Chapter 42 - Dominic
The flight is uneventful. It takes just over four hours, but it feels like an eternity. My whole body is aching from the uncomfortable sleep and the tiny airplane seats, and I feel like I’ve aged ten years overnight. As the wheels touch down, I look out the window and a wave of nervousness washes over me.
I’ve never done anything like this.
When I file off the plane with my carry-on bag, the nervousness fades away. By the time I’m getting into the rental car, I’m focused and ready.
As I drive towards Mara’s address, my heart starts to beat a little bit faster. It’s not the angry, outraged heartbeat that I had yesterday. It feels like it’s beating for her – like the only reason for me to be here is to tell her everything that’s in my heart.
The GPS in the rental car guides me until the houses get bigger and the gates get higher. I frown as I look at these mansions, stuck together with no room to breathe. My cabin back home is one tenth of the size of these places, but I have all of the Adirondacks as my backyard.
I wouldn’t trade that for anything.
The voice on the GPS tells me that my destination is on the right, and I look at the tall black wrought-iron gate leading up to a big house. I pull up to the gate and press the buzzer.
“Yes?” Says a voice on the other side.
“I’m here to see Mara McCoy,” I say.
There’s a pause, and then the voice comes back. “She’s not here right now.”
“Where is she?” I answer. My eyebrows knit together and I check the address. It’s definitely the right house, but where else would she be? It’s not even ten o’clock yet.
The voice doesn’t answer. Instead, the black gate swings open and I drive through.
I try not to let the intimidation overwhelm me as I drive up to the house. Did Mara do this for me? Or did she really want to live here? It’s huge and luxurious, and she’d obviously be living a life of wealth that I’d never be able to provide for her.
I shake my head and ignore those niggling thoughts. I stop the car in front of the wide front steps. As I get out, the front door opens and a man appears. It’s not Vincent, and he’s wearing a crisp white suit with black pants.
“I’m William,” he says. “You’re here to see Miss McCoy? Is she expecting you?”
“I, uh… No,” I answer. I suddenly feel foolish. I’m wearing a flannel plaid shirt and old jeans, and I haven’t shaved my beard in days. I don’t belong here.
William nods to me and motions for me to come in. I climb the steps and swallow as I cross the threshold and enter the huge house. He leads me to a room off to the side and I sit down on an expensive-looking leather chair.
“Would you like something to drink?”
“I’m fine,” I snap. “Where’s Mara?”
William chews his lip and glances out the window. “I… I’m not sure, sir.”
I frown. “You’re not sure? What do you mean, ’you’re not sure’.”
“If you leave your name, I can tell either Miss McCoy or Mr –”
“How long has she been gone?”
“Since yesterday,” he answers.
My eyes widen and my heart drops to my stomach. I pull out my phone and dial her number. It goes straight to voicemail and I look at William. “Where the fuck is she!”
Something is wrong. I can feel it. I can tell by the way William is staring at the ground and shifting his weight from foot to foot.
“Tell me goddamn it! Where is she?”
“She left yesterday morning. She seemed… upset.”
I take a step towards him. My mouth is dry and my heart is beating hard. “Tell me where she is,” I say in a low voice.
Suddenly William looks scared. He shakes his head. “I don’t know,” he whispers. “She took the car.”
My phone rings and I rush to pick it up. It’s Tim McCoy, and when I answer I already know something is wrong.
“Dominic,” he says, breathless. “Are you in California?”
“I can’t find her, Tim. She’s not at home and they don’t know where she is.”
“There’s been an accident,” he says as his voice cracks. “She’s in the hospital.”
“What!” I yell, glancing at William.
“They just identified her and called me as her emergency contact. I’ll send you the hospital name.”
“I’m on my way.”
I brush past William and rush out the door. I plug the address that Tim sends into the GPS and rush to turn on the engine. My tires squeal as I accelerate back down the driveway. I curse as the gate swings open all too slowly, and finally turn off and leave that awful mansion behind me.
My mouth is dry. My knuckles are white as I grip the steering wheel. My heart is thumping and all I can hear is Tim’s voice.
There’s been an accident.
I should never have let her go. If she hadn’t come here – if she’d have just talked to me, or talked to her father – this wouldn’t have happened. If I hadn’t spent the evening smashing up that nightstand and drinking myself to sleep, I could have found her and spoken to her.
I drive as fast as I can along the blue line on the GPS until I get to the hospital. I rush to the reception and ask for her. I’m led along winding hallways until I cross swinging doors with three awful words above them: Intensive Care Unit.
She’s in the ICU. My heart drops and I try to hold back my panic. It’s not until I see her laying in the hospital bed that I let myself sob. There are tubes sticking out of her mouth, her arms, her stomach. She’s got bandages on her head and her leg is in a cast. There are machines beeping and nurses milling around.
Her eyes are closed, and I grab her hand as I sit in yet another uncomfortable chair. I put my forehead down on her hand and let the tears flow from my eyes. They soak the blue blanket on the hospital bed and I just sit there and sob until my eyes run dry.
A nurse puts her hand on my shoulder and I look up through tear-filled eyes.
“Is she going to be okay?” I manage to say.
The nurse swallows and her lips purse into a thin line. “She’s in critical condition,” she answers. “We’ll know more in a few hours.”
“Please,” I beg. “Please, just tell me she’ll be okay.”
The nurse nods. “We’re doing everything we can.” She squeezes my shoulder and I turn back to Mara, stroking her hand and letting the tears fall from my eyes.