“Oh my God. That’s a story all in itself. We haven’t told mine yet, but his parents know, but only because Justin and his parents came upon me on a business dinner and they all thought it was a date.”
“What?” Riley asked, her mouth full of pizza.
I took the next twenty minutes to explain the whole situation with Aiden Daniels. I told her about the house, about the meeting, about how Aiden showed interest, but I told him I was married, and then how Mrs. Hunter thought I was on a date with him, and how that led to Justin and I having to explain ourselves far sooner than we’d anticipated.
“How did your life become so crazy while I was away?”
“I have no idea, but I won’t argue with life if it wants to calm down now for a little bit.”
“But you still have to tell your parents you’re married.”
“Do we? Can’t Justin and I just date, and then if things get more serious, maybe we’ll talk about telling them.”
“He’s your husband, Hadley.”
“Believe me, I know he’s my husband. And even if I didn’t, he reminds me multiple times a day. I’m just saying, I’m not looking forward to telling my mom and dad that I got so drunk in Vegas that I married someone and don’t remember it. Oh, and by the way, we’re together now, but don’t let our drunken Vegas wedding taint or cheapen our relationship in your eyes, okay?” I rolled my eyes and took another large gulp of wine.
“I guess I see your point.”
“It’s complicated. I don’t want all the expectations to cloud what’s going on between us.”
“And that would be?”
“I don’t know yet, but I want to see where it goes. I’m hoping it goes on forever, ya know? But this is not how functional relationships usually start. We’ve got our work cut out for us.”
“Well, you know I’m here for you. Whatever you need, even if it’s just pizza and wine, I’m here. And I’m glad you told me. You looked petrified when you showed up.”
“I was petrified. I was afraid you’d be upset for not telling you as soon as I found out.”
“I love you, Hadley, and I will always be here for you, but I really enjoyed my drama-free honeymoon.”
“Speaking of honeymoons, I want to hear all about yours.”
“Lucky for you, I’ve been waiting anxiously to tell you all about it.”
“I want all the dirty and sordid details. Spare me nothing.”
“You got it,” she replied with a wink.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Hadley
We’d eaten an entire pizza and drunk a bottle of wine each. That’s right—we ate an entire pizza. We could put it away when we wanted to, and apparently, we wanted to do just that. Once all the confessions and tears were out of the way, we dove straight into smut territory and Riley ended up dishing most of her honeymoon shenanigans. Not all of them, I could tell, because a girl has to keep some secrets. But I pretended to be scandalized by what they did in the public pool even though I would have totally done it myself.
Riley was happy and on cloud nine being married, and it made me happy watching her smile and tell stories about Hawaii and all the naughty things that went down. Eventually, somewhere between my first and second bottle of wine, we decided to turn on our favorite episode of Sex and the City. One episode turned into two, then three. When my phone rang and I saw Justin’s name on the screen, I couldn’t help the rush of excitement that rolled through me.
Finally, almost everyone knew we were together and I didn’t have to censor myself or hide what I felt anymore. I felt free. And a little drunk.
“Hello, husband,” I answered merrily.
“I think I want you to answer the phone like that every time I call from now on.”
“Maybe you’ll get your wish.”
“Everything go okay with you and Riley?”
“Of course it did. Riley is the best friend a girl could ever ask for.”
“Damn right,” Riley yelled from the other chair, pumping a fist into the air.
“I’m glad everything went well. I think Camden is anxious to get home to his new bride, though. He’s been looking at his watch every few minutes.”
“You’re not anxious to get to your new bride?” I asked coyly.
“You know I’m always anxious to get to you.”
“Then come get me.”
“On my way.”
“Wait, you haven’t been drinking, have you?”
“I had one beer, why?”
“I just didn’t want you driving if you’d had too much.”
“We’re good, babe. Promise.”
“Okay. See you when you get here.”
“Be ready to go,” he said, his voice lower, as though he didn’t want Camden to hear.
“I’m always ready, baby.”
He groaned and I imagined him running his hand through his hair, or rubbing the back of his neck, biceps bulging.
“I’ll be there in ten.” His voice was a low rumble and my belly flipped wildly.
“Okay,” I whispered. I ended the call and let out a breath.
“Wow,” Riley said, looking at me with wide eyes. “I could feel the sexual chemistry from all the way over here. You’re going to have to meet him out at the car because I’m afraid of the damage to my house if you guys are put in the same room together. I like my furniture, thank you very much.”
“Please, we’d at least have the decency to go to the bathroom. Or the hot tub.”
“Did you guys have sex in my hot tub?” Riley asked, but I could tell she really didn’t want to know the answer.
“I’ll never tell.”
She laughed and rolled her eyes. “Do we have time for another episode before the guys get here?” she asked, motioning toward the TV with the remote.
“Not a full one, but they can wait a few minutes until it’s done to haul us away by our hair to our respective caves, right?”
Riley laughed out loud. “Camden, maybe. But it sounded like Justin was about ready to beat you with a club.”
“Just start the show, smart-ass.”
