by Jolie, Meg
“I never liked him,” Luke growled.
Quinn sniffled beside Jesse and plucked another tissue out of the box that was settled in her lap.
“Yeah, well, if I ever see him I can’t promise I won’t rip the guy’s head off,” Jesse fumed. “In fact, I have the strongest urge to hunt him down and do it anyway after what he did to her!” His emotions wavered between fear for Carly and rage against Nolan. He had hurt her. Maybe not physically, or at least, she’d claimed he hadn’t. But he’d hurt her emotionally. He’d scared the daylights out of her. Terrified her, really. For that alone, Jesse could tear him limb from limb. That had all been bad enough. But now? Now she’d been in a horrible wreck because of Nolan. Because of her terror, her need to get away.
“Jesse,” Quinn cautiously said.
He slowly turned to face her. She was looking at him with concern. He realized his fists were clenched in his lap, his jaw was tightly clamped shut and his posture was rigid.
“We can’t lose it right now,” Quinn said. “We need to stay strong for her. She’s going to need us. She’s not going to like it if we get there and we’re all wound up. You know how she is.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” he managed to say. He instantly felt like a jackass. He should be offering Quinn comfort. Not the other way around. “Thanks,” he finally said. “For thinking of me. I mean, thanks for letting me know what happened. And for coming to get me.”
He knew that they really didn’t have to do that. He wasn’t family and his relationship with Carly had always been questionable.
Quinn reached over and gave his knee a reassuring squeeze. “Of course. Do you know how furious Carly would be if she woke up and found out you weren’t there?” she tried to tease. “She would never forgive me if she woke up and the love of her life wasn’t by her side because I forgot to bring him with.”
Jesse shot a look at Quinn. Was he the love of Carly’s life?
“Oh come on,” Quinn said. “You know what you mean to her. I might not have ever understood your relationship—”
He snorted a mirthless laugh. “That makes two of us. Three, actually, because I’m pretty sure Carly never understood us either.”
“But you’re figuring it out now,” Quinn said, firmly.
“Yeah,” he said with a small nod, “we are.”
“I can’t believe he just let himself in,” Luke said in dismay.
“Poor Carly,” Quinn muttered. “She must’ve been terrified, waking up like that.”
“Yeah,” Jesse confirmed. “I didn’t like her being in that house alone. I should’ve helped her find somewhere else to stay.”
“There wasn’t anywhere else,” Quinn said firmly. “You know that. I didn’t tell her she shouldn’t stay there either. So don’t blame yourself. No one saw this coming.”
He shouldn’t have let her head home. He knew that now. He should’ve insisted that she go to her friend’s house. He hadn’t realized he’d voiced his thoughts out loud until Quinn looked at him with a scrutinizing gaze.
“Really?” She said with a frown. “You’re going to do this? You’re going to blame yourself? I don’t think so. You need to stop that right now. Carly isn’t going to put up with it.”
“So, what exactly did your parents find out?”
He turned away from Quinn when he realized his question had caused her to blink back tears.
“She was just this side of Carlton. Apparently, a truck crossed the centerline. The other driver was thrown. Carly’s car rolled. They were a ways off the road. There’s not a lot of traffic that time of night.” He heard Quinn swallow back some tears and she continued. “A woman getting off the nightshift saw the cars down in a ditch. I guess the sun was just starting to come up. I’m not sure how long they were there before the lady found them. She called it in. They were able to track down Mom and Dad through Carly’s driver’s license. She still has our parents’ house listed as her permanent address.”
Jesse’s throat constricted tightly, as if fear held it in its grip. The backs of his eyes prickled painfully but he shoved the feeing away. He needed to hold it together. He hadn’t felt like this since…Since his best friend had died. But Carly wasn’t Jake. Carly was going to be fine.
Luke picked up when it seemed that Quinn couldn’t continue.
“She wasn’t conscious when they found her,” he said quietly. “She was hit on the driver’s side. The other vehicle was able to slow some so most of the damage is from when she rolled. It sounds like there’s a head injury.”
