Out of Reach (Love Hurts 2)

“See you then.”

“Yeah,” I said, closing my eyes and imagining her face. “See you then.”

***

At four on the dot, I pulled up outside Seth’s mom’s house. I’d barely slept, my mind running on overdrive trying to process all that was happening.

Exiting the car, I shivered and zipped up my thick black jacket. The street was quiet, with only the faint sound off traffic in the distance. In the darkness I could just make out Em waiting outside for me. I walked over to her. I didn’t notice the way her long hair rustled in the breeze. Or how pink her cheeks were from the cold. And I definitely didn’t notice how sexy she looked in her tight-fitting jeans and red wool jacket.

My throat tightened as she wrapped her arms around my neck, kissing me softly on the cheek. I inhaled slowly, taking in as much of her scent as I could. God, it felt so good having her in my arms.

“Ready?” I asked, pulling away from her.

She smiled and nodded. “Yep. We’re all packed and ready to go.” Her upbeat tone didn’t match the sadness in her eyes. What was she thinking? If she was like me, she probably couldn’t get it out of her head that this might be his last trip. Squeezing her hand, I wished I could take the pain away from her. But I couldn’t. There were no words, no actions that could make any of this okay.

I followed her in through the side door and down the hall to Andy’s room. He sat in his chair, waiting. His face lit up when he saw me, like he’d been waiting all night. He looked good—better than he had yesterday. Or maybe that was just the bad lighting in his room.

“Good, let’s get moving,” he said, rubbing his hands together. “So little time, so much planned.”

I laughed. I had no idea what he meant by that, and Andy being Andy, I probably didn’t want to know. I stepped behind him and pushed the chair forward. It jumped along the carpet, catching on a loose thread, nearly knocking Andy out of the seat.

“Dude,” he hissed. He reached down and released the brake on his chair. “Seriously. Have you never pushed one of these before?”

“Geez, excuse me for not knowing the ins and outs of your fucking chair,” I muttered as I pushed him down the hall. I was stressed enough as it was.

With every creak of the floorboards below us, my heart stopped as I waited for Deb to jump out and catch us. But it never happened. Soon we were standing by the car, Emily to my left, as we loaded Andy into the back seat of my Chrysler along with enough pillows and blankets to service a small motel. His hands gripped the grey vinyl material of the backseat as he struggled to position himself.

“Crap,” he cursed, fumbling in the pockets of his dark blue wool robe. He pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and thrust it into my hands. I glanced down, shocked at how cold his fingers were. They were like ice. “Can you leave this on the kitchen counter for me? I don’t want Mom to worry.” He looked away, like he was embarrassed for caring.

“Sure. I’ll be back in a second.”

Turning, I walked back up the path, the note in my hand as I snuck back inside the side door. Shuffling for my keys, I pulled them out and turned on the key-ring flashlight I’d bought and never used until now. Finally it was coming in handy. I was snooping, but I needed to know how much he was telling her. As soon as she realized we were gone, she would be calling an

d texting all three of us in a panic and I hd no idea how I was going to avoid speaking to her.

I placed the note on the counter, smoothing out the creases.

Mom,

Please don’t be angry with me. You know how much I love you and Dad, I just needed to do this. And please don’t be angry at Seth and Emily. You know I always get my way.

I love you.

Andy xx

I sighed and left the note. I still didn’t agree with what he was doing, but if he was going to do this, we were going to be by his side. He knew when he asked me, I couldn’t say no. I’d never been able to, even when we were kids. He’d guilt me into his stupid and random plans every fucking time. He was also stubborn enough to have just called a taxi and gone off somewhere alone, which would’ve meant Em and I chasing him across the country anyway. Besides, I knew that eventually Deb would forgive me.

I just wasn’t sure I’d forgive myself if he died without her being able to say goodbye.

Chapter Two

Emily

“Are you warm enough?” I tugged at the blankets covering Andy. I was cold. I wasn’t sure how he couldn’t be. He rolled his eyes and pushed the blankets back down, annoyed at my fussing.

“I’m fine, Em. Stop stressing,” he said. He reached up and traced along the side of my cheek. “You’re the one who’s cold. You’re shivering. Maybe you need some Andy loving to warm you up,” he teased, wiggling his eyebrows.

I leaned down to kiss him, forcing myself to smile at his joke. “No,” I said, putting my hands up to stop him as he tried to push one of the blankets onto me. “Just do what you’re told for once,” I muttered, kissing him on the nose.