She giggled but pressed play regardless, and another episode of our favorite show commenced. We’d seen them all at least four times, but they never got old. One spring break during college when neither one of us had any plans to do anything fun, we lay on the floor in our living room for three days straight binge-watching the entire series.
When the episode ended it occurred to me that the guys still weren’t back.
“I wonder what’s taking them so long.”
“Did they say which bar they were at?”
“No, but Justin said he’d be here in ten minutes.”
“Maybe they got stuck in traffic.”
“Would they have stopped for condoms? I feel like they both think they’re going to get lucky tonight.”
Riley’s cheeks pinked at my words and her eyes darted away from my gaze.
“Why does the mention of condoms make you blush? You are using condoms, right?”
“We may have discussed the option of stopping birth control.”
“You’re going to have babies already? I’m not ready for babies, Riles. I just started the whole committed relationship thing. I can’t jump on the baby train.”
“You don’t have to get on the baby train! You don’t even have to go to the baby train station.”
“But if you’re getting on the baby train, then I’m aware of it. It’s like building tracks to the baby train right behind my house. I don’t ever use the train, but I can hear it going by every night and I am very aware of the baby train.”
“This is the dumbest conversation I’ve ever been a part of.”
“Are you going to have a baby?”
“Someday. Probably.”
“Soon?”
“We’re not sure. We’re talking about it. Nothing’s been decided.”
“You realize this stuff’s contagious, right? Like, I hadn’t ever considered getting married an
d then you did, and I caught it like a bad cold. Now you’re going to get pregnant and hug me, or some shit, and I’m going to end up preggo too.”
Riley laughed again. “That’s not really how it works.”
“Tell that to my baby bump.”
“Calm down. No one’s pregnant. You manage your reproductive organs and I’ll manage mine, okay?”
“Fine,” I replied grumpily, fully aware that I would love any baby my best friend had with her husband. There were a lot of changes happening, and I was a creature of habit. I was just getting used to the idea of Riley being married. I wanted to wait a bit until I felt like I lost her a little more. Riley was gaining everything she’d always wanted, but it seemed like I was losing her, giving up a piece of her I so desperately loved. It was all happening so quickly. I wanted us all to take a breath. To pause. To let things settle before we rocked the boat any more.
Riley’s phone rang and she looked relieved to have a distraction.
“Hey, Cam. Are you guys on your way home?” She answered with a smile, but it fell as soon as Camden’s voice came over the line. “Cam, calm down. Slow down. Talk to me. What’s going on?”
My heart stopped at the sound of her voice. We’d all heard the tone before—the way someone talks when they know something is terribly wrong. My pulse raced and my heart thundered in my chest because I knew something big was about to happen, something horrible.
I could hear the buzz of Camden’s voice, but I couldn’t make out any of his words, but when Riley’s hand flew to her mouth, something inside me made me get out of my chair. I was flying toward the door, putting my shoes on, grabbing my purse before Riley could even say a word.
“Okay, Camden, you need to stay calm. He needs you to be calm. We’ll meet you there. We’re going to take an Uber, though, because we’ve been drinking.” She paused for a moment and I heard the way she tried to hold back from crying when she said, “I love you too. We’ll see you soon.”
“What happened?” I asked urgently as soon as she took the phone from her ear.
“I’m ordering us an Uber and we need to get to the hospital, ASAP.”
“Riley, tell me what’s going on.”
She tapped on her phone a few times and I let her ignore me while she did so, but then I asked her again.
“Riley, what’s going on?”
She walked to me and framed my face with her hands.
“Justin was hit by a car and he’s being taken to the hospital in an ambulance.”
My earth tilted and the air left my lungs, almost as if someone had squeezed the oxygen right out of me. I wanted to crumble, to fold into Riley, but I needed information. “But he’s okay, right?”
“Honey, I don’t know. Camden says he wasn’t awake, but he was breathing and his heart was beating.”
“But he’s going to be okay, right?”
“Hadley, I don’t know. All I know is we have to go.”
“Okay.”
Our Uber came in record time, but it still felt like an eternity. We made every light, but we couldn’t get to the hospital fast enough.
I’d never felt fear like that before. Not when those men were breaking into the house I was sleeping in, not late at night when I was walking through a dark college campus alone with only a friend on the phone and my keys in my hand. All I could think about was that Justin was somewhere in a hospital dead or dying.
Because that would figure. That would be my luck.
The instant I turned my back on the universe and fell in love, the universe would fuck me over and take Justin away from me.
When we finally arrived at the hospital, Camden was standing outside of the emergency room looking ragged.
We jumped out of the car and Riley ran to him, wrapping her arms around him and crying against him. He buried his face in her shoulder, and I could see him shaking as he cried silently against her. I stood there, with my arms wrapped around myself as though I were cold and waited until Camden composed himself.
Eventually he pulled away and wiped his eyes. Then his gaze found mine.
“They took him in immediately, but wouldn’t let me go back with him. He was unconscious the entire way here.”
I nodded and marched past him, looking immediately for the first person of authority I could find. A woman sat behind the admit desk of the emergency room, so I went to her first.
