A Forever Family (Forever #6) (10 page)

Collin

I took Amelia’s hand and brought it up to my lips. We had an amazing weekend and the week was only going to get better leaving for California.

“Are you excited to go to California?”

“I’m very excited. You didn’t tell Jacob we were coming, did you?”

“No. I just told Diana and she said she wouldn’t tell him. We want to surprise him. It’ll be great to see them again. Also, we’re going to go out with Ashley and Ariel while we’re there.”

“And don’t forget about Mason and Landon.” She smiled.

“How could I? Mason’s been texting me nonstop with excitement. He and Landon are taking us out to celebrate your graduation.”

“Maybe we need two weeks in California.” She laughed.

So far, the drive home was smooth. It was night and darkness had settled in, but traffic was light. Julia and Jake were in front of us and my parents were nowhere to be seen. I pulled out my phone and dialed my dad.

“Yes, Collin.”

“Where are you?”

“I decided to take a different route than usual. I want to see if it’s any faster.”

“And what time does the GPS say you’ll be arriving home?” I asked with a cocky attitude.

“Fifty-three minutes.”

“I see. We should be pulling in at the same time. See you in fifty-two minutes, Dad.”

I heard him sigh as he ended the call. We continued our drive and up ahead was an intersection about twenty minutes from home. One of our favorite songs came on the radio and I turned it up and started singing to Amelia. I looked at her for a split second and ran my thumb down her cheek. Suddenly, she screamed.

“Collin, oh my God! STOP!”

I looked ahead and everything went into slow motion. I slammed on the brakes as I watched a truck slam into Julia and Jake’s car as they went through the intersection, sending it into another car before rolling over. The crash was a sound I’d never forget. The squealing of the tires and the thumping sound of the car hitting the cement as it rolled over. My heart was pounding and Amelia was crying. I swung open the door as I screamed Julia’s and Jake’s names. Cars stopped and people got out to see what had happened. I ran over to the car and got down on the ground, Julia was lying there with tears streaming down her face and blood pouring from her forehead. I looked over at Jake and he was unconscious.

“FUCK!” I yelled. “Julia, close your eyes tight.”

Amelia and I ran over to Jake’s side and I told her to stand back as I kicked the window as hard as I could, causing it to shatter. Amelia pushed me out of the way and checked Jake’s pulse.

“He’s alive. Thank God. He’s alive.”

I reached in and over Jake, taking hold of Julia’s hand, trying to calm her down.

“Julia. You’re going to be okay. The ambulance is on its way. Just hold on.”

“I can’t move, Collin,” she said in a weak voice.

“Don’t try to move, Julia. It’s important that you don’t move.”

“Jake!” she screamed.

“Jake is going to be fine. He’s alive and so are you.” Tears were streaming rapidly down my face as I held her hand.

“My baby. Where’s my baby?”

“Brayden is safe. He’s with Mom and Dad. Amelia, call my parents and tell them what happened.”

Before long, the ambulance arrived and attended to Julia and Jake quickly. I got up and hugged Amelia tightly as she sobbed into my shoulder. We both were shaking uncontrollably. A police officer walked over to us and asked us what happened.

“We were driving behind them and the light was green. Out of nowhere, that truck just slammed into them.”

“That driver is drunk and we’re taking him into custody. Thank you for your statement.”

The paramedics got Jake and Julia out of the car and placed them on the stretchers.

“This one’s in bad shape. We need to get her to the hospital stat. Call the ER and tell them to have a team ready and that we’re on our way.” They put her in the ambulance. I needed to be with her.

As the other paramedic was taking Jake’s vitals, he started to regain consciousness and screamed Julia’s name.

“She’s going to be okay, Jake. You both are,” I said as I held his hand. He looked at me as tears filled his eyes. I wanted to break down right then and there, but I couldn’t. I needed to be strong for him and for my sister. “Amelia, stay with Jake. I’m going to ride to the hospital with my sister. Can you drive to the hospital?”

“Yes. Just go. I’ll be fine.”

I gave her a kiss and climbed in the ambulance with Julia as they shut the doors and took off, sounding their lights and getting us to the hospital as fast as they could.

* * * *

Julia

The sound of the crash. The lights fading into the distance and the excruciating pain that radiated through my body was unbearable. I lay on the stretcher, fighting for my life as my brother cried and held my hand. He kept telling me that everything was going to be okay. But I wasn’t so sure. Sounds were fading in and out and dizziness overtook me. Before I knew it, I was being raced down the hallway of the hospital. A team of doctors waited for me inside the room that would determine my fate. I was alone in a room full of strangers who were trying to help me. As they cut off my clothes, I heard one of the doctors say I had internal bleeding and they needed to get me to surgery stat. I looked up as a nurse was cleaning the wound on my forehead.

