Page 68 of Through the Snow Globe
Diana opened her eyes for a second and saw Rochelle wave her hand off to the side.
“Not that I believe you,” Rochelle said.
Fifteen minutes. That was enough. It only took ten to drive to the store. That left five minutes to spare, and Linus never left as soon as he closed. He needed to clean up and count the register first.
Diana pulled out her cell phone.
“What are you doing?” Rochelle slid her gaze over. “Drunk texting is never a good idea.”
“It’s fine when it’s your own fiancé.” Diana’s stomach rolled as Rochelle turned left.
“You only drink when you fight with someone. That’s a sign that you’re uncomfortable with your emotions. Instead of feeling them, you drink them away.”
Diana glared at Rochelle. “Are you going to psychol-i-size this guy you like too? Because that won’t go well.”
“Just you,” Rochelle said.
Diana couldn’t see straight enough to text so she pressed CALL instead and held her phone to her ear, waiting for Linus to answer. After a moment, the call went to voice mail. She dialed again, nerves wrapping around her chest and squeezing, making it hard to pull in a deep breath.
“He’s probably just checking out a customer. We’re almost there. Relax,” Rochelle said before sirens could be heard somewhere down the road.
“Do you hear that?” Diana sat up straighter.
“It could be anyone.” Rochelle reached a hand across the seat. “Linus is at the toy store. It’s not even six.”
Diana pressed a hand to her chest, forcing herself to take a deep breath, but there didn’t seem to be any air in her lungs. Rochelle stopped behind a line of traffic, waiting for whatever had happened up ahead.
“It’s not anyone. It’s Linus.” Diana pushed open her car door, not stopping as Rochelle called her back. Then she started half walking, half running in the direction of the sirens. Her head was pounding and alcohol swished around in her stomach. She ignored it all. It was as if fate knew she was going to try to get here early and it had forced Linus to leave before closing. She couldn’t stop this damned day.
Diana saw the delivery truck. It was surrounded by red and blue lights. She kept running, the cold stinging her cheeks. “Linus? Linus!”
“Ma’am. Stay back,” a deep voice instructed.
She ignored the warning and kept going, only stopping when she saw Linus’s bike on the road. Its front wheel was twisted along with the handlebar. “Linus!” she screamed. He wasn’t there with his bike. Where was he?
“Ma’am?” The deep voice belonged to a man in a blue uniform. Officer Crane. He’d come to her front door on the first December 4th.
“The bike is Linus’s. Where is he?” she asked, whirling to face Officer Crane.
He looked apologetic. “He’s in the ambulance, Diana.”
She turned toward the emergency vehicle and ran in that direction as the paramedic moved to shut the back door. “Wait! He’s my fiancé! I need to go with him! Please! I don’t want him to be alone. He can’t go through this alone,” she begged. She couldn’t go through this alone either.
The paramedic opened the door and helped her step up. “We have to hurry,” he said, pointing to a small bench near the stretcher. “Have a seat.”
Diana slid down on the seat, her gaze pinned to Linus. She reached for his hand and held it. His skin was cold. She used her other hand to sandwich it, willing the warmth of her body into his. “I’m here, Linus. Hang on. I’m here.”
Linus stirred and his eyelids fluttered open just a crack. “Di?”
She gasped and leaned in as tears washed her cheeks. “Hey. It’s me. You’ve been in an accident. We’re taking you to the hospital. Stay with me, okay? Keep your eyes open. Please.” Maybe she could keep him from drifting off into some nowhere place in his subconscious that he couldn’t come back from. “Stay with me. Don’t leave.”
“Di?” he asked again. His eyes weren’t focused anymore. Instead he was looking past her.
Diana remembered what Rochelle had said about her being too closed off and not letting anyone in. She tried to handle everything on her own and that’s not how relationships worked. “I can’t do this life without you, Linus. I don’t know if I ever told you this, but I need you. You have to stay because we’re going to get married, remember? I’ve been too scared. Too stupid. Too in my own head. But—”
“Di?” Linus asked again.
She stopped talking and looked at him. “Yes? What is it?”
