Away (3 page)

Twenty minutes later, the curtain swung open, and I opened my eyes, hoping it was Trish. I liked her. She seemed to be the kind of mother who would be happy to receive a necklace that said ‘Mom’ on it. My mother wouldn’t dare wear such a display around her dignified neck. But it wasn’t Trish. It was someone that I didn’t think I would ever see again.

“Jason?” I questioned as I saw him closing the curtain behind him. “I didn’t think I’d see you again.” I was surprised, yet relieved to see him.

“I wanted to check on you and see how you were doing,” he said with a smile tugging at his lips. He turned toward me as he stood in front of the curtain, his eyes gazing me over from head to toe.

“Only a couple more hours.”

Both of his eyebrows rose, and his voice went up an octave. “Until you die?”

I let out a soft chuckle. I liked how he was trying to ease the tension that was clearly taking over my stressed body and mind. “No, no, no. Just until I’m able to leave.”

He walked over to the end of my hospital bed, his cowboy boots clacking against the floor with each step he took. He sat down beside my feet as if he were at ease.

“I’m just teasing you. You look far too healthy to die in a few hours,” he said.

“Yeah, well, I don’t feel so healthy, but thanks.” I looked down at the blanket.

“Really, this hospital gown is a good look on you.” He winked.

I tried my best to take my gaze off him. I didn’t need him getting the wrong idea. I was a mess right now.

“So,” he said as he scratched the side of his face that looked as though it hadn’t been shaved in a few days. “Your car.” He cringed.

“Do I want to know how bad it is?” I asked, closing my eyes, not ready to hear the answer.

“It’s fixable, so that’s good,” he said, before rubbing the back of his neck. “But the bad news is that you like foreign cars,” he said, giving me a soft glare. I didn’t like them; my father did. “The parts aren’t in stock at our mechanical shop, so you’ll be waiting a while.”

Ugh. “This is bad. This is so bad,” I said, shaking my head. I tried my best to hold back the tears that were sitting impatiently behind my eyes wanting to release themselves yet again.

“I assure you that they’re working hard to get it fixed. The mechanic is a close family friend. I’ll make sure it gets repaired quickly, Cassandra,” he said.

“Thanks, but right now, can I just have a little time alone? I just need to let all this process, okay?” I asked him, struggling to keep the tears from pouring out and my voice from shaking. This poor guy didn’t need to see another breakdown.

“I understand. I’ll be back later to check on you before you leave,” he said before he left through the curtains.

I. Was. Screwed. There was no other way to put it. Life kept throwing obstacle after obstacle in my path to test me, and I was failing each one. My spirits were low. My positivity had turned to negativity, and my thoughts had become jaded. I didn’t fail. Cassandra Elizabeth Pierce never, EVER failed anything. It wasn’t an option, but at this moment, I felt as though I didn’t have options. It was failure, nothing else.

My pity party continued for quite some time, two hours, a box of tissues, and a couple of nurse visits later to be exact. It felt weird just to sit and cry, and let it all out. I don’t think that, in all my years, I’d ever done that before, and it felt right.

“How’s it going in here, Sweetheart? You doing okay?” Jason asked as he poked his head through the curtain. I shot him a quick grin as he made his way to the foot of my bed.

“For the moment I guess. I just needed to have a breakdown by myself this time. You didn’t need to witness another freak show again,” I explained to him.

“Ah, I quite enjoyed the entertainment.” He chuckled. “I’m kidding, Cassandra. I don’t mind being here. I don’t want you to be alone.”

I was so thankful for him. He didn’t know me, and I wouldn’t have known him from Adam, but something about him was strangely comforting.

“I appreciate your being here, but really, you don’t have to stay.” I couldn’t lie though. His presence was a pleasant distraction from my thoughts.

“Cassandra,” he said with a hard look on his face, yet his eyes were soft and connected with mine. “I’m staying. End of subject.” I gave him another smile. This time though, it went from ear to ear.

“So what are you doing here in town anyway?” He leaned against the edge of the bed.

