A Shattered Heart (Fractured Lives 2)

"Kat, have you heard from Mac?" Mom asked as I grabbed our drinks.

I shook my head, pulling my phone out of my pocket. "No, and she hasn't tried to call. Do you want me to give her a call?"

"No, Jill just tried to call her. I'm sure she's okay. We all tend to worry a little more now." Her words hung in the air. It was as if a veil was lifted that I wasn't even aware was there. In all this time I'd never once given any consideration to what all our parents had gone through that night. Every second of that fateful evening was wrapped around my memories of the accident. I never stopped to wonder how it must have felt to be on the receiving end of the calls they must have gotten that night.

Impulsively, I reached over to wrap my arms around Mom. S

he stifled a startled sound before wrapping her own arms around me. "I'm sorry, Mom. I can't even imagine how it felt that night to get the call," I said, pulling back to peer at her face.

She smiled at me sadly. "It was easily the worst day of our lives," she said, nodding in Dad's direction by the grill on the patio. "I'm not sure who took it hardest, your father or me. All we knew was that some of you were hurt and some of you were dead." Her voice broke and I pulled her in for another tight hug.

"I'm sorry," I repeated, burying my face in her hair.

"So am I, baby, but I'm so glad you're with us."

"I am too," I answered. "I'm going to go see Dad for a second," I added.

"Okay, baby," she said, giving my hand a squeeze.

If Dad was surprised by my impulsive hug when I joined him, he didn't mention it as he flipped the row of burgers he was grilling. "Are you all set for fall classes?" he asked, skirting around the touchy-feely stuff.

"Yep. I'll be taking a cosmetology class and Hairstyling 101," I teased, holding the plate for him as he started lifting the hot dogs off the top rack of the grill.

He shook the tongs at me threateningly, making one of the hot dogs split across the middle. Half of the dog stayed locked between the tongs while the other half went flying across the patio.

"Smooth," I taunted him, setting the plate down so I could pick up the hunk of meat. Without wiping the dirt off it, I chucked it over the fence so Bruce, our neighbors' dog, could have a bonus snack for the day.

"Stop sassing your father, little miss."

"Yes, sir," I said, giving him a mock salute as I carried the plate loaded with hot dogs back into the house with a skip in my step. I nearly laughed at how good it felt to be normal.

The moment I stepped into the house I knew something was wrong, even without the absence of the chitchat I'd left behind or the hushed phone conversation on the other side of the room. It was the way everything seemed to be frozen. Horrified expressions, terrified looks each stood out like a beacon as I scanned the room searching for Brian.

My eyes found his. I knew it was bad by the look in his eyes. "What happened?" I demanded as he joined me.

"We don't know. All we know is that Mac and Bentley were in an accident. Jill is on the phone with the hospital now," he said, reaching for my hand.

Ice buckets of water cascaded over me. Time stood still as I digested his words. They couldn't be true. We'd already survived one horrific accident. We couldn't be here again.

Twenty-Two

Jill hung up the phone with tears streaming down her cheeks. Time sped back up as everyone moved into activity. Purses were found, keys were grabbed. We left the house as a unit, separating into our cars to make the journey to the hospital. Jill didn't tell us much before we left the house. All she knew was that Mac and Bentley had been involved in a multi-car pileup on I-4.

It was all so familiar. The only difference was the perspective. Before, I'd been inside looking out, now I was on the other side looking in. Both perspectives sucked major ass as far as I was concerned.

"You okay?" Brian asked, following the line of cars out of the neighborhood.

"I feel like I'm one step from freaking out. I'm not sure I can handle this," I answered, raising my knees to my chest. I felt weaker than I had in a long time.

"You can and you will. We've all done it before." His hand clutched the steering wheel in a death grip.

I nodded. He was right. After all, he was living proof that survival was the only option. At times it was easy to forget exactly what Brian had lost, and even harder to imagine what he must have gone through. I reached over, pulling his hand from the steering wheel and lacing my fingers through his.

We drove the rest of the way in silence, both of us too tied up to find the words to express how we felt.

The hospital was unusually quiet when we stepped through the ER doors. The silence mocked us, teasing our senses into believing all this was a nightmare. Brian and I stood off to the side in a cluster with my parents and his as Jill and Chris headed to the front desk. My heart cracked a little for them as I saw their shoulders droop and the frantic looks on their faces. They'd been here before. They'd stood hopelessly by waiting to hear about the fate of their only daughter. It wasn't fair they were here again.

Mom must have sensed it too. She left our side and wrapped an arm around Jill as a nurse checked on the status of Mac and Bentley. Jill seemed to wilt as soon as Mom put her arms around her. I could hear her sobs across the waiting room and they felt like darts to the chest. Each one more dangerous than the last. I couldn't believe Mac wouldn't be okay. I'd just seen her yesterday. She'd been thrilled she was able to make it across campus without the use of her cane. She'd practically glowed with excitement at hitting such a significant milestone. She had to be okay.