Left Together (18 page)

Once I
gather myself and take a few more deep breaths, I stand up to go back into the
depths of hell. Everyone is pretty much where they were when I left. My aunt
pats the chair next to her. When I sit, she turns her head to whisper to me, “Good
thing you walked away when you did.” Great.

“There’s
no reason for us to stay here then,” Mrs. Foster blurts out. “Robert, take us
to the airport.” The sound of her heels grinding on the floor is worse than
nails scratching on a chalkboard. Everyone watches Robert stand up and cut her
off before she can get to the door, making her stop short. He reaches into the
pocket of his black dress pants, pulls out keys and a phone, then holds them
out to her. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Quitting.”

“You
can’t quit,” she bitches.

“I
just did.” He takes her hand and places the contents of his pocket into it,
then comes over to sit in the chair on my other side.

“Let’s
go, Sam,” she barks at her husband, dangling keys in his direction.

Sam
Foster walks toward her, but doesn’t take them. “Go to hell,” he says, then
exits the waiting room. She follows after him, leaving her daughter behind.

When I
turn to look at Robert, he shrugs. “If you know of anyone looking for a driver,
please give them my number,” he says, undoing his tie. The man looks like he
was just given a second chance at life.

“If I
have to, I’ll create a job for you at Skyline,” I tell him.

A few
minutes later, two security guards walk into the room and right over to Dr.
Harris. He introduces them to Mary, who shakes hands with each one. After a
brief discussion, Dr. Harris escorts Mary and the guards through the door. Jade
and Noah come over to where we are sitting.

“Evan?”
Noah says, surprising me. I haven’t spoken to him since before everything
happened with Kacie. I’m sure she probably told him about me being a dick.
Panic creeps in when I wonder why the hell he’d want to talk to me,
specifically. Did Kacie tell him not to let me see her? There’s no way I can
just walk out when she needs me the most. I’ll refuse. When he knows he has my
attention, he asks, “How much do you love my sister?” The question isn’t at all
what I expected, but it’s something I can honestly answer.

“Unfortunately,
I can’t tell you that.” His face drops as if he was hoping for something more.
Jade comes up behind my chair and puts her hands on my shoulders. I turn back
to Noah. “For a while, I’ve been trying to find the right words to tell her. To
make her understand.” I pause long enough to run my hand through my hair.
“Countless times, I’ve tried explaining to Kacie how she makes me feel, but
nothing ever came close. What I finally figured out is the words I need to make
her see what’s in my heart simply don’t exist.” I shake my head. “There’s no
way for me to tell the girl I want to spend every single second of forever with
how much I love her. Do you have any idea how frustrating that is?” I ask, not expecting
an answer. “So, since she won’t ever be able to hear it, my only option is to
make sure she feels it. With every touch between us, with every kiss we share,
with every moment I’m lucky enough to be around her, I need to make her feel
how much she means to me.” Hearing a bunch of sniffing, I stop and look around.
Aunt Grace, Addison, and even Jade are all crying. “What?” I ask, but none of
them answer.

Noah’s
hand raises and extends it out toward me. When our hands grasp, he doesn’t let
go right away. “I wish my sister could have heard you say that,” he says, then
releases me.

“I
didn’t really say anything.”

“Sure
you did,” Addison says. “If you tell her that, she’ll know exactly how you
feel.”

“The
reason I asked is I can only spend so much time in Kacie’s room tonight. I need
someone who cares about her to stay with her. Because of my dad’s position here
at the hospital, Mary asked to have a guard at her door. It’s probably not
necessary, but after the way my parents just acted, she doesn’t want to take
any chances. I don’t blame her. Only people I give approval to will be allowed
in. That includes all staff and visitors. Would you be able to stay with her
for me?”

“You
couldn’t get me to leave if you tried,” I inform him.

“Perfect.”
He’s obviously relieved.

Mary and
one of the security guards reemerge. “Everything is settled. I have some things
to do. I’ll check in with you guys later. Please call if you need anything or
if there are any changes.” She speaks to everyone, not just Noah.

“Thank
you,” Noah tells her. Once she has left, Noah clears his throat. “Even though
I’m not supposed to do this, I’m going to take all of you back to see Kacie. You
can’t stay too long, though. It’s been a long day. I won’t lie. Kacie’s in bad
shape, but it looks worse than it really is. Other than the broken arm, she has
some broken ribs on her left side, and plenty of cuts and bruises. There are machines
and tubes all over. Just ignore them. They’ll be gone soon.”

