Vindicated (17 page)

Alex glanced at me from the road for a moment, gauging what I had said.
 
Finally his expression softened, he let out the breath he had been holding.
 

“I’m sorry I yelled,” he said, his voice still tight.
 
Given my past experience with dreams, it was understandable that he believed me.
 
“It’s just everything about Caroline gets me so freaked out.
 
Sometimes I think it was a mistake bringing her back here.”

“No, it wasn’t,” I said firmly.
 
“She needs you.
 
And you should be able to need your own mother.”

He reached across the seat and took my hand in his.
 
He glanced down at the ring on my finger for a moment, a small smile cracking on his lips.

“Moving on,” he said quietly as he looked back at the road, his smile quickly fading.
 
I didn’t have the will-power to ask what he was referring to in this instance.

By the time we arrived in the emergency room at St. Joseph’s hospital, Caroline had already been taken to a room and was receiving treatment.
 
There was nothing Alex and I could do but sit in the waiting room and fill out paperwork.

“I don’t even know half this information,” Alex sighed as he worked his way down the page.

“Just do what you can,” I said quietly as I tried not to meet the eyes of every staring person in the room.
 
People always stared.
 
I didn’t know why I had expected that to stop.
 
Their eyes would linger on my skin, on my too bright eyes.
 
They didn’t seem to be able to help it.

Alex stood back up, walking to the reception counter.
 
“I’m sorry,” he said as he handed the paperwork back to her on the clipboard.
 
“That was all I knew.
 
Any of the billing can come to me.”

After getting more paperwork handed to him, Alex sat back down next to me.

“At least we found her,” I said quietly.
 
I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees, letting my hair fall around my face.
 
I hated feeling like I had to hide.
 
But I didn’t want all their eyes on me.
 
“She’ll be at the wedding now, as long as she’s okay.”

“Well, I don’t want to get any of my expectations up,” Alex said as he continued to work on the forms.
 
“Like I said, she’s going straight to rehab this time.”

My phone vibrated in my pocket.
 
Pulling it out, I found a text from my dad.

Is there anything you need us to help with?
 
Our flight leaves tomorrow morning.

And then it hit me.
 
I’d been so distracted the last week that the days had been slipping by without my even noticing them.

The wedding was only three days away now.
 

While my heart suddenly started beating faster in excitement and anticipation, my stomach sank, fear for losing Alex taking over.
 
I didn’t have much guaranteed time after the wedding.

Nope,
I texted back.
 
We’ve got pretty much everything done.
 
Just show up.

I can’t believe my little Jessica is getting married.
 
Love you.

Love you too, Dad.

Alex walked up to the counter and handed the woman the rest of the paperwork.
 
Sinking back into his chair, he rubbed his hands over his eyes with a sigh.
 
“I can’t wait to get to the beach and unwind.”

I rubbed circles into his back as he leaned forward.
 
“Just the two of us,” I said with a smile.
 

“Just the two of us,” he said as he reached a hand over and rested it on my knee.
 
His hand was stiff though.
 
Alex was still mad.

We sat there for nearly an hour before a nurse came to get us.
 
My stomach twisted as I remembered Sal lying in one of these beds, of finding a feather tangled in her blankets, of waking in a hospital bed myself, and knowing that I had to get out of there as soon as possible.
 
It seemed I was visiting this hospital all too often the last seven months.

We were led into a room with a doctor in a while lab coat fussing over Caroline’s still form.

“You must be her family,” the doctor said as he stepped away from her and shook each of our hands.
 
“I’m Dr. Scoresby.”

“Alex Wright, and soon to be Mrs. Wright, Jessica,” Alex introduced.
 
I couldn’t help but smile.
 
Maybe he wasn’t too mad at me after all.

Dr. Scoresby nodded.
 
“We’re flushing Caroline’s system out right now.
 
She had a dangerous mix of methamphetamines in her system, as well as extreme amounts of alcohol.
 
She would have been dead within a few hours, maybe less, if you hadn’t found her when you did.”

Alex just stared at his mother’s body.
 
“Is she going to be okay?” I asked when Alex didn’t say anything.

“It’s going to take a while to flush everything out of her system,” the doctor said, turning his eyes on me.
 
He stared for a second, as if he was actually looking at me for the first time.
 
“Uh,” he stuttered.
 
“I’m going to recommend that she stay in hospital care for a few days.
 
And if I may be frank, I suggest we immediately release her to rehab.”

“That’s the plan,” Alex suddenly said, his eyes hardening as he continued to look at his mother.

“Is there any chance,” I piped up “that she could be released by Saturday.
 
Just for a few hours.
 
