A Bend in the Road - By Nicholas Sparks Page 0,105
think he needs an ambulance? Maybe I should call—”
“It’s all right,” Miles said, cutting him off. “I’m with the sheriff’s department. I’ve checked it out and he’ll be fine.”
Brian felt like a bystander, despite the pain in his wrists and head.
“You’re a sheriff?” The other driver took a step back and glanced toward Brian for support. “He was over the line. It wasn’t my fault....”
Miles held up his hands. “Listen...”
The driver’s eyes locked on the handcuffs Miles still held and his eyes widened. “I tried to get out of the way, but you were in my lane,” he said, suddenly defensive.
“Hold on—what’s your name?” Miles asked, trying to control the situation.
“Bennie Wiggins,” he answered. “I wasn’t speeding. You were in my lane.”
“Hold on...,” Miles said again.
“You were over the line,” the driver repeated. “You can’t arrest me for this. I was being careful.”
“I’m not going to arrest you.”
“Then who are those for?” he said, pointing at the handcuffs.
Before Miles could answer, Brian cut in. “They were on me,” he said. “He was bringing me in.”
The driver looked at them as if he didn’t understand, but before he could say anything, Sarah’s car came to a sliding halt near them. They all turned as she scrambled out, looking frightened, confused, and angry all at once.
“What happened?” she shouted. She looked them all over before her eyes finally locked on Brian. When she saw the blood she went toward him. “Are you okay?” she asked, pulling him away from Miles.
Though still woozy, Brian nodded. “Yeah, I’m okay....”
She turned toward Miles furiously. “What the hell did you do to him? Did you hit him?”
“No,” Miles answered with a quick shake of the head. “There was an accident.”
“He was over the line,” the driver suddenly offered, pointing toward Miles.
“An accident?” Sarah demanded, turning toward him.
“I was just driving along,” he continued, “and when I rounded the curve, this guy was coming right at me. I swerved, but I couldn’t get out of the way. It was his fault. I hit him, but I couldn’t help it—”
“Barely,” Miles interrupted. “He grazed the rear end of my car and I swerved off the road. We barely bumped each other.”
Sarah turned her attention to Brian again, suddenly not knowing what to believe. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
Brian nodded.
“What really happened?” she asked.
After a long moment, Brian pulled his hand away from his head. The shirt was wet and spongy, soaked in red. “It was an accident,” he said. “It wasn’t anyone’s fault. It just happened.”
It was, of course, the truth. Miles hadn’t seen the van because he was turned around in his seat. Brian knew he hadn’t meant for it to happen.
What Brian didn’t realize was that these were the same words he’d used when describing the accident with Missy, the same words he’d said to Miles in the car, the same words he’d repeated to himself ad nauseam for the last two years.
Miles, though, didn’t miss it.
Sarah closed in on Brian again, slipping her arm around him. Brian closed his eyes, feeling suddenly weak again.
“I’m taking him to the hospital,” Sarah announced. “He needs to see a doctor.”
With a gentle nudge, she began to lead him away from the car.
Miles took a step toward them. “You can’t do that—”
“Try and stop me,” she cut him off. “You’re not getting anywhere near him again.”
“Hold on,” Miles said, and Sarah turned, looking at him contemptuously.
“You don’t have to worry. We’re not going to make a run for it.”
“What’s going on?” the driver asked, panic in his voice. “Why are they leaving?”
“None of your business,” Miles answered.
All he could do was stare.
He couldn’t bring Brian in looking the way he did, nor could he leave the scene until the situation there was settled. He supposed that he could have stopped them, but Brian needed to see a doctor, and if he held on to him, he’d have to explain what was going on to whoever came to investigate—something he didn’t feel up to right then. So instead, feeling almost helpless, he did nothing. When Brian glanced back, however, he heard the words once more.
It was an accident. It wasn’t anyone’s fault.
Brian, Miles knew, was wrong about that. He hadn’t been watching the road—hell, he hadn’t even been facing the right direction—because of the things Brian had been saying.
About Sarah. About the blanket. About the flowers.
He hadn’t wanted to believe him then, nor did he want to believe him now. Yet...he knew Brian wasn’t lying about those things. He’d seen