Page 55 of Another Love, Another Time
I think, “That’s what I’m afraid of, too.”
~~
My mom must have called Aunt Jessica and Uncle Chris because they are already here when we walk in the door. “What the hell happened?” is the first thing out of my aunt’s mouth.
“Mom, can you tone it down a few notches?” Logan asks. “It’s been a rough night for all of us.”
“Your mom called and told us we needed to get to the hospital as soon as possible, that something happened with River. Then, she hung up.”
Logan looks at me, wordlessly asking for permission to speak. I nod. “Okay. River had to go to the bathroom. Auggie took her to the bathroom, and he waited outside. He… umm…” He looks at me again, and I nod for him to continue, “he got a little distracted and was gone a few minutes. By the time he got back, she was gone. He thought she went back into the dance to look for him. So, he went back to the ballroom to look for her. When he couldn’t find her, he asked the group to start looking for her. Pretty soon, we heard a commotion by the bathrooms. That’s when we saw what had happened.” He stops.
“And what happened?” Aunt Jess asks softly, knowing the next part is going to be the hardest. I’ve never seen Logan cry, but I can see tears in his eyes.
“Mom… She—I mean—I didn’t… If it wasn’t for her dress, I wouldn’t have known it was her. She was beaten up pretty badly. Her eyes were swollen. Her dress was ripped. She had blood everywhere. Someone tried to cover her up, but you could still see.” He presses his fists into his eyes to keep himself from crying.
“Do you know who attacked her?” she asks, remaining calm.
This time, I respond, “No, but when we find out who did it, we will beat the shit out of him.”
The doors open, and my parents enter. My mom runs up to my Aunt Jess and starts asking if they have seen River, if they have any updates. They both walk up to the counter and ask if there is an update. The lady asks if we are family, and both state thatthey are her aunts. The lady knows my aunt starts to question if she truly is family, knowing she doesn’t have a niece. Then, Aunt Jess tells her that River is the daughter of my Aunt Ashley. I guess they all went to school together. Aunt Jess explains that River’s parents are still five hours away and are on their way here, but she won’t going to allow River to be alone until her parents get here.
My mom is currently stressing to the lady at the desk that someone needs to be with River. Aunt Jess works at the hospital, so she’s hoping she can talk the lady into letting one or both of them back to be with River.
A nurse comes up to the desk, and I walk over so I can hear what they are discussing. I overhear the nurse say that River is currently being examined and is being sent up for scans. This will take a few hours, so we just need to stay put until everything is done. River would have to be alone regardless of her parents being here or not. I hate that she has to be by herself. I want to go back to when we were kids, before everything got so complicated.
I need to see her; I need her to know how sorry I am for leaving her by herself. I hope she didn’t see me with Melissa. She was never meant to find out about Melissa. I know it’s the one thing that she would never forgive me for.
I’m sitting down in the waiting room chairs, still in my tux. Logan left a little while ago to get River’s and my overnight bags out of the party bus. Thank God he had decided to drop his vehicle off earlier in the day at prom, just in case we needed to leave for some reason.
I can’t wait to get out of this thing. I look down at myself. My parents bought this so I could wear it to River’s prom next weekend.
“Will she even want to go with me? Will she even want to go at all? I know that she won’t be healed by then.”
I don’t know how long it’s been, but I see Logan walking back in the building with both of our bags and River’s. He hands River’s bag to his mom, walks towards me, and hands me mine. “Come on,” he says. “Let’s go get changed.”
I stand and follow him to the restrooms. We both take a stall and remain quiet while we take off our clothes and change into something more comfortable. Then, we return to our seats and wait for River’s parents or an update from the nurse.
I shove everything back into my bag, not caring about how wrinkled the tux might get. All I can think about is how I let River down. Her dad will never trust me with her again.
“What if River asks where I went? Do I tell her the truth? Or do I tell her something else? I think the truth would kill her. I can’t tell her the truth.”
We’re walking out of the bathroom when I notice that the nurse from earlier and another woman are talking to our parents. I walk faster to get to the group so I can hear what they are saying.
Logan is right behind me. The doctor is telling them that River has a concussion, that she’s finished with her scans, and she needs her rest. They give her some medicine to help with the pain. One person can go back and sit with her.
I interrupt the doctor to say, “I’m going back with her.”
“Auggie, just wait. I know we all want to see her, but we need to take turns,” my mom addresses me.
“Actually,” the doctor winces, “River requested that Auggie not be allowed to come back.” Both my mom and Aunt Jess’s brows furrow in confusion.
“What?” I exclaim and turn to my mom. “I have to see her. I have to. I have to see her. Please, Mom. Tell her to please let me come see her.”
“What happened, Auggie?” she asks. “Why doesn’t she want to see you?”
“Please, Mom. You have to get her to talk to me,” I plead.
“Let us go back and see her. She’ll probably be sleeping the whole time.”
