When I'm With You (Little Hollow #2)

by Danielle Dickson

  I grab two sandwiches and two bottles of water from the cafeteria and head in the direction of Cindy’s room again. When I get there, I offer Sam a sandwich but she says she doesn’t want one.

  I shrug. “More for me then.”

  While I was in the cafeteria, delving into my own memories, the nurses took Cindy off all the drugs keeping her in a coma, so I ask how long it’ll be before she wakes up. She doesn’t know but has been told to press a red button that’s near me. I look to where she’s pointing and the kid inside me starts jumping up and down, wanting to press it. “Is it wrong of me to say that I’m really tempted to press it?”

  Sam laughs a genuine laugh which makes me smile. She tells me that she’s glad I’m here and I’m genuinely happy I am too. There’s nowhere I’d rather be than here supporting her right now no matter what feelings it drags up for me.

  We’re halfway through a conversation about Connor when she grabs her mom’s hand. “Mom? Mom can you hear me? It’s, Sam. Kee, press the button, she’s waking up.”

  I don’t know what’s going on, I just do as she says and jump up and slam my hand down on the button, feeling a sense of relief as I do. What can I say? The child within me wasn’t going to quiet down until I pressed it.

  The hours after she had woken up were sketchy. The nurse quite quickly discovered that Cindy wasn’t responding to her name properly, so they ordered her more tests. I don’t know how to make any of this better and it sends my brain into turmoil at the thought of not being able to help Sam.

  The doctor comes to the conclusion that Sam’s mom has memory loss from the concussion. He said it’s a common side effect and to not worry too much but you can’t say that to someone without them worrying, so that’s what Sam’s doing. She’s in that room with Cindy, worrying. And I’m stood outside, but I can’t wait around like this, there’s too many memories rattling around, so I try to busy myself looking for a decent coffee.

  My cell pings as I’m about to sit down at a table in the cafeteria.

  Where are you? I’ve brought real coffee.

  I scrunch my face up in confusion. Why is Lewis here? I hit reply.

  In the cafeteria, you didn’t have to come… again.

  I watch my screen for a reply but figuring he’ll just come find me instead, I put it back into my purse and watch the entrance. Two minutes later, he waltzes in with that megawatt grin on his face, carrying a tray of coffees in one hand and a bike helmet in the other.

  “Well, who put a million bucks in your pocket?” I chirp.

  “Huh?” He retorts, a confused expression on his face.

  I shake my head. “Never mind. Bad joke. Anyway, what are you doing here?”

  He thumbs over his shoulder. “I can leave and take these coffees with me if that’s what you want?”

  I signal for him to pass me one and he chuckles while pulling out the chair opposite me. “How’s Sam?” He asks sincerely.

  I shrug my shoulders. “She’s tired, confused, all that good stuff. But I think Cindy’s going to be okay.”

  “She has an excellent support system, she’ll be alright,” he says, winking at me.

  I can’t work out if he’s talking about Sam or Cindy so I smile and take a mouthful of warm coffee, it tastes like heaven compared to the sludge they serve in here and I audibly moan. I notice Lewis stiffen and I look up into his eyes. He’s studying me with a look I can’t decipher and it makes me shift in my seat.

  “So… Are you just here to deliver coffee?” I ask, not being able to come up with anything else on the spot.

  He leans forward over the table. “Just here as part of that support system is all, Steely.”

  I stiffen. “Don’t call me that.”

  He holds up his hands. “Didn’t mean anything by it, was just trying to lighten the mood.”

  I narrow my eyes. “Yeah, well it’s Keeley.”

  He chuckles lightly. “Oh I know, I just love watching you get riled up.”

  I sit back in my chair, folding my arms across my chest and can’t help as my lip quirks up in the corner at his admission. We stay studying each other and I start to feel uncomfortable under his gaze but I daren’t look away. I’m not losing this staring competition.

  Finally, he relents and shakes his head.

  “So stubborn,” he mutters under his breath, and I smile in triumph.

