Crushed (Rushed #2) (28 page)

I stared at Dakota and tried not to cry as I grabbed my gloves. "I have to go." I was going no matter what Dad had said.

Dakota swore and pulled his coat off the back of his chair. "Not alone."

"What?" I stared at him with wide eyes.

"I overheard your conversation. Sorry. Your grandma, right? You have to go see her. You'll never forgive yourself if you don't. I'm taking you."

"But you can't drive. If they catch you, they'll revoke your deferral and put you in jail."

"Put the sobriety buddy shit aside, Morgan." He stared me down. "You're planning on driving, aren't you? You're in the same shitty situation I am."

"She's my grandma. I love her more than almost anyone in the world." Meaning him. "It's worth the risk to me. But I can't let you take the chance."

"Like hell will I let you go alone. You're too upset to drive, especially in this crap. My car's got snow tires and all-wheel drive. No arguments. I'm taking you." He took my arm. "Let's go."

There's a time to argue. And a time to give in. As much as it scared me, I needed him. I felt safer with him.

We bundled up and slipped and slid our way through the blowing snow to the frat. He tossed a sleeping bag into the backseat along with some bottles of water.
 

"I have an emergency kit with flares, hand warmers, and space blankets." He grabbed his ice scraper and brush and began clearing the car.

Like I cared or had even thought about that.
Hurry, hurry, hurry!
That was all that ran through my mind, over and over again in a continuous loop of fear.

He jumped in and started the car to get it warming up. By the time he'd finished dusting off the entire car, snow was already accumulating again on the roof.
 

We jumped in and buckled up. Greek Row sat at the top of the hill with the university. The roads out of it toward the edge of town and the freeway were all treacherously steep. Fortunately, the snow was light, and very cold. It wasn't slick, but visibility was practically nil.

We drove in silence toward the highway out of town, Dak concentrating on the road. Several of the roads down from Greek Row were already closed. We had to turn around twice. When we finally reached the highway, it was closed, too.

"I know a back way. It runs parallel to the highway, through a bunch of tiny towns. I was routed through it once when there was a fatality blocking the highway."

Fatality. That was not what I needed to hear.

He carefully swung the car around. "It will take longer, but I doubt they've closed it yet."

He crawled through town. He was right. It was still open. The truckers had thought of it, too. We got behind a semi. Dak stayed close on its tail. Even still, its lights were barely visible in the ever-darkening storm.

"I hope to hell it doesn't jackknife." His gaze was fierce.

I squinted, but couldn't see the road. "This is insane."

He nodded. Up ahead, we caught a glimpse now and then of a car or truck ahead of the one we were following.

"I hope the lead car, wherever it is, can see where it's going." I bit my lip. "And that we're not driving across wheat fields instead of roads."

His gaze didn't leave the road. "I hope so, too." He handed me his phone. "Put some music on, will you?"

I plugged it in. "What do you want—smooth and calming? Or loud and screaming?" He liked screamo and hard rock.

He named a band. I brought it up. We rode without speaking, listening to his music as the miles inched along. I put my hand on his arm. His muscles were taut and tense.

The truck ahead of us slowed as we crawled up a hill. Dak downshifted, cursing beneath his breath as the car fishtailed. "Black ice? What the hell? It should be too damn cold for that. Why hasn't it dried up? If that truck stops, we'll never get going again."

I said a silent prayer. The truck kept inching forward. We reached the top of the hill and picked up speed.

I let out a sigh of relief. "There's no one else I'd rather be stuck in a snowstorm with. Just so you know."

It broke the tension just enough. He actually grinned. "It would be fun staying warm with you."

The two-hour drive stretched into three. We finally merged back with the highway, but we hadn't reached the divided road. Everything was white. I had no idea how far away we were.

I just wanted to be there. This couldn't all be for nothing. If Grandma died before we reached her…

Dak snapped off the music. "We'll make it in time, Morgs. Keep believing that."

It was like he'd read my mind. "Yes," I said, like he was right. Because I had to believe. "Let's think of something happy." Suddenly, I was Little Miss Sunshine. Because if I thought of anything sad, or scary, I was going to lose it.

"Like what?"

"Like our birthdays."

"Our birthdays?" He grinned again.

"Yeah. What do you have planned for me?"

"Like I'm going to tell you. What do you have planned for me?"

"Something that will show you how much I love you." I covered his hand, which rested on the gearshift, with mine.

"That's exactly what I have planned for you." He paused.
 

"How much do you love me?" I said.

"I'm driving through a snowstorm for you."

I smiled. "I know that. But am I more important to you than your frat brothers?"

He smiled as he studied the road. "You're more important to me than anyone else. Now stop prying." He paused, and then casually said, "Do you like pink roses?"

A pink rose on the table at dinner in the sorority was a sign that a girl was going to be lavaliered.
 

"Love them. What are you implying?"

"Nothing. I'm not implying anything. Just that, maybe, a birthday run won't be the most important thing on your mind that day."

The truck in front of us geared down and pulled toward the right. That was when I saw the flash of police lights.

"Shit!" Dak geared down and swore beneath his breath. "The cops are pulling everyone over."
 

