by Mia Ford
Just a few more weeks until we could examine this relationship, but it felt like years. “I want to stay here with you.”
“We need a house in the middle of nowhere where we can’t be seen. We could do everything we do here indoors and out, take walks together like I want to do. I just want to hold your hand in public, but I have to wait right along with you.” He said regretfully as he turned his face to kiss me. We made love again, and then I prepared to leave as he stared at me with something strong in his eyes.
He sent me Marie’s address on the way home, telling me to meet him there at three tomorrow. We were going to go in separate cars as we’d be doing everything for a while but I held onto the thought that I was going to meet his sister. That was such a big step. I made my way through the quiet streets with the radio playing softly, thinking about Liam. He was so gorgeous and perfect, and I wanted him in my life forever right now.
I knew that was silly since it might not pan out at all. We’d only been together a few weeks, and it was insane with the way we had to handle it. I was sure that he’d find someone easier but for now, I wanted to meet his sister, and I wanted him to meet Ginger.
I wanted to ace his class almost to spite him and prove that I wanted Liam for him, not for what people would think I was using him for. I knew that when this was all said and done, that is what the rumors would be about. I’d have to stay strong and get past them, but sleeping with Liam at night and waking up with him in the morning would be so worth all of that.
I was a couple of blocks from my house when I glanced up to see that my light had just turned green. Almost there. I pressed on the gas to go when my head was thrown to the left, my car spinning as I tried to hold onto the steering wheel. I screamed Liam’s name as my life flashed before my eyes, hearing the sickening crunch of metal before it was quiet.
I heard people, but they were far off in the distance. “I love you, Liam,” I whispered before everything went black
Liam
I watched the end of a hockey game as I waited for Elena to text me that she was home. I didn’t want her to leave tonight and regret formed in my stomach that we couldn’t be a real couple right yet.
That made me wonder if we ever could be without the stigma of how we met in the first place. Would people look at Elena as though she was some whore that slept with her teacher?
I glanced at the TV to see that a half hour had passed by and frowned. It never took her this long late at night, and I reached for my phone beside me to send her a text. I waited a couple of minutes and dread filled me as my phone sat silently in my hand. Where the fuck is she?
I called, and the phone went to voice mail immediately. Something was wrong. I ran a hand through my hair and wondered momentarily if Elena was done with me. Maybe our talk had brought her down, and she didn’t want to do this anymore. I called her again, panic filling me as it did the same thing and went to voice mail.
I stood and slid my phone into my pocket, grabbing my keys as I looked around the room. I was going to see if she broke down since I knew her address well enough to map it out. I was just wearing some old jeans and a worn shirt, so I grabbed a sweatshirt and headed out to my car, the knot in my stomach growing and tightening.
The streets were fairly empty as I drove, following the robotic voice guiding me as I looked all around. I saw a few cop cars on one corner, but nothing else and I finally pulled up to her address.
Her car was not there. I looked around the questionable area to see if she might have parked somewhere further away, a thought that I hated. There was a bar a couple of short blocks away as well as a liquor store and a corner store. I noticed the other apartments and knew that I wanted her out of this place.
If only I could find her.
I drove around the corner and parked in front of her building, trying to pinpoint which place was hers. The windows were dark in every part of the building, and I hit my steering wheel angrily.
I didn’t know another number to find her at. I didn’t have any of her friend’s numbers because of our stupid, fucking secret relationship and I pressed my hand to my throbbing temple. Fuck. I had never been this worried before, and I considered driving around to every hospital in the area to see if she was there. I had no legal ties to Elena, and they might not tell me shit.
I drove around a little bit longer, but by now, it had been at least an hour. I knew that I couldn’t go home and just sit there alone, but what choice did I have? I looked at the clock in my car to see that it was coming up on two am and headed away from the house and across town. I felt myself tensing and the worry flooding me as I parked in front of Marie’s house and walked up the steps.
I only saw her car there, so it was safe to assume she was alone. I didn’t care if she wasn’t. I just wanted to be somewhere with someone else over my place that still smelled like Elena. I wasn’t going to wake my sister up or anything, not yet. I unlocked the front door and hit the code for the alarm system quickly before securing the house again. I walked into the living room to the kitchen where I knew she had beer in the fridge, popping one open and taking a long swig.
My quiet phone filled the air with its lack of noise as I paced and looked out of the window. I was getting frantic by this point, my mind racing with possibilities. Had Elena gone to a friend’s house instead of home, perhaps Ginger’s place?
I finished that beer and started on another as I thought about what I could do. I could find Ginger’s information at the University website as an instructor, but I couldn’t logically call her this time of night, nor for the reason that I was doing so.
Fucking rules.
I picked up my phone and got the number of the nearest hospital before calling. I was going to call every single one in the city if I had to, and find Elena. I wasn’t sure what happened, but if it were something like an accident, then she would be in an ER somewhere. That was assuming she’d made it through whatever happened to her.
I swallowed thickly. The idea of anything happening to Elena was more than I could deal with and nausea filled my stomach. I called the first one and was told that there was nobody by that name there before I tried the next one. I did get a confirmation that Elena was at Kindred Hospital but they wouldn’t give me any more information over the phone.
