I glanced at the nightstand and saw my phone, face down, plugged in. Someone must have rescued it for me. Picking it up hesitantly, I turned it over, pleased to discover I could stand to look at it. On the home screen, I saw the reminder to call Wicklein to plead Rosalyn’s case. Damn. There was no way I could talk to him today. Besides the fact concussion-induced nonsense could escape my mouth at any time, a quick check ofthe window confirmed the sun had set. I checked the time. Five thirty.
I heard the TV in the living room.Monday Night Football, so I figured I could do a voice-to-text without alerting anyone. It took a few tries, but I finally got it to translate correctly.
ME:Hey, Roz. Sorry but I couldn’t call Wicklein today. I’ve got some things going on that make this week tough. I’ll call him next Monday.
I used another voice command to put the reminder in my phone. My CT scan was scheduled for Friday, and I hoped to get back to Seattle by Sunday night. The thought of driving such a long distance made me want to hurl, but I’d figure it out somehow. Assuming I made it back to my apartment, I could call Wicklein the following morning.
My phone rattled in my hand.
ROZ:You’re an asshole. You couldn’t do this one thing for me? Lucky for you I found out Wicklein is on vacation. So next week is better anyway. But don’t forget.
ME:I won’t.
She didn’t reply. I contemplated our exchange, knowing her anger was valid. But I couldn’t explain to Roz what was going on because I couldn’t risk her telling my mother and father. If my parents knew I’d gotten a concussion, they’d freak out and make a huge deal of it. Probably insist on coming. Then we would have a massive argument, and they’d try to convince me to go back to Seattle and see a team of specialists or something. I’d like to avoid that fight. They’d only recently loosened up somewhat. I didn’t want to backtrack.
The TV volume lowered. James, Marley, and Maureen spoke amiably in the living room. They were discussing some sort of holiday carnival.
Maureen appeared in the doorway five minutes later.
“Oh, good. You’re up. I was just coming to wake you.” I registered that she was perfectly put together again, her close-fitting denim top buttoned back in place, her ponytail sleek and unmussed.
“Did you tell James and Marley about our adventure today?”
“Uh, no. I mentioned I helped you shower. Luckily, they didn’t ask for details.”
I laughed and inwardly assessed my head again, finding my thoughts clear. I’d fallen asleep knowing exactly what I wanted and woken up even more certain. Time to press forward.
“Do you think James and Marley are up for talking now? I’d like to tell you all about my accident, if you want to hear.”
Her lips flattened. “You just woke up. Are you sure?”
James and Marley must have heard us. They appeared a moment later, Oscar and Bambi thumping along after them.
“There’s no rush to talk,” Marley said, sidling past her sister into the room, James behind her. “Of course we want to know, Will. But only if you’re up for it. And only if you want to tell us.” They leaned against the wall closest to me in the tiny bedroom. Maureen folded her arms and hung back in the doorway.
“Thanks for that, Marley,” I said. “But I’d really like to get this out.” I took a deep breath—nerves churning in my stomach—and launched into the story I’d never told in full to anyone.
“It started eleven years ago,” I began, fisting my hands on the bedspread. “James probably had the right idea, going away to college after all the shit we dealt with in high school. But for me, after years of feeling like other kids’ punching bag, I couldn’t let all that anger go. I acted out. Lots of bad decisions… One night, I was with my friend Riley, and things went way too far.”
The three of them listened attentively as I relayed the details. Spray painting the wall. The cop. Riley’s erratic driving. Thecyclist going down. My split-second decision to bail out of a moving car.
The decision that put me in a coma, cost me two fingers, and bought me years of rehab.
The decision that probably saved my life.
“Until the day I die, I’ll wonder if Riley had a legit panic attack or if he was just scared out of his mind. But I’ll never know because he wrapped his car around a tree four blocks away.”
Maureen flinched, and Marley released a gasp, bringing her hand to her mouth.
“He died?” James asked quietly.
“Instantly.”
“And the lady on the bike?”
“A few cuts and bruises, and she got knocked out for a minute, but overall, she was okay. The car never touched her. The drag of it going by just startled her, so she fell over. My parents had to unleash their lawyers to keep it mostly out of the news since our family is pretty well known in some circles, and they paid the biker a small fortune to settle things quietly. I’m not sure exactly what else they did. All I know is, I was in a coma for six weeks, and when I woke up, everything had been handled.”
“Six weeks!” Marley exclaimed. “Your parents must have been out of their minds.”
