by B. B. Hamel
“I know, honey. It’s okay. It’s not your fault. It’s nobody’s fault.”
“What happened?” I ask her, desperate for an explanation.
She sighs, shaking her head. “I don’t know much yet. Apparently, his truck was found by a trucker in the middle of the night. If that guy hadn’t found him, Lucas would be dead.”
“Is he going to live?” I ask her.
“It looks that way,” she says, and relief floods my body. “He hasn’t woken up from surgery yet. They had to fix a lot of his bones. But I think he’s going to live.”
I fight back tears again. “Do you know how it happened?” I ask her.
“Nobody knows,” she says. “There was a tiny bit of alcohol in his blood, but it was under the legal limit. Apparently there are some strange marks on his bumpers, and the police seem to think there may have been someone else involved, but they’re not sure. Right now, we won’t know until he wakes up.”
Cold fear runs through my veins, and I suddenly know what happened.
I can’t be sure, of course, but part of me feels like I just know. There’s a part of me that’s positive the Carters did this to him. I don’t know how, but deep inside of me, I just know.
Noah starts to get fussy so Alice stands and walks over to him. “I’ll leave you alone with him for a bit while I walk Noah around,” she says. “You okay with that?”
I nod to her. “Thank you.”
She picks up Noah. “Listen, honey. This isn’t your fault, okay? It really isn’t.”
I nod at her, not really listening. She touches my shoulder then heads out.
This is my fault. She doesn’t know it, but it is. If it weren’t for me getting involved with Caleb and Lucas at the same time, none of this would have happened. It’s my fault that I went between the two and thought I could get involved with a dangerous man like Caleb. It’s my fault that he was over my house, and now he’s paying the price for my stupid mistakes.
If Lucas dies or doesn’t fully recover, I don’t know what I’m going to do. I’ll be a broken person for the rest of my life, and I deserve to be. I don’t deserve a man like Lucas, because I’m a bad person.
I take his hand, sitting there and watching him breathe, terrified that he’ll never wake up. If he doesn’t, that means I killed him. I got him killed. All because I’m a stupid, foolish girl.
I should never have brought him into this. I should have lived with my mistake with Caleb, or at least stood up to him myself. But because of my weakness, Lucas is lying in this hospital bed, maybe dying.
I don’t know how long I sit there for. Alice leaves and I’m alone with my thoughts, Lucas breathing slowly but surely. I don’t know if he’ll ever wake up, or if I’ll be alone here forever, a lost and destroyed person.
I can’t seem to see things straight. I cry again, though I’m not sure for how long. I’m in there, staring at Lucas, when a knock at the door pulls me out of my mind.
A nurse steps inside. “Are you Mia?” she asks me.
I stands up. “Yes,” I say. “Is everything okay?”
“A young man is looking for you,” she says. “He’s just out here.” The nurse smiles and disappears.
I frown, not sure what this is. Maybe it’s Josh, Lucas’s friend. I step outside, expecting to see him, but instead I’m confronted with Caleb Carter.
His face is a mess. Lucas really beat the hell out of him. Both of his eyes are black, and he has a bandage on his nose, more like a splint. But he’s conscious and standing here, looking at me, while Lucas is in there.
“How dare you come here,” I say to him.
“Hold on,” he answers. “Just hear me out, Mia.”
“You fucking bastard.” I step toward him, rage flowing through me. “You did this to him, didn’t you? You did this.”
He takes a step back, looking confused. “What are you talking about?”
“Lucas is in there, maybe dying. Someone ran his truck off the road. And I know it was you.”
Understanding blooms across his face. “Mia—“:
“No, you asshole. No. I’m done with you.”
“I never wanted it to come to this,” he says, and for a second I believe him.
“Get out,” I say softly. “Go away and never come back.”
“Mia—“
“Get out!” I scream at him and hit his chest, shoving him away. He stumbles back, his eyes wide.
