Chapter Thirty-Four
Trying in vain to gain some distance between us, I stepped back, but Reece was there preventing me from moving any further. He gripped my arms and the tension in his hold told me he had an idea as to what was going on.
“You were the one calling me,” I accused.
“I...I...” Her head shook. “You should have stayed gone. Things were getting better. Then Colin said he saw you at school. You shouldn't have been here.” Her voice lowered to a whisper and her free hand played with her jacket zipper. She continued mumbling to herself and I prayed for Colin to hurry.
“I have to get rid of you. I have to. You can’t have Colin, too.” She stepped closer and I started to realize just how seriously disturbed she was. Colin had never liked talking about how she was doing, but this was beyond acting strange.
“Just relax, Donna. Colin is on his way here right now. You can talk to him.”
“Shut up, just shut up!”
“Mom?” Colin appeared in the doorway behind her, confusion creasing his face.
Donna swiveled so she could see all of us at once.
Reece held up my cell phone for Colin to see. “The cops are on their way.”
“Mom, calm down.” Colin spoke softly and I wondered if he'd seen her like this before. “Hurting Dani isn't going to solve anything.”
“It will, I know it will. She has to pay. She was supposed to be a good girl, but she took him from me. She's going to try and take you, too.”
“She didn't make Dad go away. That was him. You remember, right?” He inched closer. “He hurt Samantha and he ran. Dani didn't have anything to do with him leaving.”
Donna turned to me, her eyes glazed in a kind of crazy glow. “It doesn't matter. He'll never come back, and now she’s going to take you away. I won’t let her.”
She lunged at me with fists raised. Before I could move, Reece was pushing me out of the way. Donna stumbled and hit Reece. The two of them crashed into a side table knocking over a massive glass vase. The shattering of glass was muted by the thump of their tangled bodies as they landed on top of it. Reece grunted and pushed her away. He staggered to his feet, putting himself in front of me. Colin stood dazed, staring at his mother in horror.
Donna pulled herself up with a hand on the banister then came at us a second time. Colin struggled to grab her from behind, but she wormed out of his grasp and charged yet again. Reece hesitated only a second before balling up his fist and punching her in the face. A dull thud echoed through the foyer as she dropped to the floor, her head hitting the hard wood with a sickening crack. I scampered back trying to put some distance between Donna and myself.
I glanced at Reece, relief flooding me. He met my gaze with a grimace, his hand going to his side. He sucked in a quick breath and lifted his hand. Vibrant red coated his fingers. His eyes came back to mine right before he collapsed backwards.
Within a second, I was over him, frantically trying to see if he was alive.
“Reece? Say something, please?” Hysteria filled my voice. I tried to find a pulse at his neck, but my hands trembled so much I couldn’t tell if I’d found the beat or if I was imagining it.
I pushed his t-shirt up trying to locate his wound. Blood seemed to be coming from everywhere. Just like Jace. Jace’s white shirt soaked in blood, a vivid red flower blooming as I watched. Gasps and sobs of pain floated through the air to me. Jace’s. Reece’s. He was alive.
His eyelids fluttered open, but they didn't look like Jace's eyes. They were Reece’s. My reflection stared back at me in the glassy surfaces. I could barely see the soft brown of his eyes for the large black pupils. I squeezed my eyes closed trying to clear the memories that were invading, confusing me between the past and the present.
“You okay?” His words were stilted, coming through between his gasps.
“I’m fine, but…” I couldn’t say it. Saying it would make this chaos more real. I'd seen blood before. His shirt was saturated, and with each frantic beat of his heart, more pulsed out. Jace’s heart – no, this was Reece. It was different. Reece wouldn’t die. I needed him. A sob burst from my lips as panic flooded me.
“Hey, I'm gonna be fine. It just hurts a bit.”
Tears rolled down my face and splashed onto his pale cheeks. I didn't believe him, but he wanted me to.
“Will you sing to me? I love hearing you sing.”