I didn’t know if that made me feel better or worse. I knew where she was, but I couldn’t exactly go down there and pace the waiting room for information. How would I even know that she was there to begin with? I was her teacher and didn’t see her apart from class. In that context, I wouldn’t know that anything happened until the following week when she didn’t make it to class, if at all. If the injuries were severe enough, Elena might not come back to school.
I dropped my phone on the couch and pressed my hands to my face. I didn’t know what the fuck I should do now.
I was brought to reality when someone pressed my shoulder, making me blink as the dim light of morning filled the small living room. “Liam? What are you doing here?” Marie’s soft voice filled the air, and I ran a hand through my hair as the nightmare of last night played back through my head. “Liam?”
I reached for my phone, finding it dead beside me. “Where’s your charger?” I asked as she tilted her head worriedly at me. “Marie. Where the hell is it?”
Her eyes narrowed as she pointed towards the kitchen. “There’s one in there.” I stumbled when I tried to stand up, and she sighed. “Let me plug it in for you since I’m going to make coffee anyway.” I gave her the phone and watched as she headed into the kitchen before I rested my head in my hands. Coffee might straighten me out and get my mind thinking clearly.
I yawned and stood stiffly in my jeans, realizing that I was only wearing a wife beater under my sweatshirt. I fixed the zipper and headed into the kitchen to join Marie and fill her in. I told her how Elena left last night, late. I explained how I drove to her apartment and didn’t find her car there and that all I knew was that she was in the hospital.
Mar
ie sipped her coffee with concern on her face as she listened to me. “Does she have family here?”
“I don’t know. I met a friend of hers one night that goes to school with Elena, but I only know her first name.” I stirred the coffee again, watching the cream mix with the liquid.
“What hospital?” She pressed, and I told her. “I have a friend that works there. She’s in labor and delivery, but she might be able to tell me something.” The look on her face was tragic. “You can’t go there at all.”
“I don’t need your shit right now,” I growled at her as she gasped. The look on her face was a mixture of fear and anger, and I blinked. “I’m sorry. I am just stressed out to hell. I don’t know what happened to her.”
“I know, Liam. Let me text Robin and see if she can tell me anything, okay?” The shock in her eyes said that she was surprised at my worry. She took another sip of coffee, and I offered to get her some of her favorite donuts while she did that to make up for my shitty mood. She smiled weakly, and I grabbed my keys before heading out to my car. It was the least that I could do, but I took a bit of extra time to drive past Elena’s apartment again out of curiosity.
Her car wasn’t there, and I felt a headache begin at my temples. I grabbed a bag of pastries for Marie at the bakery a few blocks away and made my way back to the house. I wanted to go to the hospital and demand that they tell me how Elena is doing but that shit wouldn’t get me anywhere.
Marie was sitting at the small kitchen table with a fresh cup of coffee, staring outside. I checked my phone, turning it on to stare at the screen as it warmed up. “I found out that she was in a car accident. She is still there, but Robin hasn’t had a chance to pop in and see her. It’s been busy in delivery.”
“She’s going to see her?” I asked dumbly as I walked the bag over to Marie. I set it down with my coffee and joined her. Marie selected something chocolate from the bag, nibbling on it as she looked curiously at me.
“Robin is going to tell her to call you as soon as she can.” Her eyes were soft as I nodded slowly. “You’re messed up about this, Liam. This is serious, isn’t it?”
“We talked about letting the semester end before taking too many chances. She hasn’t been spending the night for fear of being caught,” I told her in a rough voice. That explained why the cashier at the shop gave me such a weird look. I’d been in zombie mode. “If I let her stay, she wouldn’t be in the hospital.”
“Liam, please don’t think like that. This is just a terrible accident.” Marie reached her hand across the table and held mine. “She’ll be okay.”
“I feel so helpless. I haven’t felt this way since Mom…” My voice broke as I pushed away the memories of my gaunt mother dying in her bed. “I can’t do it again.”
“Mom did everything that she could to fight the cancer. It was just too advanced, Liam. Please don’t blame yourself.” Marie soothed me as I felt the raw images wash over me. I’d held them in since Mom’s death; focused on work, friends, women, and anything else that might distract me.
Meeting Elena opened up emotions that I wanted to forget that I had. This accident opened pain that I didn’t want to revisit.
“It’s hard. I just wanted to fix everything for Mom. I want to fix everything for Elena. This is so hard after shutting myself down for these last few years.” I took a long sip of coffee and stared out of the window into the backyard. Mom loved it back there and was always planting new flowers or pulling weeds. It was like a sanctuary back there when she lived here, and while Marie tried to keep it going, she was busy with her life. My sister had her own way of distracting herself, and I knew that working was the main way.
We all had our demons, and I looked into Marie’s eyes, seeing her pain.
I ended up eating a couple of the pastries as I sipped coffee, jittery and worried. The minutes seemed like hours, and I remembered why I told myself to never get involved with a woman.