As we
file into Kacie’s room, I try to remind myself what Noah told us, but it’s
hard. There are entirely too many machines making different noises. I can
barely see my girl hidden underneath the blankets, tubes, and bandages. The
only thing I can do is tell myself to keep breathing. Hanging back while
everyone goes over to her is hard, but since they aren’t staying, I’ll wait.
They all take their turn going to Kacie’s side. Jade comes to stand next to me and
I put my arm around her.

“She’s
going to be fine. Don’t cry,” I console her while I’m falling apart on the
inside.

“I
know, but it would be nice to hear it from her.” She sniffs and dries her eyes
on her sleeve.

A few
more minutes go by before Noah kicks them out. My aunt and uncle tell me not to
worry about the club. Honestly, I haven’t even thought about it, but I probably
would have later. Jade asks if I need anything before she leaves. The only
thing I need is for Kacie to wake the fuck up. I overhear Noah offering his car
to Robert, but Addison steps in and says she’ll make sure he gets home.

Once
they’re out of the way, I make my way around the bed so I’m on Kacie’s right.
The guilt starts to eat away at me, as if this is all my fault. If I didn’t let
her go to begin with… If I ignored Jade last night and went to Kacie’s house…
If only I was there when her parents showed up… None of this would have
happened if I didn’t fuck up. The backs of my fingers run along her bare arm,
careful not to disturb the IV in her hand. She feels chilly. Kacie hates to be
cold. Leaning over, I brush a piece of hair off the side of her face to kiss
her cheek.

“I’m
here, sweetheart. I’m not going anywhere until you open your eyes and come with
me,” I whisper. I touch my head to hers, hoping she hears me.

“Here
you go,” a voice says from behind me. When I turn around, the nurse is offering
a chair. “It’s not the most comfortable thing, but it’s better than nothing.”

It
doesn’t look all that bad. It’s ugly as shit, but at least it’s soft. “Thank
you,” I reply.

“Evan,
this is Brandi. She’ll be here until seven tonight, then Audrey will take
over,” Noah says, introducing the nurse.

“And
I’ll be back in the morning.” She gives me a smile, but I only nod. Hopefully,
she doesn’t think I’m rude. Brandi goes back over to the computer next to the
obnoxious machines. A knock at the door has us all turning. Seeing Jake
standing there makes me realize he didn’t come back with everyone else.

“Hey,
Jake,” Noah says, waving off the security guard. “It’s fine.”

“I
just wanted to stop in for a second,” he says.

“No
problem. Brandi, I’m going to step out into the hall for a second. I need to
make a phone call,” Noah announces, as Jake walks over to the opposite side of
Kacie’s bed. He kisses her on the head. I don’t feel the urge to punch him
anymore.

“In
all the years Kacie and I have known each other, I’ve never once broken a
promise to her,” he whispers, taking in all of Kacie’s injuries.

“All
right. I’ll bite,” I mumble, playing with Kacie’s soft hand. “What was the
promise you broke?”

“We were
never supposed to tell anyone about that night.”

“If
you were both sworn to secrecy, why did you tell me?”

“Obviously
I wasn’t with her at the time, but I know that the moment Kacie found out it wasn’t
you on the boat, her guilt started to destroy her. It’s the driving force that
will make her push you away. She will, without a doubt, try to make you think going
your separate ways is the right thing to do. I can hear the excuses coming out
of her mouth now. She’ll think she doesn’t deserve you, that she deserves to be
alone for the rest of her life. She’ll do whatever it takes to make you leave.
The fight she’ll pick will be epic, and she’ll do it because telling you what
happened will be too hard for her. Hurting you isn’t something she ever wanted
to do.”

“Why
are you telling me this? You could totally use the situation to your
advantage…again.” I’m getting good at being a dick.

Jake
lowers his head. “Because no matter how badly I’ve wanted her to, Kacie doesn’t
love me. She loves you.” Okay, maybe I shouldn’t be a complete asshole. Jake is
having just as hard of a time as I am. “She may have been in my room that
night, but she wasn’t really
with
me. She was with you the entire time.
Her heart is always wherever you are. You have no idea how lucky you are, man.”
Jake goes quiet and I have nothing to say. “I heard what you said to Noah, so I
know you love her, too. That’s why I came in here. When she wakes up,
regardless of how angry you are over this whole thing, do whatever you can to
prevent her from feeling guilty. If you don’t, it will haunt her every time she
looks at you or even thinks about you. If you need to, take your anger out on
me. Just don’t let her see it.”

