“Hello?” She sounded groggy and it hit me that it was nearly midnight.
“Hi, Mrs. Morris. I’m not sure if you remember me but this is Micah Pollard. I was friends with Asher when we were kids.”
“I remember you, Micah. Is everything okay? It’s pretty early for a social call, especially considering we haven’t spoken in two decades.”
Early? “Um… I’m calling about Asher. I’m back in Port Grandlin for a while. We were hanging out tonight and he had a little accident.”
“Oh no. What kind of accident? Is he okay?” Her voice pitched up with panic.
“Yeah, he’s going to be fine. He fell off a ladder and dislocated his shoulder, bruised some ribs, and got a concussion. The doctor said he’ll be okay, but he’s going to need someone to take care of him for a while.”
“We’re in Europe. We’re supposed to board a major cruise in two days. A month at sea.” There was some rustling on the line and muffled talking, like she’d put her hand over the receiver. “Okay, we can come home. We’ll book the next flight back to the States.”
My stomach lurched. “No, no that’s okay. You don’t have to do that. Asher wouldn’t want you to cancel your once-in-a-lifetime trip just because he had a little fall, I’m sure of it.” I didn’t know Asher as well as I had years ago, but I was sure he wouldn’t want his parents to cancel a trip. I was equally sure he didn’t want his mom helping him get dressed every day for the next few weeks while he healed.
“Of course we’re coming home.”
“No, really, Mrs. Morris. I can do it. Please don’t cancel your trip. Listen, I’m going to see Ash in a few minutes. I promise he’s not going to want you to pack up and head home. I’ll have him call you in the morning. If you still want to come home, you can work that out with him then.”
She sighed. “Okay, that sounds fair. Please tell him we love him.”
“Will do.” At that moment, a nurse came through the double doors. “Look, I’ve got to go. They have him in a room and I’m going to go see him for a few minutes before heading home. If anything changes, I promise I’ll call you right away.”
“Alright. Thank you for letting us know. Call anytime.”
We hung up a moment later and I followed the nurse upstairs to Asher’s room. She knocked twice on the door before pushing it open.
“Mr. Morris? We have a visitor for you.” She stepped into the room and pulled back the curtain.
Asher gingerly turned his head to face us and smiled weakly at me. His face was bruised and scraped and his left arm was in a sling. “Micah,” he murmured.
My stomach dropped to the floor as I rushed forward to see my friend. “Oh my God, buddy. How are you feeling?”
“Been better,” he said with a soft chuckle. “Tired.”
“You rest up. I’ll be back tomorrow, okay?”
His eyes fluttered closed. “’Kay.” A moment later, his breathing was soft and even. He was sound asleep.
I stood there for several long moments, watching him sleep, before backing out of the room and closing the door behind me.
Chapter 9 - Asher
Iwoke the next morning feeling groggy, my brain fuzzy. I’d slept terribly, of course, with the nurses in and out of the hospital room all night checking on me, taking vitals, and making sure I wasn’t dead. My entire body hurt—head, neck, shoulder, torso, hip, everything. A nurse whisked into the room, smiling brightly.
“You’re awake! Good.”
With my free hand, I rubbed my face. “Morning,” I muttered.
She bustled around me, doing whatever it was she needed to do, smiling cheerily the whole time. “You’re being discharged this morning. Do you have someone to come pick you up?”
I groaned and closed my eyes for a second before opening them again to look at her. “My friend Micah.”
“Good. Do you have Micah’s number? I’ll give him a call and let him know you’re almost ready to go home.”
I closed my eyes again, a headache on the horizon. “Sure, it’s in my phone.” I fumbled around and reached for my phone on the side table before passing it to her. “Micah Pollard.”
What felt like a few minutes passed—at least an hour on the clock—when a knock on the door woke me from a hazy sleep. “Ash?”
