Love In Between(74)

“They have a chance at being a real family,” I said.

“I guess.” Luke sighed as he pulled out of the parking lot.

As we were on our way home, my phone rang. I pulled it from my purse and saw it was Giselle calling.

“Hey, girl, what’s up?” I answered and put her on speaker phone.

She was sobbing so hard, I could barely understand her. She said something about an accident. Suddenly, Lucky’s voice came through the speaker.

“Hi, it’s Lucky. Gretchen and Sam were in a car accident, and they’ve been taken to the UCLA Medical Center.”

I started shaking, and instantly I felt sick.

“Lucky, how bad is it?” Luke asked as he quickly turned the Jeep around and headed toward the medical center.

“I don’t know, man. The hospital called Giselle, said there had been an accident, and to get to the hospital right away. I’m freaking out, Luke. What if—”

“Stop it, Lucky, they’ll be fine. We’re on our way.”

With shaking hands, I ended the call. Luke reached over and took my hand and brought it his lips.

“They’re fine, babe. I know they’re fine,” Luke said nervously.





39

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Luke pulled into the medical center parking garage and quickly found a place to park. As we got out of the Jeep, Luke grabbed my hand, and we ran to the entrance of the emergency room. When we approached the reception desk, Giselle came running up to me, crying.

“Lily, they won’t tell me anything,” she sobbed.

“Giselle, you have to calm down. Think of the baby,” I said as I tried to console her.

Suddenly, Sam came walking through the automatic double doors. He had a white bandage on his forehead, cuts on his face, and his hand was wrapped.

“Sam, are you ok?” I asked.

“How’s Gretchen?” Giselle cried.

“I don’t know. She’s still in surgery.”

Luke hugged him. Giselle couldn’t handle hearing that Gretchen was in surgery. Lucky grabbed a hold of her, and he made her sit down in the chair.

I looked at Sam because I needed to be strong, not only for Gretchen, but for him as well. “Sam, what happened?” I asked.

“I’ll tell you as soon as we get back upstairs to the surgical waiting room.”

“Did anyone call Gretchen’s parents?” I asked.

“I did,” Lucky said. “They’re on their way down.”

Lucky helped Giselle up, and we all rode the elevator to the third floor where the surgical waiting room was. It was quiet and empty, and we were the only people in there. I sat down next to Giselle and offered her some water. She wouldn’t take it as she continued crying on Lucky’s shoulder. I walked over to the coffee machine and put in some change. I pressed the button and nothing. The damn thing was broken. I pounded on the machine as I pressed my forehead against it and started crying. Suddenly, I felt Luke’s arms from behind.

“Babe, it’s ok,” he whispered as he laid his head on my back.

“All I wanted was a cup of coffee,” I sobbed.

Luke turned me around and took my face in his hands. “I can get you a cup of coffee.” He smiled as he wiped away my tears.

I was scared shitless that Gretchen wasn’t going to make it, and I felt like I was on the verge of an anxiety attack. Luke went to get me a cup of coffee, and I walked over and sat next to Sam. He looked at me with tears in his eyes.

“She’s going to be ok,” I said, grabbing his hand.

“She has to be ok, Lily. If she dies, I don’t know—”

“Don’t talk like that. Nobody is dying here. She’s a strong person, and she’ll pull through.”

Just as Luke walked back in and handed me a cup of coffee, a doctor in blue scrubs followed behind him.

“Are you all here for Gretchen Williams?” he asked.

Giselle jumped up from her chair. “Yes, I’m her twin sister.”

We all stood up and walked closer to where the doctor was standing. “Gretchen is going to be fine.”

We all let out a sigh of relief as he continued telling us about Gretchen’s condition.

“She had some internal bleeding, so we had to go in and repair that, and we also had to remove her spleen. Her right leg is broken in four places, and we had to put in some pins and screws. I also believe there may be some nerve damage. She’ll have to be in a cast for several weeks while the bones heal. There may be a chance she’ll have to go through physical therapy to learn to use her leg again.”

“When can we see her?” I asked.

“I can take you to her now, but I want you to be prepared. She’s very swollen, and she’s hooked up to some machines. We’re keeping her comfortable on pain medication, and she hasn’t woken up from the surgery yet.”

As Luke put his arm around me, we all followed the doctor to the room where Gretchen was. Giselle ran to her and started sobbing. Lucky walked over to her and tried to calm her down. I instantly fell sick to my stomach when I saw her lying there. I barely recognized her since her face was so swollen.

“Are you ok?” Luke asked me.

“I’m fine. Are you?”