“What?” Reagan asked me, her eyes still glued to the makeout scene on the TV. I fumbled around the room trying to locate it.
“The note I wrote Luke. I didn’t give it to him. I had it in my hands when I left right?”
Reagan finally focused her eyes on me. “Let’s go check the van.” She said and I followed her out the front door. A cold burst of wind hit me and I shivered. Please be in here. I said looking up towards the sky.
I crawled around searching high and low but the note was nowhere to be found. “Maybe you dropped it walking to the car on your way out?” Reagan said, trying to be hopeful.
“Reagan it’s probably in Luke’s house.” I sighed very loudly.
“Well, it was meant for him anyway, right? You’re a great writer Sutton. I’m sure whatever you wrote is perfect.”
“Reagan I like poured my heart out into that letter. It was more for my own benefit honestly. If I needed it, I was just going to take some points from it, not read him the whole thing. I really was hopeful about the way we left things today but now I’m scared I ruined it.”
“Well let’s just give it some time and see what happens. Don’t jump to conclusions. I mean things have already been super crazy in your life lately I don’t think it can really get any worse.” She laughed.
“You’re probably right.” I moaned. “I am just so embarrassed. I basically gave a love letter to a stranger.”
“Now we just wait.”
Chapter 9:
For the next twenty-four hours, I sulked and I sulked hard. I spent my time laying around in all different areas of the house staring at my phone.
Reagan and Gia did their best to pull me out of my funk but my mom told them just to give me time to get through it. I didn’t want that to be the first and last time I saw Luke. I had so much to say and so many questions and I knew he had to have them too.
“We should have gotten the pies started already.” My Aunt Helen snarled. “We have one more day and then Thanksgiving is here. So much disorganization when your mother and I were kids, Lynn, our mother, had everything prepared the day before so we could just enjoy the day.”
I rolled my eyes and doodled on the shopping list we were working on. “Aunt Helen give her a break, her daughter just woke up from a coma for God sakes.” I blurted out.
Aunt Helen just stared at me. My mom shot me a look and I saw my dad peeking in the doorway giggling, giving me a thumbs up. I had much less of a filter since my accident but I was kind of starting to like it.
I had finally been distracting myself from worrying about what was going on with Luke. I had a life before coming to Coopersville and I realized I could do whatever I wanted when I got home.
I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. I quickly pulled it out and read the text that popped up on the screen. It was from a random number and it read:
Hey it’s Luke. Read your note and I’ve been thinking. Can you meet me at the Pizza Shack at 7?
My hands shook as I retyped my reply 10 times.
I’ll be there.
I texted back and hopped up from the table to find Reagan.
She and Shane were laying together on the hammock in the backyard. Shane was clearly asleep and snoring. She looked like she was dozing off too.
“Reagan” I whispered poking her in the side.
“Ouch. Yes?” She replied looking over at me.
“Luke,” I replied, handing her my phone. Her eyes lit up.
“Oh my gosh, are you freaking out?” She asked, her body spilling out of the hammock and coming to a standing position.
“I need to go shopping,” I said, pulling Reagan by the hand and heading off to find my dad. He was fixated on the football game on TV, with Gia napping with her feet in his lap.
I stood directly in front of him. “Can I help you, my beautiful daughter?” He asked, attempting to peer around me.
“Yes, you can. I only have one pair of jeans to wear here and I need something nice for Thanksgiving.”
My dad pulled his credit card out of his wallet. “Anything for you darling.” He handed it to me and I kissed him on the cheek.
Reagan and I decided to take my Jeep into town. I convinced my mom I was okay to drive and I got behind the wheel for the first time in months.
My daisy scented air freshener still hung from my mirror. I pulled it toward me and smelled it deeply. There was still a faint aroma radiating from it. I lifted open the middle console. The book I had been reading sat inside with my sunglasses placed directly on top. I pulled out the book and opened it up. I had used a tattered up receipt from the Ice Cream Hut as my bookmark.