“I never meant to hurt you,” he says quickly. “Things got out of hand. I deserve what Lucas did to me, I’m so sorry—“
“Get out!” I scream again and shove him harder.
People are staring now, but I don’t care. It doesn’t matter to me. The only thing I can think about is hurting Caleb and making him go away. I can’t stand to see him for another second, not when Lucas is lying so close, unconscious and maybe dying because of that bastard.
“Never come back!” I scream. I hit him, swinging wildly, and he stumbles back away from me, eyes wide.
People come at us, doctors and nurses. Someone grabs me, but I’m in a rage, and I can barely think. I’m pulled away from Caleb and he leaves as fast as he can, trailed by two nurses.
People are talking to me, calming me down, but I don’t hear anything. When they finally let me go, I just turn and go back into Lucas’s room. I sink down to my knees, take Lucas’s hand, and I wait.
He says he’ll protect me. I believe him. But now I’m going to protect him, too. I may be to blame for his accident, but I’m going to make it up to him somehow. I’m going to keep those bastard Carters away from him at the very least. If they ever come around here again, I’ll kill them.
I’ll kill them with my own bare hands.
25
Lucas
I don’t know where I am.
I hear metal crunching, glass breaking. I hear voices and engines. I hear machines, beeping, more voices, more engines, more beeping. For a while, it all goes quiet.
And then I hear Noah. He’s crying and Alice is there. She’s calming him down. I don’t know where I am. I hear voices, more voices, and more machines. I feel a hand, I hear Noah, I hear Mia. I hear Mia screaming. I feel another hand, more machines, hours must pass. I don’t know where I am.
And then slowly, the world comes back to me. I open my eyes and it feels blurry, like it’s filtered and warped. I blink and groan. My whole goddamn body is in pain. I feel like that time an IED went off near our convoy and my ass got blown halfway across fucking Syria.
I groan and try sitting up, but someone stops me. It takes a little while before I can focus enough to see Mia there, looking at me with this concerned expression.
“Hey,” I say to her. My voice sounds like I haven’t spoken in awhile.
“You’re awake.” She looks like she’s about to cry.
“Yeah. Where am I?”
“You’re in the hospital,” she says. “Lucas, I’m so happy you’re awake.” She squeezes my hand and I squeeze back.
Everything hurts. I look around.
“Alice took Noah home for a nap,” Mia says. “She hasn’t left your side.”
“How long have I been here?”
“You’ve been asleep for almost a day,” she says. “What do you remember?”
“Leaving your place,” I say, trying to think. I can see walking to my truck, turning it on, and driving. Then things get hazy. I see headlights… big headlights… filling my rearview mirror.
“Someone was following me,” I say softly. “When I left your house. Someone was driving too close.”
“Who?” she asks, leaning toward me. “Who was it, Lucas?”
“I don’t know,” I say. There’s a gap in my memory, a blank. I just can’t see it.
She frowns, looking disappointed. She takes my hand. “I’m so sorry, Lucas.”
“For what?”
“This is my fault.”
I look at her and shake my head. “It’s not so bad. I’ve had worse.”
“You
broke your arm. And some ribs. And you had some internal bleeding. You almost died.”
“My legs okay?” I ask her.
She pauses. “Yeah,” she says.
“Then it’s fine. I’ll walk.”
She sighs. “Lucas, it was the Carters. I know it was them. And it wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for me.”
“Maybe,” I say slowly. “But I can’t remember.”
“The police suspect something bad happened. They said you might remember.”
I look at her and suddenly something comes back to me. It’s not about that night, but about my truck.
“There’s a camera,” I say.
She pauses. “What?”
“On my dashboard. Did the cops check my truck yet? Did they get a warrant?”
She frowns a little. “I don’t know,” she admits.”
“Find out,” I say. “If they didn’t, there might be a chance.”
“A chance for what?”
I grin at her. “To fucking nail those Carters.”
She looks at me, not totally understanding, but that’s okay.
