“Ow!” I sincerely hoped this wasn’t her usual bedside manner. Not only did it totally suck, but in no way did it inspire me to stay alive. Although, maybe I did want to get away, so that was something.
I slowly sat up and then rubbed my head. Owww…“It was an accident. You just said so.”
My mother covered her face. “I knew this would happen. Damn it. He promised.”
“What? Who promised what?” I groaned, massaging my temples.
She shook her head from side to side and whisked away the tears from under her eyes. “Nothing. I just wish your father were here. I’m mad. That’s all. Never mind.” She pasted on a plastic smile.
Okay. That response seemed slightly…off. “Mom. I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened.”
Once again, her eyes filled with an undercurrent of anger. “Well I do. And it won’t ever happen again.”
“I’m not planning on letting it.” My brain completely hurt, and my body was in no better shape.
Just then, Mandy burst into the room. “Jesus Christ Superstar, Dakota. Are you okay?”
I tried not to laugh because (a) it was inappropriate and (b) it would hurt. But it was near impossible to ignore one of Mandy’s trademark expressions. She had serious flair for all things Broadway. New York really did seem like the best place for her to go to school.
My mother stood and smoothed down the front of her blue scrubs, too distracted to notice that Mandy had entered the room. “I’ll be back to check on you in an hour.”
“Okay.” As soon as she left, I stopped hiding my panic. I looked at Mandy. “What the hell happened? And why is my mom acting so weird?”
Mandy rolled her eyes and plunked down on the edge of the bed. “You were hit by a car. What did you expect? A polka dance?”
I survived, didn’t I? “No, but—”
And then that’s when I remembered.
Santiago.
Lord. How had I forgotten?
“Mandy?” I gripped her hand for dear mental life. “Who was standing next to you when I got hit?”
Mandy made a little laugh. “Wow. Janice really did hit you hard.”
“Janice? Janice hit me?” I asked.
“Um, yeah. Didn’t anyone tell you?”
“Obviously not,” I replied.
Mandy’s dark brown eyes lit with joy. “Janice is in juvie.”
“What?”
“She ran you over, Dakota. Everyone saw it. And the only reason she’s not in jail is because she’s not eighteen yet. Lucky bitch. But according to the rumor mill, she’s supposed to be on meds and stopped taking them. Bipolar or something like that.”
“So she tried to kill me?” I knew she hated me, but murder? Really?
Mandy nodded. “Supposedly, she’d told all her friends she wanted to ‘kill you’ for making her look stupid in front of Dax.”
Okay. I knew it sounded strange for me to defend Janice, but I couldn’t believe she wanted to kill me. Meds or no meds. Not for something like that. “I’m sure she meant it figuratively.” Pause. Think. Rethink. “Are you sure?”
Mandy nodded.
Christ. I can’t believe it!
“Santiago and I saw the whole thing,” she added. “By the way, why did you lie to me?”
Santiago? “Wha…what…what?”
“Yeah. He went to the station to make a statement, but I’m sure he’ll be here any minute.”
“Whoa! Back up. Who’s at the station?”
Her brows lifted. “Saantiaagooo,” she said with exaggerated slowness, as if speaking to a brand-new foreign exchange student. “You really must’ve hit your head hard if you can’t remember your secret, hot boyfriend. Personally, I can’t stop thinking about him. I sooo want one! I mean, seriously, does he have a brother? Even a younger one? ’Cause I can wait! If Jacob can do it for Renesmee, so can I!”
What the…“Huh?”
“Hey! Don’t judge me. I never knew that actual human beings could be that good-looking.” Mandy huffed. “So. Not. Fair. By the way, exactly why were you hiding him from me?”
I plopped back against the headboard—ow!—in complete shock.
“You okay, Dakota? Should I call your mom?”
I shook my head. “No. I’m…I’m just tired.”
Mandy covered my hand and smiled. “You should rest before Santiago gets here. Wouldn’t want him seeing you looking all squiggly faced like that.” She leaned in and kissed my cheek. “I’ll stop by before school tomorrow.”
Before I could say another word, she was gone, leaving me with the insane thoughts plowing through my mind.
Boyfriend? Janice is in jail for attempted murder?
The only explanation was that I was in a coma and this was all a dream. But you saw Santiago before the car hit you. Was that a dream, too?
My phone vibrated on the beige Formica nightstand. I picked it up and stared at the caller ID.
Santiago.
My hand trembled so fiercely that I could barely hold the darn thing to my ear. “Y…y…yes?”
“Hey, baby. Miss me?”
“Who is this?” I whispered.
Long pause. “Tsk. Tsk. Have you forgotten me so soon? Check your Facebook page,” he said, his voice deep, menacing.