Chapter 2
Chapter Two
EVERLEIGH
Nine years later
I pick up my glass of water while reading the email that just came in at the same time as my phone rings from beside my keyboard. Looking down, I see it’s my mother. My eyes immediately go to the lower corner of the screen, noticing it’s just after seven in the evening. It’s like clockwork. There are certain things I can count on in my life, and my mother is one of them. Just like these nightly calls are. I slide the arrow to the side, accepting the FaceTime and seeing her face fill the screen. “Hey, Momma.” I smile at her.
“Hey, baby girl,” she replies, sitting in the reading chair in the living room that isn’t facing the television but instead the street. I’ve been trying to get her to turn it around since I was fourteen, but she says looking outside and seeing her neighbors is more entertaining. I mean, sometimes it really is, especially when cranky old Mr. Ferrucci next door was caught having an affair with one of his coworkers. Mrs. Ferrucci threw all of his stuff out onto the lawn. It was raining clothes for a good hour, and just when you thought it would end, there would be another stream of clothing falling from the window. “Whatcha doing?” I see her with her feet curled up under her.
“Nothing much,” I say, “just answering an email.”
“You are always working,” she replies, shaking her head. “When are you going to get out and find some friends?” I roll my eyes at her.
“I have friends,” I assure her. “It’s a Wednesday night,” I lie to her. I’ve been living in this city for the past seven years, and truth be told, I don’t really have any friends like I did before. I have my guard up all the time. I don’t know why, but it’s hard for me to make friends, and again, truth be told, I don’t want to make friends.
“When you lived here, you were out every night,” she reminds me, and I roll my eyes. “It was hard keeping you home.”
“Is that what you called me for, to ask me why I’m home?” I ask, leaning back in the chair and listening to the little wind chimes I brought from home that I put up by the window. “Why are you home?”
“It’s seven at night, and I wake up at five to go to work,” she snaps.
“But you finish work at five, so you could get yourself a man and be busy by seven,” I goad her. Her eyes go big, and she gasps.
“You watch that mouth, young lady,” she scolds. “You don’t need to worry about my needs. They are well taken care of.”
My face grimaces. “I just threw up.” It’s been Mom and me since I was born. My father decided a child wasn’t on his bingo card, so he dipped as soon as she told him she was pregnant with me. She worked two jobs to make sure I had everything I needed. She worked her ass tirelessly to make sure I never missed anything, and to this day, there is nothing I wouldn’t do for her. Well, at least one thing I won’t do for her, but she’s never really asked me. She’s never been with another man after my father, or none I was aware of. There have been occasions when I thought she went out with a man a couple of times.
She laughs at my face. “How was your day?”
“It was okay. I have this new nightclub I am working on. It will be a restaurant until ten p.m., and then it’ll turn into a club. What about you? How are things?”
“Same old, same old,” she reports. I see her face go weird, and she stops talking.
“Mom.” I sit up in my chair. “Mom, are you okay?” I ask as the back of my neck gets warm.
“I don’t feel well,” she admits, and then the phone falls to the floor. The image on the screen is now of the ceiling in the living room, and my heart sinks as I spring out of my chair. “Mom!” I scream her name. “Mom,” I say again as my heart sinks to my feet and panic rushes through me. “Mom!” I yell again, hoping the phone is picked up, and she tells me she’s fine. I wait one second, literally one, before I hang up on her and call the neighbor who lives across from her.
“Hello,” Mrs. Gregory answers her phone while I tear through my one-bedroom apartment going to my bedroom, feeling that my heart is going to come out of my chest.
“Mrs. Gregory,” I quickly say, taking my bag out from the closet and tossing it on the bed. “My mom—” I try to calm myself down. “My mom, I was talking to her, and then something happened. She said she didn’t feel well, and then the phone fell out of her hands.”
“Oh my,” she replies, and I can hear her moving and then walking.
“She said she didn’t feel well. I can’t call 911 from here.” I take the phone off my ear and then open the browsing app and type in the emergency number for Montgavin. My hands are shaking so much it’s a miracle I can even type. “She needs help.” I sob out the last words, feeling more helpless than I’ve ever felt in my life.
“On it,” Mrs. Gregory confirms. My head spins as I run around my bedroom, throwing things in a bag. I look down at the phone and see she’s hung up on me. The tears pour down my cheeks, and I feel like I’m going to be sick. The idea of not knowing what is going on with my mother while I’m so far from her is killing me. I zip up the bag, running around to my office and unplugging my laptop, putting it in my backpack along with all the papers on my desk.
I’m out of the house ten minutes later, knowing I forgot something but also not giving a shit. I’m in my car and rushing out of the parking garage when my phone rings. “Hello.”