For some reason it was still crazy to me that everything I had left at the beginning of the summer remained exactly how I had left it, untouched.
I reached down and pulled my seat belt across my body clicking it in. “You sure you don’t want me to drive?” Reagan asked, already gripping the handle that hung from the ceiling.
“What, you don’t think I’ll remember how to drive? Come on we all know I’m a good driver.” I replied. I grabbed the gear shift and reversed out of the driveway. Everything came back to me and it had been as if I’d been driving all along.
We pulled up to the only boutique in town and got out. The center looked much different than it had in June when I first arrived in Coopersville. I could still smell the saltwater in the air but that was about it. The sidewalks weren’t crowded with people and the hum that was once upbeat pop tunes was now Christmas music.
“Hello, welcome to Christys!” An older woman wearing way too much makeup shouted over at us. “Let me know if I can assist you in any way.” Reagan and I smiled at her and started to look around.
A few minutes later a girl who looked about our age came out of the backroom. She had her hair half up half down and was wearing a cute turtleneck sweater. She looked me up and down and continued to stare at me as she walked to the front desk. Then she whispered something to the older woman who had greeted us.
“Holy shit, Sutton, you’re famous.” Reagan laughed. I looked over to the woman and the girl talking quietly and looking over in my direction. I rolled my eyes and continued searching for clothes.
“Would you like to try something on?” The woman asked Reagan who was holding a pile of clothes for me.
“No thanks, I’m good, but maybe my friend does. She’s the coma girl. Can you believe she’s alive?” Reagan whispered to the woman.
I snorted out loud. I couldn’t believe she just said that. The woman looked at me with concern in her eyes. “Do you want to try this stuff on sweetie?” She asked, clearly embarrassed.
“Yes please,” I replied.
“Gema can you get these young ladies a room please?” The old woman said to the girl folding clothes on a shelf. She walked over and we followed her to a dressing room in the back.
“Good choices!” She said with a forced smile.
“Thanks!” I replied. “All my clothes are from summer. I just woke up from a coma so I’m a few months behind.” The girl looked shocked.
“Oh,” she forced a giggle. “Let me know if you need anything else.” She said before hurrying away as fast as she could.
I picked out two outfits and brought them to the counter. I decided we had tortured the employees enough for one day so I made sure to be polite while I made my purchases. The older woman rang me out and seemed visibly nervous. The younger girl must’ve been hiding in the backroom because she was nowhere to be found.
When we got back in the car Reagan patted me on the back for finally having “balls” and we laughed our asses off recalling the events that had just unfolded.
I got home and quickly got ready. I put on my new baggy sweater and some leggings to wear to meet Luke. I even pulled my hair half up and half down the same way the girl from the store was wearing hers.
“Are you driving there?” My dad asked me, standing in front of the crockpot, sneaking a taste of the stew my mom had made for dinner.
/> “I think I’m going to leave now and walk,” I replied.
“Are you sure Sutton?” My mom yelled from the bathroom where she was helping Aunt Helen wash up.
“If you’re not up to it don’t do it.” She added.
“I’m sure mom. I promise I’ll text when I get there and call if I need a ride home.” I walked up to my dad and he kissed me on my head. Then, I stuck my head in the bathroom and my mom planted one on my cheek.
“Good luck honey!” Aunt Helen bellowed.
I walked slowly to the boardwalk, thinking of all the possible outcomes. The good news was that Luke reached out to me. In all honesty, he didn’t even have to do that. The reality of the situation was that I was leaving Coopersville in four days. So whether Luke wanted to get to know me or not our time was clearly limited.
I walked up the ramp onto the boardwalk closest to the Pizza Shack. I sat at a table slightly to the right of the restaurant next to the ramp. I clicked my phone on. It was 6:57. Luke would be off of work any minute.
As soon as I looked up he was standing there in front of me. He smirked and greeted me pulling me into a side hug. He was wearing a long-sleeved red Pizza Shack t-shirt and khaki pants. He proceeded to ask how I was feeling and then took a seat at the other side of the table across from me.
