“I don’t know. I got a call from one of his friends telling me that he was in the hospital and that he was in a bad way. A BAD WAY, Bails. How could I have been so stupid?”
“You’re not stupid. And just for the record…you’re doing the right thing.”
Bailey’s reassurance gave Caroline a brief moment of peace. “Thank you. Oh geez, how’s Clay?”
“Confused, of course. But he’ll be fine. Leave him to me. I’ll tell him I talked to you and you got some crazy phone call about someone being hurt in New York and you had to go ASAP.”
“He’ll think it’s Tray.”
“I know.”
“But then he’ll want to fly out.” The last thing Caroline wanted or needed was Clay flying out half-crazed to New York under false pretenses.
“I know. But he can’t. He’s on a big case, remember,” Bailey said through her sarcasm.
Caroline sighed. “Bailey, I have to go. We’re boarding already.”
“Hang in there. It will all be okay. I’m proud of you.”
“Thanks. I needed to hear that.”
She sat down in her assigned seat and realized it was the first time she’d been on a plane since she and Jackson had met. The emotions from that day immediately flooded through her and she thought she might pass out.
She sank deeper into her seat and tried to fight off the bad feelings she couldn’t seem to shake. What if he died? She reached into her purse and gently pulled out the heart charm from Jackson, which she secretly had affixed to a long silver chain. She unclasped the necklace for the first time and fastened it securely around her neck. She felt the chill of the metal against her skin as it rested underneath her shirt.
She wrapped her arms tightly around herself and forced her eyes to close.
Chapter Fifteen
When Caroline awoke, she spent the remainder of the flight beating herself up emotionally. Life was too short and too precious to waste making decisions you didn’t really want. Of course other people’s feelings should be taken into consideration, but their wants and needs shouldn’t be more important than your own. And then she heard Bailey’s words in her head, “Sometimes other hearts have to break in order to keep yours intact.”
She nodded to herself and the truth resonated within every fiber of her being. She also recognized that it was far easier said than done, but there was no time for that. After landing, she hailed a cab for the fifteen-minute drive to the hospital.
Caroline practically sprinted into the large white building before she spotted a guy walking down the hall that instinct told her was Alex. She shouted his name and the guy stopped walking and turned around.
“Are you Alex?”
“Caroline?” Alex immediately recognized her voice.
“Yeah,” she responded, half out of breath.
He walked over to her with a smile on his face. “I can’t believe you’re here. Thanks for coming.”
“Where is he?” she asked, every drop of her strained emotions spilling out in her words. “Is he alive?”
“He’s alive.” Alex put a hand on her shoulder. “He’s over here.”
Caroline’s eyes softened. “I love him too, you know.”
“I do have to warn you, though. I, um, didn’t know you were coming. And, well…”
“What is it?” Nervous energy shot through her and stopped her legs from taking another step.
“It’s just that…Sally’s here. That’s the girl he’s been dating the last couple of months or so.”
“Oh.” Caroline brought her fingers to her mouth and started to bite nervously on her nails. “I see.” It had never even occurred to her that Jackson would have moved on so quickly.
“No. It’s not…” Alex touched her shoulder and gave a gentle nudge forward. “He doesn’t love her. But she wants him to. Anyway, she really cares about him, so it will probably rattle her a little to have you here.”