Page 44 of Rising Star

“Car crash.”

I blinked. None of the words reached my brain.

My entire body hurt.

What was going on?

My children, now standing beside me, tugged at my shirt.

“Daddy, why are you screaming?” Justine asked.

Was I screaming? In what parallel universe had I landed?

“Daddy?” Mikaella echoed. “Daddy? Why are you crying? There are tears on your cheeks.”

Tears? I brought a hand to my eyes. They were damp. What was going on with me? Was I going nuts? Was this how it felt to lose your mind?

With a step back to escape the little hands pulling at my clothes, I surveyed the space around me, not registering anything.

My friend took the phone from my death grip and exchanged words with the stranger whose name or role I had no idea about.

The buzzing in my ear blocked all other sounds.

Tears burned my eyes. Shards of glass lined my throat.

After what appeared to be hours, Riley led me to the couch and forced me to sit down. “Stevens?” I watched him but couldn’t see him. I blinked. My focus refused to come back. “STEVENS?” he repeated, louder this time. That did the trick because I snapped out of it.

“What?” I asked, my voice gravelly and weak.

“I called Devon. She’s on her way. We’ll go as soon as she gets here.”

I blinked again. Nothing he said added up.

“Sam,” he ordered sternly this time. “Listen to me.”

My friend wasn’t the type who got angry, so when he spoke to me in that tone, I had no choice but to listen to him.

“Madison has had an accident. She’s at the hospital. Her sister Emily called me. She’ll meet us there. It sounds bad. They reached out to her, but she is in Atlanta for a medical conference. She needs you to go there until she gets back. Can you do that?”

I nodded, still unsure I was hearing him right.

“Wh-what? How?”

Devon joined us and exchanged words with Riley. Nothing registered with me. After resting her hand on my shoulder in a comforting gesture, she took a seat opposite us.

“Okay,” Riley continued, “I had June on the phone moments ago. You know, my assistant. Sam, are you listening? She’ll take over, so I can go with you. She’s already made a few phone calls.” He rubbed his eyebrows, averting his eyes for a second. He inhaled before bringing his attention back to me. “A guy ran a red light and crashed into the side of Maddie’s car at full speed. She got stuck inside. They had to use the jaws of life to extricate her. We gotta go. Now.”

He helped me to my feet.

“Is Maddie okay?” Mikaella asked nearing us, and I hated the idea she’d witnessed this. My daughter was seeing another moment of pain. She was growing up too soon. At first, it was her mother abandoning us. Now Madison was hurt, and her father was in shock. I needed to pull myself together. For her. Before I could do that, Devon kneeled before her. “We don’t know yet, sweetie. Your daddy and Uncle Riley will go and find out. You and Justine will stay with me.”

“Is she going to die?” Mikaella asked, despair swimming in her glossy eyes.

“Let’s pray for her, okay? I’m sure she’ll be able to hear us,” Devon continued. She swallowed, and her eyes met mine for a fleeting second.

Mikaella turned to me, fat tears rolling down her cheeks. “Daddy, do something,” she pleaded. “When I’m scared, Maddie always holds my hand. Hold her hand, okay, Daddy? Make her better. Bring her back.”

I lifted my daughter in my arms. “I swear I’ll do my best, sweet pea. Stay with Devon and your sister. Be a good girl.”