“Is that why she’d in surgery?” Jesse demanded.
Luke shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
“You don’t think so?” Jesse didn’t mean to snap at Luke. He blew out a breath. “Sorry.”
“It’s fine. It’s just that Margo took the call. Then Pete called us. You could hear Margo totally losing in the background,” he said with a grimace as he glanced at Quinn. “So Pete was pretty rushed. There was some internal bleeding but we don’t know how bad it is. I think that’s what they were bringing her into surgery for.”
“Mom and Dad had a pretty good head start on us. They’re probably there by now,” Quinn said as she glanced at the dashboard clock. She reached for her purse and rooted around, pulling out her cell phone. “They must have more information by now.”
Jesse waited anxiously as Quinn placed the call.
Internal bleeding and head injury. Those words twisted his insides, stabbed at his heart.
He glanced at Quinn as she sat impatiently with the phone next to her ear. After what felt like forever, she let out a little growl as she dropped her phone back into her lap.
“Seriously, Mom?” she asked no one in particular. “You’re not going to answer at a time like this?”
“Maybe they’re meeting with a doctor or something and she can’t answer,” Luke suggested.
“Or maybe,” Quinn grumbled, “it never occurred to her that an update would be nice. I just want to know what’s going on. I hate this not-knowing!”
“Yeah,” Jesse sighed, “me too.”
19
When they arrived, the nurse at the nurse’s station told Quinn that Carly was out of surgery and that their parents were with her. The nurse wouldn’t go into any more details than that. She assured Quinn her parents would be back soon and they could fill her in.
Quinn, Luke and Jesse had found the closest waiting area and taken a seat.
Jesse couldn’t help but notice how Quinn was clenching Luke’s hand in her own. Her eyes were closed as she rested her head on his shoulder. Jesse knew she wasn’t sleeping. Maybe she was hoping for sleep, hoping for time to hurry this waking nightmare along. Luke was staring blankly at the muted news on the TV screen hanging overhead. Neither had said a word for the longest time. It appeared they didn’t need to. It was obvious Quinn was drawing strength simply from Luke’s presence. They were two halves from the same whole.
He wanted that. He wanted that so damn badly he ached with it. Yet he could never begrudge his friend and Quinn for it. They’d had to go through hell to get where they were now. But they were there. They’d made it. They’d come out the other side.
Now he was going through his own personal hell.
He hoped with everything in him that he and Carly would make it, too.
“This is just so unfair,” Jesse heard Margo wail as they neared the waiting room. Quinn also heard her. She jumped to her feet as Margo continued on. “My poor girl was down in that ditch, maybe for hours! All alone!”
The words tangled Jesse’s insides up. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about that. He should’ve stayed on the phone with her. Or at the very least, stayed awake to be sure she arrived safely. He silently berated himself for dozing off while Carly was out there, hurt. There were so many ways he could’ve handled the situation differently. If Carly wasn’t okay, he was never going to forgive himself for that.
“It doesn’t make sense! What was she doing? Where was
she going?” she sobbed as they rounded the corner, bringing them into view. “That time of the night? It just doesn’t make sense!”
“We’ll just have to ask her when she wakes up,” Pete said, trying to calm his wife.
“She’s in a coma!” Margo lamented as Pete led her to the rest of the group. Her eyes widened when she realized the trio had arrived. “She’s in a coma!” she said again, for their benefit.
Jesse felt his breath catch and his emotions spiral.
“She is not.” This came from Pete who let out a sigh.
Quinn flung herself into her dad’s arms. He hugged her back fiercely. “Dad, what’s going on?” she asked when he released her.
Jesse stood back, wanting to stay out of the way, yet desperate for information.
