Unbreakable Hope by Kristin Billerbeck

Author:Kristin Billerbeck
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2013-04-10T04:00:00+00:00

Nine

Peacefully, Emily sat among the city’s transients. She didn’t even know Los Altos, home of the rich, had transients, but there they sat—smelling of liquor and in desperate need of clipping shears. She drew in deep breaths and let them out fully, the way she’d been taught at Pilates exercise class. Although she felt peace, she was still felt thankful for the metal detector at the door. She feared sharp objects within the vicinity of these men. She focused on watching the cable news show and reading day-old newspapers in the Emergency Room waiting room.

Emily called Darin’s parents, after guessing with the local phone book. Luckily, they were listed. His mother didn’t sound pleased to hear from her, but who could blame the woman? It was the middle of the night, and she brought bad news. Hardly the way to ingratiate oneself into the family.

Not long after, an older couple rushed into the waiting room, heading straight for the triage nurse. Emily knew that must be them.

“Someone called us. Our son is here, Darin Black.” The woman wore full makeup with dyed black hair and had the same striking green eyes as her son. Smile lines didn’t frame her eyes the way they did Darin’s. Rather, she had one deep crease in the center of her forehead. Emily got up to greet them.

“Only one of you may go in at a time,” the nurse droned.

The mother exhaled. “Why? We’re both his parents.”

“Because those are the rules.” The triage nurse crossed her arms, making it obvious the subject wasn’t up for discussion.

“That’s fine. We’ll wait for his fiancée to get here. She’s parking the car and she’ll want to see him.

Emily sat back down, her eyes darting about the room. She knew Darin didn’t have a fiancée but couldn’t imagine why his mother would make one up. It was the middle of the night. Where would they find an imaginary fiancée? Had Darin lied to her?

“Only family members allowed,” the triage nurse repeated. “His fiancée doesn’t count without a marriage license. See security when you’re ready and decide which of you will go in.” With that, the nurse sliced the window shut and went back to her paperwork.

The mother cursed, and Emily winced. Darin’s mother was nothing like she imagined. Darin emanated joy while his mother seemed angry at the world. His father just looked conquered, as if any means to speak up for himself had long since disappeared. His chin hung low and he sat down in a chair, obviously waiting for his wife to make a decision for them both.

“I’ll go in first,” Mrs. Black stated.

Mr. Black acquiesced with a nod of his head.

Emily went toward the couple. “Excuse me, I’m Emily Jensen. I was with Darin tonight when he was hit. I mean, I was with him in the car before he chased the man.”

Mrs. Black looked Emily up and down. She felt the scrutinizing glare and squared her shoulders against the laser-sharp stare. “What was he doing with you?”

“We went to the city tonight with some of his kids from East Palo Alto.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.