Page 82 of Just Friends
“You gonna say anything?” Dalton asked.
“I’m not sure thathe’d want me here.”
“Yeah, he does.” Rebecca shook her head to which he replied. “I know what happened.”
Her mouth dropped, and she forced herself to shut it. “You do?” she whispered.
Dalton nodded to the door. “Walk with me.” Once outside, turning to her, “Of course,I do. He emptied an entire gun range full of armed rednecks. He’s not very subtle, and when he loses his shit, I get a phone call… some things never change. Although, it had been a long time.” Stopping at the ICU waiting room door, Dalton stuck his head in, “We’re going to the cafeteria for a minute. Someone else can go see him. You want anything?” he waited for a response, then shut the door.
Rebecca was still contemplating what Dalton had said when they entered the cafeteria. The hot food area had closed for the day; the only options available were from the vending machines. Not that she wanted anything, but he insisted that she eat something, so she selected a bag of popcorn. Rebecca sat across from Dalton at a table.
“Then why did you call me?”
“I wanted to see what you’d do. I hedged my bet thatyou’d show up.”
“I did.”
“But, there’s something I gotta know. You care about him enough to come running, but are you still leaving?”
Rebecca paused with a handful of popcorn halfway to her mouth. “I don’t know.”
“Well, you need to figure it out,” Dalton said. “If you’re gonna leave, then I don’t want you here when he wakes up. Cindy and I can nurse him back to health just fine. I’ve taken care of that boy his whole life. It’ll be easier on him if you don’t break his heart again.”
The tears thatshe’d kept in check all afternoon had gone rouge down her face. “He might not want me back. I said something terrible.”
“You have noidea what he wants, and I’m guessing he’s never told you. Our mom leaving kinda screwed him up with women. Just tell him you’re sorry, that is if you are. And if you’re gonna stay. Otherwise, just go.”
“He said he didn’t remember her.”
“He told you?”
Rebecca nodded. “Yeah, he told me how you raised him, about your dad, Logan, and how he was in trouble with the law before becoming a cop.”
Dalton stared at her wide-eyed and stone still for several beats. “He trusts you,” Dalton whispered. He might as well have pulled out a knife and plunged it into her heart.
“Trusted,” she corrected. There was no way he did now.
“Hey,” he said, “if you stay then you can have that conversation with him.” Dalton paused and took a long drink. “He’d kill me for saying this, but I want my little brother to be happy, so I want you to pick him and stay. If you do, you’re welcome in my family; no grudges held about what happened. But, if you’re leaving, don’t be here when he wakes up.” Dalton stood and walked out of the cafeteria.
Rebecca sat alone at the table for some time after Dalton left, trying to mop up her face with flimsy napkins. Her nose had clogged, and she couldn’t breathe. Picking Weasel meant breaking her word. Although so much had changed in the five years since. She wasn’t the same person; she’d grown and created a life here in White Oak. However, she’d also destroyed that life. But, she loved him. How did she not realize? But what if she stayed and he refused to take her back? Dalton seemed convinced that wasn’t an issue.
Rebecca entered the ICU waiting room and every head turned; she stopped in her tracks. There stood Hannah, Autumn, Ben, Dan, Justin, and Brandon. Too exhausted to have any pride left, she crossed to the group. Brandon spoke first, “Jeez, you look like hell.” Then she looked better than she felt. The tears fell, again, when would they run out?
Hannah lunged, tears flowing and wrapped her arms around Rebecca. “I’m sorry for yelling.”
“No. I’m sorry,” Rebecca returned the hug. “You had every right to be angry. I shouldn’t have kept all of that from you.” They both hugged each other, sobbing into one another’s hair.
“You didn’t have to go through that all alone,” Hannah sniffled. Autumn hugged them on one side, and Brandon on the other.
“I’m sorry. It all just got out of hand. I thought I’d be here just a few months; then it kept going. Before long, years had passed. Please forgive me.”
“Of course,” Hannah said. Some weight lifted from her chest.
“Well, are you staying with Weasel or not?” Ben demanded.
Rebecca let go of Hannah and turned to face Ben. “Well, he’s unconscious, and when he wakes up, he might throw me out.” Every one of them scoffed. “No, seriously guys. Our last fight was a doozy.”
“Honey,” Cindy said. “I had to turn the hose on those two for fist fighting in the front yard. Whatever you said, it’ll be fine.”