Hunter
One phone call, and I feel myself coming back to life. It’s like my lungs are remembering how to breathe again. It’s the Annie effect. I guess nothing’s changed these past three years.
We’ve been home a few hours now, and the sun has sunk behind the pines on the hill. Dad and Sammy are seated on the veranda, cans of Coke in hand, discussing plans for the irrigation project. I’m half listening while changing the oil in the ute when my phone rings in my pocket. I wipe my hands and dig it out.
‘Annie?’ Sammy calls to me, smirking.
I ignore him as I check the screen. It’s not Annie. It’s Bridget. We’ve conveniently lost touch over the past three years. Annie’s needed her sister all to herself, and I wanted that for her too. I wonder if this is going to be the phone call where she tells me that Annie’s finally moved on with her life, that she’s happy, and I need to stay the hell away. I wouldn’t blame her.
‘Bridget,’ I say when I answer.
The second I hear her crying into the phone, my stomach twists. Bridget’s not a crier, which means something’s very wrong.
‘What’s going on?’ I ask, wandering away from listening ears.
‘There’s been an accident.’
The pure misery in her voice makes every muscle in my body grow rigid. ‘Who? Annie?’
‘Yeah.’
I walk in tight circles. ‘Tell me what happened.’
She lets out a shaky breath. ‘I just got to the hospital. She… she was hit by a motorbike crossing the road.’
I still, ears roaring.
‘She has a ruptured spleen. She’s having surgery.’
I let that sink in a moment. ‘Which hospital?’
‘St Andrews.’ She exhales hard into the phone. ‘They told me she was conscious in the ambulance on the way here.’ There’s a pause. ‘She was asking for you.’
I press my eyes shut. ‘Shit. We spoke on the phone earlier. She was upset…’
‘This isn’t on you. That’s not why I called.’
I’m walking towards the house now. ‘Can you do me a favour and keep me updated? If my phone’s off, it’s because I’m in the air.’
‘You’re going to fly up?’
I step past Dad and Sammy, who exchange a look, and head straight to my room, where I start throwing clothes into a bag. ‘Yeah. I’ll be there as soon as I can.’
When I hang up, Dad’s standing at my door with a worried expression.
‘What’s going on?’ he asks.
I explain the situation while I finish packing, disappearing into the bathroom at one point to grab a few toiletries. Sammy’s waiting at my door when I return.
‘I’ll drive you to the airport,’ he says.
Dad runs a hand down his face. ‘You’ll keep us posted?’
‘Yeah.’ I zip the bag up and throw it over my shoulder. ‘Let’s go.’
On the drive to the airport, I call Tom to make sure he’s been informed. Bridget has phoned him already. We agree to meet at Tullamarine Airport and fly up together.
‘Call me when you know what’s going on,’ Sammy says, stopping in the drop-off lane.