Saved By You (11 page)

He shook his head and held a palm up. “I don’t want to be a bother,” he said.

“You’re not bother,” I said. “She’ll want to know how brought her these.” I admired them, again. “They’re beautiful,” I repeated.

He looked like he was about to agree.

“No,” he said. “She should be with family. I don’t want to get away.”

My eyes narrowed, but a big smile spread across my face. “Don’t be silly. Get in here.”

I stepped back and held the door open for him. He gave me another nervous look, but nodded his head.

“I guess a quick visit wouldn’t be too bad,” he said.

Scottie followed me into the room. I plucked at the flowers, admiring them, and arranging them perfectly. They were the prettiest flowers Mom had received.

“Mom, you have a new visitor,” I said, as I started around the corner. “Remember the guy who owned the Saloon that Grandma was telling you about?”

Mom looked up and saw the both of us as we came around the privacy curtain. I held the flowers up, and flashed her a smile.

“This is…”

“Scott,” she said, before I could finish. Even as frail as she was, her body tensed when she saw him. She tried to sit up even further, and I set the flowers down and rushed to her side.

“Mom, careful,” I said.

She didn’t even look at me. Her eyes were focused on Scottie. He stood, fixed, at the foot of the bed. The two stared at each other for a long moment, and a sense of confusion started pushing its way into me.

“Patricia,” he said.

“Scott is that really you?” she said.

My eyes widened as a dopey grin appeared on his face. His head bobbed forward.

“It’s been a while,” he said.

I stared at them for a while, confused.

“You two know each other?” I said.

I might as well not have even been there. Neither of them seemed to notice me, or acknowledge the question.

“I didn’t know you were back in town,” Mom said.

He shrugged. “I’ve been all around,” he said. “But, I’ve been here for a couple years now.”

“I wish I’d known,” she said.

“Are either of you going to answer me?” I said. “How do you know each other?”

Mom finally looked at me. Her face wide, as though she were surprised that I was still sitting there.

“Sorry, dear,” she said. She gave me a soft look, and her eyes darted between Scottie and I. Finally, they settled on me. “Can you give us a minute?”

My brow scrunched together. “Yeah, of course,” I said. I gave Scottie a sharp look when I walked past him, but he didn’t see me. “I’ll be right outside,” I said.

She gave me a slow nod, and I left them, feeling more confused than ever.

I sat in the tiny waiting room for a while, trying to figure out what was going on. Scottie knew Mom? Why hadn’t he ever mentioned it before? They must have been really good friends, because those flowers were something else. I’d never seen an arrangement so nice.

Mom had been surprised that he was in town. How long had it been since they’d seen each other? They must have known each before we moved away to Jersey. Why did Mom say that she wished she knew he was in town?

I let out a sigh of frustration and rested my head back against the wall. She and I were going to have a very serious discussion about some things as soon as I got the chance to talk to her again. The waiting room was surprisingly empty for it being so late in the afternoon, but it wasn’t long before someone else showed up. Sarah gave me a bright smile when she saw me sitting by myself.

“Thought I’d find you here,” she said. She slid into the seat next to me. She gave me a puzzled look. “Why are you out here? Are the doctors with her?”

I shook my head. “You’ll never believe this,” I said. Her brow creased, but the smile stayed on her face. “Scottie is in there with her,” I said.

“Scottie?” she asked, her voice rising.

I nodded. “It turns out they know each other,” I said. “He showed up with a huge bouquet of flowers and I had to all but drag him into the room to see her.”

“What do you mean they
know
each other?” she asked.

I shrugged. “I have no idea. Mom practically kicked me out when she saw him.”

“That’s weird,” she said. “So, it’s just the two of them in there?”

“Just the two of them,” I confirmed.

We sat there staring at each other for a second, then we both shrugged.

“How’d things go with Haden?” she asked.

A huge smile spread across my face, which probably told her more than she needed to know.

“They went pretty good,” I said.

Her eyes narrowed, suspiciously. I could feel my cheeks turning rosy, and I glanced away for a second.

Okay, spill,” she said.