I told him I was feeling okay and drummed my fingers on the table. I felt like a jittery ball of nerves. There was a short pause filled with silence. It felt like minutes had come by but I was pretty sure it had only been a few seconds.
Just then Luke broke the silence. “Okay, so I know my text to you was kind of vague, but I want to be completely honest with you and tell you what I’m thinking. When I saw that note sitting on my couch, I wasn’t sure what I was going to be reading, but I opened it and I read it. It was a lot, Sutton.”
Before he could continue Bianca came out of nowhere and put her hands over his eyes. Her dark hair hung onto Luke’s shoulder. “Guess who?” She said smacking her gum. “Holy shit,” she said out loud, noticing at me.
“I thought she was dead!” She said removing her hand from Luke’s eyes. I felt sick to my stomach. This wasn’t going how I wanted it to.
“Bianca, we’re in the middle of something here and that was uncalled for,” Luke said to her, clearly annoyed.
“Calm down, I was just saying. I’m glad you’re alive.” She forced a smile at me then looked back in Luke’s direction. “You better not be ditching me for the turkey trot tonight.” She pouted. “Don’t get any ideas; he’s my partner.” She kissed him on the cheek and winked at me scurrying off. I couldn’t shake the feeling that someone had punched me in the stomach.
“Sorry about that,” Luke said, clearing his throat. “We’ve been hanging out a little bit lately. My uncle is seeing her mom.” I tried to swallow the knot in my throat. I knew I was one step away from a complete breakdown.
“But right now I’m here for you.” Luke reached his hand out and placed it on top of mine. I was still as confused as ever.
“Anyways, as I was saying, I read the note and it was a lot, but I could feel the emotion in it. It- it felt like love.” I smiled as Luke laid the note out on the table between us. I looked down and tried to scan it. In the heat of the moment, I couldn’t recall what I had written so I tried to read it as quickly as possible.
I’m in love. I’m in love with the way you rub the back of your neck when you’re stressed. I’m in love with your signature smile. I’m in love with the way you shove French fries in your mouth and then carefully lick the salt of your fingers. I’m in love with the way you run your hands through your hair; the way you look at your grandma, with so much love in your eyes. It’s like a special twinkle in your eyes, which by the way are the most captivating eyes I’ve ever seen. I’m in love with the way you care about every single person you come across. The feeling of your lips against mine. The way you always hold my hand, while you’re driving. I’m in love and it’s supposed to feel good but it doesn’t. It doesn’t feel good because somehow, everything I know about you isn’t true. Somehow, we’ve never touched. Somehow, you’ve never actually whispered I love you in my ear. Somehow, the memories we’ve shared aren’t real but I would do anything to spend another moment in your arms. In my world, you’re mine, and I couldn’t imagine it any other way.
I looked up from the paper and saw tears in Luke’s eyes. He quickly lifted up his shirt to wipe them. “I just am in utter shock. It feels like you really know me, Sutton.” He said. I nodded getting teary-eyed as well.
The tears started to fall from Luke’s eyes. He leaned close to me over the table.
“Do you love me?” He cried. I gulped.
The last thing I wanted to do in this crazy situation was scaring Luke away but I felt the need to be completely honest with him. “I love you, Luke. I know everyone is telling me that I don’t know you but I really believe that I do and I am completely in love with the person I spent my summer with whether it was all one big dream or not.” I said, completely overwhelmed by my own emotions.
Luke gently grabbed my cheeks and pulled me towards him and kissed me. He kissed me gently and softly, but it made my whole body tremble. It was our first kiss, but it brought me back to all the kisses I remembered sharing in the past. I melted.
When Luke stopped kissing me, minutes must have passed. I sunk back in my chair and took a deep breath. I felt weak. “That felt so right.” Luke said tears still slowly streaming down his cheeks. I took a deep breath once again. “Are you feeling okay?” Luke asked quickly, concerned and pulling himself together.
