The Crashing Series

by Kristen Hope Mazzola

  “Wow!”

  “Yeah. Oh and I am supposed to start helping Buck out at the office day after tomorrow. So this bedrest thing is going to be short-lived.”

  “I’ll talk to Buck. I’m sure he will extend your start date a few days after he finds out about all this.”

  We made our way through the double doors to find Cali’s car, which was parked right in front. She was yelling at a security guard, “No! I am not moving. My best friend was beat up and I am picking her up! She’ll be out any moment.”

  Walker locked the brakes of my wheelchair and jogged over to Cali’s side. The look of disgust she had for the security guard only grew when Walker came into her view. “Sir, we’re going to be leaving now. Sorry for the holdup. There was a delay in the pharmacy, but we’re leaving now.”

  The security guard grunted. “Hurry up. This is not a loading area. Emergency vehicles need this area cleared.”

  Mitch helped me into the car and Walker poked his head in to help me with my seatbelt. “Mitch, where’d you park my truck?”

  “It’s in the east parking garage. Section F3.”

  “Thanks for doing that, man.”

  “Yeah, no problem.”

  Walker’s hand rested on my shoulder as he turned back to look at me. “I am going to get my truck and meet y’all…” Walker’s eyes shot to Mitch’s and Cali’s.

  Cali spat quickly, “I’m taking her to Buck’s”

  Walker nodded. “Okay. See ya in a sec.”

  Cali’s grip tightened on the steering wheel as her eyes got wide. “No, you will not. Walker, what the fuck do you think this is?”

  “Cali, you’re taking me home and Walker will be meeting us there. We all have a lot to talk about. If you don’t want to stay, that’s up to you, but please take me home.”

  Through gritted teeth, Cali tried to sound calm. “Fine. We’ll go to Mags’ house. See you there.”

  Walker carefully kissed me on my broken cheek before shutting my door. I watched him jog to the parking garage, where Mitch had parked his truck. I was still mad at him but could not feel those emotions. All I could feel was the thankfulness that Walker had been there to save me. I had a warm, fuzzy feeling settling into the pit of my stomach that was rudely interrupted by Cali’s harsh tone.

  “Mags! What the hell?”

  “Cali! Come off it! He saved my fucking life. I know that it is not going to make up for everything, but come on.”

  For the rest of the hour car ride, we were silent. The silence was not awkward, it was nervous. There were so many things that were about to be said, and we all knew how difficult it all was about to be. We were about to walk right into the deepest part of our hell, the beginning of all the darkness that had been blanketing our lives for so long, and I wasn’t sure if we were all ready for it.

  Right as we pulled down my street, I froze. Jim was outside, unloading suitcases out of the trunk of his car. Liz was standing with him, grabbing a few things from the back seat. Right as they started to wave the car over, I wanted to vomit. There was no way to hide what had happened with Kris the night before from them. How was I supposed to explain that I had been on a date with another guy? As far as Randy’s parents were concerned, Walker and I were still madly in love and he was still reporting on orders in Georgia.

  “Mags, what should I do?” Cali’s voice sounded nervous as we approached my in-laws’ driveway.

  “You’re going to pull in and we’re going to have tea with Liz and Jim like we used to in college.”

  “But how will we explain all this shit?”

  “Just let me do the talking and do not spill the beans about Walker. He’ll be here soon. I’ll text him and let him know what is going on. I just don’t want their hearts to break again. They’ve already buried their son. We can’t ask them to carry any more burdens.”

  Mitch and Cali both took deep breaths and agreed right as we pulled into the driveway of two of the most kindhearted people we had ever known, and my stomach got queasy as I realized I was going to have to lie to them right to their faces.

  Before I got out of the car, I shot off a text message to Walker:

  Liz and Jim were outside when we pulled up. We’re going to go in and talk to them. Your secret is safe. I will handle this. Come here instead of my house please.

  I opened up the car door and slowly got out, watching Liz’s beaming smile fade into a horrified look as my phone vibrated in my hand with a text back from Walker:

  All right. Thank you. See ya in a sec.

