Unexpected Fall (Unexpected Arrivals 3)

“He loved you.” The words are out of my mouth before I can think about what I’m saying.

She nods. “He did. They both did. They wanted us to have the best in life. They encouraged us to follow our dreams.” Her hands clasp together as she brings them to her mouth as if she’s praying. “He used to say he was loving Mom by example. He wanted us to find a man who cherished us like he cherished her.”

My heart hammers in my chest. I want to tell her she’s found that man. That I’m standing right here and I’m not going anywhere. However, we never got to have that conversation, and now is not the time. So I remain quiet, stewing inside that we haven’t talked about what we are officially before now.

“Can you—” She turns her head and looks at Kendall. Tears stream down her cheeks. “Can you get his ring too?”

“Are there any other personal items?” Kendall asks the nurse.

She winces. “Yes, but your sister, she left with them.”

“Of course she did.” Dawn shakes her head. I watch as she slides her hand under her father’s. “I-I love you, Dad.” She sobs. I want to pull her into my arms and drag her from this room, end this, but I know I can’t. She walks back around the table and does the same to her mother. “I love you, Mom,” she whispers, her voice broken. She stares at the two tables, tears pouring from her eyes. And watching her heart break is breaking mine. “Mark?”

“Yeah, baby?” I step up behind her and place my arm around her shoulders.

Her answer is to turn in my arms and slide her arms around my waist. My hand settles on the back of her head, holding her to me as she falls apart. Her sobs echo through the room. I can not only hear but feel her heart breaking. I feel it deep in my soul, and there isn’t a damn thing I can do to make it better.

“Can we—” She looks up at me. “Can we go to their place?”

“Anything you want,” I say, tucking her hair behind her ears. My hands cradle her cheeks and I wipe her tears with my thumbs. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to help you, so you have to tell me. Whatever you need, it’s yours. You just have to tell me.”

She nods and turns to look at Kendall and Seth. I don’t loosen my hold on her. I need her close to me. “We’re going to stay at my parents’ tonight. You guys can go.”

Seth looks at Kendall, and they seem to have a silent conversation. “We’re good,” Kendall tells her.

“You have the kids, and Ridge,” Dawn says meekly.

“And I have you. My best friend who needs me. My husband and kids are safely tucked away in bed. I’m where I need to be.”

“I’m all yours,” Seth says, holding his arms open.

She pulls away from me, and I want to protest, but hold my tongue. She walks into his arms and he engulfs her in a hug. “Let him help you.” I hear my best friend whisper. My heart stutters in my chest.

“Hey.” Kendall opens her arms. “Best friend over here,” she says, and Dawn rushes toward her and they hold onto each other as if they need the embrace to breathe. “Let’s go,” Kendall whispers and leads Dawn from the room.

“What’s next?” I ask the nurse. I’ve never been in this situation and neither has Dawn. I need to know what’s ahead of us.

“We’ll release the bodies to the funeral home of your choosing.”

I nod. “Okay. Give me until tomorrow to see what she wants to do. We’ll be in touch.” I don’t wait for her reply. I walk toward the door with Seth on my heels.

“Thank you,” I tell him.

“That’s what brothers do. Let’s go take care of your girl.” With his hand on my shoulder, we head down the hall where Dawn and Kendall are still embracing several paces in front of us, headed for the exit.

Chapter Five

Dawn

Kendall climbs into the back of the car with me. Her hand grips mine tightly as she gives Seth direction to my parents’ house. I still can’t believe this is real. It’s as if I’m on the set of a movie, watching the drama unfold. Closing my eyes, I rest my head on Kendall’s shoulder, reliving the events of tonight. My sister should be here. We should be leaning on one another, but she left. I guess at least she had the decency to call me. We’ve tried to help her so many times, and now… now I’m not sure where to go from here. I love her, she’s my sister, but I hate her too.

“We’re here,” Kendall says.

My eyes pop open, and sure enough, we’re parked in the driveway of my childhood home. A three-bedroom ranch-style house, in a small subdivision on the edge of town. So many memories were made here.

“I-I don’t know if I can.” The whispered confession bounces off the windows of the car as if I yelled the words.

Kendall starts to speak, but Mark turns in the seat and reaches for my hand. “Pixie, we can sit here all damn night, we can go to a hotel, we can go home, we can do whatever you need us to do.” His voice is firm.

My rock.

I love him. I’ve never told him. We were supposed to talk tonight, but here we are again, life getting in the way. I should tell him, but I don’t want this to be the way we remember it. Not to mention, I couldn’t handle losing him after losing my family. I lost my sister years ago, and with my parents gone… I swallow back the sob that wants to escape me. I can’t speak for fear of what I might say, so I nod instead.

“We’ve got company,” Seth says, looking in the rearview mirror.

Whipping my head around to look out the back window of the SUV, I watch as my sister stumbles from the car. Smoke rolls out, following her like a shadow. “What the fuck?” I mutter, throwing open my door and rushing toward her. “What the fuck are you doing?” I seethe, stopping and crossing my arms over my chest. I don’t have to pretend to glare at her. My anger is real.

“D-Dawn, what are you doing here?”

“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” I feel strong hands grip my shoulders, and I don’t have to look to know it’s Mark. I would know his touch anywhere. “Where have you been?”

“You’re not my mother,” she slurs.

“No, she’s dead!” I scream. Mark moves in closer and wraps his arms around my waist from behind.

“W-What?” Destiny stumbles some more.

“You called me,” I tell her. “You’re the one who told me.”

“No, that was a dream,” she says, and I can tell that’s what she thinks. “This”—she pulls a bag of white powder from her pocket—“makes it feel real, but it’s not real.”

“Oh my God.” I sway on my feet, but Mark is there holding strong. “They’re dead, Destiny.” I think back to her phone call, and then it hits me. She said she was sorry and that she didn’t want to go. “What did you do?” Anger rides my words.

“Nothing,” she scoffs.

“You said you were sorry and that you didn’t want to go. Where were you going, Destiny?”

“It was a dream,” she says, this time not so sure of herself.

“It’s fucking real life!” I yell. “Our life. They’re dead. Tell me what you did?” She turns to the car she just climbed out of, but the door slams and the car speeds off before she can escape.

Slowly she turns to face us. Mark is wrapped around me, and Kendall and Seth stand on either side of us. “Who are they?” she asks.

“We’re her family,” Mark says from behind me. I relax into him at his words.

“Why don’t we go inside?” Kendall suggests.

“No.” I don’t want her here. “Tell me, Destiny.”

“I was here earlier,” she says, closing her eyes. “I needed money, just enough to get me by.”

“You mean enough for your next fix?” I state the obvious.

She doesn’t even flinch. “They were talking about this new facility. They wanted me to go to get clean. Dad suggested we go for a drive.” She opens her eyes and looks at me. “I saw the sign for the facility and freaked out. I opened the door to get out when he refused to turn around.” She drops to her knees and begins to sob.