“I just feel a little weak,” I replied, placing my cold palms against my flushed cheeks.
“I’ll be right back,” Luke shouted over his shoulder, already making his way into the Pizza Shack. I spent the short period he was gone taking deep breaths and trying to give myself an internal pep talk. The kiss had really thrown me off and now I was horrified I would get my hopes up. There was a chance there could be absolutely no future for Luke and I and I had to keep that in mind.
Seconds later he came back with two large cups of lemonade. He kept his eyes steady on me as he carried them carefully and set them down on the table. “Let’s get some sugar in you.” He smiled.
I sipped the lemonade and swished the ice chips around in my mouth. We sat in silence but Luke was still smiling just watching me. Finally he broke the silence once again.
“You were right about a lot of things.” He told me. “Maybe you learned a few things when I talked to you? I told you about my parents and why I was coming to visit you. Do you remember me telling you about the dreams?” He asked. I tried to think really hard, but again, my reality was different than his so I decided the best option was for me to shake my head no.
“When my dad was in a coma and my mom passed away, he had dreams about her. He had memories of their honeymoon together that hadn’t existed. Obviously, when you were in the coma I didn’t know you- you were dreaming about me.” He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. “But I was having dreams about you too. I saw you in the paper and I freaked out. I remembered seeing you on the boardwalk. You were in my dreams every night. It was you and my parents and everything was cryptic but I felt like they wanted me to go see you. So I did. And your family was so sweet and I talked to you all the time.” He explained gripping his cup of lemonade so tightly I thought the cap would pop off.
“The more I saw you in person the better I started to feel. My life started to go better too. My grandma started a trial medication for Alzheimer’s and it seems to be working. She’s happy and she’s aware. My uncle stopped the pills. He went to rehab for a month. He’s back and has a life. I applied for a scholarship to an EMT program and I got it. I got to go completely for free.”
“I’m so glad things have been going well for you.” I smiled at Luke and a feeling of genuine happiness overtook me.
Luke went on, apologizing for not coming to visit me in the hospital recently. He explained h
ow time-consuming EMT classes had been. He also explained he’d been working on top of it all trying to save up and figure out an apartment since his uncle was moving in with Bianca’s mom.
Hearing her name roll off Luke’s tongue made me ill. I tried to ignore those feelings and continue our conversation.“I understand completely.” I replied. “Life can be crazy.” I laughed. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Shoot,” Luke replied, folding his hands on the table in front of him.
“A girl who just woke from a coma tells you she knows you and loves you. Why are you even giving me the time of day?”
Luke giggled. “I’m different.” He replied. “I believe in shit. There are too many coincidences here for this not to be fate. You got in an accident on the same bridge as my parents. My dad dreamed about my mom while he was in a coma. You dreamed about me. I dreamed about you. I don’t know Sutton, I feel like my parents sent you to me or something. I know it’s weird.” He sighed and cracked his knuckles.
“I wouldn’t doubt that.” I smiled. Luke leaned in again about to kiss me when I noticed something behind me.
Two people were sitting side by side at the table just a few feet away. I recognized them right away. Reagan was wearing large round sunglasses with a tag still hanging off of them, hiding behind a menu. Shane was perched beside her wearing a fake mustache and a hoodie.
Just inches from my face I whispered to Luke. “My friends are behind us watching.”
“Then let’s give them a show.” He replied, about to kiss me again, when his phone rang. Luke stood up and grabbed it from his pocket. I flipped Reagan off and she mouthed “shit” sinking down in her seat.
“Yeah. Well is she okay?” Luke said concern in his eyes. “I’ll be right there.”
“Is everything okay?” I asked as he hung up his phone.
“Poppy got into something. She’s not acting right. I need to get home.” He explained shoving his phone into his pocket clearly in a hurry.
“Do you want me to come with you?” I asked, nervous to hear his response.
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