“Sweetie.” Mrs. Gregory’s voice is soft and low. “Honey,” she says. I can hear her sniffling from her side of the phone, and all the blood from my body feels like it’s being drained out. My hands grip the steering wheel as the tears pour down my face like the rushing of a stream down a hill. “They just took her,” she chokes out as she silently cries. “They think it was a heart attack.” I close my eyes. “They got her heart started again right before they left.”
“I’m on my way,” I say. “I should be there in about nine hours.”
“I’m going to the hospital right now,” she declares.
“Can you call me,” I whisper, “and give me updates?”
“I will call you on the hour every single hour, even if there isn’t anything to report.”
“Thank you,” I reply, grateful she was there to help me and save my mom. “Did she regain consciousness?”
“No, sweetie,” she reports. I put my head back, and my bottom lip quivers. “She didn’t.”
“Okay, I’ll speak to you in an hour.”
“Yes.” She disconnects the phone, and I put the hospital address in my phone and head on my way, going way over the speed limit. I just hope that if I get pulled over, they will have a little bit of sympathy for me.
Every single hour, Mrs. Gregory calls me to tell me the latest news. Mom was rushed into surgery for a blockage in her heart. For the past six hours, I’ve been on autopilot as I wait for her to tell me she is out of surgery. I spent the past six hours talking to her about how much I missed her. About how much my life would never be the same without her in it. About how she is the only person in my life who has never let me down.
I drive into town after eight hours. The town name lights up, and if you didn’t know any better, you would think this is a peaceful town. A town where everyone is friendly, and I have to say when I was growing up, it’s where I knew I wanted to live forever. But now, now it’s the place I want to run away from. It’s as if my body knows I’m back because the minute I cross that threshold, the memories come back with a vengeance, and I can’t stop them no matter how much I’ve locked Pandora’s box.
“Baby.” I hear the soft voice in my ear, and I want to open my eyes, I really do, but I can’t. My eyes are just too heavy. “Baby, please,” Brock pleads with me, but then I hear more voices all around me.
Voices that seem far away but in abundance. “Holy fuck,” a man says right before I’m sucked back in. “We’re going to need the Jaws of Life.”
The shouting makes me try to open my eyes again. “Jennifer!” Charlie calls her name frantically. The approaching sirens make me want to force my eyes open, but they feel like they are sealed shut. Someone says something as my eyes flicker open and the buzzing starts in my ears right away. I try to lick my lips, but the taste of metal is on them, and I feel like I’ve been punched in the face. I wiggle my fingers and try to move my hand up to my face, but it’s stuck under something. “Brock,” I whisper. “Brock.” I try to move my head, but it’s lodged against Jennifer’s.
My eyes shut on their own as the darkness takes me away again. The sound of crunching metal drags me back from the darkness. I try to say something, but everything hurts. My face feels like it’s on fire. “How the fuck did this end up upside down?” someone asks once the crunching metal stops.
I try to move off Jennifer, but my body feels like it’s dead weight, and I hear Brock. “Baby, are you okay?”
After trying to answer him with words and forcing my eyes to open, I groan. “Everleigh,” he sobs, “please answer me.”
My left side feels like it is being crushed as I try to take a deep breath, but the pain rips through me. I groan softly, trying to push away the pain away as I fight to open my eyes. “We got this door open!” I hear someone shouting, but I’m not sure if it’s right beside me or far away.
“Fuck,” another voice yells, “let’s get him out!”
“Everleigh?” Brock mumbles from beside me, or at least I think he’s beside me. “Everleigh, are you okay?”
“Hmm,” I hear mumbled, “my head.” I finally pant out, “It hurts.”
“Guys, how is Jennifer?” Charlie asks from the front seat.
“I think she’s on top of me,” Autumn says. “I can’t move.”
“Brock, are you okay?” Charlie asks as I blink my eyes more and more to make sure I don’t close them for too long. I try to turn my head, but I’m not able to.
“Foot is stuck. It feels like something is in my leg.” His voice is pained, and I want to touch him, but I feel squished on both sides.
It sounds like a saw is working near us, and then the sounds of crunching metal make me wince again. I want to lift my hands to my ears to stop the pain. “We got a door off!” someone shouts. “Fuck, I think he’s DOA.” DOA, my head screams. Does that mean someone is dead? “We need more hands.” I can hear more and more people’s voices as I try to look around, and finally, my eyes spot Brock, who is the one pushing me into Jennifer.
“Brock,” I say, and his head turns to mine. Blood is running down his face. The bright light now feels like it’s being shined into my face, so I close my eyes.
“Everleigh,” Brock says to the man.
