Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
“ A nnie? I’m headed out. Dinner is in the microwave.” Libby waited to hear a response, but when nothing happened, she sighed. She stepped out from behind the kitchen counter and reached for the sweater hung up behind the door. After checking to make sure the oven was switched off and the containers were properly sealed, she snatched her purse off the counter.
Libby was shoving her feet into a pair of sneakers when Annie’s door creaked open. She came out in a pair of sweatpants, a hoodie, and her rhinestone pink headphones on her head. When she spotted Libby, Annie yanked off the headphones and shoved both hands into her pockets.
“Where are you going? You never go out this late.”
Libby shifted from one foot to the other. “Ms. Ricker—Charlotte. She’s in the hospital. I’m going to go visit her.”
Annie raised an eyebrow. “Since when did you and Ms. Ricker become friends?”
Libby zipped up her sweater and shrugged. “Since we started talking whenever I picked you up or dropped you off at school.”
Annie folded her arms over her chest. “Don’t you think that’s a little weird? Being friends with my former drama teacher?”
Libby sighed. “We can discuss this later. I really should go and check on her.”
Especially because Charlotte had sounded freaked out on the phone.
She’d barely been able to make out much of Charlotte’s rant, but knowing her sister, mother, and friends were there helped. After offering Annie another strained smile, Libby spun on her heel and patted her pockets for her keys.
She was halfway through the door when Annie’s voice stopped her. “I’ll come with you.”
Libby glanced at her over her shoulder. “What?”
“I love Ms. Ricker, and I want to be sure she’s okay,” Annie replied with a lift of her chin. “Let me just change into a pair of jeans and put on some shoes. I’ll be two minutes.”
Libby opened her mouth to protest, then snapped it shut.
It wasn’t the worst idea she’d come up with, and because of how tense things were lately, Libby was relieved the ice was starting to thaw between them. They were a long way away from where Libby wanted them to be, but this was something.
It was a step in the right direction.
Libby was willing to brave a car ride listening to Annie’s questionable taste in music while trying to hold a conversation, especially if it meant moving one step closer to each other.
Libby was in the car, fiddling with the radio, when Annie came racing out of the building, pausing to slam the door shut behind her. She glanced down both sides of the street before racing over to where Libby parked, engine idling.
“Seat belt, please,” Libby instructed as soon as the door slammed shut. “I don’t remember how to get the Bluetooth thing working, so you can take care of that if you want.”
Annie’s seat belt clicked into place, and she leaned forward.
Libby gripped the steering wheel with both hands and tried not to let her mind wander. A short while later, while Annie was humming along to her music, Falmouth Hospital emerged out of the shadows, brightly lit and distinguishable by the big billboard out front. She turned onto Bramble Road and parked across the street from the bus stop.
Then, she sat there for a few minutes, trying to reel her mind back in.
The last thing Charlotte needed was for Libby to be an emotional wreck.
After several deep breaths, she pushed the door open and got out. Annie was hot on her heels as they crossed the moonlit street and pushed the double doors open. A blast of cold air hit Libby in the face, followed closely by the smell of disinfectant.
She blinked, and a group of doctors was racing past and pulling a gurney along.
Libby stopped to ask a dark-haired, harried-looking nurse where Charlotte was, and she pointed her in the general direction of the emergency room. Annie matched her pace to Libby’s as they ventured farther into the hospital, down gray-colored halls past rooms with beeping machines and patients crying out in pain.
Finally, the floor opened into a larger room, with beds that were separated by curtains and a group of doctors and nurses clustered around a large, circular-shaped desk. Libby glanced around and breathed a sigh of relief when she heard Charlotte’s familiar voice.
When she finally found her sitting up in bed, some of the knots in Libby’s stomach loosened. Charlotte propped herself up and nearly fell off the bed when Annie threw herself at her. The two of them embraced, and Charlotte held Annie tight for a while. Eventually, Annie squirmed and drew back.
“Thank you so much for coming to see me.” Charlotte smiled and linked her fingers together. “You look good, kiddo.”
Annie waved her comment away and blushed. “Thanks, Ms. Ricker. I hope you feel better. I’m going to go find the cafeteria or something.”
Libby reached into her purse and pulled out a few bills. She handed them to Annie on her way past. Then, she turned to Charlotte, took both of her hands, and smiled.
“You scared me when you called,” Libby admitted with a frown. “But you look good. Everything is stable, right? Nothing has changed?”
“Yes, don’t worry. I should be out of here soon.” Charlotte squeezed her hands, and her smile grew softer. “You really didn’t have to come.”
“I wanted to. Why don’t I get you something to eat or drink? You must be starving.”
“I could use some tea,” Charlotte admitted. “If it’s not too much trouble.”
“One tea coming up.” Libby rose to her feet and left the ER. After a series of twists and turns, she ended up back in the hospital waiting room, where people were pressed together and talking over each other. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted something and turned to it.
Annie was talking to the disheveled guy from the library.
Libby saw his hand dart out to squeeze hers, and something in her snapped. Before she knew what she was doing, she marched over to where they loitered and yanked Annie away. She stood between them and glowered at the boy as if her life depended on it.
“Libby, what are you doing?” Annie placed a hand on her arm, but Libby shook her off. “What’s going on?”
Libby bristled and pointed a shaking finger at the boy, who lost some of the color in his face. “What’s going on is that I know you’ve spent time with this boy, and I know what he’s a part of. I forbid you from seeing him again.”
If she had to drag Annie off and have her hate Libby for the rest of her life, so be it. She wasn’t going to let some boy, or anyone else, for that matter, ruin Annie’s chances of having a good, normal life.
“What are you talking about?”
Libby didn’t take her eyes off of him. “You’re here to recruit more people for your little gang, aren’t you? Well, I won’t let you. You’re going to have to find someone else.”
