Southern Secrets

by Madison, Natasha

  "Probably in the bathroom," Chelsea says.

  I look over the heads of people, trying to spot her. The crowd has thinned out even more than before. "I’m going to check around," I tell Ethan, and he nods, coming behind the bar. I walk toward the sports room and open it to see it’s almost empty.

  "Hey, Dolly,” I call her name, and she looks up from cleaning the bar. "Have you seen Amelia?"

  "No." She shakes her head. "I’ve been slammed all night, so I haven’t seen anything." I nod at her and turn to walk out of the room, going to the pool table area and seeing that only one game is going on and there are six people there.

  "Hey," Christopher says, looking at me while he walks around the area, picking up all the empty beer bottles that have been left. "What’s up?"

  "Have you seen Amelia?" I ask, looking around toward the bar to see if she got back.

  "Not in a while," he answers, placing the bottles in the bin with the sound of clinking.

  "If you see her, tell her I’m looking for her." I walk toward the dance floor, looking through the crowd. Maybe she got sucked onto the dance floor, and I didn’t see her. The burning in my stomach starts, and my heart beats faster as the time goes on and I still can’t find her.

  Making my way past where the band is loading up their stuff, I look in the back room but don’t see anyone there. I even go to the office. The soft light on the desk is on, but it’s empty.

  Making my way back to the bar, Ethan looks up at me while he wipes down the bar. "Did you find her?"

  "No," I say, shaking my head.

  "I’ll go and check the bathroom," Chelsea says, pushing off from the bar and walking to the back.

  I spot Reed coming back and picking up the empty beer bottles left on the tables. "Reed!" I shout his name, and he walks over to us. "Have you seen Amelia?"

  "Yeah, she was going out back to take out the trash," he says, and I look over at Ethan, who has stopped cleaning at this point.

  Mayson stands up and so does Quinn. "She isn’t back there," Chelsea says, and the four of us all move at the same pace.

  I push out of the door first, and I’m shocked at how dark it is. "Where are the lights?" Ethan asks, and we look up to see the two spotlights are out.

  "They were working last week. I checked them when I changed the ones in the front," I say.

  The sound of truck doors close in the distance as people are leaving. "I’m going to go and check the garbage," Ethan says. "You go and check to see if she is in the front. Maybe she’s talking to someone."

  I nod at him as I turn to walk toward the end of the building, jogging a bit, and all I see when I turn the corner of the building is people walking to their cars. The sound of rocks crunching and women laughing fill the air.

  "I found her!" Ethan yells, and I can tell from the sound of his voice that something is wrong. "Call nine-one-one." Quinn has his phone out already.

  My breathing starts to come in pants as I run back to Ethan as he squats next to her. She lies there not moving with the garbage bag beside her. "I need light!” I shout, my hands shaking as I look at her lying there in the dark. The fact that I don’t know what is wrong with her makes my whole body go cold. "Mayson!" I yell his name, and he comes over. "Block off this whole area," I start to tell him. "No one comes here except the ambulance." I look back down at Amelia, scared to touch her in case she is cold. "Quinn," I call his name, and he looks at me. "Make sure no one leaves the fucking bar until we get statements from everyone." I grab my phone out of my pocket and open the flashlight. "Did you check to see if she’s …?"

  "I checked her pulse," Ethan says, and Chelsea comes running out.

  "What happened to her?" she asks frantically. "Don’t move her." She grabs my phone out of my hands, and I feel helpless, but I know Chelsea can help. She moves the phone to her head. "No blood," she says with a sigh of relief. "That’s a good thing." My hand comes out to grab hers, and I feel the heat.

  "Did she fall?" I ask, looking around. The sound of rocks crunching comes closer and closer.

  "Guess my dad is here," Ethan says. I hear two doors shut, and I know he didn’t come by himself.

  "Amelia," Jacob says, followed by Kallie. "What happened?" Ethan moves over as Kallie comes to squat next to him. Her hand comes out to grab Amelia.

  "We don’t know," I answer before Ethan. "We found her out here. She was lying there unconscious." I’m about to continue talking when we hear Amelia groan.

