Collide: A Riverbend Novel (14 page)

"Break it up,
Garrett!"

"I tried. The cops have
them both now. Here comes the owner. Gotta go." Garrett hung
up.

"I'll call his dad to go
deal with this." She dialed Rick's number.

I looked out the
window.
Havock you can't be doing
this.
I looked up just as a truck slammed
into the car. My head banged off the door, metal twisted, glass
shattered, and then everything blacked out.

HAVOCK

I sat on the steps of the
gas station and wiped my bleeding lip on my sleeve. I watched as
the cops talked to Tyler and his parents. It would be my turn next.
I couldn't wait.

Garrett walked over and sat
down next to me. "Alright, little brother. . . what did she say
that upset you so bad?"

I shrugged. I didn't want
to talk about it. I just wanted to drop it and go home.

"You know mom is going to
make you talk about it, right?"

"No one makes me do
anything, Garrett."

He laughed. "You go to
school and make good grades and you come home at night. You
apparently do follow some rules."

"That's by choice. I don't
want to be homeless. But if I didn't want to make good grades, go
to school, or come home, I wouldn't."

"There's no way you're
going to talk to me about it is there?"

I just stared at him. Were
seriously having that conversation? If I said no once, I'm not
gonna change my mind. He knew that but he still insisted on pushing
me. The more I stared without a word he finally got the
point.

"There's dad," he said as
dad's truck pulled in.

"I wonder if he'll take us
out for ice cream?"

Garrett laughed and shook
his head. "You are an idiot."

Dad came over with the
cops. They were just about to get my side of the story when they
got called out to a wreck.

I'm glad, because my side
of the story would've been a shocker.
Yeah, I beat the shit out of him. His girlfriend is a bitch
who should have kept her mouth shut. Can I go home now?
I laughed at the thought of what their faces
would've looked like. I watched the cops get in their car and speed
off.

"You get in the truck and
you drive straight home! Do you understand me?!" Dad yelled in my
face. He went to yell more when his cell phone rang.

"Hello?!" He snapped.
"What! No...On my way." Dad raced towards his truck. Garrett and I
caught up with him. I knew it was bad. He wouldn't have been that
dramatic over work. His job wasn't that demanding.

"You're mom and Reese were
in a wreck. A gravel truck rear-ended them. I don't know if they're
okay...just meet me there!" Dad got in his truck and drove
off.

To save time I decided to
ride with Garrett. We got in his truck and didn't say a word the
whole way to the hospital.

When we got there, we sat
down in the waiting room. I wanted answers. I got up and walked
around until I found someone sitting at a desk. She took one look
at me and groaned. I'm sure I was a sight. Busted lip, blood on my
shirt which was mostly Tyler's, and a lip ring.

"Yes?" She said while she
finished painting her nails.

"I'm here for Johanna
Satterly and Reese Johnson."

"Relation?" She said while
concentrating on her pinkie nail.

"Johanna is my mom and
Reese is staying with us right now.”

"They are back there but
there is already someone back there with them. Only one person can
be back there."

"Are they
alright?"

She looked up at me. "Do I
look like a doctor?"

Garrett grabbed my
shoulders and moved me away from the desk before I went postal on
the lady.

"Dad is in the waiting
room."

I picked up my
pace.

When we reached dad he had
a disheveled appearance and his eyes were red. My heart constricted
in my chest. Was I even breathing?

Garrett grabbed my arm for
support.

"They're fine. Thank God,"
dad breathed out.

Garrett and I both let out
the breath we were holding.

Dad sat down and I'm glad
he did. I wasn't sure he would be able to stay standing much
longer. "They're getting some tests run just to make sure
everything is alright. They're lucky, boys. Reese especially. She
took the hardest hit since the truck hit her side."

My heart did that
constricting thing again.

"I need a cigarette." I
went outside but on my way I stopped by to pay a quick visit to the
bitchy lady at her desk. She wasn't there. I found her nail polish,
opened it, and dumped it all over her desk. I walked away satisfied
and went to the smoking area behind the hospital.

As I smoked I pulled out my
phone. I had several text messages from a few of my cousins and
Jude.

