Page 100 of You Met Me There

My phone rings. I watch everyone around me as I swipe the ANSWER bar across the screen.

“Hello?” I ask, smiling as I turn away from my laughing family. Levi just told us the most ridiculous, animated story about Dax, and I can’t stop giggling.

“I’m looking for Mrs. Hamilton?” says a woman’s voice.

“That’s me. Who is this?” I say, my eyebrows lowering.

There’s a pause. “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but your husband has been in an accident. He’s in the hospital, and he’s going into immediate surgery.”

“What?” My hand trembles. “How? What happened? Is he okay?”

“I’m afraid he was hit by a moving vehicle …”

The woman’s voice turns to dust, blowing away in the chaos of my mind. I can no longer hear anything she says from the blood whooshing through my ears. I know somewhere deep in my mind that I should be hanging onto her every word, but all I can think is Luke, vehicle, surgery. Luke, vehicle, surgery. Luke, vehicle, surgery.

I choke on a sob. “Is he going to be okay?” I blurt out. It’s the one thing I need to know. Without Luke, I’m nothing.

“Unfortunately, ma’am, I can’t say just yet. But I would suggest you come to Stroudson Memorial as soon as possible.”

Someone touches my back, and I turn to see Juliet, her brows creased. She watches a tear flow down my face, and she grips my shoulders, searching my eyes.

“What’s wrong?” she asks, taking in my trembling hands and shallow breathing.

My head shakes frantically. “I can’t—can’t⁠—”

“Give me the phone.” She puts her hand out. I let her take it from me. “Hello, this is Juliet. I’m Natalie’s sister,” she says into the phone. “Who is this and what’s going on?” She’s silent for a long moment. “I’m a nurse, actually. Can you please give me some more details?” She nods. Her eyes drift to mine, and I watch in shock, not knowing what to think.

Where do I even begin? I need to get to Florida. I need to get to Luke.

Juliet looks away, her hand still resting reassuringly on my shoulder. Behind us, everyone has gone silent. I turn my head numbly to see my parents staring at me. Cam hushes the boys, guiding them from the room.

“Have his parents been notified? … Thank you,” Jules says to the nurse. “We’re not in Florida, but we’ll be there as soon as possible. Please call this number when there are any updates.” Jules hangs up.

She turns to me, and as soon as she does, I burst into tears. “What’s wrong with him?” I cry. “Will he be okay? I can’t lose him. I can’t.”

Her arms wrap around me. “He’s in surgery right now. A car didn’t stop at the crosswalk by the airport.”

Mom comes to me. I feel her presence before I see her.

“Natalie,” she says, horror in her voice. I turn from Jules’s embrace to be held by my mother’s arms. “I’m so sorry. Tell me what you need right now. Do you want me to fly with you to Miami?”

I shake my head, pulling away. “No. I need to go now. I can’t go back to the cabin for anything.” I look around frantically, searching for my purse. “I need my keys and … and my purse.” The next steps I need to take twist into riddles, unreadable lines of thought that don’t lead anywhere in particular.

Luke, vehicle, surgery.

I can’t lose him.

I can’t lose him.

I can’t lose him.

It’s the only thought that makes any sense.

“I’ll go with you.” Juliet holds my purse in an outstretched hand. I take it. “I’ll be able to talk to the nurses. I’ll be useful if I go with you.” I search her eyes, and I see something there that I haven’t seen in so very long: the need to take care of me.

It’s the same look I saw in her eyes when I fell off my scooter at six years old. She cleaned me up and hung my scooter in the garage. I didn’t even cry for Mom because I had her there with me. She made it all better.

My brain says to let her come with me and my head nods in obedience. “Okay,” I say, still unable to take a full breath. “Okay.”