A Healing Heart (16 page)

“
Collin, it’s beautiful! I don’t know what to say. I’ve never had anything like this.”

“
You like it? I thought it suited you. Here, do you want me to help you put it on?”

Removing the necklace from its box, I handed it to Collin and turned my back so that he could clasp it around my neck. After it was fastened, he turned me back around so that he could inspect it. “It looks good on you.”

I reached up and held the necklace in my fingers; I was still in shock. “Emerald is my birthstone, but I’m guessing you already knew that.”

“
Yes. Do you know the history behind the emerald and the diamond?”

“
No, I’ve never really thought about it. No one has ever given me jewelry like this before.”

“
I did a little research. It is said that the brilliant green of the emerald is like a reflection of spring, new growth, a rebirth. The ancient Romans saw the emerald as a representation of fertility and rebirth and dedicated the stone to Venus, the goddess of love and beauty. Many believe that wearing an emerald will bring wisdom, growth, and patience, and it is considered symbolic of love and fidelity. Diamonds are seen as a gem that is often surrounded by romance, mystery, and passion. The ancient Greeks believed that a diamond reflected the flame of everlasting love. The word itself is from a Greek word that means ‘invincible.’ Some ancient Greeks felt that diamonds were splinters of stars fallen to earth, or tears of the gods.”

“
I never knew there were such meanings for the different stones. That makes this gift even more special.”

I shifted over closer to Collin so that I was sitting just in front of him, facing him. I leaned over to kiss his lips, my hands wrapped around his neck, my fingers threading through his thick hair. His hands came around my waist, pulling me closer to him; I was practically sitting on his lap. Slowly he leaned back a little, his nose gently touching mine.

“
Thank you, I’ll treasure it forever. There really are no words for how special this is.”

“
Good, I’m glad you like it. I think it was made just for you and was sitting there waiting for me to find it.”

“
So, I have to ask, how did you have all this set up here and be able to leave it to come pick me up?”

“
Ahh...that’s my secret. But I guess I will confess that I did have a little help holding down the fort while I went to get you.”

Collin sat with his back against the trunk of the old oak. I was sitting in front of him leaning against his chest as we snacked on crackers and grapes. We had been sitting there for over an hour just enjoying being with each other when I noticed Eileen’s car parking in the lot. Eileen got out, and after her bounded Riley and Lacey. Hand in hand, the two took off running. Riley, significantly shorter than Lacey, was trying hard to keep up with Lacey’s longer strides. I knew they had seen us and were racing straight for us.

“
Baiwey! Baiwey!” Riley called.

Collin got up and helped me up with him as we waited for them to reach us. Riley had let go of Lacey’s hand and was headed straight into my arms. I grabbed him and swung him around.

“
Hey, Riley, what are you doing here?”

“
Came to see you! Happy birthday!”

“
Ah…thanks, little guy!” I set him back down on the ground and tousled the top of his hair.

“
Hi, Lacey. How are you?” Crouching down so I was at her eye level, I opened my arms and she came into them, a bit slower than Riley, but she gently hugged me nonetheless.

“
Happy birthday, Bailey. We’ve got something for you.”

“
Really?”

Eileen had caught up by then. “Hey, Bailey, happy birthday! Collin invited us out here. He thought you would enjoy seeing the kids. They both made you cards, and they have been dying to bring them to you.”

Turning I looked up into Collin’s face, “What other tricks do you have up your sleeve for today?”

Chuckling, “You’ll just have to wait and see.”

With all of us sitting back down on the blanket, Riley crawled into my lap. “Here, open mine first!” Taking the envelope from him that was colored with greens and blues, I opened it and pulled out his card. I could tell he had spent quite a bit of time coloring and drawing on it, but like most of his pictures, I would need him to explain to me exactly what he had drawn.

“
See, here is you, and this is me, and this is a heart, cause I wuv you.”

“
It’s beautiful, Riley, and I love you too.” I reached down and hugged him tight, kissing him on his forehead. The little guy was very special to me.

Lacey quietly sat down next to me and handed me her card. I opened it to find two stick people inside: One was tall with short hair, the other was shorter with long hair. Their stick hands were touching, and they were standing inside a big pink heart.

“
That’s Collin and you.”

“
Thanks, Lacey, it’s really sweet. I love it.” It never amazed me anymore how observant little kids could be; they really didn’t miss much.

Riley was the first one up. “Okay, can we play now?”

“
Sure, you guys go play. We’ll leave in a little bit.”

Riley was gone in an instant, with Lacey not far behind, dashing to the play area.

“
Those two are so cute together,” Eileen commented.

“
Thanks for having Lacey over with Riley today. She’s really been looking forward to it.”

“
It was no trouble, Collin. They had a lot of fun together. Bailey, this is for you.”

I took the card that Eileen handed me and opened it up. Inside was a hundred-dollar gift card for my favorite store.

“
Thanks, Eileen! But it’s really too much. You didn’t need to do this.”

“
Bailey, you have been my lifesaver. I cannot tell you how much I’ve relied on you the past couple of years. It really is the least I can do. Go, enjoy, spend it on something you want.”

I reached over and hugged her tight. What she didn’t realize was that both she and Riley had been
my
lifesavers over the past couple of years. Baby-sitting Riley had gotten me through the endless days and helped me work through some of the loss of my family. They both had become incredibly important people in my life, and I was so thankful for both of them.

“
That’s a beautiful necklace, Bailey. I’ve never seen you wear that before.”

“
Thanks. I actually just got it. It was one of my birthday gifts from Collin.”

“
Well, I have to say that I approve. That’s a really gorgeous piece of jewelry, Collin.”

“
Thanks. It was the first thing I saw in the case, and I knew it was meant for Bailey.”

