Page 98 of Forever Mine
Lowering his voice, he asks, “Who was driving?”
“Julien. Why?”
“Had he been drinking tonight?” He glances at the nurse’s station again.
I gape at Ryder as if he’s lost his fucking mind. “No, and if he had been, you know damn well he wouldn’t get behind the wheel.”
“It’s something the police are going to ask about and something the hospital will check for in the bloodwork. Fuck, Elijah.”
I suddenly find myself in a crushing embrace. One I return.
“Don’t scare me like that ever again.”
The memory of the crash floods my mind—the screech of tires, the jolt of impact, the water rushing in. My breathing quickens as the edges of panic start closing in. I shake my head, willing it away. Not here. Not now. But the reality of what almost happened lashes me with its cold, hard truth. We could have died. Julien could have—I can’t finish the thought.
When my legs want to give out, I lean against the wall, hands covering my face, trying to block out the images as mythoughts spiral with every gruesome scenario of what could have happened. I could have watched him die right in front of me.
I wouldn’t know how to live in a world where Julien doesn’t exist. To never get to see his smile or hear his laugh. Never get to feel his kisses or his touch. Never get to hear his voice or look into his gorgeous gray eyes that look back at me with so much love.
The cacophony of the ER fades into white noise, and I feel like I’m moving through a dream. A nightmare.
Ryder jostles me. “Whatever you’re thinking, stop.”
“I need to talk to you.”
Fallon is a few feet away, and there’s a gravitas to his expression that sends a chill down my spine, compounded by the look the police officer sends in our direction.
“About what?”
Fallon steps in close, lowers his voice. “First, you and Julien do not say anything to anyone, and I mean anyone, without Charles Worthington present. He’s on his way.”
“Who’s Charles Worthington?”
“Family lawyer, who’s now your lawyer. Understand?”
No, I don’t. I don’t understand anything happening right now. I’m living in a fever dream where nothing makes sense.
“Why would we need a lawyer?”
He hesitates, his aqua eyes filled with a sorrow I’ve never seen before.
“There was another car involved in the accident.”
The flickering beacon of light on the roadside. The light that guided me as I pulled Julien through the water to safety.
Another car did hit us. Or did we hit them? There were no headlights or taillights. Nothing.
“Are they…” I don’t know if it’s a him or a her or a they. Please don’t say children were in the car. “Are they alright? Is everyone okay?”
Fallon shatters me completely when he replies, “David and Lamar were in the other car. I’m so sorry, Elijah. They didn’t make it.”
That can’t be.
Fallon must be mistaken because… no. Just no.
But his penetrating silence is confirmation enough. The tears come then, hot and uncontrollable.
David and Lamar.
