Nearing their exit, Giselle switched lanes and got off, whipping Alonzo’s car like she was auditioning for NASCAR. She didn’t see the other car when she turned. There was a flicker of headlights, and she could swear she heard someone scream before the sound of twisted metal assaulted her ears. Her head hit the steering wheel, and the world went silent except for the ticking of the hazard lights and a faint siren in the distance. She stirred briefly. At least she thought she did. Blinking through blood and the feel of glass in her face as the paramedics spoke frantically around her, she wondered if this was it.
SEVEN
GOOD LIFE
Aheart rate monitor beeped steadily in the darkened room. Giselle’s eyes fluttered open to the blinding white light above her and that familiar antiseptic hospital smell. Her throat felt like sandpaper. The first thing she noticed was the silence. Deafening. No music, no Alonzo, and no city noise. Only that lonely electronic pulse reminding her that she was still alive.
“Well, it’s nice to have you back amongst the living,” a familiar voice greeted her.
Thinking she was imagining things, Giselle rolled her head against her pillow. Maisie flipped her laptop closed and leaned forward in the chair beside her bed. It would have been so easy for her to judge and ridicule her over the years, but she always embraced her as her little sister. While she loved Lou to death, her younger sibling didn’t share that same hustle. She skated too much for Maisie’s taste, but she was determined to make a true Knox woman out of her one way or another.
The sterile aroma drowning her senses left Giselle’s eyes all the way open as she took in the light gray walls with no special effects. The only window in the room was behind Maisie, and through the blinds, she could see the sun rising. Pinching thebridge of her nose, she recognized the bracelet on her wrist, but everything was still kind of hazy.
“What are you doing here?” She groaned.
“Well, you still have me listed as your emergency contact since your parents are gone.” Maisie shoved the laptop aside and perched herself on the edge of the chair. “The hospital thought you might need somebody who gave a damn. I know that list is growing shorter by the day.”
“Thanks,” Giselle mumbled, wincing while struggling to sit up. “What the hell happened?”
“Was wondering the same damn thing.” Maisie rose abruptly, tugging at her white graphic t-shirt. “You scared me half to death when I got that call. I thought Mama was going to have a heart attack.”
“Where’s Alonzo? He was in the car with me.”
“I don’t know. I wasn’t exactly concerned about him. I was too worried about whether you were going to wake up or not.”
Licking her dry, cracked lips, Giselle took a deep breath, and it hurt like hell.
“I have to make sure he’s okay. This was all my fault.”
“You have to relax. The doctor said you have a concussion and some broken ribs. Apparently, the amount of alcohol in your system was over the legal limit, and there were traces of cocaine in your system. Giselle, cocaine! What the hell is wrong with you, and how long has this been going on?” Maisie dropped on the edge of the bed facing her.
“Not long.” She pressed her fingertips against her forehead and briefly shut her eyes. “When I left Southwick and went back to Leawood, it was a lot. Keeping up appearances with Alonzo and the media. I just needed something to take the edge off. It’s not like I’m some addict.”
“Well, the police were here, and they think otherwise. You’re going to have a court date and probably be put on probation.That’s only if they consider that this is your first offense. Crew hooked me up with a lawyer, but you’ll also have to go to rehab. The doctor was acting funny, too, like she had some more shit to say but told me she couldn’t bring it up until you woke up.”
“Rehab?” Giselle repeated, attempting to sit up as pain bloomed in her ribs.
“Yes. Now, I’m going to let the nurse know you’re awake and call the house to check in with everybody and give them an update too.”
“Mais, how is everybody?”
“Mad as hell at you,” she quipped, strutting out the door.
Giselle’s head sank into the pillows behind her, and she found her eyes on the ceiling. Moments later, the door to her room opened again. She expected Maisie, but she came face to face with a tall, slim framed doctor in pink scrubs with a white coat over them. Coated with smooth, mud brown skin and locs in a barrel style, she also noted a fat diamond on her wedding ring finger. When she greeted her with a warm smile, Giselle relaxed a bit.
“Hello, Ms. Knox. How are you feeling?” she greeted her in a silvery tone.
“On a scale of what?” Giselle mumbled.
“I’m Dr. Hill,” she introduced herself, ignoring Giselle’s attitude before pausing at the foot of her bed.
With a tablet in her hand, she skimmed it carefully before lifting her eyes to meet hers.
“You suffered a concussion and two broken ribs. You’ll recover, but you’ll need to take it slow,” she explained.
Giselle stared at her, trying to read what she wasn’t saying. Dr. Hill cleared her throat and lowered her tone.
“We discovered something on your scans and in your bloodwork that you need to know. It seems that you’re pregnant.”