  “Mags! Oh my word!” Liz’s shriek made me cringe as I walked up the driveway and onto the sweet-smelling, freshly mowed grass.

  “I got into a scuffle with someone I thought was a friend. I’ll be all right.” I let my head hang low. Eye contact was going to be too rough for me to muster.

  Jim jumped down and put a protective arm around my shoulder. “Let’s get you inside. Come on in, guys.”

  Cali and Mitch made their way over to us and we all trudged into the house. The familiar smell of orange cleaner and lavender whisked into my nostrils, helping my breathing level out and my mind ease; as far as safety went, Liz and Jim’s home was my safe house.

  Just after we took our seats around the living room, Walker walked in through the front door in a hurry, wide-eyed and looking around the room for me. He walked over to me, kissed my forehead, and hugged Liz, who was sitting right next to me with her hands intertwined in mine, before he shook Jim’s hand.

  “Sorry, I got caught at every frickin’ red light!” He took his seat on the other side of me, getting glared at by Cali, who was sitting on the loveseat next to Mitch.

  “Well, I guess I will clear this elephant in the room. I was out to dinner with a friend. At the end of the night, when he was supposed to just be dropping me off, he had other plans and tried to…ugh…” My voice caught in my throat as it went dry while trying to utter the last word.

  Cali chimed in. “Kris tried to assault Mags, but Walker was just getting home right in the nick of time.” She pulled her lips in and broke her death stare on Walker, starting to fumble with the seam on the couch cushion.

  Walker relaxed a little in the seat next to me and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. The feelings that started to shoot all the way through my body from where his arm was were nothing short of euphoric. Being in the company of so many loved ones with Walker by my side again just felt right, and I knew right then that it was supposed to be this way. We were dysfunctional, but add in Buck and my mom and we were a family.

  Right then, as I thought about my mom, guilt washed over me. “Cali.” I shifted to look over Walker at Cali directly. “I didn’t tell my mom about last night yet! She’s going to freak out if I don’t tell her.”

  Liz gently patted my thigh. “I’ll call her and invite her for supper. That way you won’t be alone.”

  Cali nodded at me. “Liz, I think that is the best way to tell Elena.”

  I nodded in agreement. “Thank you, Liz.”

  She got up and made her way into the kitchen to make the phone call while the rest of us sat in a thick, uncomfortable silence until Jim cleared his throat and began with questions I was not prepared to answer or hear, but such is life.

  “Walker, aren’t you supposed to be on orders or something? Usually you and Randy would be gone for at least a week.”

  Walker’s body got rigid again. “Yes, I have to report day after tomorrow, actually. I went up early to Georgia to take care of some stuff, dealin’ with my family and the station, but I couldn’t stand bein’ away from Mags for that long so I was coming home to surprise her when I saw a strange vehicle parked out front of the house and reacted.”

  Jim seemed satisfied with Walker’s story, and it really was the truth. He’d just left out the simple details of why he’d really left early and why he’d actually been coming home.

  Getting up from his chair, Jim walked over to the small bar to pour himself some brandy. “Well, you know what they
say. Everything happens for a reason. Thank God you freaking came back!”

  “Yes, sir. You got that right.” Walker’s drawl was thick as he tried to keep his tone level from the nerves I knew were coursing through his body.

  “Did you kill the bastard?”

  “No, sir, but I sure as shit tried. The cops showed up before I got the chance.”

  “I’m glad that jackass suffered. Mags, I’m so sorry that happened to you.”

  I nodded and slumped in the seat. “Thanks, Jim. I’ll be okay though.”

  “Oh, Jim, I can’t believe of all nights for us to be in St. Augustine.” Liz made her way back into the room and took her seat again, practically sitting on my lap.

  Jim nodded and held the brandy bottle up, asking everyone if they wanted to join him. We all shook our heads no, and he huffed back down into his recliner, rocking it a few times before taking a sip of his beverage.