  His own smile spreads across his face and he leans back in his chair. “Rain check on that ride?”

  “Huh?” What’s he talking about? He taps his helmet and it clicks. “Oh, yeah, another time maybe.”

  He shakes his head with an amused look on his face. “You’re not very good at giving definitive answers, are you?”

  I shrug. “I don’t like to commit and plan things in advance.”

  He raises his brow.

  “And why is that?” He asks, knowing full well that he isn’t going to get the answer he wants.

  I keep quiet for a few seconds then clear my throat. “I’d better go and tell Sam you’re here, I’m sure she’ll appreciate it.”

  I scrape back my chair and he latches onto my wrist as I walk past. “Not everyone is out to get you, Keeley.”

  A few beats pass and he lets go of my wrist, leaving me to walk on.

  I stand outside Cindy’s door not wanting to interrupt her and Sam, but I desperately need a few more minutes to myself without Lewis breathing down my neck.

  Not everyone is out to get you.

  I know that, it just feels like they are, so why bother making plans just to end up disappointed when they’re canceled or I’m stood up? It’s happened plenty of times before so I don’t see why it would be any different this time.

  Before I can change my mind, I knock on the door in front of me and push it open. I completely forget Cindy has lost her memory and have to explain who Lewis is, making me go bright red. Cindy laughs and it stuns me, I’ve never heard her laugh before.

  I’m embarrassed so I hightail it out of there, deciding I can’t put off seeing Lewis any longer, I text him and tell him where the waiting room by Cindy’s hallway is. He rounds the corner in record speed.

  “Is everything alright? You look a little flushed,” he states, sitting in the chair next to mine.

  “Yeah, I think everything’s going to be okay, it’ll just take time for her to get back to her normal self… well… hopefully not her normal self.”

  Hell, I hope not. I don’t think Sam can cope with anymore heartbreak.

  We both turn at the same time at the sound of footsteps. Sam walks toward us and says, “Kee, I need you to take me home.” Her eyes are full of something I can’t quite decipher.

  “Everything alright?” I ask, standing up.

  “My mom’s okay health wise apart from her memory, but she’s going to rehab, she’s finally going to get better, Kee.”

  I feel warmth spreading through my body and hug her. She pulls away and looks me in the eyes.

  “She’s just given me her first advice as a proper mom too, she said I need to go to him, to Connor. Well, she practically pushed me out of the room herself. I’m not ready to fully forgive her just yet, but it’s a step in the right direction.” I gawp at her not knowing what to say. “But with Connor I’m ready to finally let go, Kee.”

  She looks behind me as if she’s only just noticing Lewis for the first time.

  “Thanks for coming, Lewis. I’m actually really glad you’re here. Do you know where he is?”

  “Sure, he’s back home now. He text me around seven this morning,” he says, pulling out his cell.

  “Do you know where he lives?” She asks, sounding hopeful.

  “No but I can ask him?” He phrases it like a question.

  “You can’t just ask him where he lives outright,” I say, rolling my eyes. Men.

  He looks bemused.

  “She’s right, can you not say he left something at your garage? He was there right?” She questions him.

  “Err, yeah, but he
’d know if he left anything, it’s not like we carry around the kitchen sink in our purses.” I shoot him a look and he smirks. “But… I could say I found some old photos I want to send him?”

  Sam claps her hands and I smile at her enthusiasm, she’s finally doing something for herself for once in her life.

  “So what’s the plan?” I ask, as Lewis texts away on his phone.

  “Well, I guess drive to him and see what happens,” she says, a tremor in her voice.

  She starts to look a little nervous so I squeeze her shoulder trying to reassure her everything will be okay.

  “Road trip?” I ask excitedly, slotting my arm through hers as we walk toward the exit of the hospital.

  We’ve never done anything like this before but she dashes my hopes with her next words. “Sorry, Kee. I think this is something I need to do alone. Plus, we need you here to look after the salon, we can’t both be out.”

  “Way to ruin my fun, Sam, I think we both need a vacay,” I say, pouting.

