Shattered Treasure

by Cindy Patterson

  “She’s banged up really bad. A broken arm, and a few fractured ribs. And they’re keeping her in a medically induced comma because of some swelling on the brain.”

  His mind absorbed the new information and what it might mean. “What happened? What kind of accident?”

  “The car …” His mother paused. “I was following her. If only I’d insisted we ride together. It scared me so bad.” Sobs garbled her words. Logan’s mind raced as he tried to follow. “The car came out of nowhere and merged into our lane at the same moment Ami reached the car. It all happened so fast. It was horrible.”

  “A head-on collision?”

  “Not quite. It slammed into the front corner of Ami’s car,” she explained.

  “Did the doctor say anything else about how long they have to keep her induced?”

  “No, but they should know more in the next few hours.”

  He led her to a seat near the back of the waiting area and helped her sit. He desperately wanted to go to Ami, but his mother needed a moment. She had witnessed the whole thing.

  When they finally entered Ami’s brightly lit room, his breath caught in his throat. Ami slept in the hospital bed, tubes connecting her to the machines, her face covered with cuts and dried blood. A neck brace holding her head in place. Reaching for her hand, he rested his arm against the cold bar separating them.

  Logan stared at his baby sister lying helpless and allowed his mind to escape to another day only three years ago when he stood in this very position. He closed his eyes against the images that threatened to unravel him.

  Addison woke and her head spun. The dim lights, the soft hum of the machines, and the familiar smell caused her heart to leap.

  “Casey?”

  A nurse walked through the door just as she whispered the name of her sister. Addison pushed herself back against the pillow.

  “Where am I?”

  “You’re in the hospital, sweetheart.” The nurse’s voice was soft, kind.

  “What happened?”

  “You don’t remember?” She pressed a button, causing the machine to beep.

  Addison tried but could only remember one thing—staring as the men lowered the box holding her sister into the ground.

  The nurse waited for her response, but Addison couldn’t breathe. A garbled sob escaped as her mind whirled in a haze. The memory of the accident suddenly came crashing back.

  Aunt Brenda was slumped in a corner recliner, her head tilted in an odd angle. “How’re you feeling?”

  “I’m okay,” Addison answered, fighting the pain shooting through her head. How would she explain this to Aunt Brenda after all she’d done for her?

  Addison sat up and loosened the stiff white sheets tucked securely around her. “There was a girl in the other car. Is she okay?”

  “I don’t know, honey.”

  The nurse reached for her. “You need to lie back.”

  As Addison pushed one foot over the edge of the bed, her head spun with the sudden motion. “Do you know what happened to the girl?”

  “Hold on, young lady.”

  “I need to find her. I need to know she’s all right.” Hot tears burned the backs of her eyelids as blonde hair glaring against the emergency lights slammed against her memory.

  The nurse situated her pillow a little higher. “I’ll see what I can find out. But for now, lay back and try to calm down.” The nurse moved to the sink and washed her hands. “Do you use drugs or drink alcohol?”

  No, but she had tonight. Something she’d planned to do. And because of that, she was responsible for hurting another person. Another family. “Not usually, but I did have a little tonight.”

  Aunt Brenda surged to her feet and came toward her, disappointment evident in her expression.

  “I’m sorry, Aunt Brenda.”

  The nurse fitted the blood pressure cuff around Addison’s arm. “Do you feel dizzy or nauseated?”

  “Both.”

  There was silence as the nurse waited for the results of her pressure. “90 over 55. Is that usual for you?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Aunt Brenda took her free hand as Addison leaned heavily against the pillow. What had happened? Had she really had enough alcohol to cause her to blackout?

  After the doctor came in, evaluated her, and asked more questions, the nurse returned with another bag of fluid.

  “We’re going to get some fluids in you and hopefully get you feeling back to normal.” The doctor focused on Aunt Brenda. “Low blood pressure and dehydration are most likely the reasons this young lady blacked out.”

  Addison should’ve felt relief after hearing the doctor’s assessment. That maybe alcohol in her system wasn’t the reason she’d crashed into the other car, but she didn’t.

  Throughout the night, Addison dozed in and out, unable to rest fully. When she awoke the next morning, her gaze roamed the small room until it fell on Aunt Brenda. The soft hum of her snore hindered Addison from waking her.

  Instead, her mind raced. She needed answers about the other driver, something to ease her guilt.

  The doctor returned the next morning. “How are we feeling this morning?”

  “Better.”

  “That’s good. Your vitals are looking better but we’re going to keep you for observation for another day or two.” He turned his focus on Aunt Brenda as she leaned forward wiping strands of damp hair away from her cheek. “Are you her mother?”

  “Her aunt. She’s staying with me while she’s in college.”

  “Can I speak with you for a moment outside?”

  “Of course.”

  As they exited her room, Taylor stepped through the door holding two cups of coffee. “How’re you feeling?”

  “Thank you, girl.” Addison rose up on an elbow, relieved her dizziness had weakened, and reached for a cup. “I’m feeling better.”

  “What happened?” Taylor’s voice was comforting.

