Page 78 of He Has It All (Boston Brawlers Hockey)
“Ryan.” It’s all I can manage, but he knows what I’m thinking. Pulls me to him.
“Don’t. It’s okay. I’ll go find out what’s going on and find your mother,” he says. But I grip his arms like a desperate lobster, not about to let him go.
“No.” My voice is harsh with panic. “I’m coming with you.” He doesn’t argue.
We get out of the car and he has an arm around me as if he thinks I might bolt, or maybe collapse. But my eyes are fixed on the flashing lights as we walk through the stopped cars.
When we get to the scene of the accident, to the point where we can’t go any further, I don’t need to move. I can see what happened.
My mother’s body lies in the street. Whatever else is going on, the crowd, the police, the chattering of people under the sound of the sirens approaching, it’s all coming from somewhere else. I’m petrified, turned to stone.
Mike finds us, Ryan is talking to him, holding me, shielding me from my mother’s body. I can hear Mike tell Ryan how sorry he is. He says he went after Mom when she went outside, saw the whole thing happen. She stumbled into the street in front of the car. The car hit her.
Mike’s crying. I see his tears and reach up to brush them off his face.
“It’s okay, Mike. It’s not your fault.”
Ryan squeezes me hard, bringing me into his chest as two police officers approach us. I’m in shock. I must be, because I can’t talk, can’t process a thought, when they ask me questions. Ryan takes over, telling them what they need to know and I let him. I can’t feel or cry or function. But I keep myself plastered against Ryan and he keeps his arms wrapped around me, holding me on my feet, because there’s no other explanation of how I’m still standing.