“
You’ve got yourself a very special guy here; you better hold on to him.”

“
I know, and I will. Would you like some of our snacks?”

“
Thanks, I’m good. We won’t stay long. I promised the kids we’d go get pizza before I took Lacey home.”

The three of us sat in comfortable silence watching as Riley and Lacey chased each other through the play equipment, laughing and giggling. Up and down, up and down, they never stopped. Where they got all their energy from I would never know. It seemed to be never-ending, until they just wore themselves out to the point of total exhaustion. Before long, Eileen got up, bade us farewell, and walked over to corral the kids. Both Riley and Lacey ran over for one last hug from Collin and me before they followed Eileen to the car and left.

“
Well, are you ready for the next part of the evening?”

“
Yes, where are we going now?”

“
It’s time to meet everyone for dinner.”

Collin gathered up the blanket and picnic basket, and we walked back to the car. I couldn’t wait to show Mia and Natasha my new necklace; I knew they would love it.

* * *

Dinner had been a lot of fun. My friends loved my necklace and told Collin he’d done really well. My seventeenth birthday had been more perfect than I’d ever imagined possible. I was indescribably happy, and I was cherishing every minute. Having spent the last few years in quiet misery, the happiness and excitement now were even more powerful. I was storing each memory, every feeling in my journal so that I could always go back and relive the emotions that I was experiencing right now. I didn’t want to forget any of the little details.

CHAPTER TEN

~
Collin
~

T
he
end of the school year and my graduation were rapidly approaching a mere two weeks away, with the imminent move to Las Vegas shortly after. I still hadn’t been able to find the right time or way to tell Bailey about the move. I knew putting it off was only going to make things worse. I wished I knew what to do, how to tell her, or better yet, find a way to make the whole thing go away. The problem was that I knew that it wasn’t going away and time was rapidly running out. Every day I wished that my dad would change his mind. I’d brought the topic up several times, but each time, my dad stood his ground and was determined that this was the best thing for our family.

My mind was racing with thoughts of Bailey as I maneuvered the Camaro through the wet streets and the thick fog that blanketed the city. During the night a storm had moved in; the smell of wet earth was strong. The air was cold and brisk, so unusual for the end of May. I was on my way to work. It was Saturday morning, and I was scheduled to open the store. Early mornings were actually one of my favorite shifts; it usually gave me more time to spend with Bailey in the afternoon.

When I was apart from Bailey, it felt as though my entire world was off kilter. My love for her ran deep, like nothing I’d ever felt for anyone before. It often frightened me, knowing how completely she had gotten under my skin and how she had wound herself so tightly within my heart. Being with her was easy, comfortable, natural—just like breathing.

I was driving on autopilot, so engrossed in my thoughts my brain didn’t even register that the car driving toward me was out of control. By the time the realization hit me, the other car was fishtailing on the slick, oil-covered road right in front of me. I swerved to the right in an attempt to miss it. Relief flooded through me as I thought I’d escaped when all of a sudden my car caught a slick portion of the road and the rear end came around, clipping the front passenger side of the other car. The impact sent my car spinning, abruptly halting as my side of the Camaro slammed into a streetlight, the metal crumpling and curving around the concrete post. My last conscious thought was that I had to be dreaming, this couldn’t be happening. An image of Bailey’s face flashed briefly before my eyes as everything went black.

~
Bailey
~

I woke up suddenly, my heart pounding; panic flooded my entire body, causing every muscle to shake. Sitting up, I glanced at the clock. It was only eight thirty a.m. I still had a little bit of time before I needed to get up and head over to baby-sit Riley. Taking deep breaths and trying to calm my racing heart, I tried to remember what I’d been dreaming about. It had been so long since I’d been awakened by nightmares, but I knew that this one was different. It was not the usual dream that taunted me. The vision was murky, and I couldn’t make any sense out of what had frightened me so badly. Deciding that I should just get up and start getting ready, I dragged myself out of bed. I noticed I had a text message on my phone. Realizing it was from Collin made me smile and helped calm my nerves.

Morning sweetie, have a great day with Riley. I’ll c u after work. Love u

I quickly answered back:

Love u too! Miss u!

I set my phone down and went into the bathroom. The steamy shower felt good. The hot stream pouring over my neck and shoulders released the last bit of tension still left in my body. Knowing I had been in there long enough, I sighed as I flipped the water off and grabbed my towel.

The weather had turned cold and was unusual for this time of year. The fog was so thick outside that I couldn’t even see the house across the street. Grabbing jeans and a warm sweatshirt, I got dressed. After blow-drying my hair, I pinned it back away from my face so that it would be out of my way when I was playing with Riley. The house was quiet as I went downstairs for some breakfast.

Taking my bowl of cereal to the family room, I flipped on the TV. I searched through the multitude of channels looking for something interesting to catch my attention. The local news channel was full of reports of the weather, with news anchors cautioning those on the roads to be careful. A story on a recent accident was starting and I flipped the channel quickly to avoid seeing the wreckage. I propped my feet up on the ottoman and finished my breakfast while watching cartoons. Before long, it was time for me to leave.

My car was cold, and I waited patiently for the heat to kick on. As I drove toward Eileen’s and approached the downtown area, I noticed the flashing lights of police cars and fire trucks. A tow truck was pulling what appeared to be a mangled green Dodge up onto its flatbed. Accident sites always made my stomach jump up into my throat. I hoped that no one was seriously hurt. Turning left, I continued on my way.

Riley was watching for me in the front window, his face pressed against the cold glass. As soon as he saw my car, I could see his arms waving frantically, and then he disappeared. I reached the front door and knocked on it, knowing that Riley was waiting on the other side.