Chapter Twenty

Morgan

My heart beat so hard, it threatened to pound right out of my chest as Dak pulled to a stop.

"What are we going to do?" I whispered. "If they ask to see your license—"

Dak rolled down his window.

A cop stuck his head in. "We're closing the road. Where are you headed?"

"To the hospital." Dak's voice was confident. Polite. Totally respectful. "This is going to sound like a smartass excuse, sir. But it's the absolute truth. We're on our way to see her dying grandma." He nodded toward me.

I teared up. It wasn't faked.
 

Dak winced and gave me an apologetic look before returning his attention to the cop. "We got a call this morning that she might not last through the night. We're trying to make it before it's too late. You can check with them if you like." He sounded completely sincere.

I let out a gasp of pain and sorrow, sniffed, and dabbed at my eyes. "Please." I held my breath.

The cop looked thoughtful for a moment as he studied us. "All right. Take it slow." He pulled his head back out of the window and waved us on.

I let out a sigh of relief and started shaking.
 

Dak grabbed my hand. His touch steadied me. "It's all right. I love you. We're at the divided highway. We're almost there."

I nodded.

The drive should have taken another half-hour. It took an hour and a half before Dak pulled into the hospital parking garage. We jumped out of the car. He took my hand and beeped the car locked.

"You okay?" He squeezed my hand.

I nodded, but I was a mess.

We found the cardiac wing and asked for my grandma. I nearly collapsed into Dak's arms when they said she was in ICU.

"She's not dead," I whispered to myself as much as Dak. "We made it in time." I clutched his arm. He was my hero.

I had to show ID to prove I was indeed family. All I had was my student ID. Thankfully, no one asked any questions about why I didn't have my license with me.

They refused to let Dak into the room with me with the excuse that only family, and only one person at a time, was allowed. I would have pushed it, but I was sure they'd ask for his ID. We didn't need more questions. And he wasn't family.
 

Dak squeezed my hand again and gave me a light kiss on the lips. "I'll be right here, waiting." He left "as long as it takes" unsaid.

I nodded and followed the nurse alone toward Grandma's room, looking back over my shoulder just before we turned a corner out of sight. The sight of him gave me courage. I couldn't believe we'd made it.

Inside, Grandma's room sounded like the machinery of hospitals and a fight for life. The rhythmic pumping of a respirator. The beeps of a heart monitor. The electronic pulse of a half-dozen machines. The drip of an IV. She was behind a curtain that slid on metal rings.

The nurse held the curtain aside for me without looking, and disappeared to give me privacy as I stepped behind the curtain.

My grandmother was hooked to every possible machine. The beating of her heart looked weak even to my eyes as it pulsed on the monitor. She gasped and struggled for each breath as a machine breathed for her.
 

Her blankets and sheets had slipped back. Her hospital gown was open in the front, revealing flat, old, sagging breasts. Exposing her in a way that would have petrified her. That upset me.

I took a quick step to her bed and gently pulled her gown together and pulled her sheet up to make her modest again, to preserve her dignity. I didn't speak or give myself away for a minute. She didn't stir or acknowledge me. She wasn't conscious. But I didn't take a chance.

I took a step back, hoping to make it seem like I'd been a nurse doing my duty. I took a deep breath and tried my approach again, sitting in the chair next to the bed and taking her cool hand.
 

"It's me." I clasped her hand gently between mine. My hand was cold, but warmer than hers. Her veins stood out in her pale hands, blue, like they were gasping for oxygen and life, too. "Morgan." I bit my lip. "I'm so glad you hung on and waited for me." Tears welled in my eyes.

"I came through a snowstorm like the one I was born in. Remember the stories you told about flying through a rare Seattle snowstorm to come to the hospital to see me be born?" And now I was coming to see her die. Snowstorms. Bookends on life.

I kept those thoughts to myself.
 

"I love you, Grandma. You've always been my rock. I'm trying to be like you. I promise I'll keep on trying and make you proud. And tell my baby brother all about you and what a wonderful grandma you are."

She didn't stir. Tears filled my eyes. I had no idea if she heard me.

It's hard to talk to a person who doesn't respond. I babbled about nothing and everything. About how Dad was trying to get here.

"Dakota brought me," I said. "Remember him? My partner in crime. I didn't tell you, Grandma. It's time I came clean. He almost ran over me with his car. But now I love him." I told her the story. The whole story from Zach to Dak. About how my license, and Dak's, was suspended. "For just a few more days now."

And how we fell in love after being thrown together in ADIS.
 

I leaned in close and whispered in her ear so only she could hear, "You were right about him."
 

The beat of her heart grew stronger onscreen. Her breathing became easier. I smiled through my tears. "He's my hero. He loves me so much he drove me here through that horrible storm, risking everything because he knows how much I love you."

Her heartbeat continued to grow stronger.

"You're never wrong about love, Grandma. You told me that yourself. And you're right. I think I'm going to grow old with him. Like you did with Grandpa. We'll have our own epic love story. I'll tell my grandchildren about it. Like you did to me. So they can believe in true love, too."