Chapter Fourteen
My phone rang earlyon Saturday.For a few seconds, I just stared at it.Higginham Memorial’s caller ID blinked across the screen.My stomach twisted, half fear, half dread.There was no reason for the hospital to be calling me unless it was bad news and I was not in the headspace to deal with bad news.
When I finally got enough nerves to answer, my voice came out smaller than I wanted.“Hello?”
There was a pause, and then, “Cadence?”
I froze.That voice.Rough and low, but clear.
“Lindie?Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
I frowned and looked down at the phone wondering if this was some kind of prank.Lindie never called me.At least not anymore since she wasn’t acting as my manager now.For a moment, I couldn’t speak.Didn’t even know what to say.
“Can you come by,” she asked.Something in her tone made it impossible to say no.This was the first thing she’d actively asked of me.
“Yeah,” I whispered.“I’ll be there.”
I couldn’t recall much of anything after that.The reason behind her call swallowed every other thought I had.Before I knew it, I was at the hospital parking lot.I grabbed my jacket from the passenger seat and sat there for a moment, fingers tight on the steering wheel.
It took all of my nerves to climb out of my car and head inside.The nurses at the desk smiled at me when they saw me.I numbly signed in and then headed directly for Lindie’s room.
She was already on her couch, sitting straight, flipping slowly through a magazine.
“You’re here,” she said, setting the magazine aside.
“You asked,” I said simply.
She hummed in acknowledgement and motioned for me to sit.For a while, the only sound was the muted chatter from the hallway.Then Lindie broke the silence.“You look tired.”
What a loaded thing to say.
I gave her a half-smile.“It’s been tough lately.”I left it at that.Lindie knew absolutely nothing about what I’d been going through since she’d put me in the hospital.I refused to tell her and frankly, at this point, she had no right to know.
Her eyes flicked to mine.“It’s always tough with you.”
I didn’t rise to the jab.“You said you wanted to talk?”
Her lips pressed together, the faintest trace of tension in her jaw.“I did.I’ve been thinking about things.About us.I’ll be released soon.”
I drew in a breath and let it out slowly.So this was where we were going.I had figured it was time for this conversation.We had a lot to figure out before she was released.“Dr.Livingston told me last time I was here.”
“They want to make sure the medication keeps working outside the facility.Some kind of monitored transition program.”She sighed.“It’s strange.I’ve been here long enough that it almost feels like home.”
The word home landed between us, heavy and loaded.
I folded my hands together in my lap, trying to hide the nerves.“I guess it’s time we talked about it.”
Lindie’s gaze sharpened slightly.“About me coming home?”
I took a slow breath, preparing myself.I needed to do this.I had to.
“No,” I said.“About what happens when you leave.”
