Page 72 of The Atonement
“You up?” Mom asked, pushing the door open and peering in.
“Yeah, I am,” I lied, easing myself up off the bed.
“Do you want breakfast? What time’s your flight?”
“Eleven,” I told her. “And yeah, breakfast sounds nice.” I stood and crossed the room. “Do you happen to have a toothbrush I can borrow?”
“Of course. Be right back.” She left the room and reappeared moments later with a red plastic toothbrush still in its packaging. Passing it to me, she studied my face. “There’s some antibiotic cream under the sink, too. The better care you take of it, the less chance it’ll scar. And what a nasty scar that would be.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
She nodded. “I can’t believe you ruined your hair likethat.” I turned away from her, refusing to respond, and she went on. “Are you sure you’re ready to travel? Why not stay here for a few days and rest?”
“I told you…I have to go get the kids. I only stayed behind to take care of things.”
“And everything’s taken care of now?”
“Yep.” In the bathroom, I spread toothpaste on the brush and placed it in my mouth.
“Are you sure you shouldn’t see some sort of specialist? I mean, it just looks awful.” She was still eyeing the scrape.
I spit, lifting back up to say, “Well, it’s from a car accident, so it’s not going to look great. I’ll be fine. Just a little road rash.”
A doorbell rang out downstairs, and she twisted her mouth in thought. “Are you expecting anyone?”
I thought of Gina, who’d dropped me off the night before. We hadn’t made plans to meet up again, but it was entirely possible she’d come back. Then, without warning, my heart plummeted, worrying it was Peter.
No.
No.
It wasn’t him. It couldn’t be.
Would it always be that way? Would I worry every phone call or doorbell for the rest of my life would be him?
I shuddered. “I don’t think so.”
“I’ll get it. There are some of your old clothes still in the dresser. You’ll probably still fit in them.”
Ignoring her underhandedcomment, I dug through the drawers, pulling out a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt to cover the scrapes on my wrists. It was going to be bad enough flying with my face as banged up as it was. I didn’t need to give anyone any further reason to notice me.
Once I’d gotten dressed and brushed my hair, I made my way down the stairs. Halfway down, I could hear my mother’s laughter from the kitchen. I rounded the corner and gasped at the sight of Matt, who looked equally horrified to see me.
Or rather, to see my face in its current state.
“Jesus, what happened?” He moved toward me quickly, his hands outstretched as he examined the wound. He examined me with such tenderness, I suddenly felt tears stinging my eyes.
“Car accident.” I carried on the lie I’d told my mother and the one I’d tell my children as I pulled out of his grasp.
“When? Is that where you were last night? I came by your hotel room, but I thought maybe you’d gotten freaked out because…well…because of what happened.” He cast a wary glance over his shoulder, obviously trying to decide if I’d told my mother about our night together, though at that point, it was the least of my concerns.
“No, I’m sorry. I wasn’t standing you up. I was in an accident and came here after. I completely forgot about—”
“Sure. Yeah…” He was still studying me with a pained expression. “My gosh… It looks really bad. Did yougo to the hospital? You could have a concussion. I can drive you if you want.”
I waved off his concern. “I’m fine. It was minor.”
“Ainsley, I know I have no right to tell you what to do, but as a medical professional, I feel like I need to insist that you go get checked out. You have a pretty serious road rash. Were you thrown from a vehicle? That doesn’t sound minor.”