  She giggles. “We do. When I get back we’ll book something, I promise.”

  We both wave goodbye to Lewis as he heads toward his Harley with the promise that he’ll meet us at the salon.

  Just the sound of it coming to life makes my heart ache and I decide it might be time to invest in one of my own. I make a mental note to ask Lewis about the best place to get one later on.

  “He really likes you, Kee,” Sam says as we pull out of the hospital car park.

  I shake my head. “He thinks he does, but we’d never work out.”

  “You don’t know that,” she admonishes.

  “Yeah, I really do. He’s too nice, a guy like that deserves a girl that can give him lovey dovey romance shit, and that ain’t me.”

  “I think he needs a little fire in his life,” she states, looking out of the window.

  I ignore her comment. “I’ll ring around the clients you have booked in for the week, and book them in with me if they’ll let me.” I try to keep the bitter tone out of my voice, but her face screws up so I know she detected it. “If they won’t, they can kiss my-”

  “Kee.”

  “Fine! I’ll be nice, I’ll just tell them I’m not sure when you’ll be back but we’ll let them know as soon as we know,” I say in a voice laced with the sweetest sugar you’ve ever had.

  She snorts. “You really are a piece of work, Keeley Michaels.”

  I smirk at her comment. “Yeah, but I’m your piece of work.”

  She laughs and I relish in the sound of it. We have fun together, but it’s never easy breezy like this. Connor is good for her, I can feel it in my bones, if I didn’t I wouldn’t be driving her home right now. She’s the only person I care about more than myself. I’d do anything to protect her.

  Lewis is already waiting for us outside the salon door when we get back. I’ve hardly stopped when Sam dives out the car and runs into the salon, turning back toward me as she tests the handle. “Kee, did you forget to lock the door?”

  I shake my head thinking back to leaving this morning, I remember locking it specifically because I felt that uneasy feeling at not being able to just go straight to my car.

  “I could’ve sworn I locked it. Sorry, Sammy. Nothing’s missing is it?”

  “You guys stay here,” Lewis says, stepping inside.

  I pull him back by his shirt. “We’re perfectly capable of defending ourselves thank you very much, macho man.”

  “Well if you’d humor a guy, I’d just like to make sure everything is alright first,” he says sarcastically, staring me down.

  Sam holds back a laugh and coughs instead. I can’t help the smile that lifts at my mouth so I don’t say anything, I just nod as my smile gets wider. Sam giggles. “What’s so funny?” I narrow my eyes at her, daring her to say something.

  “Oh, nothing.”

  She winks at me before turning her attention to the salon door as Lewis pops his head out. “Well, it seems everything is fine here, ladies.”

  He gestures for us to go in and I roll my eyes as I push past him and make my way upstairs. Sam starts filling a duffle bag with clothes and to say I’m nervous for her, is an understatement. Lewis still hasn’t gotten a text back from Connor to say where he lives, and I don’t want her to get her hopes up that he’ll even text back.

  “Wait!” I hear her say from the other room, and I finish collecting her toothbrush and some other toiletries before going to see what all the fuss is about

  “Woah!” She exclaims.

  I put the toiletries into her duffle. “What?”

  I bend down to read what she’s looking at on her laptop. Fuck that! “Sam, that’s an eleven hour drive. There’s no way you’re doing that alone.”

  “I’ll get a motel halfway, okay? You can’t leave town too, we’ve gone over this.”

  She shuts down her laptop and stands up to zip her duffle. Now my safety radar is in overdrive.

  “Just text me when you have an actual address and yes, I promise I’ll call as soon as I stop,” she says nonchalantly, like I’m not over here freaking the fuck out.

  She walks to hug me and I stop myself from locking her away in the closet, she’s literally the only person I have left, I don’t know what I’ll do if anything happens to her.

  She pulls away and offers a quick wave and I watch her face change from excited to nervousness. “What if he doesn’t want me there?”

  Lewis answers before I have a chance to form words. “That man loves you. If you don’t do this, you’ll never know just how much.”

