“Reese,” her voice hit my ear with a chilling gravity.
It stopped me in my tracks. “What is it?”
“Fisher was in an accident on his motorcycle. He’s in surgery now. We don’t know the extent of his injuries yet. I just thought I’d let you know in case you wanted to say a prayer for him.”
“W-what?” I covered my mouth with my hand as tears instantly filled my eyes.
“I’ll let you know when he’s out of surgery … if he comes out of surgery.”
If …
“Okay?” she asked.
I nodded and pushed a tiny “okay” past the boulder in my throat.
After Rory ended the call, my phone and keys fell to the ground, cracking my screen. Sobs racked my body, one wave after another.
All I could see was his face. Those eyes. That wink. The smile he gave me just before he said something that made me blush.
“Are you going to kiss me?”
“I’m thinking about it.”
“A-are you m-mine?”
“You know the answer to that.”
“I’m trying so hard to not fall in love with you.”
“I know.”
I was okay … maybe not good … but I was okay not having Fisher in my life, but I wasn’t okay with him no longer being in this life. If that happened, I would never be good again.
Picking up my phone, I managed to bring up the number to the office where I had the interview. Canceled it and booked a flight to Denver.
When I arrived, I called Rory.
“No news yet. He’s still in surgery. Did your interview go okay?”
“I’m here in Denver, at the airport.”
“What?”
“What hospital is he at?”
“Reese, there’s nothing you can do. I was planning on calling you as soon as he got out of surgery and we knew more.”
“Mom!” It was a rare time of me calling her Mom instead of Rory. “What. Hospital?”
“I’ll come get you,” she said in a calmer tone before ending the call.
Forty-five minutes later, Rose climbed out of the passenger’s seat when they pulled up to the curb. “We’re all praying for him,” she whispered when she hugged me.
I blinked back the emotions burning my eyes and nodded in lieu of actual words.
When we arrived at the hospital, Fisher’s family and other familiar faces from work crowded the waiting room.
His parents and siblings.
Hailey.
Angie.
We shared a few sober “hellos” before I tucked myself in the far corner of the room with Rory and Rose. And then we waited. When the doctor came out, his parents and Angie gathered in a circle around him. A collective sigh of relief could be felt. It was good news. He made it through surgery.
When we determined only family would be allowed to see him later that night, I went home with Rose and Rory to their new house.
“You didn’t move that far.” I found a small grin when they pulled into the driveway of the home that was maybe three blocks from Fisher’s house.
“This was a foreclosure. We basically stole it. Works great. We find ourselves taking a walk several nights a week and still ending up at Fisher’s house, drinking beer and wine on his front porch or the back screened-in porch.” Rory shrugged, shutting off the car. “What can I say, he’s family. Only …” She frowned. “Not enough to get to see him tonight.”
Rose squeezed my mom’s leg. “We’ll see him tomorrow.”
Rory nodded.
We ordered dinner, but none of us were that hungry. Instead, we shared funny Fisher stories as if he was dead and we were reminiscing about his life.
“Oh…” Rory drained the rest of her wine “…how’d your interview go?”
I shook my head while pouring another glass of wine for myself. Finally, I was able to join the real adults in the room. “I canceled it. Told them it was a family emergency.”
“I was a little surprised when you called from the airport,” Rory said. “I know you two worked together for a while, and I joked about you acting like siblings, but when was the last time the two of you even spoke?”
Rose gave me a nervous glance. I considered just telling Rory about Fisher and me. I was nearly twenty-four—what would she have been able to say or do at that point? I’d moved on. He’d moved on.
For whatever reason, with him in the hospital and engaged, I opted to wait. Maybe until a better time. Maybe never. Did it matter any longer?
“I don’t know … it was weird. I mean … it’s been years since we’ve spoken, but when you told me, it hit me hard. I’m not sure why. And I didn’t even think; I just canceled my interview and got the first flight to Denver. Maybe it’s because I know how close you are to him.”
“I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to see you, even if the circumstances are crappy.”
I nodded slowly. Would he be thrilled to see me?