I walk out the door, turning to go back to the PICU. I planned to check on Ellie one more time before I left, but as I turned the corner, I was face-to-face with Jameson. His eyes meet mine, and I just can’t handle it. He’s her dad, not me, so I turn the corner and pretend like that’s the direction I was heading in anyway.
I slip into the elevator, and the familiar hum fills the silence. As soon as the doors open on the ground floor, Karly nearly fumbles into me. The expression on her face has me worried, so I grab her, “Hey, hey, are you okay?”
“I was…” she breathes hard, trying to catch her breath, “looking for you.”
“Well, here I am?”
She stares up at me, worries shielding her irises, “Eric… It’s Lainey. Lainey was in the car.”
“Whoa, whoa.” I try and calm her, “What?”
“Lainey hit Jameson and Ellie.”
I shake my head, “Lainey doesn’t drive. She doesn’t even have a license.”
“She was driving,” I assure him. “They arrested her.”
I feel my stomach sink, “When?”
“Now. Just a few minutes ago,” She rushes. “I told her I was coming right behind her.”
Instinctively, I grab her hand and pull her behind me to my truck. “Was anyone with her?”
“No,” She shakes her head, “I don’t know. I don’t think so.”
“Okay, let’s go,” I say, opening the door for her and practically pushing her inside before she has time to change her mind.
The entire ride to the police station, she stares out the window, and I wonder what she could possibly be thinking about.
Us?
Hanna?
“You talked to Hanna.” I acknowledge, noting that they were both at the hospital together.
She turns her tired eyes to me, ones that look like they haven’t shut in days. “Not really, just long enough for her to tell me she forgives me for my mistake.”
“Mistake?” I question, gripping the wheel tighter.
“Yeah, I barely had the chance to get the words out, but I told her that I didn’t think it was a mistake. The entire time we were at the hospital, I could practically feel the animosity radiating off of her.”
“What else did she say?” I ask, “She won’t return my calls.”
“Nothing, but I’m telling you right now, she’ll never understand. Why should she? I’ve never been serious about anyone but Ashton, and even then, the second that anything permanent was mentioned, I was basically a ghost. Hanna doesn’t see me being with anyone, especially not someone like you.”
I peek over at her, taking my eyes off the road for a second, “What do you mean by that?”
“I don’t deserve you,” She says. “Not now, probably not ever. Everyone can see that but you.”
I’m already in a terrible mood, so I snap, hitting the steering wheel, “I don’t give a fuck what anyone thinks!”
“How can you say that?” She argues. “How could you not be afraid?”
“Afraid?”
“Yeah, Eric, I’m afraid. Afraid to lose you but even more afraid to keep you.”
Her words sting, but I’ve known Karly long enough to know how hard it is for her to open up to people, to trust them, like she trusts Hanna. I know she feels some type of way about feeling like she’s betrayed her.