  Everyone stops talking and moving as we look at her. She moves her head side to side, and her eyes slowly flutter open. Kallie sobs out in relief, and all I can do is squeeze her hand tighter. "Hey," Chelsea says, leaning in to look at Amelia. Amelia moans out and tries to sit up, but Chelsea puts her hand on her shoulder. "Don’t move until the medics get here."

  "They are three minutes out," Jacob says, and Amelia turns her head to look at her father.

  "What are you doing here?" she asks him.

  "Someone get her water!" I shout, and Willow nods her head at me and turns to run back into the bar. "What do you remember?" I ask, and she looks at me. What feels like an electric shock runs through me.

  "I was coming out to bring the garbage," she says. "Then I felt burning in my head." She moves. "I want to sit up."

  "You shouldn’t move until the medics get here," Chelsea says, but Amelia, with her stubbornness, ignores her and sits up.

  She slips her hand out of mine as she touches the back of her head. She winces. "There is a bump."

  "Were you outside by yourself?" I ask, and she looks at me. "I don’t really know." She shakes her head, and the sound of the ambulance comes closer and closer.

  "Isn’t it too dark to assess her here?" I look at Jacob. "Maybe we can get a couple of the cars moved and turn on our headlights.”

  "I’ll go and move mine," Quinn says.

  Willow comes running out with a cold water bottle in her hand. "Here," she says, handing me the bottle.

  "Can you move my truck to the side and aim the headlights this way?" I ask her, and she nods her head. Emily runs with her to move their car also. Chelsea gets up, making room for the medics coming with bags in their hands.

  "Sorry," one of the medics says, and I get up, giving him room. I walk over to stand next to Jacob, the lights from the cars giving us some light.

  "What do we have here?" the medic asks Amelia.

  "I don’t know," Amelia answers honestly. Her voice is soft. "I was taking out the garbage, and the next thing you know, I’m waking up with everyone around me."

  "Did you fall?" he asks, taking out gloves to put on.

  "I don’t think so." She shakes her head. "I don’t …" She closes her eyes, and I rush to her as she almost falls back.

  "I got you," I say softly to her.

  "Maybe you lost your footing?" Kallie says, and I look to see that Jacob has her in his arms.

  "I felt," she says, "something behind me." My blood runs cold as ice. "When I went to turn around, that is when I felt the burning, and everything went black."

  Chapter 14

  Amelia

  I feel the heat from his chest on my back as he sits behind me and holds me up. My head’s still spinning, and when I close my eyes, my stomach lurches like a wave in the pool. "What do you mean you felt something? Was it something or someone?" Asher asks, and I can tell he's angry from his tone.

  "I don’t know," I answer honestly. "I walked out, I was looking down, and then I felt as if I was being followed."

  "Are the cameras up yet?" Asher asks, and I look over to see who he is asking.

  "They are up," my father says and gets his phone out. "I’m going to call Casey."

  "Wait a second." I hold up my hand. "Who put cameras up?"

  "Your father," my mother says. "And I, for one, am not going to say I told you so." She looks over at him. "But I’m happy he did."

  "We are going to have words," I tell my father but stop talking when the medic takes my blood pressure. "W
hen my head isn’t spinning."

  "I can’t wait," he says, and I close my eyes and lean back against Asher for a minute while I try to get my head to stop spinning.

  "Her blood pressure is a little high," the medic says. "But that’s normal."

  "Shouldn’t she be assessed by a doctor?" Asher asks from behind me.

  "She’s going," my father says, "even if I have to carry her."

  "We can get the stretcher," the medic says, "but with the rocks …"

  "I’ll carry her," Asher says from behind me, and before I even know what’s going on, I’m in his arms. One arm under my knees and the other around my back. "I’ve got you," he says, and I look up at his chest as he carries me all the way to the waiting ambulance. He steps into the back without skipping a beat.

  He places me in the middle of the stretcher. "I have to stay here and make sure we get everyone’s statement," he says, and all I can do is nod my head. I don’t trust myself not to ask him to come with me. I don’t trust myself around him. He makes me want things that I vowed never to yearn for.

