The waiting room was silent again once Mr. Anderson went back to see Hudson. I was torn between wanting to see him and scared of what I would actually see when my turn came. I tried to regain my composure. I didn’t want to be a sobbing mess when Mr. Anderson returned, but I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to hold back tears when I finally got to see Hudson. That was going to be one of the hardest experiences of my life. Mr. Anderson didn’t stay long, and he was crying when he walked back through the door. I didn’t wait for them to decide who would go back next. I stood to my feet and started walking towards the door, summoning every bit of courage that I could muster as I followed the doctor.
“Have you been dating very long?” The doctor looked over his shoulder at me.
“No, but we’ve known each other since high school…” My words trailed off as I saw Hudson through the window. “Oh my god…”
“I wish I could let you go back there, but it’ll be a few days before I can do that.” The doctor sighed.
Hudson’s eyes were closed and there was a tube in his mouth. His head was wrapped, but I could see blood on the top of the bandages. If there was any part of my heart that hadn’t been shattered when I heard what happened, seeing him broke what was left. My knees got weak, so I put my hand on the window to support myself. I wanted to hold his hand, even if he didn’t know I was there. I wanted to scream at him to wake up, just so I could see life in his eyes if they opened. All I could do was walk away with tears in my eyes. Melanie helped me back to my seat once I was in the waiting room. Preston walked back and was gone for a few minutes. When he returned, he had tears in his eyes as well. We sat in silence for a while, but my thoughts were spinning out of control. I needed answers and I was pretty sure we were all thinking the same thing, even if nobody had said it yet. I finally found the courage to speak after I had been sitting there in silence for nearly an hour after seeing Hudson.
“This has to be Mayor Stevenson, right?” I looked around the room. “There’s no way this was an accident.”
“We talked about that before you go here.” Preston lifted his head. “There’s no way to know for sure until Hudson wakes up.”
“I’ve known Mayor Stevenson for a long time.” Mr. Anderson looked over at me. “He’s never hurt anyone like this…”
“Not physically.” The woman who had been introduced as Mr. Anderson’s girlfriend, Jenny, shook her head. “He is a cruel and vicious man, but I can’t see him doing something like this.”
The emergency room doors opened and an older man I didn’t recognize walked in. After listening to Preston and Mr. Anderson talk to him, I realized he was Hudson’s old boss, Chief Traywick. A few other guys came in after him that I assumed were firefighters that they worked with. They spoke in a hushed tone and I couldn’t hear everything, but I heard enough to know that it wasn’t a pleasant conversation. Preston and Mr. Anderson seemed rather upset by what they heard—if it was even possible to be more upset at that point. The visit was brief, but Preston and Mr. Anderson continued to talk for a couple of minutes away from the group. I studied their expressions and tried to figure out what they were saying, but I was never very good at reading lips. Mr. Anderson started walking towards the door, and Preston tried to stop him, but he was not successful. Preston sighed and stared at the closed door for a couple of seconds before returning to where we were sitting.
“What was that about?” I leaned forward in my chair.
“Chief Traywick came to let us know that Sheriff Tate has already filed a report about the accident. They’re calling a loss of control—no evidence that Hudson’s truck made contact with another vehicle or had any sort of mechanical issue.” Preston sat down with a thud.
“Wow, I guess Sheriff Tate moves fast when he wants to.” Melanie raised her eyebrows in surprise.
“Too fast.” Preston growled under his breath. “Way too fucking fast.”
“Melanie, we should probably get back to your house. I’m sure your parents are worried…” Dave leaned forward and squeezed Melanie’s hand.
“I’m staying with Eliza.” Melanie shook her head back and forth quickly.
“I’ll be okay.” I turned towards Eliza and forced a smile. “If you don’t get back soon, your Mom will have a whole new wedding planned for you.”
“Okay.” Melanie sighed and took my hand. “Please call me if you need anything. I’ll have my phone on.”
“Thank you.” I squeezed her hand and watched as Dave escorted her towards the exit.
I decided to stretch my legs a little
bit, and all of the crying had left me exhausted, so I walked into the break room to fix a cup of coffee. When I turned around, Preston was standing at the doorway. We didn’t say anything to each other, but I walked up and hugged him. No matter how much anger I had towards him for what he had done, we both loved Hudson. We were both hurting. I think he needed the hug more than I did at that point. I stayed in his embrace for nearly a full minute before pulling away and walking towards the waiting room while he went to make himself a cup of coffee. I saw Mr. Anderson standing outside the hospital smoking. I definitely needed one after feeling like my heart had been ripped out of my chest, so I walked outside.
“Can I get one of those?” I motioned to the pack in his hand.
“Sure.” He tapped one out and lit it once I pressed it between my lips.
“Do you think it was really just a horrible accident?” I exhaled a stream of smoke and looked over at him.
“I—I don’t know.” He swallowed hard and shook his head. “I want to believe that Mayor Stevenson would never do something like this, but it feels too convenient—especially if Sheriff Tate has already closed the case.”
“Preston told me what happened between you and Mayor Stevenson.” I sighed and took another drag. “Sheriff Tate was involved in that too, wasn’t he?”
“Yeah.” Mr. Anderson dropped his cigarette and stepped on it. “As soon as I paid him a visit, Mayor Stevenson showed up at my house.”
“This fucking town…” I shook my head back and forth.
“You said it.” Mr. Anderson nodded and walked back into the waiting room.
* * *