Page 10 of Wrapped in Hope
“What did your aunt and uncle have to say about it?”
“My uncle understands. He asked my aunt to marry him when they graduated high school too. But my aunt isn’t happy. She wanted us to wait until we are finished with college and settled in life.”
Mrs. Brantford and I have never really gotten along. She’s kind and inviting toward me, but I can look at her and see the hatred she has for me in her eyes. It’s almost like she believes I was put on this earth to steal her baby boy. After never being able to have children of her own, she’s held onto Dean a little strong, trying to keep him her baby as long as possible.
I open my mouth to say something else, but I’m silenced when a deer dashes across the road. Dean quickly swerves and I scream as I’m thrown across the cab from the sudden jerk of the wheel. The next thing I know, we’re airborne. The truck flips and hits the ground hard with the sounds of shattering glass and crushing, scraping metal.
A violent pain washes over me, and everything goes black
* * *
Beep…beep…beep.
The sound fills my ears, pulling me to the surface of the bottomless, dark pit I’m in.
My head is pounding and my body is wracked with pain. It’s all I can feel.
Beep…beep…beep.
The closer I get to the surface, the more I can hear. And I know exactly what that sound is. I’m in the hospital. What happened? Am I okay? Where’s Dean?
The more panicked I get the faster the beeping sounds.
I strain to open my eyes, my lids are so heavy. Why can’t I open my eyes?
Still the beeping sounds faster.
“Hope? Can you hear me?” my mother asks, squeezing my hand.
That’s all it takes. I have something tangible to pull me to the surface now. My eyes pop open and I’m temporarily blinded by a bright, white light. It makes my head pound harder, forcing me to squeeze my eyes shut. I suck in a hissing breath from the pain.
“What happened? Where’s Dean?” My voice sounds off. It’s raspy and thick, like it’s been a long time since I’ve had a drink or talked.
“Shhh,” she coos, rubbing her hand up and down my arm, trying to soothe me. “Gary, draw the shades so she can open her eyes.”
Even with my eyes shut, I can tell the room is now darker. I attempt to open them again. I see my mom leaning over me. My dad quickly rushes to her side. They both look at me with stress and relief etched on their faces.
“What happened?”
“You don’t remember?” she asks, brows pulled together in worry.
I try to shake my head, but even that small movement hurts.
“You and Dean were in an accident.”
Suddenly, everything comes back to me. Dean and I in the truck. His arm around me while I sat in the middle without a seatbelt. God, why didn’t I wear a seatbelt? He was wearing his seatbelt. He must be okay. Thank god.
“Where’s Dean? Is he okay?”
Both of their faces that were painted with relief now change to one of sadness. Something is wrong.
“What? What is it?” I ask, alarm and fear taking over.
I see my mom swallow and wet her lips. Her eyes tear as she shakes her head. “Honey, Dean didn’t make it.”
The beeping sound is racing now from her words. My head is swimming. What does she mean Dean didn’t make it? “What do you mean? Where is he?”
Her tear-filled eyes finally overflow and run over her cheeks as she turns toward my dad. He levels his eyes on me, always honest. “You were thrown out of the truck, but Dean, he had his seatbelt on. The truck flipping so many times, it crushed him. I’m so sorry, sweetheart. He’s gone.”