“I’m headed to Alamosa. I wasn’t supposed to be in town, just passing through.”

His eyes got wide as he craned his neck, looking at me even closer. “Alamosa? Really?”

“Why is that so hard to believe?” I asked, giving him a questioning glance. What, a girl can’t go to Alamosa?

“Cassandra,” he said, trying to contain his laughter. “Alamosa is in the complete opposite direction. You’re not even close; it’s at least three hours away. You’re in Keaton right now.”

No. No. No. That wasn’t possible. I closed my eyes and tried to remember seeing Keaton on the GPS before I wrecked my car.

“What do you mean I’m not even close?” I needed him to explain before I started screaming in frustration.

“Well Sweetheart, Alamosa is west. We’re east. Clearly someone gave you the wrong directions,” he said with an apologetic look.

“Are you kidding me?” I yelled out. “Are you freaking kidding me? Goddamn GPS, stupid thing, I hate it. Dumb, horrible, lousy, good for nothing, piece of junk!” I screamed out before dropping my head to my hands in defeat.

I felt a hand gently resting on my lower leg. “Hey, don’t be upset. It’s okay. You’ll get your car fixed, and then I’ll give you directions. You’ll still get there,” he said softly.

I raised my head, trying to give him a fraction of a smile since he was trying so hard to be polite during my mini-tantrum. The least I could do was calm down for him, but my emotions were getting the best of me.

“I’ve never heard of Keaton. It wasn’t even on my GPS,” I told him, not surprised that the dumb piece of junk didn’t display this city on its map.

“We like to keep our city a secret. Saves more trees that way.” I couldn’t believe he just went there. It hadn’t even been 12 hours since I hit a tree and my head. “Too soon?” he asked.

I continued to gaze at him. His warm eyes, charming smile, and that laugh had me feeling as if I wanted to laugh with him. Something about him, about his presence left me awestruck.

I opened my mouth to answer him. “Yes, but–” I froze. What was I supposed to tell him?
But, you have a real appealing smile, and I can’t help but feel the need to smile around you, so what you said doesn’t bother me that much.
Hell, no. I was not about to say that.

“But what?” He raised a brow waiting for me to finish my sentence, the grin on his face still present.

I had nothing, and luckily, I didn’t have to answer. Trish came to my rescue by walking in with my discharge papers, which prompted Jason to stand.

“Okay, Cassandra, you’re good to go. If you have any more issues, then come right back, or call an ambulance to bring you in.”

I nodded my head. With that, Jason and Trish both left my room. I slowly put my clothes back on and sat myself on the edge of the bed trying to figure out what I needed to do next. I began to look around to find my purse, but it was missing from my room. It must still be in my car... My wrecked car.

“Damn it!” I yelled to myself. At that moment, I could hear Jason’s voice on the other side of the curtain.

“Everything okay in there, Cassandra?”

“No. I can’t find my purse. I think it’s still in my car. I need my phone to call my friend,” I explained.

“Are you dressed yet?” Jason asked calmly.

I looked down at myself, gazing from my shoes to my shirt. It was as good as it was going to get. I’ve never been this not put together in my life. My hair was a disaster. My clothes had blood on them from the cut on my head, and mud covered my shoes. Not my finest hour, but at least I was dressed.

“Yes,” I mumbled. Before I could finish answering, he was pushing a wheelchair into my room. My eyes widened when I saw my purse on his shoulder. “Thank you, thank you, thank you, Jason!” I all but screamed. “You’re a life saver, seriously.” I reached for the purse he was handing over to me.

“Of course, what are friends for?”

“Friends already, huh?” I teased back.

“Well, we can’t be best friends yet. I’ve only known you for approximately 8 hours,” he said, looking down at his wristwatch.

I couldn’t help but feel as if he were a friend. I sat back down on my bed, digging through my purse for my phone, pushing too many other items aside that I didn’t need. I was angry to find it wasn’t in my bag.

“Where is the damn thing?” I said to myself.

“What’s wrong?”