“You’re going to be just fine, Julia. Hang in there, sweetie.” She gently smiled.

Once again, I was being raced down the hallway and into the surgical room where they injected me with a needle and put a mask over my face. Silence fell upon my ears as darkness overtook my eyes.

“You’re going to be okay, kid,” I heard a familiar voice say.

I turned around and I was standing in the hallway outside the surgical room. I looked around for the familiar voice and, when I turned my head, Denny was standing in front of me.

“Denny.” I smiled. “Where am I?”

“You’re in limbo right now, but soon enough, you’ll be waking up. It’s not your time, Julia. You still have your whole life ahead of you.”

“How do you know?”

“Trust me. I know.”

He looked so good and so happy. “Are you okay?” I asked him.

“I’m fine. Better than I ever had been. Do me a favor and tell your old man to stop being stubborn. Tell him he knows the right thing to do and that forgiveness always prevails. Everything happens for a reason, Julia. The big guy upstairs makes things that way. I have to go now. You’ll be waking up soon. Take care of your family and kiss that baby boy of yours for me.”

As he started to walk down the hallway, he slowly began to disappear in the distance. “Denny, wait!” I screamed. A force so strong held me back and everything went black.

Connor

We met Collin and Amelia in the waiting room. Ellery was hysterical as she hugged him.

“She’s in surgery, Mom. We haven’t heard anything yet.”

I hugged Amelia tightly as she broke down and cried. After both women started to settle down, I hugged Collin like he was the last person on earth.

“What the fuck happened?”

“A drunk driver ran a red light at the intersection and hit Julia and Jake. Julia’s side was hit. Dad, I’ll never forget what I saw.” He started to sob in my arms.

We waited for what seemed like eternity before the doctor came into the waiting room. “Mr. and Mrs. Black?” the surgeon asked.

“Yes,” I answered as Ellery held on to me.

“I’m Dr. Perry, the surgeon who worked on your daughter, Julia. She has sustained some injuries and we had to stop some internal bleeding in her abdomen. Unfortunately, her kidneys took the impact of the accident and we had to remove one that was completely severed.”

Ellery was about to collapse as Collin grabbed her from behind. “Sit down, Mom.”

“If you’re not aware, you can lead a completely normal life with one kidney, however, the second kidney was also damaged and I repaired as much as I could. I have a nephrologist coming in to talk to Julia in the morning about the next step.”

“When can we see her?”

“She’ll be waking up from the surgery soon. I will warn you that she will be in a lot of pain, but the nurses will have her on pain medication through her IV. We put her in a room with her husband. He’s fine. Just some bruises, but we want to keep him here overnight for observation.”

“Thank you, Dr. Perry.”

I sat down next to Ellery and held her. “She’s going to be just fine, baby. Our little girl is going to be okay.”

“She has one kidney, Connor, and the other is damaged. I don’t call that fine!” she yelled.

“She’s alive and that’s all that matters. We’ll deal with the rest later.”

A nurse walked in and led us to Julia and Jake’s room. Standing in the doorway, an overwhelming fear took over me and I found it difficult to step inside the room. Ellery ran over to Julia’s bedside and began to cry. Jake stared at me from his bed and I could see the tears spring to his eyes. I walked over to him and grabbed his hand.

“I’m so sorry.” He began to cry.

“It’s not your fault. I’m just glad you’re both alive.”

“She’s going to be okay, right?”

“Yes, son. She’s going to be okay.” I gave his hand a gentle squeeze and Collin and Amelia walked over.

I looked at my princess and my heart started to race. Thinking of how we could have lost her terrified me. I placed my hands on Ellery’s shoulders. She let go of Julia’s hand and walked over to Jake. I sat down on the edge of the bed and held her hand, holding back the tears that so desperately wanted to escape. I needed to stay strong for Ellery and for Jake. I buried my face in my daughter’s arm and said a silent prayer.

“Daddy,” I heard a soft whisper.

I lifted my head and Julia was staring at me. “What happened?”

“You were in an accident, princess, but you’re going to be just fine.”

Ellery ran over to the other side of the bed and gave her a light hug. “My baby,” she cried.

“Where’s Jake?”

“I’m right here, sweetheart.” He smiled.

Collin and Amelia gave us some time with Julia before they walked over to see her.

“Thank you,” Julia whispered to Collin. “You were there holding my hand and telling me that I was going to be okay.”

“You would have done the same for me.” He smiled at her.

“Where’s my baby?”

“Brayden is with Peyton and Henry. Don’t worry about him. He’s fine.”

Julia started to cry. “What if he was in the car with us?”

I leaned over and lightly gripped her shoulders. “Princess, he wasn’t and that’s all that matters.”

“Why am I in so much pain? My back and my stomach hurt so bad.”

“Collin, go get the nurse,” I spoke.

