Page 98 of Avenged

But she didn’t. It went to voicemail, Violet’s cheerful voice informing us to leave a message if we so chose. Jersey hit the off button and squeezed the phone so hard I thought it would crumble to pieces.

“What the hell happened, Truck?”

I shook my head, not daring to look at her, because at the speeds I was going, if I looked, we’d end up in our own tangled mess. Fuck. We were a mess. It just wasn’t a mess of metal and skin. It was hearts and souls and wounds you couldn’t see.

“I don’t know.”

“Why the hell was she with him at this time of night?”

I knew she was thinking the same thing I was. It wasn’t good, and yet, I wanted to give Dawson the benefit of the doubt. I wanted to hear his version of what had happened. I’d jumped to conclusions two nights ago; I didn’t want to do it again.

“She’s sixteen! Sixteen!” she said again.

I nodded. “We don’t know what happened, Jers. We shouldn’t jump to conclusions.”

She laughed, a bitter sound that tore at my already shredded heart. “Right. Let’s not jump to conclusions about your screwup of a brother, and how he has my sixteen-year-old sister sneaking around at all hours.”

“We don’t know what happened,” I said again, firmer, wanting to believe it, but inside my head, all I could hear was Dawson’s tortured voice saying he’d fucked up.

Silence was my only answer.

Jersey had the door open before I’d rolled to a stop in the parking lot. She was running toward the ER entrance, and I swore under my breath as I turned the key and jogged after her. I caught up to her at the desk.

“Violet Banner. I’m here for Violet,” she all but screamed. To anyone who didn’t know her, it still sounded quiet, but to me, who knew every groove in her voice and her body, I knew she was screaming.

“And you are?” the nurse asked, frowning at our disheveled appearance.

“Her sister. Her guardian,” Jersey said.

“I’ll take you back,” she said. “But only one of you.”

I reached out and squeezed her hand. “It’s going to be okay.”

She was already pulling away to follow the nurse, and I stood there, watching her disappear down the corridor, feeling helpless.

Dawson emerged from one of the doors. He had blood all over his gray T-shirt and a hand wrapped in a bandage. He stopped when he saw me. I was the one to move to him. I had my arms around him, squeezing him tight, before a word was said. He was alive. He was here. I just hoped to God nothing had happened that would wound him more. That would add to the cuts which existed in places no one could see.

He grunted out a small sound of pain, and I remembered he’d said he had broken ribs. I stepped back. “You okay?” I asked.

“Is Jersey here? What did they tell her?” His voice was still so broken it was hard to recognize.

“She just went down the hall. They made her go by herself.” My voice snagged. I didn’t want Jersey facing any of it alone. “What happened?”

He leaned up against the wall and took a deep breath that caused him to wince.

“I didn’t know she didn’t have a license.” He shook his head at himself.

“Dawson. Just tell me. Why was she with you in the dead of the night?”

He looked at me, angry eyes for the first time. “Not for that fucking reason! She’s a goddamn teenager. I wouldn’t do that. I’m not that much of a screwup…” As his voice faded, he turned away, trying to hide the guilt and blame, but I knew him too well.

“I got a call about a race,” he breathed out.

“Jesus.”

“Dax drove me out there, but he got a call and had to leave. We hadn’t even gotten into the boats when the police showed up. Everyone scattered. I didn’t have a ride back to town.”

“So, you called Vi instead of me?”

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