  Liz and Jim took short trips up to St. Augustine or over to Tampa to get away every once in a blue moon. I was thankful they hadn’t been home last night to be awoken by the emergency response to my attack. Some things are just best not seen by loved ones.

  “How’d it go with Elena?” Mitch sounded like he was ten miles away, his voice reserved and broken. I knew that he did not know how to handle having Walker that close so casually with everything that had been going on, but he was doing a pretty good job of pretending.

  “Oh, right. She’ll be here in no time.”

  We all tried to make small talk about my starting to work with Buck soon, Walker having to leave again, and Cali’s pending divorce.

  “Mitch, how is Buck doing?” Liz’s round eyes softened as she made eye contact with Mitch’s broken gaze.

  “He’s hanging in there. This week we all went to a support group meeting for dealing with loss. I think he is taking all the right steps to handling this correctly.”

  “That’s wonderful. Maybe we can all plan dinner together again.”

  Cali chimed in meekly. “That’d be wonderful.”

  A knock bellowed from the front door and the doorbell chimed twice.

  “Oh joy. She’s here.”

  There was no way I wanted to have this conversation with anyone, but my mother, who knew about everything with Walker, was coming here and—oh shit! Will she keep her big mouth quiet?

  A panic rushed into my chest as I started to hyperventilate. “Walker, come with me to talk to my mom alone. I think it is only right she gets privacy when hearing about something like this.”

  He nodded and shot up to help me to my feet. When we got right behind the door, he leaned down to whisper, “Are ya sure we can handle this?”

  I nodded to him and leaned into his chest. “We have no choice; she could blow the lid off your cover.”

  Seventeen

  As my hand went for the doorknob, Walker grabbed my shoulder, squeezing firmly. “Why are you doing this, Mags?”

  I leaned into him, matching his hushed tone. “Doing what?”

  His eyes darted from his hand to my lips before he whispered, “Helping me.”

  The answer was so easy to think about in my head, but figuring out how to explain it was a complete mystery to me. It was natural, it was right, and it was what my heart wanted and my brain hated. All of the feelings I had for Walker summed up to my wanting to be close to him, to be protected by him, and in turn, to protect him.

  “Well, I’m crazy, I guess.”

  “I just don’t get ya sometimes, ya know that? Crazy is a good word for it.” His face finally allowed a smile to peek up briefly, showing off a little bit more of the twinkle in his emerald eyes.

  “I’m basically just a jumbled mess of love and hate for you. Luckily the love is winning right now.”

  His grip loosened as he leaned down and brushed his lips over my forehead. “Well then, let’s get this over with before that beautiful mind of yours convinces your heart to pick a different side.”

  My mom knocked feverishly again, and I took a deep breath. Here goes nothing. I opened the door and shoved Walker and myself through a sliver before slamming it shut behind me.

  My mom stood within inches of us, holding her hand over her mouth, her entire face red.

  “Mom, I know this is shocking. You have to let me talk first please.”

  She nodded her head, shuffling backward in her thong sandals to the porch’s edge to brace herself on the wooden railing.

  Walker walked over to the porch bench and took a seat, leaving me in the middle of them to fend for myself.

  “Let me start by explaining this.” I pointed to my face and let my gaze fall to the brown and red welcome mat lying at my feet. I told my mom about what had happened with Kris and how Walker had rescued me from the Shelby before too much damage could be done.

  “Thank you.” My mom’s voice was small as she attempted to look over at Walker, who was staring right at her.

  “It was what I had to do.”

  “Mom, I know that everything is really messed up and that a lot has happened, but I need you to not tell Liz and Jim about what happened with Randy.”

  Walker coughed and stood, pacing the small space of the porch. “Mags, I don’t know if I can live with this secret anymore.” His voice was breaking and weak.

  “Walker, there’s something you have to understand. This is not just to protect you. It is to protect two of the most kindhearted people we know. Don’t be selfish again and break their hearts all over just because you got a twinge of a conscience finally.”

  He spun around to look dead in my face as his mouth opened to speak, but nothing came out. We stared at each other for a few seconds. My gaze only broke when my mom cleared her throat to get my attention.

