“Does anything hurt? Your head or your neck? Maybe your back?” I ask, trying to get a read on if it’s safe to move him or not. Thankfully, his mother has him in a booster seat still and he’s wearing his seatbelt which probably saved his life. He shakes his head at me.
“Okay, I’m going to hold your arm right where it is, okay? It might hurt a little when I pick you up, but my friends are going to make it feel better really soon, I promise.”
Fear is back in his small, oversized eyes but he nods anyway.
“Way to be brave, Tucker. Okay, let’s get you out of here.”
Pinning his arm to his chest, he doesn’t even flinch when I unbuckle him from his seatand lift him out. He wraps his free arm around my neck and holds tight while I pull him out and walk him towards the ambulance that’s waiting for us. Carefully, I set him down on the gurney the paramedics have set up and let them step in and take over.
“Okay, buddy. I’m going to let my friends here take a look at you, okay? They’re going to make your arm feel better and help your mommy once my brother helps her out of your car.” I’m about to take a step away to support my company members when I hear a tiny voice cry out and reach for my hand.
“Don’t leave.”
Looking at his small hand in mine, I’m taken back to a time where I said those same two words to someone I saw as my protector. Someone who was supposed to watch out for me no matter what, but instead chose all night benders and random hookups for cash instead. Nights where I would beg her to stay, to not go out, to not leave me.
But she always did.
Smiling at the boy, I squeeze his hand a little tighter. “I’ll be right back, okay? I have to go check and make sure that my friends don’t need any help but then I’ll come right back. I promise.”
He nods and I release his hand before hurrying to secure the scene, coordinate with EMS and the police who have shown up, and make sure my people are okay. Once I make sure that the chaos is under control, I make my way back to Tucker and talk with him until the paramedics drive off with him and his mother on board.
I always come back for my people, just like I promise I will.
Always.
Until I don’t.
18
HANNA
I’m going to kill my dads.
While I was out for my Saturday morning stroll with my dad, he let me in on the small detail that George was home sick with the flu. ‘Wilson the cat is playing nurse while I’m out with you, they’ll be fine without me for an hour or so.’ When I protested that he should have stayed home and kept his germs to himself, he told me I was being dramatic and he felt fine.
Well, he felt fine until Sunday morning when he called to warn me thathewas now sick with whatever George had and that I should ‘maybe brace for impact.’ While it took roughly a day or so to get to me, the impact finally came somewhere between the hours of two and three in the morning last night when my stomach did a barrel roll, waking me up and forcing me to beeline for the bathroom.
I’m not one to get sick very often, but when I feel the shivers ripple over my body, I know it’s only the beginning. After emptying my stomach, I do my best to push to my feet and get myself some water after brushing my teeth. OnceI’m back in bed, I roll over and adjust my alarm to wake me up around seven instead of six like normal. I’ll wake up, email my clients canceling their sessions for today and tomorrow, and try to kick this bug as fast as possible. With Thanksgiving being Thursday, many of my clients are out of town anyway so my work load is lighter than normal.
What feels like five minutes later, I roll over again to the sound of my phone buzzing on my nightstand. My head is throbbing and I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck but I do what I can to swing my arm over and grab it.
“Hello?” I groan, not even bothering to look at who’s calling.
“Hanna, you’re okay. Thank god.” A deep voice sighs on the other end of the phone.
“Who is this?” I mumble, pulling my duvet closer to my chin. My eyes are closed as I don’t have the energy to open them.
He chuckles and clears his throat. “It’s Miles.”
My eyes spring open finally and I glance at the caller ID. Sure enoughMiles Adleris spinning across the screen.
“You in there? I’ve knocked a few times since the door to your lobby is locked but by the sounds of things, you just woke up.”
I sit up quickly but regret it instantly. Glancing at the clock on the wall, I’m reminded that it’s Monday and our session should have started ten minutes ago. We rescheduled it when my normal Monday morning session canceled and he said he still wanted to meet this week if we could. I must have slept through my alarm.
Shit.
“Oh my goodness, Miles, I’m so sorry but I–I’m…hold on one second,” I hurry out before rushing for the bathroom again. I toss my phone on the vanity counter and make it just in time before my body wrenches and turns itself inside out. I try to take a few deep breaths before flushing to make sure I’m done. Unable to get myself on my feet again, I crawl towards my phone.