Marie’s phone chimed, and she reached for it as I stilled. Her brows furrowed as she read the message and I watched her bite her lip. “Robin said that she saw her. Elena has a few injuries, and she’ll be at the hospital for a few more days to be looked over. She is going to be okay, though. Robin told her to call you.”
I turned my head and stared at my phone. It hadn’t sounded at all, and I wondered when Robin saw her. Was Elena busy with doctors and nurses and just too busy to call? Was she done with me? “I don’t know if that makes me feel better or worse.”
“At least we know that she’ll be all right,” Marie assured me with a small smile. “She’ll call you. She might be in a lot of pain or tired…or something.”
Elena
I stared at the pale pink walls of the hospital room blankly. The pain in my head was easing with whatever medicine was in the IV, but my body was still sore.
I learned that I’d been hit by a car that ran the red light. The passenger side of my old car was destroyed, and it would more than likely be totaled out, but that was what insurance was for. I had medical insurance thanks to my parents, but that might be handled by the other driver’s insurance as well.
It was a teenage girl on her way home from a friend’s house. She was texting and glanced down just as the light was changing and never even saw me.
I thought about the last day and sighed. The pretty nurse Robin told me that Liam was worried and wanted me to call him, though my phone didn’t make it through the car accident. It went through the window and shattered on the street, and that was where all my numbers were, which was ridiculous. I would get it replaced in time, but I didn’t want to talk to anyone right now.
I was dealing with the fact that I might not make it back to school next week, possibly changing my entire life plan. I knew that I was going to be sore for some time and was already informed that I was going to see a chiropractor and maybe a physical therapist.
I didn’t have a car nor money to replace mine, and everyone knew that they low balled you when they gave you what they deemed it being worth. I would end up with a piece of junk, not that my old car was much more than that. But, it was mine.
There was movement at the door, and I glanced over to see the pretty blonde nurse smiling as she walked in. She looked a bit like Gwen Stefani, and I took a slow breath as she came over to the bed. “I spoke to your parents. They’re out of the country right now but wish for you to get well soon. They’ll call your room as soon as they can.”
My parents, the world travelers. They wrote for a popular travel magazine and were always gone. I wasn’t surprised that they weren’t coming to see me at all. This was my whole childhood. They might send me some money to help me out if I was lucky.
“Thank you,” I told her gratefully as I looked back at the window.
“How are you feeling?” She asked as she sat down in the chair. “Is the medicine working?”
“Yeah. It takes the edge off,” I told her as I looked seriously at her. “How much did you tell my parents?”
“Sweetie, you’re an adult, so they only know about the accident.” She frowned and leaned back against the thin cushion. “Are you going to tell them anymore?” She’d been with me when the doctor told me everything, checking on me and holding my hand during the harder parts. I felt closer to her than anyone else at this moment, and I sighed.
“There are things that I don’t want to tell anybody,” I admitted as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ears.
“You have to talk to somebody. I haven’t seen a single person visit you yet, nor heard about it. Who can I call for you?” She pressed, and I thought for a moment. I knew Ginger’s number off the top of my head, and I could talk to her. I told the nurse the information, and she jotted it down, which was when I remembered her name.
Gwen. That was ironic.
“I am going to call her and let her know where you are. You need someone to visit, and I have too many other patients to stay in here too long,” she told me regretfully as she glanced at the door. “I am always here
if you need me though. Just press the button.”
Gwen left, and I tried to get into the sitcom on TV, though my mind kept wandering. I knew that life was forever changed now and I didn’t have any idea where to go from here.
Liam crossed my mind, and I closed my eyes. There was no way in hell I was going to contact him yet. He wouldn’t want me this way.
A couple of hours had passed before a nervous redhead rushed through the door, making me wake out of my light sleep as she gasped. “Elena!! Why didn’t you call me sooner?”
I blinked, and she sat down beside me. “I was taking all of this in. The nurse asked me who to call since my phone was broken in the…accident.” I swallowed thickly as she reached out to hold my hand. “Everything was. The car, the phone, and my body for a while.” I explained who had hit me and Ginger cursed her as I gave her a soft smile. “I forgive her, Ginger. She must feel awful, and everyone is okay. I’m sure she’ll get in a lot of trouble at home, but I’ll never look at my phone while driving again.” Tears filled my eyes, and she leaned forward instinctively.
“What else is wrong?” Her eyes searched mine as I gave in to the emotions that were building up in me. “You’re going to be okay, aren’t you?”
“I…yes. I am. I just found out more coming here.” I didn’t know how to say it since my mind hadn’t completely accepted the truth yet.
“Tell me, Elena. I can’t stand you crying in front of me and not knowing why? Are you dying or something?” She reached an arm around me as I thought for a moment that might be a better ending to this. I snapped back and laughed bitterly.
“No, nothing like that.” I sighed. “I’m pregnant, Ginger.”
“What?” She asked as she pulled back enough to look at me. “Liam?”
“Who the hell else?” I shot back before I winced. “Sorry. I’m in shock. I am on the pill and didn’t expect this.”