“We have to get you out first and then get her,” the man states, and then I hear him roar out in pain from beside me, and I want to help him. It’s a howling sound I don’t think I will ever forget. “We need a paramedic here.”
“His foot is jammed,” someone announces. “If we pull him out, it’ll rip through his whole thigh.”
“We need to get the driver out.” I hear more footsteps from the other side of the truck.
“What a fucking mess,” another voice adds. “Three-car accident. One man struck on the side of the road.”
“How many in this car?” a woman asks as I hear shouting coming from far away, and then the sound of more sirens fills the night. Red lights flashing cut into the darkness of the truck for a couple of seconds, but I don’t have time to look around before it’s dark again.
“We have three in the back and two in the front.” That doesn’t sound right. How are there three in the back? I wonder if Jennifer or Autumn fell onto the floorboard.
The sound of metal clunking feels like it’s right outside my door. I wince as my head throbs. “We got you,” I hear right after the sound of clunking is done. The weight on my side is gone, and when I open my eyes, I see they got Brock out. “We got him out.”
I feel hands touching me. “We’re going to get you out.” I hear the soft voice and look at the man dressed in a firefighter uniform. “We got you.”
“I don’t think I can move,” I say as he puts a white plastic thing around my neck.
“I’ll carry you.” He puts one hand under my knees as he tries and pulls me away from Jennifer.
“My friend Jennifer. She must be stuck somewhere,” I say as he moves an inch at a time. My leg suddenly cries out in pain, but I push it away from me. “She’s in here. We are six people in the truck.” My eyes get heavy as the light shines on my face, making me close them as I feel like I’m floating on air now.
“She said there were six in the truck,” the man reports, and I try to open my eyes. “Where is the other person?”
“There are only three people back here,” a man says softly, and I want to open my eyes to tell him it’s a mistake, but right before the darkness takes me away again, the man says, “Unless she’s under…”
“Turn left at the stop sign,” the GPS tells me, and I come out of the memory of the night that changed not only my life but everyone’s life irrevocably. It's not that I need the GPS at this point, but it’s been on since I started driving, just to tell me how far away I was.
I don’t even notice my face is wet with tears as I pull up to the hospital parking lot. I grab my phone and my keys before rushing into the emergency room, where I find Mrs. Gregory sitting with a coffee in her hand. “Oh, thank goodness you got here. She just woke up.”
I put my hand to my chest. I’ve never heard sweeter words before in my life. I mean, only three other ones have been sweeter. “Can I see her?” I ask, and she gets up, nodding.
She walks with me to the nurses’ desk. “This is Ms. Maddie’s daughter,” she informs them, and the woman smiles at me.
“Can I see her?” I ask, my hands shaking. “Please, just for a minute.”
“You can.” She gets up and motions with her head to follow her. I follow her to the back, past two swinging doors. The only lights on are the lights at the nurses’ station in the middle of the corridor. Most of the doors to the rooms are open, and you can see in each of them with the big windows giving you access.
She stops beside a door, and I look in and see my mother lying in the middle of the bed with her head elevated. My feet move before my head can even wrap around that she looks like she’s sleeping. I pick up her hand gently, feeling her warmth seep through me, and bring it to my lips. “I love you, Momma,” I sob out.
I hear her head move on the pillow, and her eyes open. “Everleigh?” she says, confused I’m here. “What on earth are you doing here?”
I can’t help but smile through the tears. “Mom, you had a heart attack,” I inform her.
“I’m fine,” she huffs. “I need to get out of this bed and get to work.” She looks like she’s about to get up when I shake my head.
“She’s a stubborn one,” the doctor says, walking into the room. He’s wearing scrubs and a surgical hat on his head. “She’s lucky we found her in time.” He stands in front of the bed with his hands on his hips.
“What does he know?” My mother looks at me. “I’m telling you I’m okay. I feel fine.” She fights to keep her eyes open.
“How long does she have to stay here?” I know my mother has probably asked this question already.
“I can tell you she won’t be able to open the shop in three hours.” He glares at her, and my mother refuses to even look in his direction.
“Everleigh, can you get my purse?” My mother ignores him. “Harmony is going to be there with the cakes, and I have to start getting the donuts ready.”
“I’ll go,” I offer, knowing if I don’t go, she won’t rest. “I’ll go and get everything sorted today, and you can rest and go in tomorrow,” I bargain, looking at the doctor when he looks like he’s about to say something.
“Fine,” she relents. I know by her giving in without even fighting with me, she really doesn’t feel well, but she won’t let me know. “But you need to leave now.”
I look over at the doctor, who I motion with my head to the side, hoping he understands what I’m trying to say, and he looks at my mother. “I’m going to be back in a bit to check on you.”
