Roommates Box Set #4-6

34. Epilogue II

34

EPILOGUE II

KYLIE

Early January

“Mason, your phone’s ringing,” I called, but I didn’t see him. It was mid-day, and the Dancing Horse was pretty empty. Parker and I were in a corner booth, going over my spring schedule of classes. He was giving me the dirt on all my new professors and classes.

He glanced down at the screen. “It’s Alyssa.”

“Can you go find him?” I asked as I swiped open Mason’s phone. “Hey, Alyssa, it’s me. How’s Louisiana treating you?” I’d last seen her two days ago when she dropped me off at the airport after I helped her drive down there. “Alyssa?”

I pulled the phone away from my ear and realized it was a video call. It was hard to see, though, because her phone was shaking like mad. “Alyssa? Are you all right?”

“Yes,” came a very faint voice. Then there was a loud noise like she’d bumped her phone against something, and then the visual steadied. She must’ve propped it up against something.

As her end of the video call came into focus, I gasped. She was in a hospital room. “Mason!” I called before returning my attention to the screen. “What happened?”

Her voice was faint. “I broke my leg in two places. It’s kind of bad.”

Mason appeared at my side, the strain on his face showing he’d heard her. “We’ll be on the next flight.”

“No, don’t, I’m okay,” she said weakly. “They’re going to release me tomorrow. I just wanted to let you know.”

“We can still come down there,” Mason said firmly.

“Honestly, you don’t need to.” She glanced at someone off camera. A doctor or nurse perhaps? Then the view blurred as someone—not Alyssa—picked up the phone. When the image cleared, a man with brown hair and a blue long-sleeve t-shirt was crouched next to the bed, his head near Alyssa’s. He held the phone up so we could see both of them.

“Listen, you folks don’t need to worry,” he said. “Lyss is the most amazing woman in the world, and I’m going to take good care of her.”

Lyss?

“Are you a doctor?” Mason asked.

The man shook his head as he slid his arm under Alyssa’s head, supporting her. Even though I was concerned about my friend, I couldn’t help noticing how handsome he was—and the admiration in his eyes when he looked at Alyssa.

“Then who the hell—” Mason began, but the man interrupted him.

“She’s going to be just fine. We’ve got this covered.”

We?

“We’ve got to go, the doctor’s here. I’ll have Lyss call you when she can.” The video cut out and the phone screen went blank.

Mason stared at it as if desperate for answers it couldn’t provide. Then he turned to me, confusion and anger warring across his face. “Who the fuck was that guy?”