Page 39 of My One
“Do you want me to stay here with our bags?” Nic asked.
I looked over at her. “What? No.”
“Are you sure?”
“I need you.”
She squeezed my knee. “I’m not going anywhere.”
A few minutes later, a guy in a white lab coat came into view. “Mr. Scott?”
I stood and stuck out my hand. “Avery’s fine.” We shook. “This is my wife, Nicole.”
They greeted each other. “I’m Arnold Keaton, the coroner. Right this way.”
I grabbed our bags before we followed him to his office. I was expecting to go to the morgue or something like I’d seen on TV.
“Please have a seat.” Arnold motioned to two chairs in front of his desk. We sat, and my hand slipped into Nic’s for support. Arnold took a seat and opened a folder. “This may be tough, but I just need you to confirm these are your parents.”
He handed me two photos face down. I’d assumed I would have to actually see the bodies, like on television. I took a deep breath before I flipped them over. The first picture was of my father’s face with a white sheet just below his neck. He looked lifeless and pale and he had some cuts and bruises on what I could see of him. I swallowed and looked at the other photo. It was my mother, and she looked the same as him. The moment I saw her, a lump formed in my throat.
“Yeah, that’s them.” I handed Arnold back the photos.
“Okay, that’s all—”
“Do you know how they got into an accident?” I asked. Nicole squeezed my hand, and I smiled tightly at her. I wanted to know. Something told me Ineededto know.
“The investigation is ongoing, but from what the sheriff’s office told me, a car was driving the wrong way on the highway and hit them head-on.”
Nicole sucked in a breath and squeezed my hand again.
“Did they ...” I cleared my throat. “Did they suffer?”
“I don’t believe so. I’m almost certain they died on impact.”
I nodded and took a deep breath. “Okay. Now what?”
Arnold grabbed a clear bag that was on his desk and handed it to me. “These were their belongings. Next step, unfortunately, is to plan their funerals. The funeral home you choose will contact us once you have all the details sorted out, and we’ll release your parents to them.”
“Right,” I breathed. “Thank you.” I’d never had to plan a funeral before, let alone a double one. Thankfully, I had my wife, my rock, to help me figure out what to do.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Arnold said as he walked us out of his office. “I didn’t know your father well, but your mother was in a book club with my wife. Your mother seemed like a wonderful woman.”
I chuckled slightly. It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him that I wouldn’t know. Instead, I just told him thank you again.
As soon as we walked out of the door of the coroner’s office, I called a taxi to take us to the hotel Nic had booked for us. I hadn’t thought to rent a car, but then again my brain wasn’t really processing everything. Besides, I’d assumed taxis were driving up and down the street like in New York City. Calling for an Uber wasn’t much better because Santa Barbara was a coastal town and not a huge city.
After we checked in, I dropped the bags on the floor and sat on the edge of the bed. The feeling of something being off had returned, and I was starting to think that it was from not relaxing as Easton had mentioned. At least I hoped that was it. Unfortunately, the weekend away that I’d thought would rejuvenate me hadn’t, and now I was even more stressed. I had no idea what to do in my situation. Should I call a random funeral home and tell them I need to plan a joint funeral? Would people show? How would I tell strangers that my parents were dead? Did I need to plan a funeral for the people who didn’t care about me? Could Nic and I just go home now?
So many fucking questions were swirling in my head, making my neck and back tense as the stress radiated through my body.
“I’m going to go back downstairs and see if someone at the front desk can help me rent a car,” Nic stated.
“What?” I asked even though I’d heard what she’d said.
“We need a car, baby. I’m going to take care—”
“Nic—”