Pete directed his words to Quinn. “She’s not in a coma, first off,” he said as he snapped a disgruntled glance at his wife. “She’s sedated. She just got out of surgery. There was some internal damage and they needed to stop the bleeding. They had to repair a small tear in her liver and remove her spleen. She’s not awake yet, but she’s not in a coma,” he said pointedly. “We were able to peek in on her for just a minute, then the nurse shooed us back out again.”
“Why are you here?” Margo demanded of Jesse.
Quinn stepped between them. “Because Carly is going to want to see him. He came with Luke and me.”
Before Margo could grumble about that, Pete continued. “She regained consciousness right before they brought her in. However, she did suffer a skull fracture.”
Jesse heard Quinn’s sharp intake of breath.
“And they don’t know when she’ll wake up,” Margo whispered.
“In part because of the fracture, in part because she’s sedated from the surgery,” Pete clarified. “Head injuries can be tricky but the doctor thinks she’s going to come out of this just fine.”
“He thinks,” Margo said bitterly. “But he won’t guarantee it.”
Jesse kept his mouth shut. He was sure because of liability issues, the doctor couldn’t guarantee it. While he wasn’t entirely convinced that Carly was just fine, Pete’s calm demeanor helped to allay his fears. Quinn looked more at ease as well.
“She is in a coma,” Margo insisted, slicing a contradictory look at her husband. “A drug induced coma.”
He sighed and nodded. “Alright. Fine. But the way you say it makes it sound ten times worse than it is.”
Ignoring him, Margo turned her attention to the newcomers. “Can any of you tell me what my daughter was doing?”
Jesse felt like a child, ready to get a good lashing. Still, he told Margo what she needed to know. “She was on her way to see me.”
“So this is your fault? How could you? How could you let her drive alone? That late at night? What were you thinking?”
“I should’ve told her not to come,” Jesse quietly agreed.
“Mom,” Quinn said. Her voice was firm but calm as she stepped in between them again. “This is not Jesse’s fault.”
“Of course it’s not,” Pete sternly interjected and Margo shot him a glare.
Quinn went on to tell Margo what had happened.
“B-But, I don’t understand. How did he have a key? Where were her roommates?” she fumed. “They left her there, alone?”
Quinn cringed. Jesse could see the indecision flitting across her face. He knew she didn’t want to give away Carly’s secret. Yet, at this point, it seemed almost impossible to keep. She glanced at him. He gave her a small shrug. Carly was her sister. This was her call. Her gaze shifted back to Margo. Since she’d brought it up, it appeared that there was really no going back. Quinn visually braced herself as she began to fill her parents in on the events that led to Carly fleeing in the middle of the night.
“She doesn’t have roommates,” Quinn admitted with a sigh.
Margo looked livid by the time Quinn was done telling her where Carly lived and why.
Pete put a calming hand on her shoulder. “None of that matters now. None of it,” he said with conviction. “All that matters is that Carly is going to be okay.”
“And we don’t know that she will!” Margo snapped. She turned her fury toward Jesse again. “I cannot believe you let her drive! Not that late at night! She was probably half asleep!”
“Margo.” Pete’s tone demanded her attention. She turned to look at him. “You heard the officer. This wasn’t Carly’s fault. The other truck hit a patch of ice and spun out of control.”
“Carly,” Quinn pointed out, “never has trouble staying awake. This could’ve happened any time. Considering what Nolan put her through, I’m sure she was completely alert.”
“Don’t make this worse by blowing everything out of proportion,” Pete told his wife.
“Your daughter was in a horrible accident!” Margo cried. “How can you be so calm?”
“Years of practice,” Pete dryly replied. “One of us needs to keep their head. And for some reason, it never seems to be you. Quite frankly, it’s a bit tiring.”
~*~*~
“Any news?” Jemma asked as she quietly slipped into the waiting room. She settled herself into the empty seat next to Quinn.
“Hey, Jemma,” Quinn said quietly. “Nothing yet.”
Jemma nodded. “I left work early. I just couldn’t be there today. I stopped by your house and grabbed a bag for both of you, just in case. Nora said she’s talked to you. I’m supposed to remind you that if you two need to stay the night here, she and Tom are more than willing to stay overnight at your house with the kids.”
