Saving Beck by Cole Courtney

Author:Cole, Courtney
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gallery Books
Published: 2018-07-16T16:00:00+00:00

* * *

“HOW IS THE LAWSUIT going?” Sam asked me as she reached for the chips and salsa over the restaurant table. I was surprised because she’d never asked about that. We all tried to pretend that life was normal, at least as much as we could.

I think she saw the confusion on my face, because she paused.

“I only ask because I know you hate shit like that,” she explained. “It must be stressing you out.”

“It would be,” I agreed, “if Kit weren’t handling most of it. I had to meet with the attorneys once or twice, but Kit is taking care of the paperwork and things. He says I have enough on my plate.”

Sam lifted an eyebrow.

“That’s very thoughtful of him,” she answered. “How do you feel about that? About him chipping in to help with things?”

“I’m grateful,” I said immediately. Everything seemed so overwhelming, so when Kit offered to help, I was totally fine with it.

“What is the main basis of the suit?” Sam asked.

“Matt’s seat belt and airbag were faulty. He always wore his seat belt without fail, and that night I have a picture with him wearing it. They’d . . .” My voice trails off, and I square my shoulders. “They’d taken a selfie when they left South Bend to come home, and Matt was buckled in. The mechanics said the sensors must’ve gone bad, since it unlatched upon impact. But that doesn’t make sense since the car was only two years old.”

“So Matt was thrown from the car?” Sam asked hesitantly. She’d never wanted the details, and I’d never wanted to give them.

“Yeah. When Beck woke up from the crash, he was alone in the car. He was disoriented and stumbling around, but he found Matt in the ditch.”

“Jesus,” Sam breathed, and her hand shook. I nodded.

“Like you know, Beck called me when he found him. He tried CPR, I tried to talk him through it, but Matt was . . . he was not responding. Beck did CPR, and the EMTs did CPR, but at the hospital they called it.”

Matt’s injuries were insurmountable.

“Attorneys contacted us afterward,” I continued. “I didn’t return any of their phone calls, but after I started getting all the hospital bills, I decided to call one of them back. The car company should pay for that. The car malfunctioned. It shouldn’t have.”

Sam glanced at me. “Do you feel badly about filing suit? You sound like you feel guilty.”

I shrugged. “Maybe. I hate lawsuits. I think America has become too trigger-happy with them.”

“But sometimes they are warranted,” she said, looking at me thoughtfully. “You are right in this, Nat. When Matt died, you lost his income, his health benefits. Beck has suffered incredible emotional harm.”

“Well, you’re right about one thing,” I said. “Beck’s suffered. I worry all the time that he’ll never recover. That he’ll always hide from the pain and he’ll never really learn to handle it.”

Sam nodded and grabbed my hand. “We’ll face this together. You’re not alone.”

She paused for a minute.

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