His words were nearly an echo of Jace’s. Jace promised to sleep. I knew he wouldn't sleep, but I could pretend. He taught me how to pretend when Daddy pushed me down the stairs and broke my arm. This time I pretended Jace -Reece was going to be fine. I pretended for him.
“Dani,” Reece said, pulling me back. He looked down at where my hand pressed against his cut. His eyes closed and I rested my head lightly on his chest feeling the unsteady up and down rhythm.
“You held my hand, brushed my cheek. You touched my skin, kissed my lips. Every dream I had came to life in that one moment. I watched you walk away, down that path, wondering if I'd see your smile again. Now I know you're with me. You'll never leave, never leave me.” Heaving sobs wracked my body. “Just spend one more moment, forever in my arms. Then I'll let you go.”
He didn't hear my song, my plea. His eyes were closed and I couldn't feel his chest rising.
The wails of police sirens drowned out my cries and the screaming cars pulled up to the house. Everything became a blur. Colin pulled me off of Reece, so the EMTs could work on him.
“Oh, God, there was so much blood. He can’t die. He can’t!” I fell into Colin’s arms too drained to hold myself up.
Chapter Thirty-Five
What had ever made me think hospitals were a great place? Once they'd offered me comfort in knowing that the sick were healing, but this was different. This time it was Reece. I pressed my forehead to the cold glass of the window and stared out into the emergency drive up lane. Eight ambulances had come and gone and still I didn't know anything about Reece. Mrs. Tyler had appeared almost an hour ago, but she'd disappeared into the back where only family got to go.
“He's gonna be all right, Dani,” Colin said from behind me.
I turned to look at him, trying to gauge whether he really believed that. I wanted to, but there'd been so much blood. I'd prayed every moment since the ambulance carried him away, and as much as I believed in miracles, I knew that not all prayers were answered the way you wanted them to be.
Questions from the police had distracted me for a time, but even those eventually led back to Reece. Once our statements had been recorded, Colin had driven me to the hospital, only to be told we’d have to wait.
“He said he'd love me forever.” Tears streamed down my face and I twisted my back to him again. “Forever should be a long time, Colin. It can't end today.”
Arms encircled me and I leaned back into the warmth of him.
“It's not fair.”
“I know it's not.” Regret and pain filled the air between us. “I'm sorry, Dani.”
I sniffled then drew in a deep breath. Self-pity, whether from me or Colin, wasn't going to save Reece, nor would it undo what had happened.
“It wasn't your fault.”
“I knew there was something wrong with her. I should have done something...”
“Like what, Colin? She's your mother.” I gave a short laugh. “My mom was never Mother of the Year or even a nominee, but I loved her and it took me years to realize she was beyond my help. Besides it’s not like your mom was trying to kill us.” Just me.
“Still, I could-”
“Dani?” Mrs. Tyler's voice cut off Colin's self-recriminations.
“Is he okay? Is he alive?” I rushed her, barely stopping myself from grabbing and shaking her. What had taken so long for her to come out?
“He's been asking for you.” She smiled and some of my anxiety faded. I followed her down the hall and found Reece sitting on a gurney in a small, curtain enclosed area. His blood soaked shirt sat beside him and a large square
bandage sat over the wound.
I ran to him, wanting to crush him against me, but at the last moment I pulled up short, worried I'd hurt him. When I stood only a foot away, he reached an arm out, encircled me, and curled me up to his chest.
“I'm fine,” he reassured me. “Really,” he added when I pulled back to give him a doubt filled look.
“How bad is it, man?” Colin asked, coming up to give Reece a pat on his shoulder.
“I'm fine.” His tone was a bit terse and a pink tinge filled his cheeks.
Colin gave him a curious stare, raising an eyebrow. “If you're fine, then how come you were passed out cold on the ground, man? We thought you were dead or about as close to dead as you could come while still breathing.”
The pink flush became a full-blown red as his mom gave a short laugh from behind us. Reece shot her a glare then gave us a half smile.
“I saw the blood, and I guess I just passed out.”
