Follow You Home

It's already pitch black outside as I lead John through Lawrence. I can see his headlights in my rearview mirror. Everything he said on the pier is running through my head and I don't really know what I am going to do now.

There isn't much traffic as I pull onto Center St. I go through the intersection of 4th and Center and once I'm through, check my rearview mirror for John. I see his lights as he starts to cross and then suddenly another car speeds through the intersection and T-bones John's truck, sending it careening across the street. Both cars disapear, as I slam on my brakes and pull to the side of the road. My heart is pounding out of my chest and my knees feel weak as I throw myself out of my car and start running down the street. When I reach the corner of 4th, I stop and survey the damage. I see John's truck in the middle of the street, the other car is nowhere to be found. There is glass all over the road and the truck is smashed in on the passenger side. I hear someone scream and then realize it was me. I run flat out towards the truck. When I reach the drivers side, I haul the door open and see John sitting in the drivers seat, his arms braced straight against the steering wheel, knuckles clenched white, and his breathing heavy.

"John! John, talk to me!" I yell. He looks over at me and I see blood dripping down his forehead.

"John!" I grab at his arms, as if I could tell if something was wrong.

"I'm fine, get me out of the truck." he says, calmly. I realize I have tears streaming down my face and I quickly wipe them away with my sleeve before assisting him in sliding from the truck. Once he's out, he leans against the truck bed, breathing hard.

"What's wrong? Is anything broken?" I ask.

"One of my ribs for sure, might be be two, cracked." He takes a deep breath.

"What about your head?"

"I don't think it's a big deal."

I can hear sirens in the distance and sigh with relief.

"We need to get you to a hospital." I say.

"I'm fine, Cupcake. Are you OK?"

"I'm having a fucking heart attack at the moment, so no, not great."

"Come on." He grabs my hand and we gingerly walk to the corner and wait while two cop cars pull up, along with a fire truck, an ambulance and my brother, Frank's, SUV with a flashing light on the hood. Frank and the other cops immediately get out and approach us.

"Jesus, I was afraid it was your truck. Is everyone alright?" Frank asks.

"We're fine. Izzy was in the car in front of me, she cleared the intersection before I was hit."

"Did you get a look at the car?"

"Dark in color, maybe black or blue, mid size, like an SUV, but I don't know the make or model. It all happened too fast."

"Listen, Frank, we need to get him to a hospital. He might have a concussion or something." I interuppt. He nods.

"Yeah, help get him loaded up." He says, nodding towards the ambulance."

I follow John to the ambulance and the EMT's start their work. They sit him down on the stretcher and strap him down, doing tests to see if he has a concussion. I stand beside him, watching anxiously. The EMT's start to load the stretcher into the ambulance, but John grabs my hand.

"Call my ex, Erin. Tell her I was in an accident, but I don't need her to come to the hospital or anything." he says. I nod.

"OK. I'll meet you at the hospital." I say, kissing his forehead. He gives me a stiff smile and I watch as he gets loaded up into the ambulance.

Once the EMT's shut the doors, I walk over to where Frank is standing on the corner. He gives me a grim look.

"If you had been in that passenger seat, you would be dead right now." he says.

"It was that bad?"

"We're figured out that the car was probably going about sixty when it hit John's truck."

"Jesus." I fall into a crouch beside him and suck in some air. Frank crouches down next to me and rubs my back.

"It's just shock, take a deep breath." he says.

"He could have died." I gasp.

"He didn't. He's fine."

"I need to go to the hospital. I have some calls to make." I say, standing.

"Are you sure you can drive?" he asks.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." I say, walking away. I run my hand over my face and then grab John's cell phone out of my jeans pocket and go through his contacts until I find his ex's name. I hit the dial button and wait until she answers.

"Hello?"

"Hi, is this Erin?" I ask, sniffing.

"It is. Who is this?"

"I'm Isabelle Parelli, I'm a friend of John's...Um, John has been in a car accident. He says he's fine, but they're taking him to the hospital for an evaluation. He wanted me to call you and let you know."

"Oh my God. An accident? What happened? That doesn't matter, I'm on my way to the hospital. Thank you for calling." she says, and then hangs up. I blow out a sigh and then hang up. I dial Dom's number, but he doesn't answer, so I hang up.

