She winked, but I frowned, having no idea what she was talking about.Kensy made a face at her and nudged her in the side with her elbow.I narrowed my eyes at them, trying to figure out what they knew that I didn’t, but was interrupted by Lia.
“I don’t do all of the emotional stuff,” Lia started with a playful smile.“But I do wish my friends a happy birthday, even if they don’t want me to.So, happy birthday.I hope this one reallyrocks your world.”
“You guys!” Kensy hissed, pulling Lia away after she gave me a quick hug.“Do you not know what a secret is?”
“I mean, I think it’s a bit unfair that you all know something and are refusing to tell me,” I said, testing the waters.“Doesn’t feel like you guys are being my real friends by holding out on me...”
“Trust me, it’s better to wait and find out yourself.You can give us all of the details next week at Tipsy Taquito for girls' night,” Kensy said sweetly.
I shook my head, knowing it was pointless to try to get anything out of them.
“Thank you, ladies, you really didn’t have to do all of this.Just hanging out with you guys would have been more than enough for me.”
“We wanted to,” Lia said, being sweeter than usual.“It’s okay to let people love you and want to celebrate you.”
I nodded because the words that I wanted to say got stuck in my throat.I finished saying goodbye to everyone and then sat on the couch, letting the night play through my mind.
A few minutes later, my phone vibrated from the coffee table.I picked it up, seeing an unknown phone number on the caller ID.I slid my finger across the screen to unlock it and answered it.
“Hello?”
“Hi, this is Mary Harper calling from Haven Brook General Hospital.I’m looking for Violet Sanderson.”
I swallowed hard, recognizing the hospital name immediately.It was the hospital where my mother took her last breath.
“This, this is she,” I stammered, the color draining from my face as I felt the guys watching me.I couldn’t look at them, couldn’t focus on anything other than the woman on the other line.
“I’m calling because your father, Bret Sanderson, was brought into the emergency room an hour ago.He was in a car accident and is in critical condition.”
She continued talking, but I couldn’t hear anything as the world spun around me, and I was transported back in time when it was my mom who was in that hospital in critical condition.
Tears ran down my face as the phone fell from my hand and landed on the floor as I curled into a ball and sobbed.
Fifty-Four
Violet
