Love Notes

Chapter 26-Charlie



It was an early evening and it had been raining on and off all day. We had hopes that the rain would let up for the game; however it had just started trickling again.

I was following Maverick to my house to drop my Jeep off so we could ride together, when the car came out of nowhere. I never saw it coming and I know Maverick didn’t either. The car ran a red light and plowed into the driver's side of Maverick's Camaro.

In that moment my stomach falls to the floor board and I feel paralyzed.

Instincts quickly take over and I throw Lexie into park and run to him like a bat out of hell leaving my door hanging wide open. By the time I get to his Camaro it starts raining harder and I’m getting soaked but I don’t care.

All of my thoughts are on Maverick. Is he okay, is he hurt and is he breathing?

I just know I can’t lose him; I need him like the air I breath.

I peek into his passenger side window and notice he has a huge gash on his forehead. I immediately called 911. I feel monotone while talking to the dispatcher. I keep my cool but I have the feeling, as if I’m floating outside of my body.

I know that this doesn’t look good. His whole driver's side is dented in with the other car still firmly attached to it. There’s no movement from the inside of the other car either. I figure the other driver has to be hurt as well.

My brain is going a hundred miles a minute. Every scenario known to man is flying through it. But then I quickly chastise myself and say, “He will be fine, because I need him and he needs me, he has to be.”

Never, have I ever thought about that. It was true though, he needs me as much as I need him.

I can hear the sirens and know they are almost here. Thank God, please hurry. I’m praying the whole time. Praying that God will keep him safe and everything will be okay.

As soon as the firemen and paramedics arrive and start working, I know something is wrong. The other driver is easier to get to and he’s immediately put into the ambulance and whisked away. Maverick is still stuck in his car. The firemen has to have the other vehicle moved and use a device I have only ever seen on TV, to get his driver side door opened. I stand watching on the sidelines with tears streaming down my face and soaked to the bone. I don’t feel the cold, but I feel completely numb.

The minute they pull Maverick out of the car, I let out the breath I don’t realize I’ve been holding. The paramedics immediately start bagging him and helping him to breathe. He isn’t conscious and I’m cared out of my mind.

One of the fireman starts walking towards me. “Miss, you really need to get out of the rain, you will catch your death out here. You’re soaking wet.” I can’t seem to find my voice to answer him, I just stand there.

He must have pulled his heavy fireman jacket off of himself, because he places it around my shoulders. It feels like lead, it’s so heavy. I can hear him speaking to another one of his firemen. “I think she’s in shock, we need to get her to the hospital and get her checked out.”

I don’t remember anything after that. I wake up in a hospital bed in a hospital gown with my mother and Tori sitting in a chair in the sterile smelling room.

“Maverick, oh my gosh Maverick, how is he? I need to know now.”

I start to climb out of the bed, when my mother rushes to my side, “No you don’t Charlie, get back in bed and I will find out for you.”

I know this is awful but I can’t help but think, what in the hell is my mom doing here? It’s the most caring I have seen in her in a very long time, if ever.

Tori walks over to my bed and places her hand in mine. “When I was trying to get in touch with you, your mom answered your phone. Your mom said that you were in the hospital, I was so scared. I didn’t know until I finally arrived that you were safe. I mean, she said you were, but I needed to know for sure. I don’t know what I would have done if anything had ever happened to you. We may not have known each other long but it feels like I’ve known you all my life.”

She doesn’t wait for me to respond. “Charlie, you know he will be fine, right?” I look at Tori straight in the eye, “I hope so.”

Waiting for my mother to come back in, so I can find out about Maverick, is the worst kind of pain. Everything runs through your mind.

Before I got in the Jeep, did I tell him that I loved him? Did he truly know how I felt about him?

It seems like an eternity before my mother finally shows back up.

“Well, what did they say?”

She looks at me with a sad look in her eyes. “Charlie, he’s not good, he will eventually be physically fine. He has a lot of injuries. He has a concussion bruises and whiplash. To top it all off, his knee is hyper-extended in the accident and will require surgery.”

This was all Greek to me. “Okay, what does a hyper-extended knee mean?”

“Well, from what I understand, the impact from the accident caused his knee to be pushed inward causing it to be bent unnaturally. Charlie, this means that his chances for playing football are pretty slim. To be honest, he will probably never play football again. His career and hope for a college scholarship are over.”

I close my eyes and keep them closed and just keep repeating to myself, “He’s alive, he’s alive. He will be fine, he’s alive.”

I glance at my mother, “I need to see him mom. I need to see for myself, I have to.”

“First, we need to talk to your doctor before we let you out of this bed and I honestly don’t know if they are allowing visitors. We need to check with his parents.”

I love Maverick’s mother and know where Mav got his gorgeous blue eyes from. His father was just as wonderful. First time he met me I was on the receiving end of a huge bear hug. I loved them immediately and they were so welcoming of me. They would not allow me to call them Mr. and Mrs. Hardy. They were Robert and Carol to me. I knew they were the reason their son was the way he was. They raised him to be the perfect man.

“Mom, please get that damn doctor in here and let's talk. I need to see Maverick as soon as possible.”

I don’t normally say anything even slightly near a curse word to my mom but she doesn’t say anything and leaves the room to find the doctor.