I walk back down the street to my car and slide into the drivers seat. I throw it into gear and drive towards the hospital, keeping my eyes peeled for cars matching the description John gave Frank. When I get to the hospital, I park and walk quickly into the emergency room. I see my cousin, Lucy, in the hallway and I walk up to her.

"Hey, has John Kristaldi been in yet?"

"Yeah, he's in room two. He's being examined right now."

"Can I see him?"

"Only immediate family, sorry. I'll let you know as soon as I find something out though."

"OK, thanks." I say, smiling a little. I walk back to the waiting area and plunk down in a chair. I lean forward, resting my elbows on my knees and blow out a sigh. My heart is still pounding and I don't think my brain has fully processed what has happened yet. The bell above the door rings and I look up and see John's ex, Erin, carrying their daughter, Lily. I stand and approach her, suddenly feeling uncomfortable and out of place. She see's me and walks over.

"He's in the examining room right now. Only immediate family is allowed in." I tell her. Her eyes search the room and she strokes her daughters back.

"He thought that he had a couple broken or cracked ribs." I say, for no other reason than to make conversation.

"He would know, I suppose." she says, cracking a smirk. She walks over to a row of chairs in the waiting area and sets Lily down in a chair. I follow and stand to the side, feeling very out of place. It's as if I've been replaced by John's real family and I'm no longer needed. Erin walks over to me and leans toward me.

"Could you stay with her for a few minutes? I'm going to go see what I can find out."

"Sure, no problem." I say, not really knowing how to react. I just met this woman and now she's leaving me alone with her child. I watch as she walks down the hall and then turn and walk over to the chairs where Lily is sitting, watching TV. I sit down next to her and stare down at my hands in my lap, not knowing what to say. Finally, I turn to her and hold out my hand.

"Hi, my name is Izzy. What's yours?" I ask. She takes my hand and shakes it carefully.

"Lily."

"That's a pretty name."

"Thank you."

"Um... I'm a friend of your Daddy's." she looks up at me with wide blue eyes. I take in her fair skin and dark brown hair. She's dressed in pink pajamas, as if she was pulled out of bed to come to the hospital.

"Is Daddy OK?" she asks.

"Yeah, he's gonna be just fine, promise." she nods, accepting my answer.

I look up when I hear John's voice. A nurse is wheeling him into the waiting area in a wheel chair. Erin is close behind. Lily jumps from her chair and runs to him. She climbs into his lap and hugs him tightly. I stand, but don't approach, leaving them to have their moment. I watch as he holds his daughter and once again feel uncomfortable. This is a part of John's life that I've never seen up close and now that I have, I don't really know how to deal with it, because he seems so different than the John I know.

Erin finally pulls Lily out of John's arms and they talk for a minute. John looks over at me and then nods. He pushes himself out of his wheelchair and walks over to me.

"Can a cripple get a ride home?" he asks.

"Yeah. What did the doctor say?"

"Two cracked ribs and a tweaked shoulder."

"Tweaked?"

"Professional medical term."

"OK, are you ready?" I ask.

"Yeah."

We walk side by side out to the car and hop in. I drive in silence until we get to a red light. I lift my hand up to adjust the mirror and notice my hand is shaking. John notices it too, and takes my hand in his. He lifts it to his lips and kisses it softly.

"I'm OK."

"I know. I was so scared...I thought you were dead."

"I'm just glad you weren't in the truck with me." he says, letting go of my hand.

The light turns green and I drive the rest of the way home. When we get there, I unlock the door and turn the lights on. John goes to the bedroom and starts undressing. I go into the bathroom and wash my face with a scorching hot washcloth. When I come out, he's laying in bed. I crawl in next to him and lay on my side, watching him. He looks down at me and smiles a little.

"You're high." I say. He laughs.

"I am. It's great."

"Go to bed."

****************************************

I wake up and find John laying awake beside me.

"How are you feeling?" I ask.

"Like I got hit by a train."

"Do you want me to get you one of your pills?"

"Yeah." I roll out of bed and go to the kitchen and get a glass of water and take it to the bedroom. I hand it to him and then pour out one of the pain pills the doctor gave him last night. He swallows the pill down and drains the glass of water.

"Thanks." he says.

"The shoulder is bad this morning." he says.

"Are you gonna live?" I ask.

"Doubtful. You might want to just shoot me now." I roll my eyes.

"Bad joke, sorry."

"I'm gonna go see what I can scrounge up for breakfast. Get some rest." I tell him.

"Thanks, babe."