Ellery leaned down and pressed her lips against Julia’s hand. Telling her what had happened to her was going to be one of the hardest things I ever had to do. I swallowed hard and took in a deep breath.

“Julia, your kidneys took the impact of the crash. The doctors had to remove one of them.”

Shock splayed over her face as tears ran down her cheeks. “I only have one kidney?”

“Yes, princess.” I gulped. “A nephrologist will be here in the morning to talk to you about your other kidney. It was also damaged but not as severe as the other one.”

She turned her head and looked at Jake. “Oh my God,” she sobbed.

The nurse walked into the room and saw how upset Julia was. “I’m going to give her a sedative. She needs her rest tonight. So say goodbye and you can come back in the morning.”

“There is no way I’m leaving my daughter!” Ellery snapped as she stood up from the chair.

“Mom, it’s okay. I want to be alone with my husband. You and Daddy go home and get some rest. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Julia!”

“Mom, please. I need to be alone with Jake.”

We kissed Julia and Jake goodbye and the four of us walked out of the room, preparing ourselves for what the nephrologist would tell us in the morning. Somehow, I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be good.

* * * *

Ellery

It was almost midnight when we stopped by Peyton and Henry’s apartment to pick up Brayden. We told them everything that had happened and what the doctor said. Henry said that he’d stop by Julia’s room in the morning and look at her chart. Connor tried to get hold of Jake’s parents, but they were vacationing in Europe. He didn’t want to tell them on a voice message what had happened, so he just said to call him when they had a chance. As we were driving back to the penthouse, I pulled out my phone and dialed Mason.

“Hello, sweet cheeks. To what do I owe the pleasure of speaking to you today?” he spoke in a cheerful voice.

My voice was shaky and I began to cry. “Can you come to New York right away? We need you.”

“Elle, what happened?”

“Julia and Jake were in a bad accident and we need you to help with Brayden.”

“Oh my God. Are they okay?”

“Julia has some issues. Please, Mason. I need you.”

“I’m on the next flight out, Elle. Don’t worry. Is Brayden at the penthouse with you?”

“Yes. We’re taking him there now.”

“Okay. I’m on my way.”

We finally arrived home and Connor carefully laid Brayden down in his crib. Connor and I changed out of our clothes quickly and into our pajamas. We were both exhausted as I snuggled up against him.

“She’s going to be just fine, baby.”

“I hope so. Because if she’s not, I don’t know what I’ll do.” I kissed his bare chest as he kissed the top of my head.

The next morning, my eyes flew open and I was still wrapped around Connor’s body. I looked at the clock and it read seven a.m.

“Connor, wake up. Brayden never woke up this morning. How did we sleep so late?”

“Ellery, I’m sure he’s tired.”

I jumped out of bed, threw on my robe, and ran down to his room. He wasn’t in his crib, but I could smell the aroma of coffee infiltrating the penthouse. Only one person made a special blend of coffee that smelled like that. I walked down the stairs and into the kitchen where Mason was feeding Brayden his oatmeal.

“When did you get here?” I asked with a sigh of relief as I walked over and kissed him.

“I got in about two hours ago.”

I poured a cup of coffee, said good morning to my grandson, then sat down and let the tears fall once again.

Mason put his arm around me. “Aw, Elle, don’t. Our princess is going to be okay.”

“He’s right, baby. Julia is going to be fine,” Connor spoke as he walked into the kitchen.

“Hello there, handsome daddy.”

“Thanks for coming so quickly, Mason.” Connor gave him a light hug.

“Anything for my favorite family. You know I’m always here for you.”

Connor took Brayden from his bouncy seat and held him close, kissing the top of his head. I couldn’t stop thinking about how he could have lost his parents. The thought consumed me as my tears flooded my face. Mason gripped my shoulders.

“Listen to me, Elle. You aren’t going to do this anymore. This isn’t like you. You’re one of the strongest women I know and for you to keep breaking down like this is unacceptable. I’m sure you had your fill of tears last night and that’s fine. But now, you need to dry them up because you need to be strong for Julia. Do you want her to see you fall apart? She was in a horrific accident and the last thing she needs is her mother losing it. She’s alive, Elle, and that’s all that matters. All the rest will fall into place. Whatever she may face or what’s yet to come, you have to be strong for her.”

“He’s right, baby. Listen to him. Julia needs us more than ever right now and we can’t let her down. We better go get ready. Mason, can you bring Brayden by the hospital later so Julia and Jake can see him? I’ll send Ralph to drive you.”

“Of course I will.”

I went upstairs, showered, and got dressed. Jake’s parents had called Connor back and wanted to get on the next flight home. He told them that everyone was okay and to finish their vacation, not to worry, and that he’d keep them updated every day. I was a nervous wreck on the way to the hospital with the fear of what bad news about Julia was to come.