Broken Beautiful Hearts(14)

But Mrs. Michaels can’t support herself and Tess on her own. She tried before and it didn’t go well. It seemed like every year they were moving into another crummy apartment. When Mrs. Michaels ran out of friends’ couches to crash on, Reed started working even more extra hours to help out.

“I fell down a flight of stairs,” I say.

“Did you hit your knee against anything?” She scribbles more notes on her clipboard.

“My kneecap hit the ground.”

“On the sidewalk,” Tess adds, wringing her hands.

The nurse finishes writing. “A doctor is going to come and take a look. Can I call someone for you?”

“I already talked to her mom,” Tess says. “She’s on her way.”

“I’ll be back to check on you in a few minutes.” The nurse pulls the privacy curtain around the bed, and Tess and I are alone again.

“Thanks for not saying anything,” she says.

“I know you don’t believe me, but I’m telling the truth.”

Tess presses the heels of her hands against her temples, like she’s fighting the worst headache of her life. “I don’t know what you want me to say. You’re my best friend. I want to believe you. But we’re talking about Reed. He’s my brother. He wouldn’t lie to me. And he loves you. He’d never hurt you.”

Until tonight I thought the same thing. “I know you want to believe him, but he admitted the drugs were his. That’s what we were fighting about before he—”

“It’s a misunderstanding.” Tess’ tone turns harsh. “That’s the only explanation.”

Not the only one.

Before the argument escalates, I hear Mom’s voice on the other side of the curtain asking for me. “I’m looking for my daughter, Peyton Rios.”

“Mom?” I call out.

A moment later, she pulls back the fabric and rushes toward me, trapping me in a hug. “Thank god you’re okay. What happened?” Mom stands and looks from me to Tess.

“I’m going to the waiting room.” Tess tries to part the curtain, but she can’t find the opening and she has to walk past Mom to go through the other side. Normally, Tess would give her a hug, but not today.

Mom takes my hand. “What’s going on?”

I try not to cry. “We were at the party, and I went out to Reed’s car to look for my phone. But I found something else.”

“What?” Mom leans closer and her dark hair swings forward.

“He’s doping. I found steroids in his gym bag.”

“I don’t understand. What does this have to do with your knee?” The moment Mom asks the question, recognition flashes in her eyes. “What happened to your knee?” She says each word slowly, giving them weight. “Tess said you fell down the stairs.”

“I did.” I nod as a tear runs down my cheek. “Reed pushed me.”

My mother narrows her eyes. “Reed did this?” Her expression is ice cold, and it has Wife of a Force Recon Marine written all over it. “I’ll be right back.”

“Mom, don’t!” I try to push myself up in bed. “Mom!”

She storms past the other beds and walks through the automatic doors that lead to the waiting area. For a split second, I panic. What if she does something stupid and Reed gets angry and hurts her, too?

An image of my mom standing at the window, in her nightshirt, flashes through my mind. I was eight or nine. Dad was away and Mom heard someone outside. She told me to hide under the bed, which I did for two minutes before I scurried down the stairs to see what I was missing. She was standing in front of the bay window in our living room with a baseball bat resting on her shoulder and the phone in her hand. She called 911, and the police came. Nothing happened, but after watching her that night, I knew that if someone had been out there, my mom would’ve protected us.

I watch the doors that lead to the lobby, waiting for Mom to come back. Instead, Lucia and Gwen walk in.

“Over here.” I wave.

They both look freaked out.

“What’s going on out there?” I ask.

Gwen sits on the edge of my bed and bites her nails. “Your mom just cussed Reed out.”

“Then she ran him out of the ER.” Lucia looks impressed. “She told him to get his ass out of the hospital or she’d run him over with her car.”

I take a deep breath. I love Mom for doing it, but I wish Tess wasn’t here to witness my mother’s wrath. “What did Reed do?”

“He just kept apologizing and saying it was a big misunderstanding and that he loved you,” Gwen says.

Lucia drops down into the chair beside the bed. “And your mom kept telling him to shut up and get out of her sight. She also told him to burn in hell a few times.”

I’ve seen Mom in action. It’s easy to picture her unleashing on Reed. “What about Tess?”

“She left with Reed. I mean, she had to. He’s her brother.” Gwen fiddles with the remote control for the bed. She presses a button and the bed rises like the chairs at the hair salon. “Sorry.”

“Stop messing with that thing,” Lucia snaps.

Gwen shoots her a dirty look. “Don’t boss me around.”

“Where’s my mom now?” I ask.