I didn't text any of my
family back. Garrett would be the good Samaritan that would do
that. I did text Jude back, though.

Me: Fine. Both of
them.

Jude: Good.

He texted back almost
immediately.

Unknown Number: Whatcha
doing?

I looked at the number and
didn't know it.

Me: Who is this?

Reese: Reese

Me: Wow. We must be
official now. We're texting. This is what couples do
right?

Reese: Some do. Of course
friends text as well. Turn around.

I took a hit off my
cigarette and smiled down at my phone. I looked over my shoulder
and saw my princess all bruised up standing behind me.

"You shouldn't sneak up on
people like that."

"Sorry. I'll wear a bell
next time," she said as she wrapped an arm around her
waist.

I put my cigarette out and
walked over to her. "Come here," I whispered and held my arms open
to her. She moved into my arms.

I held her tight. "You
okay, Princess?"

"Sore, but okay. I'm a
little high right now though," she said as she buried her face
against my chest.

I laughed. "On?"

"I don't know. They gave me
a shot for the pain. You smell good," she said softly.

"I smell good? I don't
smell like a big ash tray?"

"I smell that, but I also
smell you." She looked up at me. "We should go. Your mom was
getting released." Her eyes looked heavy.

"I bet dad is getting her
out to the truck. We'll go find Garrett. He has to take me to go
get my truck from the gas station."

We started to walk. "And I
shouldn't go back in the hospital. I made a secretary
mad."

"If it was that mean lady
it's okay." She scrunched her eyebrows. "We can walk
around."

"The one who looked like a
cross dresser?"

She nodded. "She's not
nice," she slurred.

I laughed. "Let's get you
to the truck."

REESE

Four days after the wreck,
and I still hurt. And the stupid meds the therapist gave me don't
work. They just made me feel blah. I looked out the window as the
snow fell. I put my head against the window. I can't sleep. I
haven't slept in two days. I slipped on a hoodie and silently
headed to Havock's room. I knew this was a bad idea, but I wanted
sleep. He'd help me sleep. I knew it.

I quietly opened the door.
"Havock?"

He was sitting at his desk
and closed a notebook when he heard me.

"Sorry. I can
leave."

He stood and walked over to
me. "No. It's fine. What are you doing up?"

"I can't sleep."

"I can't
either."

He walked back over to his
desk and opened the drawer. He stuck the notebook in it and closed
it.

He turned and leaned
against his desk. "So, you came in here because?" This was the
first time I was in his room. It was messy just like I imagined it
would be.

I chewed on my lip. "I
thought maybe..." I shrugged.

"Maybe what?"

"Well, I thought you would
be asleep so I was just going to crawl in bed with you. You help me
sleep," I said as I played with my hair nervously. “I'll just
go.”

He stripped down to his
boxers, turned off his light, and climbed in his bed. "Okay, let's
try this again." He picked his head up to look at me. "Do I need to
pretend to be asleep so you'll get over here?"

I smiled and walked over to
the bed. I crawled in and laid down next to him.

He wrapped his arm around
my waist and the side of my shirt was showing my skin a little. Of
course he noticed and started running his fingertips up and down my
bare skin.

I sighed a little and
closed my eyes. I liked being in his arms. I felt safe here. Of
course, as he touched my bare skin other feelings were
surfacing.

"Reese?"

“Hmm?”

"Can I ask you something
without you being offended?"

"You can try."

He laughed. He wasn't a guy
that cared if he was offensive or not, but I appreciated that he at
least tried a little with me.

"Have you ever been with a
guy?"

"No. I have been literally
locked in my house for the past nine and half years," I said with a
smile. I turned so I faced him. "Why do you ask?"

"So, I knew to lie to you
if you ever asked me if I had been with another girl."

"Lying is bad. It always
comes back to haunt you," I said as I moved closer and touched his
face.

"Do you want to know or is
it something we are to never talk about?"

I thought about it for a
moment. "I'd prefer not to know. I'm not an idiot, but I believe
in, ignorance is bliss."

"Are you mine, Reese?" he
asked so sweetly that I wasn't sure it was him. I knew he was
capable of being sweet, sort of, but his voice was filled with so
much emotion I didn't recognize it.