That’s the day of the wedding.”

A small smile crossed his face for a moment.
 
“Congratulations,” he said.
 
His smile then faded just as quickly.
 
“We will see how treatment goes.
 
She will need to be watched very closely.
 
Drug addicts will do anything to get to their next fix.
 
It might not be very enjoyable for the two of you to have to make sure she doesn’t abscond during your wedding.”

“We’ll make it work,” I said as I slid my hand into Alex’s, giving it a tight squeeze.
 
His fingers just hung loose.

“Well, we’ll see how things go,” the doctor said.
 
“Right now we can just wait while her system flushes out.
 
I don’t think she’ll wake up for a while.
 
A nurse will be in soon to look after your mother.
 
If you’ll excuse me.”

He offered one more smile before he let himself out of the door.
 

Pulling away from my hand, Alex walked to the side of the bed.
 
Looking down at her, I saw his eyes harden, his jaw tighten.
 

“I’m so sick of her always screwing things up,” he said through clenched teeth.
 
“I don’t know why I keep expecting her to change.
 
To be a decent person.”

I swallowed hard, stuffing my hands into my pockets, not knowing what to say.
 
He was right though.
 
She wasn’t a decent person.
 
She was trying to kill herself with the life she was leading.

“Do you still want her to come?” I asked.

“To the wedding?” he asked, looking at me.
 
I hated how sad his eyes looked.
 
I nodded.
 
His eyes dropped back down to her still form.
 
“I don’t know.
 
Maybe not.
 
She might not even be able to come.”

I came to his side, sliding my hand into his again.
 
He loosely curled his fingers around mine.
 
“Give her one more chance,” I said quietly as I looked down at her.
 
She was so scary looking.
 
“If she can, let her come to the wedding.
 
If she cares enough to behave for a few hours and goes to rehab without issues, maybe she can change.
 
If that doesn’t happen, if she continues her drama, be done.
 
No one can blame you.
 
She abandoned you all your life.
 
She can’t expect you to keep swooping in and saving her at the last minute.”

“That’s the thing,” he said, his voice hinting at cracking.
 
“She doesn’t want to be saved.
 
She doesn’t want me saving her.
 
She’s already told me that herself.”

“One more chance,” I said, leaning my head against his shoulder.

I felt him nod, giving my hand a tight squeeze.
 
Finally.
 
“One more chance.
 
But I’m not waiting around the next few days, holding my breath.”

Just then the door opened again, a young looking nurse with slanted eyes and straight black hair walking in.

“I’m Caroline’s nurse until she’s transferred to her long term room,” she said quietly.
 
“I’m just going to take her vitals and draw another blood test.”

Alex nodded, stepping out of the way as she started to work.
 
“We’re not staying actually,” Alex said as he cleared his throat.
 
I could tell how hard this was for him.
 
“She’s going to need to be watched closely.
 
I’d say she’s a flight risk.
 
Have them give me a call when they know more.”

“I will let them know,” she said, giving Alex a sad smile.

Alex nodded, and grasping my hand tighter, turned and we walked out of the room.
 
Just as we were about to walk out of the sliding glass doors, Alex’s phone rang.
 
He answered it with a curt sounding “Hello?”

I felt like there was a rock in the pit of my stomach.
 
It was supposed to be filled with happy butterflies just days before my wedding.
 
Instead I was terrified of my fiancé being pulled into the world of the dead, my soon to be mother-in-law was strung out and nearly dead, and everything just felt wrong.
 
This wasn’t how things were supposed to be.

“That was the tux shop.
 
My suit is ready,” Alex said as he slid his phone into his pocket.
 
“Want to come with me to pick it up right now?”

“Sure,” I said, my mood instantly brightened.
 
This was more like it.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

It only took us a few minutes to get to the tux shop.
 
My heart started beating faster with the right kind of anticipation as I thought of seeing Alex in a suit in just a few days, about to bind himself to me for as long as we had.

Which I intended to make much longer.

“You know,” I said as the woman helping us started to unzip the white garment bag that held Alex suit.
 
“I think I’m going to wait outside while you try it on.
 
I want to be surprised and see you in it for the first time at the wedding.”

“How traditional of you,” Alex winked at me and I stepped back into the bright sunlight outside.

My phone started ringing as soon as I sat on the bench just outside the doors.
 
Pulling it out, I found it was Rita.

“Hi,” I answered.

“Hey, sweetie,” she said in her ever-kind voice.
 
“I got Katlin to come in for your shift this afternoon.
 
You’re only days out from your wedding and I feel bad for scheduling you today.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I said as I picked at a thread on the hem of my jeans.
 
“It’s not a big deal.”