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I ROLLED DOWN THE WINDOW to let in some of the cool air beyond, leaning my head back and letting out a long breath.
“How are you feeling?” Warren asked me from the driver’s side of the car. I managed to muster a smile.
“Good,” I replied. “My mom’s coming out of the hospital today. I’m glad about that.”
It was true, at least. Finally, I would be able to bring Mom home and make sure she was doing okay. It would be a small slice of normalcy in the middle of all this madness, and I needed it more than anything.
Silver hung her head between the seats, and I scratched her chin. She panted happily.
“And I’ll bet she’ll be happy to see her too, right?” he remarked.
“I don’t know if she’ll be allowed in the hospital,” I laughed. “But yeah, when she comes out, you’re going to have to hold her back from jumping all over her, or it’s right back to the emergency room again.”
He grinned at me and turned his eyes back to the road. Silver took her seat in the back again, and I gazed out of the window once more, the smile slipping from my face.
I still couldn’t really wrap my head around all of this. Everything that I had been told the day before, and then the attack on Warren’s house too. It all made me feel...as though I was being watched, or something. As though there was someone hanging over my head at all times, intent on making sure I never felt too safe. Even now, out here on the road with Warren and Silver, I couldn’t quite let it go. I didn’t know when I would be able to.
My mind drifted, as it often did, to the woman who had taken the restraining order out against Tony. Maybe she had just been more sensible than me and seen the danger earlier on, viewed the order as a way to extract herself from the situation as soon and as safely as she could.
Or maybe...maybe, she had been caught up in it deeper than any of us had. I didn’t even want to think how far Tony must have gone to get that reaction out of her. And I knew him too well to think for an instant that he would respect a restraining order. In fact, I could only imagine that it would send him flying into a rage, and what would he have done to her when he got her hands on her after that?
It didn’t even bear thinking about. I slid down a few inches in the seat, hoping nobody in the cars passing either side of us could see me. I just wanted to be invisible right now, to be sure nobody was watching me, but the memory of Warren’s destroyed house flashed through my mind once more.
When was this going to end? When was I going to be able to live a normal life again? Even though we had taken huge steps forward in getting the women who had been hurt by him together again, we still hadn’t pulled together enough evidence to get this thing to trial. And even if we did, how could we be sure it would all go our way...?
My mind spun out again. This was getting to be all too familiar to me, this feeling of losing control. Being out on the road again like this reminded me of those first few months I had been on the run from him, when I would have done anything to put distance between us. When miles and miles of road didn’t feel like enough, when it was like he could spring out from behind any corner the first chance he got.
And I was starting to feel that again now. Tony was out there. He had even attacked Warren, though Warren had done his best to play it down to me. But I could tell from the way the bruise was spreading out over his chin that it had been anything but easy for him. I felt so damn guilty, knowing I was the one who had gotten him into this—he wouldn’t have been dragged into this mess if he hadn’t gotten involved with me, and look where it had gotten him: his house burned down and stuck in the middle of a fight he didn’t pick.
We arrived at the hospital, and I climbed out of the car. Warren, seeming to sense how emotional I was, offered to give me some time alone with my mom before he came in.
“I’ll take Silver out,” he told me. “It’s been a long trip.”
“You’re right,” I agreed, and I reached up to give him a hug before he left. I didn’t like the thought of being away from him, but right now, I really needed to just talk to my mom by myself.
I headed in to the hospital as Warren and Silver headed to a small park next to the parking lot and told the receptionist at the desk who I was there to see. She directed me down to a room at the far end of the hall, and I hurried down there to get to my mom.
As soon as I opened the door, I felt a well of emotion rise up inside me. Even though she looked so frail, I couldn’t stop myself from running over to her and wrapping my arms around her tightly, squeezing her in close to me.
“Oh, Mom, I missed you so much,” I breathed to her, and she patted my shoulder.
“I missed you too, Lily,” she murmured, and she smiled at me as I pulled back. Glancing around, I noticed her bag was unpacked on the seat next to me, and she was still wearing a hospital robe.
“You’re not ready to leave?” I asked her. Maybe she had one last check-up to do before she could walk out of here. It couldn’t be anything more serious than that, could it?
“I’m fine, honey,” she assured me. “The operation went well. They said I’m looking good to go, just as soon as my doctor can sign the release forms.”
“So where is he?” I asked, peering around. “What is he waiting for?”
“He got called away to another hospital,” she replied. “It was an emergency, I’m told. He won’t be back until tomorrow morning, so I suppose I’ll be staying here another night.”
My heart dropped. No, I didn’t want to leave her here. We had come all this way—and besides, couldn’t someone else just sign her out so we could be done with this?
“And no, nobody else can sign the release forms,” she added, as though reading my mind. “It’s all right, Lily. I’m going to be fine. I’m sorry I couldn’t get in touch with you to let you know before you and Warren came up here, but it’s not a problem.”
“How did you know Warren was with me?” I asked, frowning. She chuckled.
“Just a lucky guess,” she replied. “I don’t see much of one of you without the other these days.”
My cheeks flushed. She was right. We really did spend as much time together as we could, and I kind of liked the idea of people seeing us as a pair like that. As a couple.
“Maybe you could find a motel nearby and shack up for the night?” she suggested. “Take an evening off. Come back and pick me up in the morning.”
I sank back into my seat. I was bummed, honestly. But maybe I could find a way to spin this into something good. Some quality time with Silver and Warren, so we could relax and forget about everything else for a while. A night off, just like Mom had said.