He
kisses her head again, then softly says, “Wake up soon, Kacie. You’re scaring
the shit out of a lot of people. Evan’s here with you.” He brushes a piece of
her hair that keeps falling on the side of her face, then starts to leave the
room.

“Jake,”
I say to stop him. He doesn’t turn all the way around, but I know why. He’s
exposed enough of himself to the guy who has the heart of the girl he wants. He
doesn’t want me to see any more of his pain. “How do you know she wasn’t with
you that night?”

His
shoulders drop in defeat. Jake doesn’t want to talk to me anymore, but he’ll
tell me anything I want to know if it’ll make things easier for Kacie. “It was
all over her face,” he mumbles.

“Are
you in love with her?” He’s already admitted he loves her. This is an entirely
different question.

“The
only thing that matters to me is that she’s happy. I won’t stand in the way if
being with someone else is what she wants. For some reason, I just really wish
that someone wasn’t you.”

“Do
you regret it?” I shouldn’t have asked that. Despite what happened, Jake is my
best friend. We’ll get past this. Torturing him is wrong. He never would’ve
slept with her if he knew it wasn’t me on the boat.

“If
the situation were reversed, would you?” is all he says before disappearing
through the door.

Truthfully?
No, I wouldn’t. I would never regret trying to get the girl I loved to love me
back. Given half a chance, I’d probably even do it a second time. I have to
make sure he doesn’t ever get that chance.  

Evan

Too
much time has gone by. The first nurse had finished her shift and the next one had
started hers. Not that I’ve taken my eyes off of Kacie all that much, but by
the way the shadows in the room have changed, I can tell daylight has faded
into night. Jade has called at least four times, and I’ve lost track of the
texts coming in from everyone. Noah has been here most of the day, leaving
occasionally. Most of the time, he comes back alone, but he sometimes brings in
someone to check on Kacie or ask for advice about her. However, he looks a bit
more positive each time. That’s what makes all of this possible to handle, except
for the number of hours that have passed. No matter what kind of mood she’s in,
Kacie is never quiet for very long. Not even when she’s sleeping soundly. If
anyone can make talking in their sleep adorable, it’s my girl. Then again,
everything she does is adorable.

“When
I asked you to stay with her, I didn’t mean you had to sit in the same spot all
night,” Noah says, coming in the door.

I
shrug, not turning around. “Where else is there to go?” I’m sure he meant I
could relax on the sofa and watch TV or something.

There’s
a wooden table with a few chairs around it in the far corner of the room. Noah
places a pizza box and a bottle of soda on top of it. He puts a few slices on
some paper plates, walks one over to the nurse, then brings one to me. I shake
my head, but he insists. “When she opens her eyes, she’s going to be a royal pain
in the ass. You’ll need your strength.” I don’t doubt him, so I take it.

“When
do you think that will be?” I wonder, taking a bite of the lukewarm pizza. I’ve
been trying not to ask questions because I don’t want to annoy him, but it’s mostly
because I don’t want to hear any bad news.

“It
probably doesn’t look like it, but she’s doing much better. I’m going to get
her unhooked from most of this shit within the hour. With all the meds she’s
on, it’ll take a little while for her to wake up. Probably not until morning.”
Audrey pushes over a rolling table for Noah to set the cups of soda on that he
poured. “Thank you,” he says to her.

“She’d
be pissed off if she knew we were sitting here eating while she was sleeping.”
I need to change the subject.

Noah
chuckles from the chair he pulled up beside me. “You know my sister pretty
well.” He sighs. “Did you know she graduated from college?”

“I
did,” I say gently. Guess the cat’s out of the bag now. “She only told me
because she wanted me to know what I was getting involved with.” He looks at me,
confused. “When we first met, she was trying to keep her distance. She was
worried about how your parents were going to react when they found out she was
going to be a teacher, and she didn’t want me to have to deal with it.”

He
looks upset. “How fucked up is it that what my parents would say about her doing
something she’s always wanted to was stressing her out?”

“It’s
not your fault, Noah.”

“It
is
my fault that I wasn’t there to see her graduate.”