Her heart was beating so fast, nearly drowning out everything else.
A part of her knew she shouldn’t have blurted the truth out like that, but the other part of her didn’t care.
Annie needed to be safe; that was all that mattered.
She could deal with Annie’s outrage and frustration later, but she wasn’t letting this unfold under her own nose—and in a hospital, no less.
What was Annie thinking?
Annie’s friend was going to have to go through her, and she was in no mood to play games with anyone—least of all—the disheveled boy in front of her.
Libby was determined to protect Annie whether she liked it or not.
Annie tried to pry her away. “I don’t know what’s going on, but you need to stop. Devon isn’t who you think he is.”
Libby continued to shake with anger, one hand balled into a fist at her side and the other pointed at him. “Does it make you feel better to take advantage of vulnerable people? Is that the kind of man you’re trying to be, Devon? Shame on you.”
“Stop it,” Annie snapped before yanking Devon back and squaring her shoulders to face Libby. “I don’t know how you found out about Devon, but he’s not a part of some gang or whatever you think this is.”
Libby snorted. “Don’t cover for him.”
Annie was obviously blinded by her feelings for the boy, leaving Libby no choice but to be her eyes, ears, and brain.
Until Annie came to her senses, at least.
Annie frowned. “I’m not. Devon is a counselor at the youth center. He’s been trying to help me figure out a way to get through summer school and…other things.”
Libby’s head swam. “What?”
“I’m sorry about my appearance, Ms. Baker,” Devon said, pausing to meet her gaze directly. “I love being a counselor, but it doesn’t pay all that well, and I’m currently in between houses. I understand that you must’ve been concerned when you found out about me, but I can assure you, Annie was never in danger with me.”
“Neither was anyone else,” Annie added firmly. “Devon, I’m sorry about Libby. Would you please excuse us?”
Libby’s head was still spinning as Annie took her arm and marched her away to a quiet corner in the waiting room, away from prying eyes and ears. Once they got there, Annie released her arm and folded her arms over her chest.
Oh, no. Now you’ve gone and done it, Libby. She is going to hate you forever, and you’ve gone and messed it up by jumping to conclusions.
Why hadn’t she stopped to think about the consequences?
Why hadn’t she stopped to think at all?
Libby felt sick with guilt and regret.
Seeing that boy in the hospital in plain sight had obviously pushed Libby over the edge and triggered something in her, something she hadn’t even known was there.
Annie’s eyes tightened around the edges. “How long have you been spying on me?”
Libby released a harsh breath and winced. “I wasn’t spying. I was keeping an eye on you; there’s a big difference.”
Annie’s eyes tightened further. “How long?”
Libby stood up straighter and cleared her throat. “A few weeks. I just wanted to be sure you were okay. You don’t tell me a thing, Annie, and then I see you with that suspicious-looking boy… What was I supposed to think?”
Annie threw her hands up in the air and shook her head. “You were supposed to trust me and trust I know better than to fall in with that kind of crowd.”
Libby’s stomach clenched. “Of course, I trust you, but you’ve been through so much, and I…I thought he was taking advantage of you, preying on your vulnerabilities to steer you wrong.”
She had to make Annie see that.
Color crept up Annie’s neck and cheeks. “So, you decided the solution to that was to stalk me rather than talk to me?”
Annie was right.
Libby was ashamed she hadn’t pushed harder.
“You don’t tell me anything,” Libby replied, her voice climbing a little toward the end. They earned a quick disapproving look from a passing nurse, so Libby forced herself to take a deep breath. “I’ve tried, Annie. I really have, and you know I did. I don’t know what else you want me to do.”
Annie’s hands fell to her sides, and she lowered her head. “I know you’ve been trying, but it’s just going to take some time. Why couldn’t you be patient?”
“Because I…because…”
Because I love you, Annie, and you’re family.
“You know my history,” Annie continued in a smaller voice. “You know I’ve got family out there who’ve barely spared me a thought since my mom passed. Feeling like I’ve been abandoned isn’t just going to go away overnight, no matter how much I wish it would.”
Libby’s chest tightened, and she took a step in her direction. “I’m so sorry, Annie. I had no idea that’s how you felt.”
Or she wouldn’t have risked such a thing.
Suddenly, Libby desperately wished she could go back in time and take it all back.
Annie lifted tear-stained eyes to hers. “I know you don’t. I know I need to work on improving my communication skills, but your response can’t be to follow me around and accuse people of being in gangs.”
“You’re right.”
Libby had gotten carried away for all of the right reasons, but it didn’t change any of the facts.
She needed Annie to trust her again.
Annie ran a hand over her face. “We both need to start being more honest with each other, and we need to do a better job of communicating.”
Libby nodded, and she uncurled her hands. “I agree.”
“I like living with you,” Annie added in a whisper-soft voice. “I don’t want to go anywhere else.”
Libby made a low, choked sound and pulled Annie into her arms. She hugged her tight and ignored the tight flurry of emotions—guilt, regret, and hope—all blossoming inside of her chest. It warmed her stomach and spread through the rest of her body, making her feel lighter than she had in a long, long time. Then, she squeezed her eyes shut and let some of the tears fall.
It had taken a few wrong turns, but there was finally some light at the end of the tunnel, and Libby wanted to reach for it with both hands.
Libby drew back to look at her. “I love having you around, Annie. You’re not going anywhere, not if I can help it. You and I…this is the real deal.”
Annie gave her a tight nod and buried her face in the crook of Libby’s neck.
For a while, they stood there, and Libby felt Annie’s resolve soften, little by little, and then, all at once. When another nurse passed, Libby draped an arm over Annie’s shoulders and steered her in the direction of the cafeteria and toward a better future.
For both of them.