  “I blacked out.”

  “While you were driving?”

  “Yes, as I was leaving the party.”

  “Philip was with you?”

  “No, I never even spoke to him.” She steeled herself for Taylor’s tongue-lashing.

  Taylor grunted and lowered herself to the edge of the bed. “What did he do?”

  Addison finished her explanation while ignoring her friend’s question. Somewhere hidden in the trenches of her heart, Addison knew she had planned to drink, hoping to relax and salvage her connection to Philip. It only deepened her guilt.

  Suddenly, her bottled-up tears flowed freely, her chest swelling and falling in a harsh rhythm. What happened to the girl? She wouldn’t relax until she knew she was all right.

  Logan was staring at the lines gliding across the monitor’s screen, displaying Ami’s heart rate, when his mother walked in carrying a box she’d brought from home.

  He took it from her and placed it on the table near Ami’s bed. “What’s all this?”

  She pulled a room freshener from the top and set it on the counter. “I thought it would be nice for Ami to wake to the smell of home.”

  “Good idea.” He pulled out Ami’s pink blanket. “Where’s Dad?”

  “He had to stop by the office for a few minutes.”

  “You never told me exactly what happened.” He broached the subject hoping to get some answers.

  Mom unpacked a teddy bear from the box. “It all happened so fast.” She positioned the bear on the table and then covered Ami with her pink blanket. “The car swerved into Ami’s lane at the last minute. There was no time to react.”

  “Why did the driver merge into Ami’s lane?” A tight knot wrenched through Logan’s stomach. He needed to know the reason and his heart and mind were already spiraling in the direction that it had to be something that could’ve been avoided. His baby sister shouldn’t be suffering because of someone else’s inability to drive.

  His phone vibrated and he glanced at the message he’d been waiting for from Matt.
The officer thought the other driver had been drinking. But they’re not sure to what extent.

  All thoughts of coherency were lost with the sentences that changed everything.

  The rest of Mom’s words were void of sound as rage swept through him. “I’ll be right back.” He hurried through the door to escape the suffocation squeezing his lungs.

  Logan balled his fists as the doctor slipped through the door past him. A drunk driver. Who did this to my sister?

  He walked outside, unable to catch his breath. The next text made his chest ache. You know you can’t get involved in this case. The less you know, the better.

  He didn’t respond. He had nothing more to say. There was nothing he could do.

  Except be by Ami’s side when she woke up, so he returned to her room.

  “Logan, there you are. Where did you disappear to?” Mom tucked the blanket around Ami’s chin.

  “I had to get some air.”

  “The doctor plans to keep her a few more days. But they’re confident she’s going to be all right,” Mom finished, her voice breaking. He reached for her and held her tight.

  Logan forced himself to stay calm.

  It didn’t matter that he was a law enforcement officer, that he was prohibited from working on this case.

  Logan wouldn’t rest until the guy responsible paid for this.

  3

  Addison stared through the passenger window as Aunt Brenda drove her home, her headache finally fading. The older beach house was located on the sound side of Wilmington, North Carolina.

  Aunt Brenda had revealed to her a different kind of life—one where a woman didn’t have to depend on a man. Her aunt, a beautiful woman, had never married and had done just fine. Aunt Brenda worked hard, managed her own funds, and never allowed her to pay rent. All Aunt Brenda expected from her was decent grades, a part-time job to pay for her own gas, and a little help around the house.

  In her aunt’s house, Addison could talk about her father, her aunt’s brother. She didn’t have to pretend he never existed. She could keep her only framed photo of him by her bed.

  Philip and his betrayal at the party were like shards of glass nicking at her wounded heart. She had given him everything, yet still he wasn’t faithful. She would never be enough. But it didn’t matter.

  When Aunt Brenda veered the car onto their street, Country Lane, and down the path beside a row of American elms, she breathed a sigh of relief. Philip’s car wasn’t at their house.

  “You need to call your mama.”

  “You didn’t tell them about the accident, did you?”

  “No, but she would want to know.”

  No, she wouldn’t. “I’ll call her later.”

  Once inside, Addison sat on the wooden bench at her familiar keyboard, losing herself in the soft music as she played. Music had become her escape … an effort to keep her pain at bay. The notes to Claire de Lune hummed through the room as her fingers soared across the keys.

  She had discovered nothing about the blond girl’s well-being, and it wasn’t until Taylor retrieved the accident report from the police department that she learned the girl’s name.

  Grateful to Taylor for getting the information, she’d stored it in her memory.

  Ami Tant.

  She thought about the questions from the police officer and how she wasn’t found guilty because she had blacked out. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t enough. The doctor confirmed that she’d passed out suffering from dehydration and low blood pressure and even stress, when Aunt Brenda told the doctor it was her sister’s birthday. But her responsibility in the collision, her responsibility in harming another person afflicted her without ceasing. It was her fault. She had taken a drink and had almost killed the girl—just like drinking and driving had killed Casey.

  Within a week and a half, Ami was able to go home. Logan turned into the familiar neighborhood and swerved his truck to the right past the brick wall separating the park from the houses.