“There’s nothing to spill,” I said, coyly. “We talked. Tried to sort things out between us.”

She grinned at me. “I have a feeling there was a lot more going on than just talking,” she said.

My cheeks blushed red when she said it, and I bit my lip. I could still feel Haden’s hands sliding along my body, and his chest pressed against mine. I blew out a soft breath, trying to compose myself.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” she said.

“I can’t help it,” I said.

“You mean you can’t help yourself,” she corrected.

My grin spread even wider.

“Your mom’s going to throw a fit when she finds out,” Sarah said. “I thought she didn’t want you seeing him?”

I groaned. “I know. I was going to tell her all about him when Scottie showed up,” I said. “I think he might have saved me from her.”

“Definitely,” Sarah agreed.

“Speaking of talking to our parents,” I began. “Have you told your mom about college?”

Now, it was Sarah’s turn to let out a groan. Her face blanched as she considered it.

“What am I supposed to tell her? That I’m following some guy halfway across the country just so we don’t have to break up?”

“First,” I said. “He’s not just some guy. He’s Huck—the man you love. And second, she’ll understand. Everyone likes Huck.”

Her fingers rubbed together against her leg, and she gave me a nervous look.

“You were so confident before,” I said. “I thought you had everything you were going to tell them figured out?”

Her eyes darted over to me, cautious.

“I thought I did, too,” she said. “But the more and more I think about it, the more nervous I get.”

I shrugged. “There’s nothing to be nervous about. Just tell them how you feel about it all, and I’m sure they’ll be there to support you.”

Sarah’s mouth tugged up at the corner. “I was kind of hoping I could sneak out while they were on vacation and just give them a call when I got settled.”

I laughed and nudged her with my shoulder. “That’s one way of dealing with it,” I said.

We were quiet for a while longer. Thoughts about my mother and Scottie crept back into my head. I didn’t know what to make of the situation—maybe there wasn’t anything to make of it? It was just beginning to feel like I was the last one to know anything, and I was getting frustrated.

“Have you thought about college?” Sarah asked.

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

She tilted her head to the side. “Well, with your Mom being sick and all…”

“I got into State,” I said, sharply. “I have every intention of going.”

“Yeah, but if your mom is down here…”

I cut her off with a sharp wave of my hand. “Going to state has been a dream of mine for a long time,” I said. “Mom wouldn’t want anything to come in the way of that.”

She frowned at me, giving me a serious look. I could almost feel what she was thinking, but I didn’t want to consider it. Things had changed, and I knew that I would have to deal with them, but I didn’t want to consider what it meant for my future just yet.

Sarah sat there, silent, for a long time. Her eyes weren’t angry, or anything. They were soft and compassionate. The anger that bubbled up in me made me feel guilty.

“Well, if you change your mind, you’re welcome here in Green Falls,” she said.

I nodded and stared off down the hallway. The thought of staying in Green Falls longer than the summer had never even occurred to me. It had never even been a possibility. But it was, wasn’t it? Everything was a possibility at this point. Nothing could be ruled out.

Footsteps echoed from down the hall behind us, and Scottie appeared from around the corner. Both of us stared up at him. Sarah had a shocked look in her eye, as though she hadn’t believed he was actually there.

“Hi,” he said. My tone was sharp, still on edge from talking to Sarah. He flashed a tight smile at Sarah, then focused on me. “The coast is clear,” he said. “If you wanted to go back.”

I gave him a hard look, but budge.

“So you knew my mother all along?” I said. His smile wrinkled into a nervous frown. He nodded. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

He considered his words before speaking. “It’s not my place,” he said, finally.

“Not your place?” I said. “Being honest with me isn’t your place?”

He blew out a soft sigh, and shook his head. “Not about this,” he said. “You should talk to your mother.”

I rolled my eyes. “You know, I’m starting to think you’re better at keeping things from me than she is.”

His eyes flashed pain, but I didn’t regret what I’d said.

I shrugged. “It doesn’t matter,” I said. “I’ll be done with this place soon.”

He winced when I said it, but remained silent. I felt a small sense of satisfaction, knowing that I was able to get under his skin. Maybe he’d think twice about lying to me again in the future?

