Chapter 12
At swim practice on Monday, I thought I was glowing.
Charlie was ok at school, not a totally perfect situation, but that nasty Rivers had been warned and was keeping his distance.
Mrs. Ferber seemed to have it under control.
For the first time since Cassie’s death, Charlie had felt ready to leave Danny Bob at home for the rather than hiding him in his bookbag. That was a good sign.
And Luke…well, that was wonderful. The hair/naked thing had really worked out great, and he was definitely going to need to soundproof his bedroom.
He had shown me the room where he had put his old childhood twin bed. “I thought this would work for Charlie,” he said, watching me intently.
“I think it’s perfect,” I told him. “I love you.” It seemed like saying it once had broken a dam, or something. I couldn’t seem to stop telling him. But he lapped it up, and said it right back.
I had called Annie on Sunday to thank her for her intervention, and she invited us to come over and “discuss décor.” We had hung out at her house the whole morning.
The only dark patch had been when her dad had been driven over after lunch.
His presence was like a pall; he obviously disliked me, and Charlie too.
It made Annie anxious, and Luke incensed, and Charlie and I had taken our leave.
But Luke had left with us and driven us home.
And worked on the fort with Charlie, while I attempted chicken pot pie.
Interesting how thick and lumpy flour could get in a sauce.
We ended up having scrambled eggs. Tara emailed me a bunch of recipes with the subject line, “EVEN YOU CAN’T MESS THESE UP”, but I was hoping she wouldn’t hold me to that.
I had driven Darby and Charlie over to practice on Monday, and was supposed to go run with Annie.
I waited for her for a while by the track, but she didn’t show, so I ran some laps and then went back to check on the swimming.
Charlie and his group were doing catch-up stroke and practice was almost over when Annie came in.
She was wearing her giant sunglasses, but I could see her wet cheeks below them. She had been crying.
“Hey, what’s the matter? What did Milos do now?” I asked her.
She took a deep breath. “Can you come outside for a minute? I need to talk to you.”
I followed her out of the Athletic Complex, completely curious. “Annie, what’s up?”
She stopped when we were on the sidewalk at the parking lot. “I didn’t want anyone inside to hear. I found out something very upsetting. And I don’t want to tell you, but I have to, and I have to tell Luke too, and he’s going to freak out!”
I bit my lip. “You’re making me nervous. What did you find out?”
Annie pushed her sunglasses up on her head. Her eyes were red-rimmed. “I ran into Coach Sean’s wife this morning at the farmers’ market. They’re getting D-I-V-O-R-C—”
“You don’t have to spell it,” I assured her. “They’re getting divorced.”
She leaned forward to grip my hands. “She’s super angry, like out of her mind, that he was cheating on her with Kyra and she wants to really screw him in the D-I-V—I mean, you know.
And she thought he may have been hiding other stuff from her, too.
So her lawyer hired a forensic accountant to go through their finances, and he found a bunch of strange payments, like totaling a bunch of money.
$2,500, $5,000, more. The latest was after he got fired, for $50,000. Sean admitted it was all from my dad.”
“What?” I was confused. “Why would your dad give him money?”
Annie took another shaky breath. “I guess he was paying Sean to run the team in certain ways. And then I think he was paying him to keep quiet.” Tears started pouring down her face again.
“He’s always been like this! He used to give my soccer coach ‘tips’ so I would get more playing time.
I think he bought me into the high school I went to—there’s a Whitaker Library there now.
My whole life, I never knew if I got the things I got because I deserved them or because he was paying for them. ”
“But why pay Sean?” I asked, then realized. “Macdara.”
Annie was nodding. “He wanted her on the relay. He wanted special treatment for her. And…it was for other things.”
“Like what?”
“He paid Sean to get you guys off the team.”
I didn’t know what to say. We stood looking at each other, until I shook my head in bewilderment. “Annie, why? Why would he do that to Charlie?”
“No,” she said, “it wasn’t about Charlie.
It was about your sister. He hated her. He was furious that day when we first met you and Charlie said that Cassie was his mom.
I don’t know if he was trying to punish her through Charlie, or if he was trying to keep her and Luke apart.
I don’t know. But I’m sorry!” She was sobbing, and fell on my shoulder, hugging me.
I was shaken. “I—” I stopped. How could a grown man behave that way?
But I remembered what Luke had said about George Whitaker having a hand in everything when they were kids, and how he controlled his wife, and how he had even picked Milos for Annie and pressured her into marrying him.
I wondered what other aspects of their lives he had manipulated.
“I’m sorry,” Annie said into my shoulder. “I’m sorry and I’m so ashamed! I went to his house and we got into a huge fight, and I said I was coming here to tell you what he did and that I never wanted to see him again!” She picked up her head. “Can you ever forgive me?”
“I’m not sure why I would have to forgive you,” I told her. “This isn’t anyone’s fault but his own. You didn’t ask him to cheat for Macdara. Or make us leave the team.” My head was reeling as I tried to take it all in. “Creepy” didn’t even begin to encompass George Whitaker.
“I should have known he’d be up to something like this!” Annie said. “But—” she broke off, then did a double take as she looked past me. “Daddy? That’s his car!”