  He grabbed his overnight bag after helping his dad get Ami settled. Each day he traveled the twenty-minute drive to UNCW and on his off days, spent his evenings at his Mom’s studying.

  It had been almost a week and though she was still sore, she was improving.

  He was studying for a test when his dad sat across from him in the living room. “How’s work?”

  “Good.”

  Dad leaned back in the chair. “I’m surprised you didn’t take some time off.”

  “Do you need me to?”

  “No, I just thought you’d need some time.”

  “I thought it would help, keeping busy.”

  “Ami’s better. I think it’s best you get back to your normal routine. You don’t want to do something that will jeopardize your grades and job. You’ve taken on a lot, working the streets your senior year of college.”

  “It’s not so bad.” Although truthfully, the long hours of school, work, and baseball with very little sleep were catching up to him.

  “We really appreciate you staying here and helping with Ami, but you should get back to your life. You have so much going on. We can handle things.”

  His dad was right. Logan had been fumbling through all his duties in vain. His schoolwork had suffered, and he’d been little help to Ami or his mother with his non-pursuit of the drunk driver weighing on him. But could he just forgive and forget?

  A week after the accident, Addison’s phone held five messages from Philip. On his latest attempt, she answered ready to settle things. “Hello.”

  “Why haven’t you returned my calls? I’ve been going crazy.”

  “There’s nothing to say. It’s over, Philip.”

  “What? How can you say that after all we’ve been through?”

  “I just can’t do this anymore. Too much has happened.”

  “What do you mean? Everything was good. Better than ever.”

  “Things haven’t been good in a very long time. I have to go.”

  “No.” His voice rose, and she pulled the phone away from her ear. “Do not hang up, Addison.”

  Images of him walking from the room, tucking in his shirt, pervaded her mind. Philip kissing the blonde would forever be burned in her memory. It would do no good to argue with him though. He would have the last word.

  “I just can’t deal with this anymore.” Her stomach clenched with tightly wound knots. “I really need to go. I’ve got lesson plans to do.”

  “I’m coming over.”

  Her pulse raced. “No, Philip. I don’t want to see you anymore.”

  “It’s not over between us. It will never be over. I love you.”

  Addison ended the call, his false affection making her physically sick. The combination of Philip and the haunting images of the girl in the accident overshadowed everything else.

  She had called the hospital last week to check if Ami Tant had been released. Unable to stomach hearing that the girl had to stay longer, she waited. Until this morning. Today they informed her there was no one registered by that name.

  Addison’s stomach twisted with additional knots. She had no idea how long the Tant girl had been home, but she couldn’t wait another day to visit. Nothing would stop her, not even the nervous flutters of facing the blond girl and her mom raging through her stomach.

  There was only one problem. Aunt Brenda knew nothing of her plans.

  “Good morning, honey.”

  “Morning. Can I borrow your car? I have a few errands to run. I’ll only be gone a few hours.”

  “You sure you feel up to driving?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I’m fine.”

  “Okay.”

  Addison kissed her aunt’s cheek; thankful she hadn’t asked more questions.

  “Don’t you want to at least eat first?”

  Giving Aunt Brenda a backward glance, Addison opened the door. “Will you save me a plate so I can eat later?”

  “Sure, baby girl.”

  Dark clouds hovered beneath the afternoon sun. Wi
th shaking hands, she pressed the map app on her phone with the Tant’s address from the accident report once she was settled inside the car.

  Only a seven-minute drive.

  She jumped and slammed her knee into the steering wheel when someone knocked on the window. Dropping her phone, her hand flew to her pounding chest.

  “Philip, you scared me to death. What are you doing here?” As the window eased down, she crammed her violently shaking hands beneath her legs.

  Leaning inside the car, he stopped her from leaving. “I had to come. I had to see you.”

  “No, Philip. I’m leaving.”

  “Where’re you going? I thought you were doing lesson plans.”

  “Something came up. I’ve got to go.”

  A few raindrops fell, and she pressed the window button. The way Philip looked at her made her ill at ease. It was the same way he always looked when he talked her into giving him another chance. He would not worm his way back into her life. But he wouldn’t give up easily.

  The map app’s automated voice led her through town and into a neighborhood she wasn’t familiar with. After eight minutes of glancing sporadically through the rearview mirror to make sure Philip hadn’t followed, Addison pulled the car in front of the designated house.

  The two-story brick home had a manicured lawn with perfectly spaced Leyland Cyprus lining the driveway and a small garden of vibrant flowers of every imaginable color.

  Addison parked the car across the street as if by doing so they’d feel her presence and come out to tell her it was okay—that they didn’t blame her.

  Her chest collapsed with a disconcerted sigh as another spout of remorse hacked at her hesitancy. Had she made the right decision coming here?

  After five minutes of telling herself to drive away and return home, she climbed from the car. With slow, unsteady steps, she ambled to the front door, through a row of bushes bordering the sidewalk. She was trembling so hard, she had to press the doorbell twice before the sound of music streamed from inside the house.