“Well, she’s ready for you, if you wanted to talk to her,” he said.

I rolled my eyes, but got up and walked down the hallway toward my mom’s room.

I stormed back into the room—my anger building with every step. Scottie’s flowers at on the small table next to the bed. Mom was smiling at them when I came in. Her eyes locked on me as I flopped into the chair next to her.

Neither of us said anything. All I had were questions that I wanted answers to, but they swirled around in my head so fast that I didn’t know where to begin.

“Did you have a nice visit?” I asked. Her eyes narrowed for the tiniest fraction of a second. “Are you going to say anything?” I pressed, after a time.

“I’m sure you’re wondering what is going on with him,” she said.

“That’s one way of putting it,” I said.

She regarded me for a long time before she closed her eyes and nodded her head, slowly. She waved a hand. “What is it you want to know?” she asked.

My eyes flashed at her, disbelieving.

“Isn’t it obvious?” I said. Her look was unwavering. “I want to know how you know Scottie,” I said. “And I want to know why you kicked me out of the room earlier. And I want to know why he never bothered to mention to me that he knew you.” I gave her a long look. “And, I want to know anything else that you’re keeping from me.”

My voice got louder and angrier with every word. But Mom was unflinching. She didn’t respond for a while, and I was on the bring of repeating myself. Then, she spoke—slow and deliberate.

“It’s a long story,” she said.

My eyes narrowed. “That’s it?” I said. “That’s all you’re going to give me?
It’s a long story
?” I gave her an accepting look and leaned back in my chair, settling myself in. I waved a hand. “Well, I’ve got nothing but time,” I said.

“You wouldn’t understand, Maggie,” she said. “It’s old stuff. Stuff that happened before you were even born.”

“Try me,” I said, sharply.

We stared at each other for another long second, but she said nothing. I shook my head.

“I can’t believe you,” I said. “After all this time—and after all we’ve been through. You still don’t think I’m old enough to handle whatever it is you have to say.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you,” she said.

“Then why won’t you tell me?” I said, leaning forward.

She gave me another look, and then turned her head away. Her eyes locked onto something on the wall, and she sat there, silent.

I shook my head, outraged.

“That’s what I thought,” I said. I stood and stared at her. She didn’t look at me, her eyes still focusing at the spot on the wall. “I came here to tell you that I’m seeing Haden. I spent the whole morning with him in his hotel room.” Her eyes snapped back to me. The look in them caught me off guard. “And I’m going to go back there right now.”

Without another word, I stormed off toward the door. I didn’t even hesitate when I heard her call out my name.

“What’s going on?” Sarah called to me as I stormed past the waiting room. I didn’t slow or even acknowledge that I heard her. Her footsteps pounded behind me, getting louder as she drew closer.

“Maggie, wait,” she called again.

She was right behind me now, but all I could feel was the heat in my face, and the racing pulse in my chest. Sarah rounded in front of me, putting an arm on my shoulder, pushing me to a stop.

“Maggie, what are you doing?” she asked, her eyes determined. “What happened in there?”

My breath was sharp. I didn’t know what to say. The thought of my mom laying there, practically on her death bed,
still
not talking to me, was almost too much to handle. Why wouldn’t she talk to me? Why did she feel the need to keep everything to herself?

I shook my head. “I don’t know what happened in there,” I said. “She refuses to tell me anything—so I’m done.”

I flashed Sarah a determined look, and pushed past her. She fell in line next to me.

“Done? What does that mean?” she asked.

“I’m done with everything,” I said. “If she doesn’t trust me enough to tell me what’s going on—to give me a straight answer to a straight question, then I’m done. I can’t keep doing this.”

“But, where are you going?” she asked

“I’m going to see Haden. At least he understands me.”

Sarah grabbed my arm again, pulling me to a stop next to her. She gave me a hard look, but I gave her and even harder one.

“
Now
he gets you?” she said. “Just a couple days ago you were pissed at him. You never wanted to speak to him again. Now you’re abandoning your mother to go be with him?”