Absolution(129)

Ally could hear Jack responding to them, moaning and squeezing a hand on demand. Her heart soared as she peeked into the room. The nurses checked him over and made notes on his chart, talking to him all the while.

Waiting for the all clear to go back in, Ally fiddled with her grandmother’s ring. Finally, the nurses came out into the corridor. One disappeared with a quick smile, while the other laid a comforting hand on Ally’s shoulder.

“He’s awake and he’s doing fine,” she smiled. “He seems a little anxious, but that should pass soon. Just go with the flow, don’t worry if he’s not making too much sense. He’s likely to get pretty tired so he might drift off to sleep, but you’re welcome to stay. The doctor will be around later to check on him.”

“Thank you so much,” Ally smiled gratefully.

The nurse disappeared and Ally re-entered the room. Jack stared blankly at the ceiling as she wheeled slowly towards him, fighting back tears of relief to see him awake finally.

“Hey stranger,” she said gently, pulling up beside his bed.

His eyes grew wide as he looked her up and down, staring at her as if he had never seen her before in his life. She put it down to the meds and wheeled closer.

“I’m so sorry,” Jack croaked.

“You don’t need to be sorry for anything,” she soothed, reaching up to take his hand.

He shrank away from her.

“Just relax, you’re gonna be okay,” she insisted, thrown by his reluctance to let her touch him.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled again.

She looked to Callum for back up and he shrugged, frowning. “Take it easy, dude. Do you know where you are?”

“Hospital,” Jack mumbled.

“That’s right,” Ally said gently. “And you need to rest now.”

“Didn’t mean to hurt you.” Tears gathered in his eyes and his voice was cracked and dry.

Her heart went out to him. “Hey, I’m okay – I’m not hurt,” she said. “Just relax.”

“Didn’t know what else to do,” he muttered, agitated. “Couldn’t just leave you there!”

Ally’s heart began to pound as Jack’s face twisted into a tortured grimace. “What’s he talking about?” she mumbled weakly, addressing Callum.

“Was trying to save you!” Jack choked, getting more and more worked up.

He grabbed a fistful of blanket, but he didn’t take his eyes off her. A chill ran through her, like a thousand pin-pricks piercing her skin. “I don’t understand.”

Callum’s hand was on her shoulder. “I think he’s talking about the accident.”

“Was so scared, should’ve waited, but then the gas… please don’t hate me!” Jack sobbed, distraught.

“I don’t understand,” she mumbled again, looking to Callum for clarification. Her heart began to pound. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong.

Callum sat down on the edge of the bed beside her, pale and drawn.

“What happened that night?” she whispered, tearing her eyes away from Jack to fix them firmly on Callum as the floor felt like it was falling away beneath her.

“It’s like I told you before, the car flipped and we ended up banged up against a tree, upside down. I went off to find some help and Jack stayed with you, in the car.” She listened to the part she knew, impatient for him to get to the part she didn’t. She felt sick. “When I got back, he’d dragged you out of the car and was kind of lying on the grass with you on top of him, trying to keep you warm. We could both smell gas – he said he was afraid the car might go up, so he had to move you. He didn’t want to Ally – he had to. He didn’t have a choice.”

Her blood ran cold as the fractured pieces of the puzzle finally slotted together.

I had a spinal injury and he dragged me out of the car.

Fumbling for the rims of her chair, she felt like she was in one of her nightmares. No matter how hard she pushed, she didn’t seem to move. Her arms refused to work, the room swam in front of her. She had to get out of here before she suffocated.

“Ally, wait!”

And then she was finally moving – away from Callum’s words, away from Jack’s haunted expression, away from everything.





CHAPTER 24




“Courage is being scared to death… and saddling up anyway.”