In that moment, the amount of gratitude I felt towards Mack couldn’t be expressed in words. I had felt so totally alone, and suddenly I wasn’t.
“Emily,” I finally said. “I can ask Emily.”
Mack held out his hand. “Give me your phone. I’ll call her.”
I shook my head, feeling a bit foolish. “It’s okay. I can call her.” I made an attempt at a shaky smile. “I can use my phone with just one hand.”
Mack smiled back. “I know you can, but let me. You’ve been through enough.”
I surprised myself when I gave him my phone willingly. I watched him as he scrolled through my phone and pressed the button to call Emily.
“Hi, this is Mack, Logan and Madison’s friend,” he said after a few moments of silence. He paused, presumably to let Emily express surprise that he was calling her on my phone. “They were in a car accident. Madison is fine, but she needs a change of clothes and whatever else you think she needs to spend the night here. Logan is unconscious and she’s not planning on leaving his side anytime soon.”
I listened to him answer her questions, although he kept his explanations brief. When he disconnected the call and handed my phone back to me, he didn’t say anything. Instead, he dragged a chair over and sat next to me.
“What did she say?” I finally asked.
“She asked how you guys were doing. She sounded pretty worried. She said she would be here with your stuff as soon as possible.”
I rubbed my forehead wearily. “She was probably already at work. She can’t really afford to take any time off. She’s super busy right now, and her boss has been riding her lately. I shouldn’t have told you to call her.”
Mack shook his head. “She didn’t sound bothered. In fact, I think she was upset that you hadn’t contacted her earlier.”
I sighed and leaned my head forward, resting it against the bed, and closing my eyes. They burned from lack of sleep, but there was no way I would be able to get any rest. Not until Logan woke up. I tightened my grip on Logan’s hand and said my millionth prayer.
>
Mack and I were silent, neither of us feeling the need to talk. I no longer felt awkward around him. The conversation between us last night seemed so trivial now.
He seemed to have read my mind and broke the silence. “About last night, and what we talked about—”
I raised my head and cut him off before he could continue. “Let’s forget that ever happened. It was a stupid conversation fueled by my insecurities. I honestly couldn’t care less right now about what happened between Logan and Kristina. I should have just asked him in the first place instead of questioning you.”
Mack gave me a half-smile. “I just wanted to say, in case I wasn’t clear enough, there’s no one besides you, Madison. There never has been for Logan. During law school, there were plenty of girls who would have done just about anything for a date with Logan. I asked him once why he never seemed to take any girl seriously, and that’s when he told me about you.” Mack paused a few beats before continuing. “He told me about Cassie, too. He said you were broken by what had happened, and he was waiting for enough time to pass so that you were healed enough to give him another chance. A man that much in love, that devoted to one woman, isn’t going to risk his relationship by cheating.”
Instead of Mack’s words making me feel better, I felt crushed. I had expended so much energy suspecting Logan of cheating, when I knew in my heart that he could never do anything like that. And now I was possibly going to lose him. It seemed too cruel.
I didn’t say anything, because there was nothing to say. We lapsed back into silence and stayed that way until I heard the door open. Emily looked worried as she came in, setting the bags she was carrying down onto the floor before giving me a hug.
“Madison, I’m so sorry. I can’t believe this happened.”
I tried to give her a wavering smile, not wanting to break down again. “I bet your boss is pissed you’re not at work right now.”
“Screw Sylvia,” Emily said, waving her hand. “This is way more important than designing some stupid office space.” She put her arm around me as she looked at Logan lying deathly still on the bed. “What happened?”
I gave her the details of the accident and the aftermath, as well as my reluctance to let go of his hand. She was as understanding as Mack, whom I had briefly introduced her to.
“I brought a few changes of clothes and your toiletries. Let me help you undress. I bet you’re more sore than you think, since you must have gotten pretty banged up during the accident.” She turned to Mack with an arched brow. “You should probably leave the room for this.”
He got up agreeably and left the room, asking if we wanted anything to drink. Emily ordered him to get coffee for us, and although he raised his eyebrows at her commanding tone, he affably went to go get them.
“Way to boss him around,” I said, smiling faintly. I could always count on Emily to lift my spirits, no matter the situation.
She wrinkled her nose. “He annoys me. He’s the type who looks at a woman and thinks he knows everything about her. He’s too good looking to like.”
Despite everything going on, my smile widened, although I didn’t comment. I let her help me change and accepted the wet washcloth and toothbrush she gave me so that I could wipe my face and brush my teeth.
We were done by the time Mack knocked on the door and called out, “Is everyone decent?”