I dug through my purse one last time, checking every square inch without my phone turning up. Damn it. I set my purse to the side in frustration. “I can’t find my phone, and I need to call my friend to let her know what’s going on.”

“We’ll find your phone. In the meantime, here.” He reached into his front pocket and handed me his phone. “You can use mine.”

As thoughtful as the gesture was, I didn’t feel right using his phone. I would have to find a payphone or a phone in a hotel room since I clearly wouldn’t be traveling today or tomorrow. I shook my head at him. “No, that’s okay. I’ll figure it out. Right now, my head really hurts; I’m exhausted, and ready to leave the hospital. Do you think you could take me to a motel?” I watched as his face went flat with no emotion. Oh, God. “You do have a motel, don’t you?” I asked nervously, praying that they did.

“We do. I just wanted to scare you a bit,” he confessed.

“Oh, thank God,” I said in relief as he walked toward me.

“But I’d rather you didn’t stay there. I want you to come and stay with me,” he said.

Say what? Oh, I don’t think so. Talk about being taken aback. I wasn’t prepared to hear that answer, let alone to be okay with it. I barely knew the guy, and he wanted to take me home. Talk about a scene right out of an investigation show.

“I don’t think so, Jason,” I told him, gripping my hands in my lap.

“I do. My mom insisted. You’ll be much more comfortable at our house than at a motel. We have a spare bedroom. You can stay with us until your car is done, and it’ll save you money. You don’t even want to know what kind of bugs are creeping around in that motel,” he said, giving me a reassuring nod.

Bugs. Money. Spare bedroom. I kept running through the words that he just spewed. Yep, I was going to a motel, bugs, or no bugs.

“Jason, I appreciate it, but I don’t know that much about you. Honestly, you could be a genuinely nice guy just wanting to help a girl out, but then again,” I shrugged, “you could be one of those guys that preys on young girls, does unspeakable things to them, and then kills them, disposing their bodies in trash bags,” I said, watching his face go from shocked to amused.

“Really? You think I’m a killer, huh? You watch way too much TV, Cassandra. I’m just trying to be polite here,” he said. “I’m offering you a much better room than the one you are about to pay for.”

“Yeah, but I might be saving my own life right now by having watched too much TV,” I said to him. “Do you guys have a cab service that I can call to take me to this bug-infested motel?”

He walked over to the bed, standing in front of me. “No, we don’t, but I’ll take you there.” He continued to stand there with his thumb tucked in the front pocket of his jeans, his other hand reaching out for me to take. “I’m not happy about it, but if that’s where you want to go, I’ll gladly take you.”

I looked at the hand that was waiting for me. He didn’t look like a killer. Quite the opposite, in fact, but I needed to be smart with all of this.

“You can trust me,” he said softly.

I didn’t know what it was inside me that was allowing myself to trust this stranger, but something was telling me it was okay to place my hand in his, and let him take me to the motel. And that is exactly what I did.

He guided me into the wheelchair, and I looked at him with confusion.

“The wheelchair is a little overboard. I can walk you know.” He grabbed my purse and placed it gently in my lap as he began pushing us through the ER to the exit.

He continued pushing me. “I know, but it’s policy. You have to be escorted out in a wheelchair. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.”

I guess today was my day to be carried from my car, and pushed in a wheelchair by this stranger, but after a short time, he didn’t seem to be such a stranger anymore. Right now, I was glad to have such a compassionate person come to my rescue. If I couldn’t have my best friend by my side, then I was more than okay with Jason.

“A
RE
YOU
SURE
ABOUT
THIS
?” He put his truck in park as we sat in front of the ancient motel. No, I wasn’t sure about it at all. It looked just as horrid as my mind had envisioned, the outdoor room entrance, the old paint, the vacancy sign illuminated by the front desk ‘check-in’. I took a big gulp and turned to face him. “Yeah, I’m… I’m sure,” I said before reaching for the door handle. As I gripped the handle, I felt a hand on my arm. I whipped around to see Jason with worried eyes fixed on me and his jaw clenched together.