  “All right, so let me get this straight. We’re acting like we know nothing and Walker is a hero? Can I even react to the fact that my daughter was brutalized?”

  I hadn’t paid much attention to my mother’s reaction until she’d finally spoken. The pain in her voice was palpable as her eyes filled with tears.

  I took a seat next to her and laced my fingers in hers. “Mom, I know that we don’t always see eye to eye, but I need your help with this and I need you to stay strong. I am fine and that is thanks to Walker. This last year has been hell, and I want all the drama to be over. I want to finally be happy again.”

  “I understand, honey. Now let’s go inside and work on that. But, Walker, if you ever hurt our family like this again, especially by keeping secrets and running off like a coward, I swear, I will hurt you and blow this thing wide open.”

  “Yes, ma’am. I understand.”

  After a few deep breaths and a heartwarming hug from my mom, I mustered up enough energy to go back into the house. Liz and Jim were now sitting on the couch, Cali was in the kitchen fussing with some pots and pans, and Mitch was standing in the dining room on the phone. Liz got up and rushed over to my mom, taking her into a tight hug right away.

  Jim followed suit. “Elena, it’s always a pleasure. Sorry for the foul circumstances.”

  My mom hugged Jim quickly. “I’m just glad Mags is all right.”

  Liz ushered everyone into the living room as I made my way into the kitchen with Cali. “Hey, what’s up?”

  I could tell by the tone in her voice that something was really wrong. “I’m all right. Are you okay, though?”

  “Yeah, Mags. I’m dealing. It’s just all so much, ya know?”

  I nodded and started to help her peel potatoes. “What are you cooking?”

  “Oh, Liz put in a meatloaf that she whipped up while you were outside. I figured I could help make the sides.”

  “That was nice of you.”

  The corners of Cali’s lips turned down. “I just need to stay busy.”

  “I totally get that.”

  We peeled and chopped the rest of the potatoes in silence. Once they were all into the boiling water and the salad was prepped, Cali grabbed my hand. “How are you handing all of this?”
/>   “I think I might just be in shock. I really don’t know though.”

  Mitch walked into the kitchen, dipped a piece of lettuce in the ranch dressing I was ladling into a bowl, and threw it into his mouth. While still chewing, he looked up at me. “Dad’s freaking out about all this. He’s on his way.”

  “Ugh, I don’t want to worry him. I really am fine.”

  “I think it’s more about Walker. This is a huge fucked up mess.”

  “Yeah, you’re telling me. You think he’ll keep our secret?”

  Mitch nodded and grabbed Cali’s hand. “Dad understands why we’re doing this. He’ll keep it to himself.”

  We took our seats in the living room, where an uncomfortably choppy conversation about practically nothing was floating around the room.

  Sitting next to my mom felt so weird but comforting all at the same time. “So, Liz and you are in the same book club, right, Mom?”

  She nodded, taking a sip of the brandy Jim had just handed her.

  “Have you two read anything good lately?” Even though I couldn’t care less about that topic at that moment, it was a light conversation that seemed normal enough to distract everyone for a little while.

  “Actually, we just started a wonderful book by Mia Sheridan called Archer’s Voice. I’m almost done.”

  Liz chimed in as she got up to check on the meatloaf. “Oh me too! I cannot wait for our next meeting. This discussion is going to be amazing!”

  “I’m glad you’re part of a good group like that, Mom. It’s important to have friends.”

  “Mitch, how far is Buck? Dinner will be ready in a minute.”

  “He should be almost here.”

  With that, the doorbell rang and Buck walked in through the unlocked door. “Knock, knock!”

  “Come on in, Buck, and take a seat. You’re just in time for Liz’s famous meatloaf.” Jim yawned as he got up from his seat.

  “Well, it sure smells fantastic! I brought some wine.” Buck walked right over to Walker, set the plastic bag down onto the couch with a clank, and grabbed his open hand. “Well, isn’t this a nice surprise that you’re home for this short visit.”