“Just tell me what happened!” I snapped.
Stevie hesitated for a moment and then released a long sigh into the receiver. “Do you remember Alissa Townsend from high school? Well, I ran into her today, and she started asking about you, like when you would be coming back. It threw me for a loop because I wasn’t aware she even knew you had moved away.”
“I haven’t seen her since graduation… I have no idea how she would’ve found out.”
“Well, she was asking because she works at the stables Jessica Hamilton’s dad used to own. I don’t remember what it’s called now. But anyway, your mom was there yesterday, and there was an accident. All Alissa could tell me is she was bucked from a horse and then trampled over. She was transported to the emergency room. That’s why Alissa had asked if you were coming.”
“Yesterday?” Tears flooded my eyes and I lifted a hand to cover my mouth, hoping to hold back the sobs. “W-why hasn’t anyone told me? Why am I just finding out?”
“Jade, how would anyone be able to reach you? You don’t have a phone.”
I bypassed the phone issue for what was most important. “So what’s going on? She’s still there?”
Silence drifted through the line, gutting me. “I went up there today to see what I could find out. Alissa said it was bad, and even though I’m not family, I was hoping they’d tell me something. I told the woman at the front desk that you didn’t live around here and didn’t get along with your mom’s husband, and I guess she felt bad for you because she told me she’s in ICU.” She took a deep breath while I processed it all, and then she added, “I think you need to call the hospital yourself and see what you can find out.”
“What about Aria? I can’t leave her here with Cash that long. And I’m not taking her to a hospital. What am I supposed to do?” My voice cracked, allowing the pain and heartache to pour through and flood my words with tears.
“Just call the hospital first. If you decide to come, I’ll help you with her. You don’t have to do everything alone, Jade.” Her soft tone covered me like the heat of a campfire, soothing me when I needed it the most.
I managed to find the courage to dial the hospital where Stevie told me my mom had been admitted. My heart slammed against my sternum repeatedly with each ring of the call. My hands and voice shook when the operator answered and I asked her to connect me to the ICU. Then my lungs burned and my face grew hot when she told me she couldn’t do that. Somewhere, in that moment, I found an inner strength I wasn’t aware I had. After fighting a losing battle for years, I thought I’d lost the spark within me, but as the lady argued and told me ICU wasn’t allowed calls, that spark reignited into a roaring inferno.
Then the operator went silent and the line began to ring.
And again, my heart attempted to break free.
When a woman answered, my lips quivered.
When she told me she couldn’t give me answers over the phone, my lungs deflated.
Then she said, “But…if she were my mom, I’d get here as fast as I could,” and my muscles gave up. I crumpled to the floor and bawled. As I tried to piece it all together, unforgiving sobs surged through me.
“Talk to me, babe.” Out of nowhere, Cash was by my side, his arms clutching me to him. I never heard him come in or sit next to me.
But his words…those got to me.
His voice calmed me.
His touch almost healed me.
Almost.
Through tears, stuttering, and gasping for breath, I managed to get it all out. My mother had been trampled on by a horse and was in ICU, and there was a chance she wouldn’t make it. Guilt assuaged me over not speaking to her since I’d left—and for a while before that, as well. And because of that, a divide had kept us apart for far too long. And now there was a chance I’d never be able to make it right.
“Come on…let’s go.” He grabbed my hand and gently tried to tug me off the floor.
“Where are we going?”
“Fort Pierce. You need to see her, so we’re going.”
“You don’t have to come with me. It’s my mom…I can go.”
Still holding my hand, he lowered himself back to his knees, pinched my chin with his free fingers, and urged me to look at him. “You don’t have to do this alone. I understand she’s your mom. I also understand how upset you are right now. Even if I would let you go alone, there’s no way in hell I’d let you get behind the wheel and drive across the state like this with Aria in the back.”
“Even if you let me? You think just because we slept together that means you own me and can make decisions on my behalf? If I choose to take my child and leave right now, you couldn’t stop me.” It wasn’t that I was mad at him, it was just the entire situation. I was angry over the hospital’s refusal to give me information, and furious at myself for allowing such distance to spread like the plague between my mom and me. I ended up lashing out over the whole thing, and unfortunately for Cash, he got the brunt of my misplaced rage. I immediately regretted it, but I was too weak to admit it.
However, his gentle approach never wavered. “The only decision I’m making right now is to drive you to see your mom…because I hate the idea of you being on the roads late while you’re like this. If you walked out that door with Aria, and something were to happen…everything I care about would be gone. So no, Jade…this isn’t about me owning you. This is about my unwillingness to lose either of you when I can do something to prevent that.”
“I—”
His lips covered mine and stopped my confession, halting me from telling him how I felt. Before he stood again, he said, “Pack a bag. We don’t know how long we’ll be gone, and you will probably want a few pairs of clean clothes.”
Then he pressed a careful kiss to my forehead, stood, and exited the room…leaving me on the floor, watching him retreat. It could’ve been a few seconds or a few minutes, but eventually, I got up and did as he’d suggested. After haphazardly tossing clean clothes and panties into a plastic grocery bag, I headed down the hall to do the same with Aria’s things. But as soon as I made it out to the kitchen, Cash took one look at the sack and shook his head.
He came back from his room with a duffel bag and backpack. My clothes joined his in one bag, and then he repacked Aria’s clothes and overnight diapers into the other, as well as a couple of her sippy cups from the cabinet. The entire time he moved around me, my head swam. I couldn’t think straight, proving him right about being unable to drive alone. Cash had taken charge, and I once again regretted the way I’d spoken to him in the other room. He hadn’t deserved that.
I’d make it right at some point.