“You fainted? Reece Tyler fainted at the sight of a little blood?!” Colin burst out laughing and Reece groaned. He'd probably never hear the end of it. Knowing Colin, he'd enjoy tormenting Reece with that little detail for a long time. I couldn't help but joining in with his laughter, more from relief that Reece was okay than in humor. Reece gave a chuckle as well followed by a quick inhale of breath as it tugged at his cut.
“So, you're really all right?”
“Yes, it's just a few stitches,” he said, rolling his eyes even as his smile told me he liked me worrying about him. “The glass didn't get deep enough to do any serious damage.”
Colin sobered up at the reminder of what his mother had done. “I'm real sorry, Reece. I never thought she'd do something like this.”
Reece nodded then held out his hand and Colin grasped it. They let go quickly and looked away. This may not have hurt their relationship, but it wasn't going to make it any easier for them to become friends. If I wanted that, it was going to take a lot of work and a girl for Colin.
“What happened to Laura?” I asked, suddenly remembering Colin had been on a date.
“She was going to catch a ride home with Jenn and Trace.” Now it was his turn to blush. “I told her I'd call her in the morning.”
Light conversation filled the air as we waited for Reece's doctor to return with his prescription for a painkiller. Reece headed for the restroom and Colin followed behind at Mrs. Tyler urging. She was worried he was still a bit woozy.
I stood there holding Reece's shirt in clenched fists. The blood had dried, and it was cut into multiple pieces.
Mrs. Tyler cleared her throat and I looked up at her. I'd avoided talking to her ever since the phone call. Not an easy task when I'd gone with Reece to pick her up at the airport. Now I didn't know what to say.
“I brought in one of his clean ones from his gym bag. He's been bringing it to the hospital, so when he goes to visit Gregg...” She shrugged, and pulled the shirt from her purse, then held it out to me.
I gripped the pieces of the bloodied shirt tightly for a moment, then placed them on the counter, glad that I could put some of this evening away from me. Taking the shirt from her, I flashed a short smile. The fabric was still cool from being in the car all day.
“Thank you,” she said, startling me. Her hands smoothed down the sides of her jacket. Her pale face colored as she gave me a tentative smile. “Thank you for giving me my boys back. I'd somehow managed to lose sight of how precious they are, even after Tessa... well, that just made it harder to see them.”
Silently, I nodded. She'd done what I'd always wanted Mama to do - to return to the present and love her child above herself. My head continued to bob, long after she'd looked away. Reece and Colin came back and I handed Reece his shirt, then helped him lift it over his head.
Mrs. Tyler went ahead to pull her car up to the entrance and Colin decided to take off. He said he was going home, but I knew he was going to try and find out what was going to happen to his mom. He'd come with me to the hospital mainly because he'd needed to reassure himself that she hadn't killed Reece.
I wanted to believe that the events of the night wouldn't change our friendship, but if I had learned anything since the night of Homecoming it was that friendships were precarious, and that no matter how I felt, I couldn't keep things the same just by willing it. Colin would always have the knowledge in the back of his mind that his Mom had the capability to kill someone.
Reece and I sat on a bench just inside the automatic doors. I tilted my head and pressed it to his shoulder. Every bone in my body threatened to turn to liquid. It was nearly two in the morning and I knew I'd be facing the Spanish Inquisition when Martha and Paul got a hold of me. I'd left a message for them on the cruise ship, hoping that by the time they got it, it would be too late for them to come home.
Reece's weight shifted and he yawned as he started to lean more heavily against me. His eyes closed in exhaustion and I felt my own begin to drift shut as I remembered another trip we'd taken to the emergency room.
Before I found myself floating completely into my memories, I forced my eyes open. I'd spent so much of my life recalling the past, living in it, and living by it. Tonight had shown me just how little time I could have with Reece and I refused to be stuck in the past. As much as I loved Jace and even Mom and Dad, it was time I lived in the present.
I lifted my head and pressed Reece's head into the crook of my neck. I'd love him forever and I was determined that I wouldn't waste another minute dwelling on what could have or should have been. Forever was now.
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Songbird Page 19