Gently, I shook Scarlett awake. She blinked as she came to realize where she was.
The doctor approached us. He was shaking his head ’no’.
And we knew what that meant even before he spoke.
Scarlett slid off her chair and crumpled to the floor. Lyla ran over, holding her as she sobbed. The low, guttural wails sounded like they would rip her in half.
Maddox and I locked our gaze and my vision swam.
Wes was dead.
He couldn’t be. He would be coming out in a minute, telling us he was fine and how he wanted to marry Scarlett as soon as possible, he didn’t want to wait another minute.
The doctor extended his sympathies and advised us of a couple of practicalities then quietly disappeared, leaving us alone with our grief.
Scarlett heaved herself back into a chair, bent double, her forehead resting on her knees as she gently rocked. I sat down beside her, stroking her back. I felt useless, not knowing what to do to help her.
“Scar,” I began. What I was about to ask her to do was horrific. “We need to get in touch with Wes’ Mom and Dad.”
She let out a strangled cry, her shoulders shaking.
Mr. and Mrs. Young had left Cali Cross a few months earlier. They’d put their house up for rent and went off for a once-in-a-lifetime world cruise, saying you couldn’t take your money with you and that they wanted to have fun while they still could. The news that their twenty-four-year-old son had been killed in a road accident would have been the last thing they expected. But any delay in telling them would be far, far worse.
“I can’t…” she murmured. “You’ll have to.”
Maddox and I exchanged a glance. Responsibility I didn’t want fell heavy on my shoulders. I had to step up though. Scarlett was in no fit state. Keith and Patsy Young were like parents to me too, although it wouldn’t make it any easier. I stepped away from the others, not wanting them to overhear what I had to say.
Swallowing against the huge lump which formed in my throat, I fumbled in Scarlett’s bag and found her cell phone. Guessing the password - Wes’ birthday - I opened the contacts list and scrolled through until I found the number I needed. I had no idea exactly where Keith and Patsy were or what time it was, but I dialed anyway.
“Scarlett? Is everything okay? Is something wrong with the baby?” Patsy’s voice was so clear, it was as if she were in the next room rather than hundreds of miles away.
“Patsy, hi, um, it’s Andre. Andre Cash.” I don’t know why I felt the need to tell her my last name. It wasn’t as if she knew that many Andres. “There’s been an accident.” Before my courage deserted me, I briefly told her what had happened. My voice cracked and I took a steadying breath as I reached the worst part.
The sound which came over the line didn’t sound human. I heard a crash, followed by a fumbling noise as the phone was picked up. Keith took over.
“Andre? Is Scarlett okay? Please make sure you take good care of her. None of this can be good for the baby.” He appeared composed, although I imagined on the inside his heart had just shattered into a million pieces. Much like mine.
“I will. I promise.” I wasn’t sure what else to say.
“We’ll come back to Cali Cross as soon as we can. We’re in the middle of the ocean right now, but I’ll talk to the cruise director to see what our options are.” Keith spoke almost as if he were on auto pilot, the practicalities of the situation overtaking any emotions. I appreciated it, finding it hard to keep it together myself. “Keep in touch, Dre. Please. No matter what time of day or night. As soon as we know what’s going on, I’ll call you again.” The line dropped.
Maddox placed a hand on my shoulder. “You did well, buddy. That was hard.”
I nodded, silently, briefly closing my eyes against the tears which threatened to engulf me.
Scarlett grabbed the hand which held the phone. “Willa,” she whimpered. “I need Willa.”
“I get it.” They were best friends. “I need her too,” I whispered under my breath.
Going through the contacts again, I found Willa’s number. I stared at it, the past six years catching up with me. Now wasn’t the time to be thinking about my problems with Willa. Scarlett needed her and I was damn well going to make sure she got here. I dialed the number and passed the phone to Scarlett.
“She’ll be here soon, I’m sure of it.”
Not wanting to hear Willa’s voice again, I got up and walked away listening as Scarlett explained what had happened.
All I knew was Willa would be coming home.
And I didn’t have the first damn clue what to do about it.