“No,
it isn’t. She didn’t want you to feel like you were caught in the middle.”

“You
don’t understand. Kacie was always there for me. She had Gram or Robert bring
her to all of my home football games and most of the away ones. Even at that
young age, my sister was always there, cheering me on…high school graduation,
college graduation, and med school. She was there for me every single time, but
I wasn’t there for her.”

“You
were there when she needed you the most. No one else could have done what you
did for her today. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

“She
said she already landed a job. Is she working at Shining Stars?” He must not
know his grandmother left it to her. That is definitely not for me to tell him.

“Yeah.
First grade.”

Noah
smiles. “I’m glad. She belongs there. Gram would be so damn proud. Kacie was
always good with little kids. I’m going to need her more than ever when the
baby is born. I have no fucking idea what I’m doing.”

“I’m
sure you’ll figure it out,” I assure him.

“Did
she tell you about her ex-boyfriend, Nate?”

“We
ran into him one time when we went out to lunch,” I remember. Audrey brings over
two more slices of pizza and we thank her.

“He
was the EMT who brought her in. Kacie had him call me while they were trying to
get her out of the fucking car. Man, is she a pain in the ass or what? I just
wanted to give you a heads-up in case he stops by to see her.” I nod. Great.
Someone else who was there for her while I was speeding away in the opposite
direction.

“Look,
it’s none of my business what happened between the two of you, but one thing I
do know is she cares about you.” I turn toward him. “When I met her in the ER
earlier, I asked if she wanted me to call you. She said she didn’t want to
bother you. I tried to ask what was up with you guys, mostly to distract her from
what was going on. The only thing she said was she screwed up and there was no
way to fix it. Evan, Kacie was in extreme pain and bleeding, but the only time
she shed a tear was when she said that. I really hope whatever my sister did is
more forgivable than she thinks because recovering from this shit will be
nothing compared to trying to move on from you.”

“I’m
already over it,” I confirm. Before I found out about the accident, I realized
this was something that could be worked out. It didn’t have to be the end of
us. “If I didn’t fuck up first, what she did wouldn’t have happened and, more
importantly, she wouldn’t be in a fucking hospital bed.”

“You
have nothing to do with her being here. I’m the one who let her leave the house
this morning. My parents were really laying into her and she needed to get the
hell out of there. When she feels like she’s backed into a corner, Kacie needs
air. She’s been doing it her whole life. Like going to college in Pennsylvania.
The further she gets from a situation, the easier it is for her to breathe and reflect
on it.” That’s a damn good way to describe it, but it still blows. “Anyway, I
convinced her to go to my house because Addison was home and would sit with her
until I got there. I was in the middle of getting my parents out of her house
when Sean took off. That motherfucker better hope I don’t ever see him again.”

“Doesn’t
he work here?”

“Hopefully
not for long. After being arrested for this stunt today, he’ll be reviewed.
I’ll make sure I’m there when it happens. So will my dad.” I freeze. “I know
you aren’t my father’s biggest fan, neither am I right now, but this isn’t
sitting well with him. He hasn’t left the building all day. I went to check on
him a few times. The shit my mom said really rattled him.”

“How
is it that you and Kacie were raised by those people, but you both ended up
decent?” I ask.

“Seeing
the difference between our parents and our grandparents was very enlightening.”

“Excuse
me for interrupting, Dr. Foster, but the main desk is on the phone. There’s a
Meg Flanagan asking for you,” Audrey informs him. What the hell is my cousin
doing here this late and, now that I think about it, where the hell has she
been all damn day?

“Perfect
timing. Please ask them to send her up,” Noah says, getting up. “Did you want
another?”

“No,
thanks.” He takes the plates and the cups over to the trash can. “Why is my
cousin here?”

“I
figured it would be good to have Meg come get you out of here for a little bit.”

“I’m
not leaving.”

“It’s
probably better if you aren’t in the room for this,” he says, motioning to
Kacie. “It won’t take too long.”

The
thought of walking out of this room without Kacie is making me uncomfortable.
What if something happens while I’m gone? What if she felt me holding her hand
and now that I’m not, she thinks I left her? Noah’s probably right, though. I’m
not sure watching him pull a damn tube out of her throat is something I should
witness. He’ll be with her. Nothing bad will happen. What the fuck is wrong
with me? Why the hell am I all over the place like a fucking chick? This shit
has to stop.

