“Because of Jeff?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know how I feel about anyone right now.”
“I thought you were in love with Jeff before the accident.”
“Not in love . . . definitely in like.”
“I think Dax screwed you up. If he wasn’t in the picture, you’d know exactly how you felt.”
She was probably right about that. “You think?”
“You’ve known Dax for weeks, Autumn. Weeks. You’ve known Jeff for years. Dax is just some new shiny toy. Jeff is someone who fits with you. Who fits with all of us.”
“I feel like I need to tell Jeff about last night, though. About what happened with Dax. I don’t want to be dishonest.”
“I think you should think about it longer. Decide what you really want. Before you talk to Jeff.”
“Do you hate me?” I asked.
“No! Why would I hate you?”
“I don’t know. Jeff is so likable and everyone loves him and I did something stupid.”
“Autumn.” She reached over and squeezed my hand. “You’re my best friend. I would never hate you. I’m team Autumn all the way. No matter what you decide I’ll be on your side.”
Jeff’s mom, like she often did, greeted us with a hug when we arrived. “He has a surprise for you,” she said.
“A surprise?”
“Come on.” She led us to his hospital room door. “Wait here.”
We stood in the hall as she disappeared into his room.
“What do you think the surprise is?” Lisa asked.
“No idea.”
A few minutes later, the door opened and Jeff was sitting in a wheelchair. “Look who can get around now.”
He looked so much more alert and awake. The drugs they had pumped into his system after the accident must’ve been mostly worked out. “That’s awesome,” I said.
“Go stand at the end of the hall.”
“What?”
“Walk to the end of the hall and wait there.” He shooed us away with a wave of his hand.
Lisa and I both followed his directions, walking until we were about forty feet away, then turning to face him. His mom moved behind his wheelchair and pointed it in our direction. He bent down and lifted the footrests, then stood.
“You’re not going to tell him about Dax now, are you?” Lisa asked under her breath.
“Not on your life.”
Lisa gave me a sympathetic smile and then turned back to Jeff. “That’s so amazing.”
“Wait for it,” he called. Then he walked several unsure steps in our direction. Steps that made me want to rush forward and take his arm so he didn’t fall. But I noticed his mom hovering off to the left of him, there to assist if he needed it, so I held my ground. He made it all the way to us, then wrapped me up in a hug, leaning a little against me for support.
I patted his back. “I’m so proud of you.” And I was. So proud. I needed to be there for him as he finished out his recovery. Me telling him I was unsure of where we stood or how I felt wouldn’t be helpful right now. That could wait. Or maybe I’d figure out my feelings and realize Jeff and I were meant to be.
In the time it took for the hug, his mom had already positioned the wheelchair behind him and I helped him sit down. He was beaming.
“Can the girls take me for a walk around the hospital, Mom?” he asked.
“Of course. Be good,” she said, pointing her finger at him like she knew the kind of trouble Jeff could get into.
He just smiled up at her in innocence. “I’m always good, Mom.”
CHAPTER 39
“Okay, Autumn, sit on my lap, and Lisa, push the wheelchair as hard as you can,” Jeff said.
We were outside of the hospital now. It had stopped snowing and we’d pushed Jeff and his chair up the sidewalk to a park the hospital built. He had decided the sidewalk was just wide enough and had just the right amount of decline that it would create the perfect speed ramp.
I pointed at the swings in the play equipment. “Wouldn’t you rather try that out? It’s especially built for wheelchairs.”
“Are you chicken, Autumn?”
“Yes, actually. That pole down there looks like it would be very painful to crash my head into.”
He positioned his wheelchair. “I’m going with or without you so you might as well protect me.”
“With my body?”
“I won’t let you get hurt.”
There were so many things wrong with this scenario, the least of which was climbing onto a recovering patient’s lap. Lisa held her tongue during the whole exchange and when I looked at her for help she seemed to sense my discomfort and said, “I’ll try first so we can see if it’s safe.”
“Nope, me and Autumn first.”
Lisa widened her eyes at me, almost like telling me to say no.
I opened my mouth to do just that but then made the mistake of looking at Jeff’s hopeful face and said, “Fine.”
Jeff patted his lap with both his hands.
I put one hand on the armrest. “I feel like I’m going to hurt you. Are your legs in pain?”
“No. My legs are uninjured. You will not hurt me.”
I took a deep breath and climbed on his lap.