.

The figure spoke to the other, but the words were muffled. In the distance, someone cried out loud. Then it was a whimper. Was it me?

Something dark flashed, and the whole scene began to blur and twist into a smeared mess. The figures were getting closer to me, and I tried to run, but my legs weren’t moving. One of them reached for me. He was so close. Just as his hand descended on me, a light opened behind him and he was sucked backwards into nothingness.

I sat bolt upright in the bed. My brow beaded over with sweat, and my breath was coming in heavy pants. I searched around the room, my heart pumping wildly for reasons that I couldn’t quite remember. It took me a second to orient myself and remember where I had fallen asleep.

Finally, my brain pieced everything together, and everything that had happened earlier in the day snapped back into clarity. I slumped into the bed and lay there until my heart calmed. I remembered that I was having a dream, but didn’t even remember what it was about anymore. It must have been pretty extreme to have woken me up like that.

While I laid there, my thoughts strayed back to Scottie. I wasn’t sure why he as the first thing that popped into mind, but I immediately felt guilty. I knew that I should go down to the Saloon and talk to him—at least give him a heads up about what was going on with Haden and the band situation. That was what he had hired me to do after all, wasn’t it?

I let out a groan, knowing what I had to do. I kicked the covers off of me, and took a quick shower. The heat of the water was refreshing, and I wished I’d taken one before I tried to fall asleep. Afterward, I threw on some clothes and found the keys to the Beater in the tiny, guesthouse kitchen.

I ventured over to the main house, looking to see if anyone was around. The house was quiet, but I found Sarah sitting in her room. She pecked away at her phone, probably talking to Huck.

“You’re awake,” she said, giving me a bright smile. “How’d you sleep?”

“Like crap,” I said.

She frowned at me. “You’ve been through a lot, lately,” she said.

I nodded and watched her for a second. When she put the phone down, I held up the keys to the Beater.

“I’m going to head down to the Saloon,” I said.

“To talk to Scottie?” she asked. I nodded. “I figured you’d change your mind.”

I shrugged. “I owe him more than nothing,” I said.