  Say what? Where did that come from? I watch as Sam’s lips split into a grin and she points at him. “Okay, I’m going. You look after her.”

  I need out of this awkward moment so I start pushing her toward the door.

  “Just go.”

  She gives one last wave and my heart constricts, I struggle to keep the anxiety off my face until she disappears down the stairs, but as soon as she does, I flop down onto the sofa.

  “She’ll be okay, she’s a big girl,” Lewis says, sitting next to me.

  I jump forgetting he’s here for a minute. “I know that, I just…” I blow out a breath. “Never mind.”

  I can tell he wants to push but he decides against it and grabs for the TV control, flicking through aimlessly. We sit in silence for the next five minutes until he looks down at his watch.

  “Shit! Are you going to be okay on your own? I’ve got to go take over from my mom’s nurse for a while,” he says while standing up.

  I smile at him sarcastically. “I’m a big girl too y’know.”

  He laughs and I join in. “Yeah, so, I’ll shoot you a text later on?”

  “Yeah, sure.” I wave him off but as soon as he leaves, the apartment feels eerily quiet even though the TV is on.

  I jump off the sofa and run down the stairs to lock the salon doors after him, which makes me feel a little bit better. On the way back up to the apartment, I have Déjà vu from this morning. I know I locked that door. It gives me shivers and I turn the TV off and head to my room. I spend the rest of the day staring at my cell, wishing for Sam to call.

  Around seven, it pings and I reach for it.

  Pulling over into a motel, it’s the creepiest I’ve ever seen. If I die, I love you. Oh, and don’t eat my Oreos, if you do, I’ll be watching! S x

  I laugh at her non-threatening threat and think about hiding them for a joke, deciding I can’t be bothered to move, I read over the text again. A shiver rolls through me at the thought that she’s in some sleazy motel all by herself. If anything happens to her, so help me.

  I can’t promise anything. Actually, now you mention it, I do fancy a snack. Stay safe, I quite like having you as a best friend, love you. K x

  I stare at my cell some more, waiting for the reply. I’m rewarded two minutes later.

  Hard-ass, my ass. You’re a giant teddy bear and you know it! ;) I’ll text you in the morning, I’m just going to have some food and then I’m go
ing to bed. Love you Kee x

  I smile at the message and click reply.

  You tell anyone, I’ll kill you myself! ;) stay safe, love ya too x

  I jump as the buzzer for downstairs sounds and I tentatively walk across the apartment to pick up the phone.

  “Hello?” I say into it, there’s no reply so I hang up and turn to head back to my room, when it buzzes again. I huff and pick the handset back up. “Hello?” Still no answer so I hang up.

  The incessant buzz starts up again, this time for longer than the first two times. My skin bristles and goosebumps rise to the surface as I pick up the phone with more bravado than I feel. “Look asshole, if you’re not going to-”

  “Keeley, it’s me,” a deep voice says, and I visibly relax.

  “Lewis?” I sigh in relief. “I’ll come let you in.”

  I hang up and lean my back against the wall to control my breathing. What is wrong with me?

  I push off the wall and unlock the apartment door to go downstairs. Lewis is stood there with a curious look on his face and I wave him in and lock up when he steps inside. “What was with the verbal assault there?”

  I turn and look at him, scoffing to hide my embarrassment. “Someone buzzed up twice before you did and didn’t say anything, must’ve just been teenagers messing around.”

  I try to brush it off but I can’t help still feeling on edge, even with Lewis here.

  His brows furrow. “I didn’t see anyone out there, must’ve ran off when they saw me coming.”

  Just as he says that, the sound of an engine from down the street starting up makes me jump. Lewis puts a hand on my arm and guides me toward the stairs. “Hey, there’s no need to be on edge, Sam is fine. I gave her Connor’s address so she’s not going in blind.”

  He’s misjudged my anxious behavior but I don’t want to correct him. If I corrected him, then I’d have to let him into a part of me I haven’t even told Sam yet. He’s a nice guy and all and I’m starting to see him as a friend, so why would I send him running for the hills just yet?