Page 106 of Fresh Tracks
He looks up from his phone as he comes out of the room, shutting the door behind him. Around the corner, I see Lizzy sitting on a bench in the hallway. She gives me a weak smile and quick wave.
“TJ,” he says, his voice it’s usual deep, gruff tone. “I was just aboutto call you. I?—”
That’s the most he’s said to me in the last two months, but right now I couldn’t give a single, solitary fuck.
“Is she in there? Is she OK?” I don’t even wait for an answer, stepping around him. I reach for the door handle, when the doctor swings open the door to her room and steps out. He stops when he looks up from his clipboard and sees me.
Opening my shoulders, I gesture for him to walk past me but he stays standing in the doorway, separating me from her. I’m not normally one for violence, but right now I’m pretty sure I could shove him through the door and across the room with the amount of adrenaline surging through me.
He must sense it because he calmly asks. “It’s family only right now. Are you a relative?”
Over the doctor’s shoulder in her room, I see Clay sitting on the other side of the room, next to their dad. Clay gives me a look that I think is his attempt to be reassuring, but it’s hard to tell with how surly he normally is.
“Sir, are you a relative?” the doctor asks again, a hint of irritation in his voice now.
I seethe, knowing that she’s on the other side of the door and he’s in my way.
CHAPTER 46
GRACE
JAZZ HANDS
I wakeup to the quiet sound of mumbling in my bed. I try to sit up, groaning when I feel each and every one of my muscles ache with the motion.
What the hell? Grogginess sets in and I force my eyes shut to keep the light out. I must have gone a little too crazy at dinner with my family because I don’t even remember it or leaving.
“I’m going back to bed, Tommy,” I murmur, ready to sleep off what already feels like the worst hangover I’ve ever had. I try to snuggle back into bed, grabbing my pillow and burying my face in it.
The smell of disinfectant and bleach immediately fill my nose with each breath. The scratchy fabric tells me instantly that I’m not in Tommy’s bed —ourbed. My eyes immediately fly open at the unpleasant sensations and I sit straight up, ignoring the pain shooting through my muscles and joints.
There’s no doubt in my mind where I am. Before I even look around the room, I already know I’m back in a place I never wanted to be again.
Panic sets in at the thought of those days after the car accident that claimed months of my life as a teenager. Anxiety andadrenaline bring back another rush of memories, reminding me how I got here.
Agnes, the moose. Josie whistling. Watching as Kayleigh got buried. Then silent, hopeless blackness…
My breathing quickens as panic takes over and I fist the sheets at my side. My eyes scan the room, fully aware of where I am now.
Clay is sitting on the far side next to my grandparents. Tanner is standing in the corner, by the door, with Veronica, who is talking to a doctor. All of it reminds me of waking up in that room a decade ago. All the more highlighted by the fact that Dad is at my side, and Mom isn't here, just like that day.
I feel pressure on my wrist and look down to see Dad’s hand squeezing me, making my breathing slow down ever so slightly.
“Hey. Hey,” he says, making a gentle shushing sound. I see the look in his eyes, beckoning me to stay calm. “You’re fine. Everything’s going to be OK.”
“Where’s Tommy?” I ask.
My dad looks to Tanner who simply nods. “I was just going to call him.”
Tanner pulls out his phone, and steps out of the room into the hall. I look back to Dad. “How long have I been here? How long was I asleep?”
“Josie said you were buried for about five minutes before she got to you. You were unconscious when she found you, and she called search and rescue. They brought you straight here by helicopter. That was about two hours ago.”
My breathing slows down another notch until a far worse realization dawns on me. “Wait. Where’s Kayleigh?”
He winces, causing my anxiety to spike again. The look of horror in Kayleigh’s eyes when the avalanche hit us crashes into my psyche, making my entire body tense. She was in the direct path of it compared to me and I was still totally buried.
Clay, Kayleigh’s best friend since high school, clears his throat. “Josie’s with Kayleigh since she doesn’t have any family here with her and they let her in. She’s still unconscious.” I look over at him to find him wringing his hands and a muscle ticking in his jaw. “They wouldn’t let me in, but I caught the search and rescue team that brought her in and Josie has been giving me updates. She broke her leg and they’re checking her for other injuries still.”
