Page 87 of Staying for You

I fall, landing with a hard thud against the stairs and flip over, somersaulting backward down the stairs. I feel something pop in my shoulder and my head slams hard against the edge of one of the wooden steps. Then something snaps in my leg on a trip over and when I land on the hard concrete at the base of the staircase with my head smacking against the ground, everything goes dark.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Cami

I’m unpackingmy car from my trip. Today would have been my last day at The Escape and the significance of already being at home and sad isn’t lost on me. Exhausted from driving alone and everything else. I decided to stay one extra day in the hotel because the hotel has laundry services and I must have looked pathetic enough that they said they would help me out with all my clothes. When I packed up from the cabin, I threw everything in together so I didn’t even know what was clean and dirty anymore. The charge for them to do my laundry was insane but it was worth the money.

Now that I’m home, I don’t have to worry about a day’s worth of laundry and I can get to work putting my house on the market. Something I decided on after talking with the police earlier today who informed me that Scott had once again snuck into the house. This time, though, he was using a freaking headlamp for light. They did a drive-by and saw lights moving around in the house that looked suspicious. When they knocked on the door, he made up a story about the power being out and continued with his lie that he owned the house and belonged there.

I no longer want to live here or be surrounded by memories of him so I’m starting the process of selling and I’ll decide where I want to live later. Right now, I just know that this house isn’t my home. I’d rather stay almost anywhere than in this house but the fact is that Gretchen and my family are also here. But then again, so is Scott and his new pregnant girlfriend. Which means I’ll never be free of him or his presence in this small town.

Walking around the house, I inspect all the nooks and crannies, grateful that nothing appears to be missing. He’s such an idiot.

I received a call back from my lawyer who said he was on it, meaning that he was taking care of whatever he needed to in order to make sure that Scott never comes back into this house again.

Before I start my day, which is a long list of finding someone to deep clean the house, calling the realtor, and contacting a moving company to help get everything packed and moved into a storage facility until I find a new home, I log into my computer to send Gretchen the rest of the chapters and check email again.

Then I make the mistake of opening Facebook and checking my messages.

Once again there is a message from Olivia Johnston but now there’s also one from Chloe Matthews.

“What in the world?”

I open Olivia’s first and scroll back through the earlier messages.

Olivia Johnston:I know my brother was a dumbass but I hope that means we can still be friends. Hope all is well.

Next message: Hey there. Can you let me know how you’re doing? Owen is concerned but said you won’t reply to him. (Don’t blame you there but seriously, he does care. Just had a crappy way of showing it.)

Next message: I’m sorry to keep bothering you but really, if you can get back to me, I’d greatly appreciate it. Owen won’t talk to us and I don’t know what to do.

Next message (sent late last night): Okay. Maybe you’re not online. Owen said you’d left so maybe you’re just driving but I saw you post in your reader group that you’re back in Tennessee so maybe you’re just ignoring me. Totally understandable if what I heard from Owen is true. I’ll say again, he’s a dumbass. But he really needs you. I hate to say this in a message but I don’t know how else to get in touch at this point. He was in an accident and was hurt. Call me.

My face heats up and I gasp. As I click on Chloe’s message, my heart feels like it’s in my throat and the blood is roaring in my ears.

Chloe Matthews:(sent early this morning)Hi, Cami, Olivia’s been trying to get in touch with you and I hate to tell you about it this way but I feel like you need to know because we’re all freaking out. Owen was in an accident and hurt pretty badly. He’s still in the hospital and Ethan and Olivia are up there with him but I think he needs you. I heard about what happened and understand completely if you don’t want to come. But truly, don’t let whatever his stupid ass did or say cloud how you feel. Here are the details of where he’s staying. Hope all is well.

No.

Accident? Hospital?

My phone drops from my grip and I follow it, my knees hitting the carpet followed immediately by my hands. I’m going to throw up or pass out or maybe both. The last time I felt this way was when I found out my dad died.

“No,” I whisper as tears flood my eyes.

Scrambling for the phone, I call Olivia. We’d exchanged numbers and I realize too late that she’d sent me some text messages also but because I didn’t have her number programmed yet, they went into my Unknown Senders folder that I rarely check.

“Stupid!” I hiss at myself just as she picks up the phone and answers, “Cami?”

“It’s me! It’s me!”

“Oh, thank goodness. Where are you?”

“I’m um… I’m back in Tennessee. I’m at home.” The word home feels foreign as I look around my house. It doesn’t feel like home at all. After explaining where I am, Olivia says, “Ethan, look up this address. Find out how far away she is then go get her. She can’t drive on her own.”

Alarm bells ring in my head and my stomach sinks. “What’s going on?”

She’s quiet when she explains, “Owen’s in the hospital. He fell from the stairs on his deck as he was staining the wood.”

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