Chance Encounters (16 page)

When Caroline awoke, she spent the remainder of the flight beating herself up emotionally. Life was too short and too precious to waste making decisions you didn’t really want. Of course other people’s feelings should be taken into consideration, but their wants and needs shouldn’t be more important than your own. And then she heard Bailey’s words in her head, “
Sometimes other hearts have to break in order to keep yours intact
.”

She nodded to herself and the truth resonated within every fiber of her being. She also recognized that it was far easier said than done, but there was no time for that. After landing, she hailed a cab for the fifteen-minute drive to the hospital.

Caroline practically sprinted into the large white building before she spotted a guy walking down the hall that instinct told her was Alex. She shouted his name and the guy stopped walking and turned around.

“Are you Alex?”

“Caroline?” Alex immediately recognized her voice.

“Yeah,” she responded, half out of breath.

He walked over to her with a smile on his face. “I can’t believe you’re here. Thanks for coming.”

“Where is he?” she asked, every drop of her strained emotions spilling out in her words. “Is he alive?”

“He’s alive.” Alex put a hand on her shoulder. “He’s over here.”

Caroline’s eyes softened. “I love him too, you know.”

“I do have to warn you, though. I, um, didn’t know you were coming. And, well…”

“What is it?” Nervous energy shot through her and stopped her legs from taking another step.

“It’s just that…Sally’s here. That’s the girl he’s been dating the last couple of months or so.”

“Oh.” Caroline brought her fingers to her mouth and started to bite nervously on her nails. “I see.” It had never even occurred to her that Jackson would have moved on so quickly.

“No. It’s not…” Alex touched her shoulder and gave a gentle nudge forward. “He doesn’t love her. But she wants him to. Anyway, she really cares about him, so it will probably rattle her a little to have you here.”

“Got it.” She exhaled and held her head up high.

“I knew you loved him back.” He gave her a one-armed hug and winked at her playfully.

Alex held the door open for Caroline and she walked through, unsure of what to expect on the other side. She gasped at the sight of Jackson’s body lying helplessly in the small hospital bed. Tubes and wires came from what seemed like every part of his exposed body. Machines beeped with a steady pace. His head was swollen to a size she couldn’t describe and his arms and legs were bandaged in various places.

Her heart seized at first, but then love rapidly soared through her every fiber. She knew in that moment that everything she had felt for him all those months ago was real. It had always been real.

“I can’t believe
you’re
here.” Tommy jerked his head in her direction and glared with disgust.

“You must be Tommy. I’ve heard you’re not my biggest fan.” Caroline attempted to be civil.

“Well, at least you came. I guess that says
something
about your character.” His eyes rolled as he looked away.

“I guess I deserve that,” she said as she tried to hide the sting of his words from her expression. Caroline looked over at the petite brunette sitting in the corner. “You must be Sally?” she said kindly, and offered a soft smile.

“I’m out of here,” Tommy snorted as he stormed out of the room.

Alex shot Caroline an apologetic look. “I’ll go talk to him.”

Once the door shut, Sally stated, “And you must be the reason why he won’t love me.” She looked Caroline over from head to toe before continuing. “You know…I thought in time, he’d get over you.” She took a breath for strength. “But he never did.”

Caroline’s gaze fell to the floor. “I’m sorry.”

“You ruined him. All I wanted was for him to stop thinking about you and open his eyes to see me. ME!” Sally pounded at her chest with clenched fists. “I’ve been standing in front of him all along. I’d do anything for him. But he never cared. He never saw anyone but you. And I hate you for that.” She dropped her face into her hands and wept.

Caroline struggled to catch the breath that escaped her. Her bottom lip quivered as she tried in vain to wipe away her tears. “I don’t know what to say other than I’m so sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen.”

“You broke his heart.” Sally rose from the padded chair and gathered her belongings, her blue jeans and pink T-shirt wrinkled from sitting in one place for too long.

“Please don’t go,” Caroline pleaded.

Sally stopped and looked at her. “I don’t belong here any more. I never did.”

Caroline’s eyes widened, her mouth agape. “Yes, you do. If anyone doesn’t belong here, it’s me.”

“But he loves
you,
not me. Trust me, I’ve been reminded of that fact on more than one occasion,” Sally insisted, deep sorrow evident in her eyes.

“But
you
love him. Please stay,” Caroline insisted.

Sally sat back down in the chair and looked at Caroline with surprise.

“Thank you.” Caroline’s face relaxed. “I’m sure it hasn’t been easy for you the past couple of months. I’ve been a complete idiot, but you…you’ve done nothing wrong…”

“…except fall in love with the wrong guy.” Sally’s voice quivered as she fought back tears.

Caroline walked over to the fragile girl and gently squeezed her hand. “Or the right one. I am really sorry for everything. I hope one day you can forgive me.”

Sally took a long, deep breath before she looked into Caroline’s tired eyes. “It means a lot to me that you care.”

“It means a lot to me that you don’t want to kill me,” Caroline joked and raised her eyebrows.

“Oh, don’t worry. I do,” Sally remarked with a quick laugh.

“Just make sure it’s quick and painless, please. Not a big fan of pain,” Caroline shot back through clenched teeth.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Sally’s eyes locked with Caroline’s for an uncomfortable beat, then she shrugged and smiled.

Waves of relief washed over Caroline as the tension began to alleviate. “I’m exhausted and I could really use a coffee. Can I get you one?”

“T
””
hat would be nice. Thank you.”

Caroline smiled and headed out the door. She surprised herself by finding the cafeteria without getting lost. She took a tentative sip of her coffee and closed her eyes tightly, enjoying the bold flavor that rushed through her.

