As much as it killed me doing so, I ended the call and dialed 911.
“Nine-one-one. State your emergency,” a woman said on the other end. Several cars drove past, slowing down long enough for the drivers to check Hailey out.
I glared at them as I explained Sarah’s situation to the woman. I kept the information as brief as possible, avoiding anything that would give away my family’s situation. I told her something must have happened to my father. He should’ve been there by now. Who knew if I was making things worse for all of us, especially Mom. But I couldn’t risk my sister’s life because I was worried about that. Sarah came first.
“I’m sending someone to the address,” the woman said. “Please stay on the line.”
I shook my head even though she couldn’t see me. “I can’t. My sister’s alone. I need to call her back to make sure she’s okay. This is the only phone I have.”
“All right.”
I hung up and dialed Sarah’s number. She answered on the first ring. “You okay, squirt?”
“Are you coming?” she asked, sobbing. Lightning lit up the sky, followed a second later by the loud rumble of thunder. Sarah shrieked, and I pictured her huddled against the wall, her knees to her chest as she made herself as small as possible.
“Sarah, it’s going to be okay. You have to believe me. I’ll be there as soon as I can. But the police will be there before me. I called them.”
“I don’t wanna go to jail,” she said, her voice small.
“I swear you won’t go to jail. But I have a flat tire and it will take me a while to get there. The police will keep you safe until then. But while you wait, you can talk to Hailey. That way I can change the tire and we’ll be there as quickly as possible. Can you do that for me?”
“Yes,” she breathed.
I passed Hailey the phone. She took it from me, body shaking. When we had rushed from her house, she’d only been wearing a flimsy tank top and shorts that revealed her long legs. And now every part of her was drenched and covered in goose bumps.
Needing to get Hailey warm and to get to Sarah as soon as possible, I worked quickly to change the tire. Hailey continued talking to my sister.
“The police are there,” Hailey told me as I removed the tire.
“Tell Sarah I want to talk to them.”
She relayed the message to my sister. I began tightening the lug nuts and was almost finished when Hailey handed me the phone. “Hello?” I said into it.
“Is this Nolan Kincaid?” a gruff voice asked.
“Yes. Is my sister okay?”
“She will be. I’m driving her home.”
My gut tightened, and I was positive I was going to puke. “No one’s home right now.” Unless my father had returned, in which case there would be some serious shit flying soon. As far as the police knew, based on what I’d told the dispatcher, he could have been in an accident. That was the only explanation for why a normal, caring parent would be so late picking up his child from dance class.
“Where’s her mother?”
“She had a meeting tonight with the hospital foundation.” Dad allowed Mom to help them because it looked good, status-wise and all. And people might grow suspicious if she was never allowed to leave the house. “She won’t be home for another hour.”
“When do you expect to arrive home?”
“Not long. I’m almost finished changing my tire.”
“We’ll wait for you, then.”
“Okay.” I didn’t know if it would be all right. I couldn’t think that far ahead. For now, the main thing was my sister was finally safe.
Chapter 22
Hailey
Nolan was watching the TV, but I had a feeling he wasn’t seeing anything on the screen.
I shifted around and cupped his face with my hand. “Hey, what’s going on?”
Nolan blinked twice. “Sorry. I’m just tired.” He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I think I’ll go to bed now.”
He reopened his eyes, and his thoughts waged a battle in his mind as he deliberated for a moment. “Would…would you stay with me tonight?”
An excited thrill trembled through my body even though it shouldn’t have. It had been over five years since we had slept together, and that had been innocent. That was before we had kissed. And I meant really kissed, not just a friendly peck between close friends.
He smirked, and the slight hint of humor eased my fears about what he was going through. “Just keep your hands to yourself. I have my virtue to protect.”
I rolled my eyes. “Duly noted.”
Once I was ready for bed, I joined him. Even though this wasn’t the first time we’d been in bed together, just like when we watched the movie, things between us felt different.
But unlike on the couch, an ocean of space now separated us. Yet an odd sense of intimacy crackled in the air between us. I felt torn as to what I should do, or if I should do anything at all.
Nolan turned around and switched off the bedside lamp. “Good night, Forget-Me-Not.”