“I am hoping to get an update on Justin Hunter’s condition. He was brought in by ambulance not long ago.”
The woman wore a badge that read Helen, R.N., and I wondered if she’d be able to shed any light on what was happening.
“Okay, I see a Justin Hunter was brought in, and he is here, but he is still in triage and being stabilized, so I don’t have anything I can update you with. Are you family?”
“Yes,” I managed, disappointed she couldn’t tell me anything. “I’m his wife.”
Her eyes darted back to the screen and her features relaxed a little, went a little softer.
“I can’t tell you anything, but I will let the attending doctor know you’re here, and she’ll update you when she can. There’s another waiting room behind these doors that’s quieter if you’d rather wait there.” She pointed to the double doors that led back to the ER. The public waiting room seemed to be full of sick and bleeding people, and it was noisy too.
“Okay,” I said, my voice raspy, on the verge of tears. “Can my friends come with me?”
“Of course. Go get them and I’ll lead you back.”
The kind nurse, Helen, led us to the waiting room and asked us if we wanted any water or coffee. We all said no and sat in silence. I was half expecting a doctor to come in and explain how Justin had died, and the other half of me was waiting for him to walk around the corner and tell me it had been a big joke. I would have kicked his ass for that, but it was a better alternative than the other option.
“Should I call his parents?”
“Shit,” Camden said, sitting up straighter. “I didn’t even think of that.”
“I can do it,” Riley said, reaching out to me. “I’ll call them, Had. You don’t have to.”
“But he’s my husband. I’m his wife. Shouldn’t I be the one to call his parents?”
“You don’t have to do anything, Hadley. You just have to be here and send him all the healing thoughts you can. Let me call.”
“No. It’s my job.” It was the silliest thing to be upset about, but in that moment I wanted to do anything that tied me to him. Any tiny thing that made me feel more like his wife, more connected to him, I wanted that. I didn’t want anyone else calling his parents, even if it was the hardest call I’d ever have to make. That was what I’d signed up for when I married him. And I wanted that responsibility because after everything, I wanted desperately to be his wife.
My phone was in my purse and when I pulled it out my hand was shaking. I managed to find Alice’s number in my contact list and hit send. As soon as I put the phone to my ear, Riley grabbed my free hand and squeezed it, giving me her support.
“Hello?”
Alice answered after a few rings and sounded very confused. I could only imagine why. It didn’t make any sense for me to be calling her, especially not at that time of night.
“Alice, it’s me, Hadley.”
“Hadley? Is everything okay?”
“Well, that’s why I’m calling.” My voice broke on the last word and I took in a sharp breath, trying to hold it together while I was on the phone. “There’s been an accident. I think you and Allen should come to the hospital.”
“An accident? Is Justin okay?”
“They’re working on him now. He was hit by a car. I think you should come here, though. The nurse said she would tell the doctor we were here and so we’re waiting for an update.”
“Oh my God,” I heard her say. I could only imagine the terror she was feeling in that moment, and I wished I didn’t have to cause her that kind of pain, but I also knew Justin’s parents deserved to kn
ow what was happening as much as I did, if not more. “Okay, we’re on our way.”
“Drive safely, okay? And just tell the admit desk at the ER that you’re here for Justin. They should let you in.”
“Okay,” she replied, only that time it was her words that were broken.
“It’s going to be okay, Alice,” I promised, even though I couldn’t believe those words myself. I wanted her to be as calm as possible, because I knew what I was feeling in that moment and I didn’t wish that on anyone.
“We’ll be there soon.”
“All right.” I hung up and fresh tears spilled down my cheeks. “They’re on their way.”
“Okay. That’s good. You did good, Hadley.”
“Thanks,” I tried to say, but ended up crying instead. Riley used her hand to tilt my head onto her shoulder, and I stayed there for a while, silently crying and trying not to get any tears on her shirt.
Twenty minutes later a woman in blue scrubs and a white coat came in the room with a tablet in her hand.
“Are you Justin Hunter’s family?”
I stood up immediately.
“I’m his wife.”
“I’m Doctor Albright. I was working on your husband when he was brought in. He presented with head trauma, low blood pressure, and wasn’t conscious and still hasn’t regained consciousness. We did a CT scan and I’m fairly certain he has internal bleeding from a ruptured spleen. He’ll have to undergo surgery to find and stop the bleeding. His condition is critical at this moment.”
“Can I see him?” I asked, my voice wobbly.
“No, I’m sorry. He’s being taken back to the OR now. Someone will update you when there’s news. The procedure will take at least an hour, but I won’t know for sure until I get in there and see what’s going on.”
“Okay, thank you.”
She gave me a curt nod, then turned and left.
When I turned around Riley was waiting for me with open arms and I didn’t hesitate. I went to her and let her hold me, trying to cry quietly.
“I can’t lose him, Riley. I only just got him. I wasted so much time trying to stay away.”
“He’s going to be fine,” I heard Camden say from behind me, his hand rubbing my shoulder gently.
Had Enough Page 20
