“What about you?” she asked. “Do you have any siblings?”
“One brother.” He set his coffee on the tabletop.
“That’s—” Mina’s phone rang, the melody mercifully stopping her from confirming her inability to make interesting conversation by finishing with ‘nice’. “I’m sorry,” she said, reading Jess’s name on the caller ID. “I’ll only be a sec.” She whisked her finger across the screen, answering the call. “Hello – Jess?”
The small sip she’d taken of her latte seemed to curdle in her stomach as Jess answered. “You’re where?” She gripped her coffee cup a little too tightly and hot liquid seeped out from under the lid, running over the sides and scalding her fingers. She yanked them away hastily. “Are you all right? Are you sure?”
Eric had grabbed some napkins and was mopping up the puddle of vanilla latte on the table, offering her a clean one for her fingers. She accepted it, blotting her fingers mechanically as she tilted her head, trapping her phone between her ear and shoulder. “I’ll be there as soon as I can. I’m leaving right now.”
“Is everything all right?” Eric stood as Mina did, concern written across his gorgeous face; his blue eyes a shade darker than usual.
“No.” Mina snatched up her purse. “It’s my sister. She’s in the emergency room. I have to go. I’m sorry.” The pang of regret that assaulted her as she met his amazing eyes for what would probably be the last time barely managed to cut through her panic.
Eric followed her to the door, leaving his coffee behind with her latte. “Do you need a ride to the hospital?”
“I have my own car. It’s in the parking garage just a couple blocks from here.” The bell over the café door jingled behind her as she stepped onto the sidewalk.
“Can I walk you there?”
She spared him a glance over her shoulder, trying not to let her regret show on her face. “No thanks. I’ve got to hurry. Thank you for the coffee though.” She took off at a near jog, leaving him behind. If it hadn’t been clear before, it was now – she wasn’t meant to date Eric. Her commitment to Jess didn’t leave any room for a boyfriend.
Chapter 2
The sterile smell of the hospital sent Mina’s heart racing and stomach churning. She walked as quickly as she could without running, her purse swinging at her side like a battle weapon. She forced down a wave of adrenaline as she stopped in front of an information desk and asked the receptionist where she could find Jessica Carson. “I’m Mina Lee, her guardian.”
The receptionist studied her computer screen for a few moments and gave her a room number.
An elevator ride and two corridors later, Mina was greeted by a particularly strong wave of antiseptic smell as she stepped into the coordinating room. It brought back memories she would have done anything to avoid revisiting. That was impossible thought, and her heart and body both ached as she was transported back in time seven years, to the most miserable weeks of her life. “Oh God, Jess, what happened?”
Jess was sitting in her wheelchair, her face pale in comparison to an alarming patch of crimson at her hairline. A nurse was at her side and an unfamiliar mousy woman sat in a chair in the far corner, presumably the teacher who Jess had said had driven her to the emergency room.
“Did you fall out of your chair?”
Jess shook her head. “No, I hit my head on the corner of a locker bank at school. I’m OK.”
“You’re her sister?” the nurse asked.
Mina nodded.
“It’s not a very large wound,” the nurse assured her. “It should only take about three stitches to close.”
Large or not, it looked painful. A stream of blood began to streak over Jess’s forehead and the nurse dabbed it dry with a towel. The sight was far too familiar. Mina kept her eyes wide open, refusing to even blink. If she closed her eyes, she knew she’d see blood and glass everywhere, the memory painted across the back of her eyelids. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to focus on the present. “How did you hit your head on a corner if you were in your chair?”
Jess’s gaze strayed from Mina and she folded her hands in her lap as she examined the large jars of cotton balls and tongue depressors that were lined up on a nearby counter. “Someone bumped into me.”
“Someone? Your chair weighs over ninety pounds, and that’s not including you.”
“OK, a group of girls bumped into me. I was on my way to the art room after classes ended and they ran into me in the hall. It tilted my chair and I hit my head.”