Page 53 of After We Fall

I swallow. “When I tell you what I think happened, you’re going to be mad at me, but I need you—”

“I’m not going to be mad at you.”

We’ll see. “I-I can’t recall everything that happened. Yet. The doctor said my memory will return. I have these flashes . . .”

Terrible flashes. Flashes of an upset Finley. Of an irate Marcus. Of a free fall. It’s like watching one of those old movie reels with film that’s missing huge chunks of frames. The picture is erratic, jerking with choppy edits that eliminate whole pieces of the story.

I finally draw my eyes to meet his.

Compassion etches the lines of his face. He takes a step toward me, but I hold up a hand.

“I need you to find Finley,” I say. “And Marcus.”

His eyes flash.

“And Bianca and Tanya.” My voice cracks. “Please, Luke. I need you to help my girls,” I whisper.

“So far, you haven’t said anything that’s made me mad.”

“You will be.” I stare at my hands, trying to work through my words. “I’m pretty sure I went to see Finley this morning. She works at Safeway. I-I think. I think Marcus was there and he pushed me.”

He sighs, his demeanor softening just a bit. “I already know. When I hung up with you, I called my contact at the police department.”

I try to hold my head high, but the injury weighs it down, and I struggle to maintain eye contact with Luke. “Do you want to tell me ‘I told you so’?”

“No. I want to throttle Marcus.”

Oh.

“I want to throttle Marcus.” He moves one step closer. “And I want to erase a time when you had to pull stitches out yourself. I want to fix your head. I want a year to pass, us sharing a pizza, watching a game, and laughing. Then. Then, while holding your hand, I want to tell you ‘I told you so.’”

He wants to hold my hand? The thought of that gives me a warm feeling inside.

Wait. He wants to talk to me a year from now? In a social setting? He wants to hold my hand? What does that mean? Harlan said Luke never stays in one place for very long. What was the word he used to describe him? A globe-trotter. If Luke doesn’t stick around in one place for very long, how can we enjoy a slice of pizza together in a year?

I can’t think about that now. At the moment, there’s too much at stake, and, of all things, I’m laid up in a hospital bed.

I lift a shaky hand to curl a strand of hair behind my ear. “We need to discuss Finley. I think the police were going to question her. But the stupid ambulance took me away before I could help her.”

“Penelope—”

“No, Luke. Listen. I don’t know what happened to Marcus. Maybe the authorities have him in custody by now. But I think he needs help. I was trying to tell Finley that I thought we might be able to work with him too, like we do the girls. Oh.” I touch my fingertips to my lips. “The girls. What time is it?” I search for a clock on the wall. Not that I could read the numbers if I found one.

“Penelope, stop for a second—”

“You’ve got to drive back to the ranch and do curfew. Don’t tell them about the incident. They’ll only worry. What day is it?” I gnaw on my bottom lip. “It’s Friday, right? On Fridays, Bianca gets off work and grabs pizza for everyone on the way home, but I don’t need her to pick up any food for me. And Tanya works late—”

“Penelope.” Luke stomps two steps toward me and plants his fists on the mattress on either side of my hips. His face is so close to mine, I could reach out and brush his jaw. “I get that you want to take care of everyone else. And we’ll discuss those things in just a minute. For now, though, I need you to stop talking. You have serious injuries.”

His words blow in like a strong wind, gusting up the dirt of today’s events. I swallow, afraid of the swelling emotion inside my chest.

A fierce mixture of pain and concern fills his eyes. “Besides the obvious, are you okay?” he whispers.

No.

No. Not now.

A knot forms at my sternum.