“He’s an idiot if he doesn’t.” She presses a kiss in my hair. “And I could have sworn …”
“I just can’t wrap my head around it.”
“Neither can I. I should have gone over and spoken to Jane before they left. I’m sure she doesn’t know what her boy did.”
“Hope you're hungry.” Dad drops into the other side of the table and smiles. “Those burgers are huge.”
I laugh. “They really are.”
“We should come down here more often,” he says to Mum. “Sun, surf, and good food.”
She beams a smile at him—the one she only shares with him. “That sounds like a great idea.”
Seeing them just makes my heart ache more. I know we’re young, but they have the kind of love I wanted with Patrick.
The one that lasts for life.
After lunch and a walk on the beach, we head home.
I’m not sure how this move and starting uni is going to go when I’m so distracted by my love life, but I hope once classes start, I can put all this behind me.
Although, with Patrick also going to medical school, I don’t know how that’s going to work—especially if our paths cross.
The only thing I’m grateful for is the knowledge that Vicki isn’t going to university. She used to talk about it in class and how sad she was to be apart from Patrick.
But that doesn’t really give me any comfort when I remember what she said to me that day.
It comes out of nowhere.
Glass shatters to the right of me.
I go flying sideways—as much as the seatbelt will allow—my head hitting the window with a heavy thud.
Pain rips through my body right before my vision goes black.
10
CASSIE
“Does she know?”
Know what?My head’s swimming, but at least my ears aren’t ringing anymore.
“Not yet. When she came in, she was in and out of consciousness, and we had to sedate her to reset the bones.”
“Poor thing. Her grandmother’s on the way?”
“Yes. Shouldn’t be too much longer. She was getting in the car as we spoke.”
“Good. She shouldn’t be alone.”
Alone?
Where are my parents?
What happened?
Where am I?