I don’t know it was them. But if it was, I need to keep that camera out of the hands of the cops. If it’s only been a day, there still might be time. They might not have checked the truck over closely yet. If they only suspect foul play, they’re probably not in a big hurry to spend money and resources going over the vehicle in detail, at least until they talk to me first and confirm the theory.
I’ll have to stall them. If that dashboard camera shows the Carter boys running me off the road, it might get buried. I’m not naïve enough to think that the police would do the right thing and arrest those bastards. I’m sure that the cops are in the pocket of the Carters.
“What are you talking about?” she asks me after a moment. “Should I get a nurse?”
“No,” I say. “Well, yes, but wait. Listen. If the cops get that camera and it shows the Carters, they might try to bury it. You know they’re corrupt.”
She nods a little. “So what do we do?”
“Find my truck,” I say. “Find out what storage facility has it. Then bribe someone to go look in there. You can’t just go in since you’re not family. Tell them that I left something in there that you really need, I don’t know, think up something good. And then take that camera.”
“What will we do with it?” she asks. “The police can help us, Lucas.”
“Maybe,” I say. “First, we’ll make a copy. And then we’ll let them help us.”
She sighs and squeezes my hand. “Okay, whatever you want.”
She has a strange look on her face and I narrow my eyes are her. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She looks away quickly.
“Mia. Is it my son, is my son okay?”
“He’s fine,” she says quickly, looking back, eyes wide. “He’s totally fine. He’s with Alice right now. They’re coming back soon.”
“Okay.” I let out a sigh and groan a little bit. Pain starts to eat in at the edges of my mind. “What’s wrong?”
Suddenly, she drops to her knees and buries her face in my arm. She starts crying, really sobbing, and I’m totally taken off guard.
“Whoa, Mia,” I say. “It’s okay. It’s okay.” I stroke her hair as best I can. She clings to my hand, her face buried against my side, and I have no clue what the hell she’s crying about.
Slowly, she lifts her face and looks at me, trying to get herself together. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay.” I smile at her and touch her face gently, wiping away her tears. “You’re just stressed.”
“No. I mean, for everything. This is all my fault.”
I cock my head at her then laugh. “This isn’t your fault at all.”
“If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t be in this mess.”
“Not exactly.”
“Lucas.” She stares at me hard, clearly barely holding herself together. “If I hadn’t gotten involved with Caleb… if you had stayed away from me… you wouldn’t be here.”
I sigh, shaking my head, and wince at the pain. “Listen to me, this isn’t your fault. Do you hear? It’s not your fault.”
“Yes, it is.”
“Mia. I slashed Dylan Carter’s tires, and when he came to my house to get revenge, I pulled a gun on him. Then I beat the fucking hell out of his brother. I brought this on myself.” He pauses and sighs. “Besides, we don’t even know if it was them.”
She stares at me for a second. “You slashed Dylan’s tires?”
“I know. It’s immature and stupid, but I was angry. I saw you with Caleb, and I couldn’t handle it. I had to get revenge on them. Unfortunately, I got revenge on the wrong Carter. But anyway, I got angry, and I’m working on that.”
“Still,” she says, chewing her lip. “You wouldn’t have done that if I just stayed away from the Carters like I wanted to.”
“I’m an adult, Mia. I make my own choices. I knew they were dangerous, but I didn’t care. Hey,” I take her hand and squeeze. “This isn’t your fault. If they did this to me, then I caused it, not you.”
“I know it was them.” She looks at the ground. “And I think it’s my fault.”
“What do you need to hear? That I forgive you? Because I do. There’s nothing to forgive, but I’ll forgive you anyway. It’s not your fault.”
“Lucas, you almost died.”
I laugh a little bit. “I’ve had worse. Come here.” I pull her hand and she comes down toward me. I kiss her softly on the lips, sitting up as much as I can before the pain stops me. She kisses me back softly before pushing me down against the bed.
“Stop trying to place blame on yourself,” I say to her softly. “You’re my girl now, right?”