“Trust
me,” Noah says, patting my shoulder. “When you come back, she’ll look much
better and you’ll be able to get some sleep.”

A
small knock at the door grabs our attention. Judging by what Meg is wearing,
she came straight from Skyline. She never goes anywhere else wearing all black.
“Hey,” she says, coming into the room carrying a bag. “I broke into your condo
to get you a change of clothes. I’m not sure if they’re clean or dirty, but
they weren’t on the floor.”

“You
didn’t break in,” I argue playfully, taking it from her and setting it on the
table. There’s a spare key somewhere at her house.

“I
might have. You never know with me.”

“True.”
I smile.

The
look on her face turns sad. “Sorry I’m late.”

“Where
were you?”

My
cousin bites her lip. Is she going to cry? “I was at home until the club
opened. I would have been here as soon as Mom called, but I didn’t think you’d
want to see me.”

“Why
the fuck wouldn’t I want to see you?”

She blinks
rapidly, trying to prevent herself from losing it. “You were so mad at me last
night. I thought if I was around today, it would only upset you more.”

Feeling
guilty, I hug her. “No matter how mad I get, Meg, I’ll always love you. You, of
all people, should know that.”

Meg
turns to Kacie and reaches for her hand, giving it a small squeeze. “Don’t sleep
too much longer, Kacie. You’re driving my cousin crazy and he looks like shit,”
she whispers and leans over to kiss her head. “And I kind of miss you myself.”

Before
we walk out of the room, I promise Kacie I’ll come back. Noah assures me everything
will be fine, which is the only thing helping me into the hallway. Once I’m
there, it does feel good to get a break from being surrounded by the same four
walls. As if she’s on a mission, Meg leads me toward the elevator.

“Where
are we going?” I wonder, twisting around to check the distance between me and
the room.

“Stop
worrying,” she grumbles, pressing the button on the wall to open the shiny,
metal doors. “We’ll be back long before Kacie wakes up. There are a couple
other people downstairs who came to see you.”

When
the doors slide apart again, we walk out onto the main floor. There’s a
security guard at the desk. He nods and smiles at Meg as she waves back. Nice
to see she’s been in the building for about ten minutes and already made a new
friend. Taking my hand, she guides me to the lobby on the other side of the
guard. Over in the far corner by the large front windows are a bunch of guys
I’d recognize anywhere. Even though they tend to be rather loud, they’re
quietly relaxing in the chairs they rearranged to suit their group. Danny,
Mike, Gabe, and a few other guys from the shop all stand up when they see us
coming. Meg explains that right after Noah called her to come over, they
stopped by the club to find out how Kacie was doing. They insisted on coming
with her, which makes me feel better about her walking around the hospital
parking lot this late.

Danny
shakes my hand. “We thought you could use come company,” he says, holding out a
red plastic cup. “And a drink. What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t bring
beer?”

“Thanks,
man,” I reply, taking it from him. Only Danny Rodriguez would sneak beer into a
hospital. Mike motions for me to take his chair as everyone else sits back
down.

“Glad
to hear she’s going to be okay,” Gabe says, crashing in the seat next to me. I
notice his knuckles are all messed up.

“What
the hell happened to your hand?” I ask.

He
pulls it off of the armrest and drops it to his lap so I can’t see it. Two
other guys move to cover their hands at the same time. “Busted it on an exhaust
pipe flange this morning. No big deal.”

And
that’s that. No one else brings up what’s happening to my girl a few floors up
while I sit here, drinking a beer with my friends. They all know a distraction
is exactly what I need right now.

The guys
hang out for about an hour or so. They tell me about how Mike still has a thing
for Ashley, even though I warned him about her having a kid. Of course, Meg
loves hearing that shit, and says she’ll talk to her for him. Gabe starts
telling me about some punk who brought his busted up car into the shop, wanting
them to make it run like my Scirocco. He was at the last race or some shit. I
laugh, knowing that’s not going to happen. They have the power, the knowledge,
and the resources to get anything running well enough to compete with me, but
there’s no way in hell my mechanic would screw me like that. 

When I
stand to head back upstairs, I thank everyone for stopping by. Danny promises
to drive Meg home so I don’t have to worry. Meg wants a call as soon as Kacie
wakes up. The guys say they’ll stop by tomorrow afternoon and to text if I need
anything before then. The best part about situations like this is finding out
how good your friends actually are.