Page 91 of Broken Hearts
“Better? Want me to grab one of the trainers?”
“I’m okay.” The lightheaded feeling is starting to pass, but I still lean into Rhett.
“All right, men. Let’s load up.” Coach Meyers stands next to the bus.
“I’ll meet you there,” I say, reluctantly stepping away from him.
He hugs a sleepy-eyed Ryder. “Thanks for letting me borrow this.” Rhett hands him back the black stone.
“You can keep it.” Ryder yawns. “It seems like you might need it more than me.”
The three of us laugh.
“We’re leaving early in the morning so I guess this is goodbye until graduation.” His dad slaps his back as they hug again.
“Thanks for being here,” Rhett says.
His mom finally finishes her call and comes over to say goodbye as well.
Rhett hugs her. “Thanks, Mom.”
“We’re going to follow the bus back to your hotel. There’s something I want to talk to you about,” she says.
“We can talk now,” Rhett says. “It’ll take the guys a few minutes to load.”
“It’s fine. We’ll just follow you.”
Rhett’s features contort into confusion. “You’re being weird. What is it?”
“That was Cory on the phone.”
“Okay?”
“Who’s Cory?” I ask when no one speaks.
“Carrie’s mom,” Rhett says. “It’s cool, Mom. Sienna knows about Carrie.”
His mom nods and gives me a small smile. Her eyes look a little teary and I’m so confused.
“What is it? She didn’t drive down here, did she?” He looks around. “She can’t seem to understand that it’s really over.”
“No, she’s not here.”
Rhett motions with his hand impatiently.
“She tried to come.” His mom’s voice breaks. “She left her dorm last night so she could be here today.”
“Okay. Well, where is she?”
“She was in an accident near St. Joseph.”
“Is she okay?”
His mom shakes her head slowly side to side and she starts to cry. My skin goes clammy and my heart rate accelerates.
“No, baby. She fell asleep and drove across a median. They took her to the hospital, but it was too late.” She places a shaky hand to her mouth.
Rhett’s dad puts a hand at his wife’s back and stares at the ground.