I turned to look. A black SUV was lurching into the parking lot, alternatively racing forward as the engine revved in acceleration, then jerking to a stop when the brakes were too sharply applied.
“He followed me here? What is he doing?” Annie cried. “He can’t drive! He’s not allowed to!” She took a few steps toward the parking lot. “Stop, Daddy, stop!”
We both watched in horror as the car approached.
Annie kept screaming at him to stop as the car headed towards us on the curb.
I grabbed her arm, ready to pull her out of the way, when the doors of the Athletic Center opened and the swimmers started streaming out.
“Mom!” Macdara yelled and ran over to us.
Then everything started to happen in slow-motion. George Whitaker’s car lurched forward as he gunned the engine instead of hitting the brakes, jumping the curb, and I heard Annie scream, and Macdara froze in place, and then I was moving fast, and I pushed her.
I saw the sparkles in the paint of the hood of the car, like tiny stars.
“Emily!” I heard Tara. “Call 911!”
∞
I was so dizzy, and so cold. There were voices running way too fast. I tried to speak to tell them to be quiet and instead of words a funny groan left my mouth.
The voices slowed down. “Emmy? I think she’s waking up!”
“Emily Louisa, open your eyes. Right now!” That was Tara’s voice. But I couldn’t do it.
I heard someone sniffling. “Charlie?” I tried to say, but it didn’t come out right.
“Sweetheart, open your eyes.” I felt a warm hand on my cheek, and I tried to turn my face into it. But it was hard to move my head.
“No, don’t move! Stay still!” Luke sounded frantic.
With every bit of determination I had, I forced my eyes open, and got so dizzy that I shut them. I attempted it again, and the dizziness lessened. “Charlie?” I repeated, and this time it came out more like his name. “Luke?”
I saw Charlie as he nuzzled into my left hand. His face was tearstained. And there was an IV in my arm. And what was around my neck? My hand flew from Luke’s to clutch the impediment around my neck, that wouldn’t let me breathe.
“No, no, Emmy. You have to leave that on,” Luke told me anxiously.
“Can’t breathe!” I wheezed. “Get it off!”
Tara elbowed Luke aside. “Nope, you can breathe. You’re panicking.
Just slow down. Take a long breath in through your nose.
Ok? Hold it while I count to three. Slow down.
” She breathed with me until I was calmer.
“It’s a C-collar, that’s all. You’re in the ER.
All your scans are good, but you need to get checked before the collar comes off.
” Tara leaned and kissed my cheek. “Ok, I’m going to call in the doctor and tell her you’re awake.
Do not move. Understand? You’re ok.” She winked at me, but her face looked like she had been crying too. “I’ll be right back.”
My eyes flicked from Charlie to Luke, and back again. I cleared my throat. “Water?”
“We have to wait for the doctor to come in,” Luke said, cupping my cheek again, his other hand rubbing my leg. “Do you remember what happened?”
Oh, mother Mary, Macdara! “Mackie!” my hoarse voice grated.
“She’s just fine. You pushed her out of the way,” Luke said.
“You saved her, Mommy. I mean, Emmy.” I tried to raise my hand to pat his cheek, but ended up just drumming my fingers on his chin. I realized that everything was hurting, from my hair to my toes and every part of me in between.
“Charlie, now that you’ve seen that she’s ok, can you go outside with Diego? He’s right in the waiting room, remember?” Luke asked him.
Charlie bent and kissed my hand, then very reluctantly left.
“Luke?” He was wiping my cheeks. I was crying.
“I think it’s shock, sweetheart. Are you cold?” He covered me with another hospital blanket.
I cleared my throat again. “Can you lie tdown with me?”
His face scrunched in concern. “I will as soon as they say I can.” Carefully, he put his head next to mine on the pillow, and put his arm gently around me. “You saved Mackie. At her height she would have gone right under the car.”
“Your dad—” I stopped.
“He’s not supposed to drive. He could have killed you.
” I couldn’t see his face, but Luke’s voice was hard and uncompromising.
“Annie told me what he was doing with Coach Sean. I wish I could say I was surprised.” He raised his head and kissed my cheek.
“It’s all right now. You’re awake, thank God. ”
“I want to go home,” I said. “I don’t want to stay here.”
“Let’s see what the doctor says.” He kissed my forehead again. “I thought—” he broke off and swallowed a few times. “I’ve never felt more grateful in my life as when you opened your eyes.”
A slight knock sounded on the door and it swung open to admit Annie. She was crying so hard she could barely walk, and she definitely couldn’t speak. She came to the side of the bed and held my hand, holding her other palm over her mouth to stifle her sobs.
“I’m ok,” I told her raspingly. “Mackie’s ok too, right?”
Annie nodded, and squeezed my hand.
“We’re even,” I told her, and squeezed back. She had saved my family by paying my debts, and now I had returned the favor.
Tara let a woman in a white coat into the room. “Ok, everybody out!” she announced. “Want to get that C-collar off, Em?”
I squeezed Luke’s hand. “Don’t leave!”
“I’m not going anywhere.” He bent and kissed my lips. “I love you, and I’m not going anywhere."
And he didn’t.