Quinn glanced at Luke. He gave her a subtle nod.
“Yeah,” Quinn said, “we’ll see.”
Jesse had watched the whole exchange from the other side of the room.
“Jesse,” Jemma said as she forced a smile for him. “How are you doing?”
He answered with a shrug. “Holding up. Just like everyone else.”
Despite her overall prognosis being good, they were still waiting for her to do one simple thing: Wake up.
Jemma let out a sigh as she held up a duffel bag.
A furrow appeared between his brows. He was pretty sure that was his duffel bag.
“I called Shane,” Jemma explained. “He said he knew where you kept the spare key to your house. I met him there and he threw some stuff together for you. We weren’t sure if you would want to stay but, well, just in case. I think he packed enough for a couple of days’ worth. He told me to tell you to give him a call if you he can do anything for you.”
“Thanks,” Jesse said as Jemma dropped the bag near his feet. He appreciated the gesture but he couldn’t think of a single thing that his friend could do for him right now. He’d already called into work, letting them know he wouldn’t be in today. Tomorrow was the weekend so that bought him a little bit of time.
Jemma glanced around the small waiting room. “Where are Margo and Pete?”
“Margo was, uh,” Luke stammered as he sheepishly glanced at Quinn.
“Mom was driving everyone crazy,” Quinn finished for him. “Dad convinced her to go for a walk. I think they were going to look for some coffee. Maybe they found the cafeteria and decided to eat something. They’ve been gone for a while.” She held up her phone. “I’m supposed to call them the second I hear anything.”
Jemma slumped into the chair next to Quinn. Silence filled the room again. Everyone was exhausted and their nerves were frazzled. No one seemed to know what to say. Jesse leaned back in his seat, eyes on the muted television once more.
“She’s awake,” Margo said as she appeared in the doorway some time later.
Quinn’s eyebrows shot up as she bounced to her feet. Jesse was beside her in a second, waiting to hear what Margo had to say.
“We ran into her doctor while we were taking a walk. We’ve been in her room with her.”
Quinn closed her eyes and grated out an annoyed breath. When she opened them again, Jesse noted she looked furious. He could relate.
“She’s been awake this whole time! And you didn’t think to tell us?!”
Margo looked affronted. “I was making sure that she was alright. Surely, that’s your first concern as well.”
Quinn gritted her teeth as she tugged a hand through her mass of curls.
“Where did Dad go?”
“To make a few phone calls. I came back here to tell you,” Margo said.
Jesse couldn’t help but wonder just how long she’d waited to do that.
“Can we see her?” Quinn asked with forced calm.
“She needs her rest so she really shouldn’t have a roomful. But yes, I suppose it would be fine if you went in,” Margo conceded.
Quinn grabbed Jesse’s hand. “We’re going in,” she said as she gave him a tug. He didn’t offer any resistance. She glanced at Luke who reached over to give her a small smile and a shoulder squeeze as she walked past.
“The nerve of her!” Quinn seethed. She let go of Jesse’s hand as they reached the hallway. “If I’d done that to her!? If I hadn’t let her know that Carly was awake…” she fumed, unable to complete the sentence.
“But she is awake,” Jesse said as they hurried along.
They both scanned the room numbers posted on the wall next to each door, until they reached the one that they knew was Carly’s.
“How could you Quinn!” Carly grumbled out in a gravelly voice. Jesse, who was a few steps behind Quinn, stopped in his tracks. “How could you leave me in here with her?”
Despite himself, he smiled. Even planted in a hospital bed, she was as spunky as ever.
Quinn glanced over her shoulder and playfully scowled at him. “Well, I didn’t mean to,” she said as she marched across the room to Carly’s bed. “It’s not my fault you decided to play the part of Sleeping Beauty. I had no idea you were awake.”
It didn’t appear to Jesse that Carly had heard a word her sister said. Her eyes were on him.
