“Dad… Elle… Quinn…?” but they don’t say anything. In fact, they ignore me like everyone else has been doing this entire time.
I stand in front of Elle and look at my twin. She’s so beautiful. Tears stream down her face and her hand covers her heart. Does she know that I’m not in pain?
There’s an audible gasp and I turn to see my dad in the doorway. Elle now stands next to him with her hand covering her mouth. She almost falls to her knees but my dad holds her upright.
“Mr. James,” the doctor stops speaking when he looks at Elle.
“This is Peyton’s twin.”
He nods. “I’m Dr. Stevens. I operated on your daughter when she was brought in by ambulance.”
“Is she going to be okay?” my dad asks, but the doctor shakes his head.
“As we said on the phone, we don’t expect her to make it through the night. She suffered severe trauma when the truck collided with her side of the car. We’ve operated, but the damage was extensive. I’m sorry,” he says, resting his hand on my dad’s shoulder.
My sister collapses even though Quinn tries to catch her he’s unable to. She cries loudly while my brother tries to console her.
“Just like our father,” she screams loudly in between sobs. “Just like our father.”
4
Noah
From the moment I was told that Peyton had been in a car accident until now, everything has moved in incredibly slow motion. The details are fuzzy and each time my dad tries to reach Harrison, his calls are going to voicemail. The worry in my dad and Grandma’s eyes is evident.
All I can think about is the time we lost Mason. His death changed everything. My father returned to Beaumont after learning Mason had died. They were best friends growing up until my dad made a life-changing decision. I suppose that you can say his decision was for the best or maybe it was wrong, depending on how you look at it, but it was right for my parents. They needed the separation to grow and find themselves individually. Everyday since my dad’s return, I have witnessed his undying love for my mom. They have the type of relationship I want, the kind where it doesn’t matter how your day is going, the moment you see that person, you know everything is going to be better.
My problem is that I don’t know when I’ll know. It’s like I’m waiting for a flash of lightning or for the sky to open up and cast a rainbow that leads me to the one. My mom speaks of soul mates and one true loves, and why wouldn’t she? One look and you can see that my parents are smitten with each other. They’re ridiculous, acting like teenagers all the time, always embarrassing Paige.
Paige, or Little B as I like to call her, is nestled into my side, fast asleep. The tears she cried earlier were for Peyton. Paige loves Elle and Peyton. They used to babysit her.
Telling my coach that I was leaving didn’t go well with him or Dessie for that matter. I promised coach I wouldn’t miss practice and I intend to keep that promise. If it meant I had to travel back and forth between Portland and Chicago, I would do it. There was no way I wouldn’t be there when Peyton woke up… because for me there is no other alternative.
Dessie, on the other hand, didn’t understand why I needed to go in the first place. The problem is that this conversation took place in front of my dad, sister, and grandmother. I don’t think she meant to sound rude or insensitive, but that’s how her words came off and what Bianca heard. If Dessie thought my grandmother didn’t like her before, she can pretty much guarantee that’s the case now.
We left my dad’s hotel almost as soon as we arrived and I all but ran back to our apartment to pack a bag. The entire way, Dessie whined about me leaving, saying she just got home and it wasn’t fair.
No, what wasn’t fair was that my friend had been in an accident and the words “not expected to make it” had been said. That sentence alone should’ve prompted Dessie to encourage me to go, not complain. I would expect Dessie to do the same for her friends, except she doesn’t have a connection with anyone like I do Peyton.
For Dessie, she grew up in a sheltered environment and started modeling at a young age. None of her “friends” are truly her friends and are more like acquaintances who wouldn’t think twice about stabbing her in the back. Her friends have hit on me one too many times, and while I tell her not to trust them, she doesn’t necessarily believe they would do anything to hurt her.
What she doesn’t understand is the connection that I have with Peyton. No one really does and in the past, it has scared women away. This one time in college, I was dating a girl and Peyton came to visit for Homecoming. Peyton stayed in my room, sleeping in my roommate’s bed, but that was far too much for my girlfriend at the time and she issued an ultimatum—her or Peyton—I chose Peyton. I always have and always will. We ha
ve a bond that is hard to describe.
And that’s why I’m on this plane, traveling to Chicago. Peyton is hurt and she needs me. She needs to know that I’m there for her during her crisis, just as I would be if she picked up the phone and called me. I’d drop everything for her.
We don’t know what to expect when we land in Chicago and I’m trying not to fear the worst. My memories of my uncle Mason have all but faded except for the night everything happened. I barely remember him showing me how to tackle properly or teaching me to learn the game of football and not just play it. But I do remember my mom getting the late-night phone call and her leaving me with Nick so she could go be with Peyton and Elle. Nick paced the living room while he chatted on his phone, trying to get whatever information he could about Mason. Being a doctor, he had privileges at the hospital, not to mention Beaumont is a pretty small town and everyone pretty much knows everyone.
It was Nick who told me that Mason didn’t make it, and I remember wondering what was going to happen next. Mason was a teacher at the high school and the football coach. Katelyn would babysit me after school or be the one to pick me up if I were sick so I know she didn’t work. I was worried that she would move away, but then Liam Page rode into town like a bad ass knight in shining armor and saved her. Financially that is. My dad never let on about all the things he did for Katelyn until much later. He paid for Mason’s funeral, paid off all the Powell’s debt and started trust funds for Peyton and Elle. And he brought Harrison to town, and his arrival changed everything.
Needing something to distract my mind I press the button that brings the small television to life and go through the channels until I am on ESPN, and because I forgot to pack my headphones, I can only read the ticker at the bottom. *BREAKING NEWS* is scrolling along the bottom and I catch the tail end of it, waiting for it to start again. Whenever I see this I always fear it’s about me, or someone I know with a reported trade, although that wouldn’t warrant a headline like this.
Chicago Bears quarterback, Kyle Zimmerman was involved in a fatal accident.
That’s all the ticker says, nothing about who died or where the accident was. I find it ironic that he and Peyton were in an accident on the same day…unless he’s the reason she’s in the hospital. Did he hit her with his car?
I press the call button to signal the flight attendant. Considering this is a chartered plane it only takes her seconds before she’s at my side. “What can I do for you, Mr. Westbury?”