“Wasting your time, Oliver. I said I’m fine.” I look at both of them as my mother closes her eyes. “Now, I’m going to rest, and you’re bothering me.” She looks back at me. “You, get going.”
“Will do,” I agree. Walking out, I stop by her door and let out a huge sigh of relief. “I guess she’s fine.”
“She is not fine,” the doctor corrects me. “I’m Dr. Cardinal, but you can call me Oliver. I’ve been telling her for years that she’s burning the candle at both ends.” He looks at me and then through the window. “If you weren’t on the phone with her, we would have lost her.” His voice trails off. “She needs to be off her feet for at least six weeks.”
“You think you’ll stop her from doing things for six weeks?” I ask, trying not to laugh.
“I’m hoping you can help me with that,” he says, and I want to ask him so many questions, but his phone buzzes. “We are going to run tests today, and depending on the results, she could be here for a week. I have to go, but I’ll see you later.”
“Oh, I’ll see you all right,” I assure him, watching him walk away. Instead of leaving, I walk back into the room and go to my mother and bend to kiss her cheek. “I love you, Momma,” I say softly, but for once, she doesn’t answer me.
I walk out with my head hanging, spotting Mrs. Gregory waiting for me. She holds her arms open for me, and I give her a hug. “I don’t know how to thank you,” I say. “If you weren’t there…”
“Hush yourself,” she scolds, letting me go. “I’m going to go home and get some sleep and come back later.”
I nod at her as we walk out together, but she goes one way while I go the other. I get into my car and head down Main Street. My eyes roam down the empty street as I park and let myself into the little bakery store my mother used to work at and then bought from the old owner when he retired.
I turn the lights on and head to the fridge to take the big bowl out. I ignore the burning of my eyes as I start doing all the things I need to do. I’m taking the last batch of donuts out of the oil when I hear the bells for the front door jingle. I look over, seeing it’s just after seven. Wiping my hands, I walk out of the back, seeing a brown box on the counter.
“Hi,” the woman says, smiling at me.
“Hey,” I greet her as I walk over and look into the box to see there are cellophane-wrapped cakes.
“Are you okay?” she asks with worry in her voice, and I can’t even imagine how I feel.
“You must be Harmony, the girl who bakes the cakes,” I say, totally ignoring the question of if I’m okay. I’m not okay, but I know if I stop, I’ll collapse in a puddle in the middle of the floor.
“I am.” She nods at me.
“I’m Everleigh,” I introduce myself, “Ms. Maddie’s daughter.” Saying my mother’s name breaks me a little as I blink away the tears that are threatening to come back. “She had a heart attack last night.” Harmony’s hand goes to her mouth to stop the gasp. “Luckily, I was on the phone with her when it happened, and I was able to get her neighbor to help her, so the ambulance got there in time.”
“Oh my.” Her own tears now run down her cheeks. “Is she okay?”
“She was resting this morning when I left the hospital,” I say. “Doctor says she needs to stay off her feet and rest.” I exhale, trying to control my breathing and making sure I don’t sob. “But she’s stubborn, and unless I’m going to stay here and watch her—” I shake my head. “So now, here I am for the next little while.” I decided it as soon as I saw her lying in that bed.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” she asks, and I just shake my head. “I have another one in the truck.” She points at the box on the counter before turning and walking out of the store. When I look up, my eyes go to the mechanic shop smack in the middle of the block, facing Main Street. You can’t miss it once you get to the intersection. You either have to turn right or left or drive right into it. My chest contracts as I look over at the windows. Seeing a couple of men arriving, I scan to see if I’m able to see him.
The door opens again, forcing my eyes to go back to see Harmony place another box on the counter. “Do you have my number?” she asks. “If you want to take my number down, let me know if you need anything.”
I pull my phone out of my back pocket when she gives me her number, and I text her.
561-277-6498: It’s Everleigh.
“That’s my number in case you need to get in touch with me about the deliveries,” I say as she does something on her phone.
“Do you know when they are discharging her from the hospital?” she asks, and I take a big inhale, thinking back at the scene that happened this morning.
“I might have to get cuffs and cuff her to the bed,” I mumble. “From what the doctor said, depending on the results of her tests today, it could be up to five days.”
“I’ll let you get back to work,” she says as the door opens, and I see a couple of customers come in. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I smile at her. “I’ll be here,” I confirm. My eyes go to the mechanic shop, wishing like hell I wasn’t here in the town where I lost two of my best friends and the man I thought I would love for the rest of my life. A man I thought I would marry and have children with. A man who shattered my heart, and it’s never, ever been the same since. I don’t think it ever will be. “For however long I need to be here.”