Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 85154 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85154 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
“Okay,” is the only thing she says and all she does is sob quietly in my ear.
Chapter Three
Eva
I hear the car door closing from the phone and sit down on my couch. “Eva.” I hear his voice, tight and worried, my hands shaking uncontrollably. “Where are you?” I shake my head. “I’ll be there in ten minutes,” he reassures me softly. “It’s going to be okay.” The tears just pour down my cheeks without a way to stop them. “Everything is going to be okay. Whatever it is.”
“No, it’s not,” I whisper the words.
“What happened?” he asks and my stomach gets tight.
“I got a call from Lisa’s neighbor,” I start as my eyes close and two tears run down my cheeks, dripping off my chin.
“Your sister?” His voice is calm. “Is she okay?”
“I don’t think so,” I say, getting up. “Where are you?”
“Around the corner,” he states, and I grab my bag and rush out of the front door, down the two steps toward the street. I look right and left until I see two headlights turn onto my road. He pulls up to the curb, putting the car in park, and rushing out of the driver’s seat. His black hair looks like he ran his hands through it. His blue eyes that are usually clear look like they are clouded over, no doubt with his worry for me.
He pulls me into his arms without even thinking twice. “We have to go to Lisa’s house,” I sob into his chest, my arms by my sides.
“Let’s get you in the car,” he mumbles as he puts his arm around my shoulders and walks me to the passenger side of the car. He opens the door for me and slowly puts me in the seat, reaching across to buckle me in. “Put her address in the GPS.” All I can do is nod at him as I look over at the middle part of his dashboard and press buttons while he walks around to the driver’s side.
He gets in and all I can do is look at him. “Thank you,” I whisper, my voice cracking. He grabs my hand in his, not saying anything. I turn my head to look out the window, replaying the past twenty minutes. “The police are waiting for me,” I say, not turning my head. “They need to talk to me.” The lights go by in the distance as my eyes try to focus on one, but it zooms by. “It can’t be good.” He never lets my hand go, and when we pull up to Lisa’s apartment complex, I see two police cars parked in front.
“No lights are on,” I observe when his hand slides out of mine and he turns off the car. “That’s good, right?”
“Let’s get in there,” he urges, getting out of the car and jogging to my side to help me out. He puts his hand in mine again as we walk up the sidewalk. The same walkway I use every other Monday night when we have dinner. It’s every other week because we take turns. We also do it on Monday because it’s my day off, so I don’t have to rush.
I pull open the glass door with my free hand before walking up the stairs on the right. I make it to the fourth floor before I stop and look at her door. The mat in the front says Welcome. I look over at her neighbor’s door, wondering if I should go there first. I don’t have time to ask before the door is pulled open. Her neighbor, Gwen, stands there, her face streaked with tears, pretty much how mine looks.
“Eva,” she whispers, “come in.”
I walk in, looking to the right where the living room is. Two uniformed police officers are standing up, while two officers wearing suits are sitting down. A woman who has a briefcase in front of her sits at the table. “This is her sister,” Gwen states, and my feet move without me even knowing they are moving.
“Ms. Crinkle,” one of the suited police officers says, getting up. “I’m Detective McCaby.”
“Ms. Meyers,” I correct him, while Levi squeezes my hand in his. “Where is my sister?”
“I’m afraid we have bad news.” The detective puts his hands in his pockets, staring down at the floor before looking back up. “There was an accident involving your sister.”
“Is she at the hospital?” I ask hopefully, but even my brain knows it’s worse than that. My brain is aware of why they are here. It’s my heart—my heart is not sure I can survive another heartbreak. The other three officers avoid looking at me. Levi drops my hand and steps closer to me, putting his arm around my shoulders.
“There was an accident,” the other detective starts. “Drunk driver sideswiped her, and she lost control of her car. The truck didn’t see her.” I gasp, but my ears start to buzz at this point, and I’m not sure I’m hearing what I’m hearing. “She didn’t make it.”