She nods. “Yes, Daddy.”
I grin, joy spreading through my limbs, dulling the pain. “God, I love hearing you say that.”
She blushes and looks away. “I like saying it more than I thought I would.”
“Listen, get that camera. We can beat this and get away from those bastards, but we need that video. Okay?”
She nods at me, looking resolute. “Okay.”
“Go now. Right now.”
“I’ll tell Alice you’re awake and to bring Noah.”
I grin a little bit. “That’s okay, no need to tell them to rush.”
She raises an eyebrow. “Why?”
I press the nurse call button. “Because I’m going to request those good drugs and maybe get some more sleep.”
She laughs softly and kisses my lips. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“Good. You can do it.”
She nods, turns, and leaves the room.
I watch her go, smiling to myself. I’m not shocked that she blames herself, but it just underscores really how much she cares bout me. I know asking her to get that camera is no small task, but we need the footage before the cops can get it. Without it, this all might get swept up under the rug, and the Carters will never back off.
The nurse comes soon and they run some tests on me. Eventually I do get those good drugs, which make me fall asleep before Noah and Alice come. But all the while, I’m thinking about Mia and what my future with her is going to bring, and I can’t help but feel optimistic for the first time in a long time.
26
Mia
There is one car storage facility in the whole town, which is pretty nice. Having a small town can be pretty beneficial sometimes. If this were a big city, I’d be running around checking places all day at least.
Roy’s Towing is an auto shop and junkyard on the east side of town. It’s a pretty large property, and I only know about it because I parked illegally once two years ago and got towed here. I’m assuming this is where they towed Lucas’s truck after the accident, especially if they’re not sure if it’s foul play or not. I doubt it would be with the police, or at least Lucas doesn’t think it would be.
I walk into the main building. Roy’s is pretty
run down. The calendar on the wall showing busty women in tiny bikinis is two years old and everything looks like it has a thin layer of motor grease and grime all over it. Stickers for auto parts and supplies places are plastered all over the walls, and the computer is at least ten years old.
I ring a bell and wait. The place looks totally empty, but the sign on the door said they were open. It takes a few minutes and another ring of the bell before an older man, graying hair and round in the middle, comes ambling from the back room.
“Yes, I heard you,” he says, coming up. He puts on his glasses. He’s wearing a black sweatshirt and tattered jeans with oil stains all over them. He looks at me through his glasses. “What can I do for you?”
“Hi, I’m actually looking for a truck that was brought in recently.”
He leans against the counter. “Be a little more specific.”
I flush slightly. “It’s a black Ford truck. It was in an accident recently, was probably brought in here.”
He nods slowly. “I think I got the one you mean. Had that Baker boy driving, yeah?”
“Lucas,” I say. “How’d you know?”
“Small town, girl.” He crosses his arms, eyeing me. “That probably makes you Mia Hayes, now doesn’t it?”
I gape at him. “How’d you know that?”
“Small town.” He shrugs. “I’m Roy himself, if you weren’t sure. And I got that truck here.”
I bright a little bit. “That’s great! Is there any way I can see it?”
He pauses for a second. “Why would you want to do that? It’s pretty beat up.”
“I left something in there. My uh, my work papers. Important ones. For my job.” I smile at him sweetly but inside I feel like a freaking idiot. There’s no way he’s going to buy this.
He frowns at me. “I don’t remember anything like that,” he says. “You sure about that?”
“Very sure.”
He sighs. “I don’t think so. Can’t let you back there. Cops want to take a look at it, haven’t called it a crime scene yet, but they’re gonna. And I’ll be in deep shit if I let you in.”
I start to sweat slightly. I’m pretty sure he can’t legally keep me from the truck, but I’m not positive. Because the cops are involved, I know things are a little up in the air. I don’t want to push it and make things harder. I know I have to move on to Plan B. I reach into my back pocket and take out fifty dollars. I put it on the counter and slide it to him. He watches the money with a raised eyebrow.