Fairytale Come Alive (Ghosts and Reincarnation #4)(62)

She remembered him laughing at her but taking care of her when she was hung over.

She remembered his hands on her, his mouth on her and the incredibly beautiful feel of him inside her.

She remembered how sweet it was when he called her “baby”.

She remembered him telling her, “I just want you.”

She remembered that he remembered the words he said to her, twenty years ago, the same words that were seared into her brain.

She remembered how much she loved it when he called her “Elle” because the Elle he knew was who she had always wanted to be.

She remembered swaying in his arms to a sad song and letting herself believe, if only for three minutes, that she might get her fairytale too.

And, lastly, she remembered the look on his face in her rearview mirror when she drove away.

But other than that, she was in a fog, mostly because she was trying not to remember.

* * * * *

It was the dead of night and Isabella was dozing, still unable to sleep, when she heard the phone ring.

She reached for it, put it to her ear and said, “Hello.”

“Bella?”

Isabella came up to an elbow and her heart thumped painfully in her chest when she heard Annie’s tone.

“Annie? What is it? Are you back from Greece? Is everything okay?” Isabella’s questions came out in a rush and her mind was racing.

God, she hoped Dougal was all right, they’d only just come back from their honeymoon.

And Fergus, he beat cancer, but Isabella heard that comes back all the time.

And Clarissa, she could be crazy, just like her daughter, anything could happen when you were always doing crazy things!

And Prentice… but Isabella didn’t go there.

Those questions were greeted with silence.

Isabella waited.

“Annie?” she prompted.

“Yes, Dougal and I are back from Greece.”

Annie stopped talking.

Isabella waited.

Then she pressed, “And?”

Another pause then, “It’s Sally,” Annie answered softly and Isabella’s thumping heart stopped dead. “She’s been knocked over by a car.”

Isabella lay still in her bed, her eyes unfocused, her mind filled with images of Sally.

Isabella hadn’t thought to worry about Sally. In her mind, Sally was invincible, protected by her youth and her shield of impenetrable cheerfulness.

Nothing could happen to Sally.

Especially not something so horrific as being hit by a car.

“Bella? Are you there?”

Isabella’s voice was a croak when she asked, “Is she okay?”

“Broken bones and –” Annie stopped.

“And what?” Isabella pushed.

“They’ve induced a coma because of the head injuries.”

Isabella threw the covers off the bed and jumped out.

“Bella, I know something went wrong with Prentice,” Annie was talking as Isabella ran from her room, down the hall to where she stowed her luggage. “He’s not talking to Dougal and Dad told me to leave you alone, you needed time and then you’d call me. I know you probably don’t want to come all the way back here but –”

Isabella cut her off. “I’ll be on the next flight.”

A moment of silence then, “What?”

“I’ll be on the next flight,” Isabella repeated as she lugged out one of her bags and carried it down the hall.

“You’re… coming?” Annie sounded astounded.

“I’ll call you back when I have details.”

“You’ll… call?” Annie still sounded astounded.

Isabella didn’t have time for Annie’s astonishment.

“Annie,” Isabella said evenly, using everything she had to calm her breathing, her heart and her mind and not scream with fear, anger and impatience, “I need to get off the phone and call the airlines. I’ll ring you when I know when I’m arriving.”

Another moment of silence then, “Okay.”

Isabella nodded and was about to take the phone from her ear and hit the off button when Annie spoke again.

“Bella, honey, it’s going to be all right.”

Isabella was no nurse (no matter what Mikey told the children) but she knew inducing comas because of head injuries made the chances of everything being “all right” pretty dismal.

And Isabella had learned, over and over, that very little ended up “all right”.

But she couldn’t think of that now.

She had a plane to catch.

She didn’t know which one yet or when it left but whatever or whenever, she was going to catch it.

* * * * *

Prentice

Prentice stood looking out the window of his daughter’s hospital room thinking that there was only one thing worse than watching your always full of life and laughter wife wasting away in a matter of months.

That was seeing your always full of life and laughter six year old daughter lying in a coma in a hospital room.

These were his thoughts when the door opened and Annie walked in.

Prentice began to smile a tired smile. The accident was two days ago and Annie had barely left the hospital. Debs and his mother had fallen to pieces but Annie had been a rock.

The smile died when Annie, who was setting down suitcases, was followed by Elle.