“The nurses are treating you okay?” I pressed. I wouldn’t feel right about walking out of here unless I was sure she was getting the very best care possible.
“Yes, they’ve all been wonderful,” she laughed. “Look at me—don't you think I’m glowing?”
I managed a smile. Mom really did look better, even though I knew her recovery was going to be a long and tough road for both of us. But her energy, her attitude, that was what was going to get me through.
“I really don’t want to leave you,” I muttered, reaching out to give her hand a squeeze.
“And I’m telling you that you have to,” she replied cheerfully. “And I’m your mother, so you’ve got to listen to me.”
I knew there would be no arguing with her. Besides, what was I going to do, wheel her out of here and hope nobody noticed? It wouldn’t even be long till I actually got her out, and I could have her home and help her get back on her feet.
“I guess I do,” I admitted, and I leaned forward to give her another hug. She squeezed me tightly, pressing her head into my shoulder.
“You give Silver a hug from me, okay?” she mumbled to me. “And say hello to Warren.”
“I will, Mom,” I promised her, and I pulled back once more reluctantly. She nodded to the door.
“Go!” she told me. “There won’t be many places open that still have rooms left. And I don’t want you to miss out on my behalf.”
“Thanks, Mom,” I replied, and I turned and headed down the corridor once more. It stung, walking away from her like this, but I didn’t have much of a choice. And now I was starting to think about it, a night spent holed up in a cheap motel with Warren actually sounded like a whole bunch of fun.
By the time I reached the car, Warren and Silver were waiting for me. Warren frowned when he saw me stepping out of the hospital on my own.
“Your mom’s okay, right?” he asked, and I nodded.
“Yeah, she’s going to be fine,” I replied. I filled him in quickly on the situation, and that we would need to find somewhere to stay nearby until it was all handled. He flashed me a smile.
“Oh, having to stay with you all night?” he murmured. “I can think of worse ways to spend an evening.”
I laughed, and he slipped an arm around my waist.
“Hey, sorry about your mom,” he told me. “But let’s try and just relax tonight, okay? Forget about everything and leave it all behind.”
“That sounds really nice,” I agreed. We climbed back into the car, and he pulled out his phone to start looking for pet-friendly motels nearby for the three of us tonight.
I gazed over at him as he peered down at the screen, his face lit by the blue light of his phone. I was so glad he was here. He was about the only person I could imagine who could take a shock like this and manage to turn it into something good. I knew if he hadn’t been here, I would have been freaking the hell out in that hospital, doing everything I could to get my mom out.
“Here, what about this place?” he asked, extending his phone so I could get a look. My brows shot up when I saw what he was suggesting.
“You’re serious?” I asked him. “That place looks crazy-expensive.”
The pictures showed a glossy motel with a swimming pool and even hot tubs in some of the rooms. We just needed somewhere cheap for the night, and this seemed to go way above and beyond that.
“It would be,” he remarked. “But it’s super cheap because it’s so late, they just want to fill the rooms for the night. How about it? It’s only about twenty miles from here.”
“Sounds perfect,” I agreed, sinking back into the seat and breathing a sigh of relief. I was happy to let him call the shots for tonight. My brain was so fried, I wasn’t sure I would have been any good anyway.
He booked us a room and drove the car the short distance to the motel, which was just as nice as it looked in the pictures. Opening the car door for Silver, he grinned at me.
“I think this’ll do, right?”
“I think so,” I agreed. Maybe I could make this my birthday trip or something—I had hardly had any time to plan what I was actually going to do for it, anyway, so this could be a fun chance to blow off some steam and relax.
Inside, the dour receptionist handed us our key, and we headed to our room at the far end of the large building, Silver trotting behind us happily. She loved exploring new places, and it made me smile to see her having such a good time.
“You go and get settled in,” Warren told me. “I’ll get us some snacks from the vending machine.”
“Sure thing,” I replied, and I pulled off my coat and dumped it on the chair next to a large TV. Grabbing the remote, I flicked it on and started going through the channels to find something fun for us to watch.
I could relax out here. Finally—it felt like a weight off my shoulders to be so far from home, so far from Tony, so far from all the stress he seemed intent on dumping on me at every turn. This place was perfect, somewhere utterly anonymous and totally cut off from the rest of the world. There weren’t any cars in the lot outside, and I guessed we must have been one of the few guests here tonight.
I landed on a silly horror movie, and Silver jumped up on to the bed, padded around for a moment, and then settled down at my feet just as Warren arrived back.
“They had a pretty good selection,” he told me, dumping an armful of candy, chips, and soda at my feet. I laughed.
“What is this, a slumber party?”
“Hey, just because we didn’t expect it doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy it, right?” he pointed out, sitting down on the bed next to me and glancing over at the screen. “Oh, I love this movie. I haven’t seen it since I was a kid.”
He reached over to scratch Silver’s head, and the dog let out a small, satisfied snort before she closed her eyes again and went to sleep. Warren pulled the pillows up behind us, giving me something to lean against while we watched the movie.
I nestled into his arm, leaning my head against his shoulder. The credits began to roll, and Warren reached for one of the sodas and popped it open, handing it to me.
“Here,” he murmured. “I know you might not be too hungry, but have something.”
“Thanks,” I replied, and I took a sip. He seemed to know how I was feeling better than I did sometimes, so attentive to my needs and to what was going on inside my head.
I still wished I could have brought my mother home from the hospital, but maybe this was just the night off I needed.