  "I’m going to go with her," my mother says from beside Asher. "I’ll keep you all informed."

  "Thank you," Asher says, taking one last look at me and then getting out of the ambulance. One of the medics steps into the back and closes the door. I put my head back, and a tear escapes.

  "It’s going to be okay, baby girl," my mother says, grabbing my hand in hers. "Before you know it, you’ll be home, and this will all be over."

  "I’m fine, Mom," I say.

  "Always so strong," she says, and I see her wipe her own eyes. "It’s okay to need help, Amelia." I don’t answer her. Instead, I close my eyes.

  When we get to the hospital, they pull me out, and I don’t know why I’m shocked that Chelsea is waiting for us. "You don’t have to be here," I say, shaking my head. "I’m fine."

  "Um …" She looks at me and then down. "I was given strict orders to come here and not leave your side."

  "Can my father exaggerate any more?" I chuckle, and so does my mother.

  "It wasn’t your father," she says. My head whips back to look at her, and it’s the wrong move to do because it makes my stomach rise, and I lean over the side and vomit.

  "Oh, my," my mother says, putting her hand to her mouth.

  "I’m not a doctor," Chelsea says, "but I think she has a concussion."

  "Here, rinse your mouth." My mother runs to me with a bottle of water.

  I grab the bottle, not even giving a shit that I just threw up in the middle of the parking lot, and rinse my mouth out. "Ready?" they ask me, and I nod my head.

  We get into the room, and I look up at Chelsea, who is typing away on her phone. "I’m not going to put in this text that you threw up," she says, "because no one needs to know that."

  "This whole thing is ridiculous," I finally say. "I fell and hit my head."

  "Well, as soon as the doctor tells us that, we can go." My mother folds her arms over her chest, and I know that no matter what I say, she isn’t going to let me leave here until the doctor sees me.

  I don’t have to wait long. He comes in, and after thirty minutes, he sends me for tests and finally comes back and tells me that I have a concussion. "Do you have anyone at home who can monitor you for the next twenty-four hours?" the doctor asks me.

  "I can do it," Chelsea tells him. "I work with Dr. Gabe."

  "Perfect," the doctor says. "Now on to the nitty-gritty stuff.

  "No work for the next five days at least." My mouth opens, and I’m about to argue with him when he says, "You’re lucky it isn’t seven."

  "But …" I say.

  "Your brain just suffered a contusion," he says. "Which means you have to give it rest to get back to normal."

  "We will make sure she rests," my mother says, and I turn to glare at her, but she ignores me.

  "Limit the time you watch television or you’re on the computer," he says. "The minute you get a headache, you have to start back at day one."

  "After five days, I can go to work?" I ask.

  "For a couple of hours," he says. "But you have to be headache-free for five days before you even go back to work." He smiles at me. "You’re lucky that your head didn’t crack open."

  "Oh, yeah," I say sarcastically. "So lucky."

  He laughs and walks out of the room. "Let’s get you home," my mother says.

  I stand and walk out with both of them at my side. "Are you hungry?" Chelsea asks, and I shake my head. I get into the back seat of the truck, and my mother gets in next to me.

  "The guys are still at the bar," Chelsea says, and I look at them. "It’s been three hours?"

  I look out the window now as Chelsea drives toward my mother’s house. Pulling up, I see that the lights are on outside.

  My mother opens the door and then comes to open the door in the back, sticking her head inside. “Are you sure you don't want me to stay with you?” she asks, her hand going to my cheek.

  “No, I’ll be okay, and if I need you, I’ll call you,” I say, and she leans over and kisses my cheek.

  “I’ll come by in the morning to bring you food,” she tells me, “and you promise to call me if you need me.” She looks at me now, waiting for me to answer her and mean it.

  "I promise," I say, and I hug her before she gets out of the truck and closes the door. I close my eyes as we make the four-minute drive to my house, and when we pull up, I am suddenly disappointed that Asher is not here. I push it far down when I get out of the truck, and I walk up the step and into the house.