She balanced the two scalding hot cups with her hands as her hip bumped against the door. It finally budged and she scooted quickly through the opening. “I wasn’t sure how you took it, so I brought some cream and sugar.” She handed Sally one of the steaming cups.

“Thanks again,” Sally said as she grabbed two of the sugar packets. “I get it now.”

“Get what?” Caroline cocked her head to the left and narrowed her eyes.

“Why he couldn’t get over you. The way you looked at him when you walked into the room tonight. I’ve known Jackson my whole life, and I’ve never heard him talk about any girl the way he talks about you.”

Her heart soared within her chest, but she didn’t let it show. “It took me getting that phone call to realize where I was supposed to be,” Caroline freely admitted.

“He said you have a fiancé, right?” Sally glanced down at Caroline’s ring finger, which still bore the enormous diamond ring Clay had given her.

“Yeah. But I did just walk out of my own engagement party to come here.” Caroline shrugged.

“No, you didn’t? Did you really?” Sally’s mouth was agape.

“I did.”

“Guess leaving him at the engagement party is better than leaving him at the altar, right?”

The smile dropped from Caroline’s face almost immediately as the weight of Sally’s words crashed around her.

“Oh gosh, Caroline, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it.” Sally put her hand over her heart and furrowed her brow.

“No. I know. It’s just…” An awful awareness surged through Caroline. “What kind of person walks out of their own engagement party?”

“The kind that isn’t happy to be there?” Sally remarked.

Caroline’s hand covered her mouth as her eyes closed. “I’m a terrible person,” she said under her breath.

Sally hesitated before adding, “No, you’re not, but can I ask you something?”

“Of course.” Caroline nodded.

“Do you love him?” Sally’s gaze turned toward Jackson’s still form.

Without hesitation, Caroline proclaimed, “I do.”

“He’s a really great guy. I’d tell you not to break his heart, but you’ve already done that, so…” The girls’ laughter echoed through the room as Tommy and Alex walked back in.

“How long are you staying, anyway?” Tommy asked in Caroline’s direction, his tone still clearly annoyed.

“I don’t know? I hadn’t even thought about it really. A few days, I guess?” She realized she hadn’t thought this trip through very well.

Tommy groaned and Alex hit him in the arm. “Caroline, don’t listen to him. It’s good that you’re here.” Alex smiled.

“Where are his parents?” Caroline asked.

“Mr. Parks took the missus back home to get some rest and grab some of their things. They’re going to stay in the hotel across the street for a while. They should be back later.” Alex stared at Jackson.

“How long can we stay?” Caroline noted the time.

“We don’t really know.” Alex answered as he looked around.

“So what is his condition exactly? Do we know?” Caroline inquired.

“What’s his condition? He’s preparing for the Olympics, genius.” Tommy could barely contain his apparent dislike for Caroline.

“Dude!” Alex’s face flushed a rosy color as he shook his head in exasperation.

Sally stood up calmly and announced, “I could use a walk. Come with me?” She motioned toward Tommy.

He rolled his eyes in defiance. “I just got back in here!”

Sally linked her arm in his. “Just come with me anyway. Please?” Tommy’s hard facade softened as he took in Sally’s earnest expression. He lowered his head and reluctantly walked out of the room.

Alex’s face was still red. “I am so sorry for Tommy. He um…”

“…hates me?” Caroline offered.

Alex laughed and insisted, “No!” Then he conceded, “Well, yeah. He hates you.”

Disappointment filtered through Caroline’s awareness. “It’s okay. I totally get it.”

Caroline walked up to the charts that surrounded Jackson. There were notes scribbled and numbers written that made no sense to her. “So, what does all this mean?”

Alex tried to recite in less confusing terms what the doctors had explained to him earlier. “He’s in a medically induced coma for now. They say it’s the best way to help him recover, but it’s tricky and he needs to be constantly monitored.”

Caroline nodded that she understood and he continued. “Basically, they shut his brain down. Once the swelling starts to go down, they’ll lower the medications that are keeping him in the coma. But until that happens, he has to stay like this.”

“So why does he have all these other wires and things on him? It looks like he isn’t doing anything on his own.” Caroline’s voice trembled.

Alex’s voice softened, soothing Caroline’s fears. “Don’t worry. When they put him in the coma, they had to give him things to keep his blood pressure down. And make sure his heart still pumped properly. They shut down his brain, remember? So all the things it did for his body, they have to do.”

Caroline understood, but it still sounded scary and overwhelming. “Got it. So how long will it take the swelling to go down?”

Alex shook his head. “They can’t say. It could be days…or weeks. No one knows.”

A nurse walked through the door and looked at the clock on the wall as she began to take Jackson’s vitals. “I’m sorry, you guys, but visiting hours are over. You’re welcome to come back tomorrow morning at seven.”

Caroline turned to grab her things. “Where are you staying?” Alex asked.

“I have no idea,” she said, before a yawn crept out.

“You can stay in Jackson’s room,” he offered.

“What about Sally?”

“She won’t even leave the hospital.”

Caroline’s eyes widened. “Seriously?”

Alex’s expression mimicked hers. “Seriously.”

“Tommy’s gonna flip out,” she remarked with a straight face.

Alex laughed. “Probably.”

“I really appreciate it. Thank you.” It seemed wrong somehow to go to Jackson’s home without him, but she looked forward to being surrounded by his things.

After some convincing, which came mostly in the form of Tommy and Alex yelling at each another, Tommy agreed that Caroline could stay at their place for the night. She overheard him shout, “Just keep her away from me!” His tone made her shudder.

Once inside their apartment, Tommy walked to his room and slammed the door shut. Caroline looked visibly uncomfortable as Alex apologized. “I don’t even know what to say about him any more. Here, this is Jackson’s room.” He opened the door for her. “And he has an attached bathroom so you don’t have to use the one in the hall.”