  "Go take a shower," Chelsea tells me. "Just don’t close the door."

  I walk toward my bedroom and stop and turn around. "Who told you to come to the hospital?" I ask.

  She avoids my eyes and puts her purse on the couch, and then goes to sit down. "Are you sure you want to know?"

  "If I asked you, it’s because I want to know," I say, ignoring the heat that comes up my neck.

  "Asher," she says his name, and I close my eyes. "He was a mess," she says and I hold up my hand.

  "I’m sure he would have been that way for any of us." I turn, not ready to have this conversation with her. Not ready to have this conversation with anyone actually. Making my way to the shower, I stand under the hot water for a couple of minutes, letting it seep into me.

  When I woke up in the dark, I was so confused and scared. Especially when I couldn’t remember where I was. Then I heard his voice and felt his hand in mine, and a calmness came over me. I knew I would be okay.

  When I walk back out of the bathroom, Chelsea is sitting on my bed with her phone in her hand. "How do you feel?"

  "Tired," I say, climbing into bed. "And like I got hit on the head with a baseball bat."

  "I think that is pretty accurate," Chelsea says, laughing from beside me.

  "On a scale of one to ten …" I look over at her. "Do you think anyone is going to forget that I can’t go to work on Monday?"

  She gets up and laughs, shaking her head. "I’m going to go with one hundred."

  I laugh at her, knowing the last thing anyone in my family will let me forget is that I have to be rested. I’m about to say something when we both hear the front door open and slam closed.

  I hear the boots on the floor, and I hold my breath, hoping that he just goes to his room. But I should have known better than that. His body fills the doorway, and my heart speeds up while my mouth gets suddenly dry.

  "Asher," I say his name in almost a whisper. He looks like he’s been through war. His hands are dirty, and his face shows that he has dirt also on his cheek.

  "Hey," he says, walking into the room. "I got here as soon as I could. How are you feeling?"

  "I’m okay," I answer him, and his eyes never leave mine.

  "Mayson is waiting for you outside." He finally turns to Chelsea.

  "I thought you were going to stay with me." I look over at Chelsea. "You told the doctor that you would watch me." I sit up, ignoring the way my head throbs.r />
  "I told her that I would do it," Asher says, and Chelsea just looks at me, trying to hide her smile. "It made no sense for her to stay here with you." I want to tell him it makes no sense for him to stay here with me, but all the words get stuck in my throat. "I can look after her," Asher says, and Chelsea just shrugs.

  "I’ll call you later," she says, leaning over and hugging me. "Go easy on him," she whispers in my ear, and she kisses my cheek.

  "Thank you," he tells her when she gets close to him, "for keeping me in the loop tonight."

  "I didn’t think I had much choice in that matter," she tells him and then turns to me. "Call me as soon as you wake up tomorrow." I just nod at her as she looks back at Asher one last time and then walks out of the house.

  "Do you need anything?" Asher asks me, and I can see that his shirt is dirty and so are his jeans, and I wonder what he has been up to.

  "No," I say. "I’m fine." He just stands there with his hands on his hips, looking at me. "I don’t need anyone to look after me."

  "Why are you like this?" he asks, throwing up his hands. "Why can’t you just accept the help?" He runs his hands through his hair. His brown eyes looking almost black.

  "Because I learned a long time ago that I can only depend on myself." I wipe away the tear before it falls down my cheek. "I learned that the hard way." I swallow down the lump that was building up. "And I’ll never go through that again."

  Chapter 15

  Asher

  She looks straight in my eyes, her voice never wavering as she says the words that I know hurt her. "And I’ll never go through that again."

  I want to ask her all the questions, but I know there is a time and place for that, and it’s not that time. I also know that if she gives me her truth, I have to give her mine. "I have to take a shower," I say, looking down at myself. "Are you going to be okay for ten minutes?"

  "I’m going to bed," she says, sinking into her bed. "Can you turn off the lights out there?" she asks, and all I can do is nod at her. Even if I wanted to tell her no, the lump in my throat at seeing that she is okay stops me. I didn’t know what I would be walking in on. The last time I saw her, she looked scared.