When Darkness Ends (Moments in Boston #3) - Marni Mann Page 0,73
to get some drinks later? I know I could use one, and by then, you should be ready for round two.”
Home was the last place I wanted to be, lost in the darkest of thoughts, agony taking ahold of me. “Yeah,” I agreed. “Tell me where, and I’ll be there.”
Fifty-Two
Before
Ashe
Even though I hadn’t gone to New York, I assumed Pearl’s itinerary stayed the same, and she planned to take the late morning bus back to Boston. Before leaving my apartment, she’d told me she was going to call once she got home, and I knew that would be around the middle of the afternoon. So, when Dylan had asked me to go out to lunch and stop by a pub after, not returning to our place until early evening, I’d expected the light on our answering machine to be blinking when we got back.
But it wasn’t.
Instead of waiting for her to call, I phoned her number.
There was no answer.
Gran had a hard time getting around, and if Pearl wasn’t home, most of my calls in the past had gone unanswered. I assumed her audition had just run longer than planned, and she was taking a later bus, or maybe she was so exhausted when she got back that she went straight to sleep.
I still tried again a few hours later, and no one picked up.
But by the next afternoon, I was done waiting. I went to Pearl’s apartment and knocked on the door. When I heard no movement inside, something in my gut sent me into the stairwell, where I knew she hid a key.
“It’s Ashe,” I called out once I unlocked the door and walked in.
“In here,” Gran replied. “Hurry.”
I let the door slam behind me and found Gran on the floor of her bedroom, only a few feet from the bed.
“Shit, Gran.” I knelt on the carpet in front of her, checking her face and arms, seeing if she was hurt. “Are you all right? What happened?”
Emotion filled every breath, pain deeply etched into her face. “Oh, thank God you’re here.”
“Careful. Something could be broken,” I said, holding her lower back, taking all of her weight as she tried to get into a seated position. “Don’t move. I’m going to call 911.”
I was about to run to the phone when she said, “I think I’m all right. Just give me a moment to catch my breath.”
I kept my hand on her, watching the way she was breathing, looking for signs of pain or a concussion. “How long have you been on the floor?”
She touched her face and looked at her hands after to see if there was blood. From what I could tell, there wasn’t any.
“I don’t know … a while. Maybe a day. Everything is a bit fuzzy since I fell.”
The scent in the air told me it had been that long. I didn’t want to mention it and embarrass her, but I also wanted her to know I would help in any way.
“Do you want me to run you a bath? Or grab you a change of clothes?” I paused for a few seconds. “Whatever you need, just tell me, Gran.”
Her eyes softened, her hand now on my arm. “I can see why she loves you so much.” She tried lifting herself a little and winced, her lack of energy getting her nowhere. “Bed. Let’s start there. I’ll have you run me a bath once I rest for a little bit.”
I was still unsure if anything was broken, and I didn’t know if moving her was the right thing to do, but I figured anywhere would feel better than the floor.
I slid my arm under her knees, the other stayed around her back, and I hauled her into the air, carefully setting her on her bed. I adjusted her pillows, trying to make her more comfortable.
“I’m fine,” she said, reading my concern. “Just shaken up—that’s all.”
I sat next to her, assessing each of her movements, still undecided about calling an ambulance. “How did you fall?”
“I was on my way to the kitchen to get something to eat and lost my balance. It’s happened before.” She tapped her hands on the tops of her legs. “These frail things don’t boogie like they used to, but Pearl has always been here to pick me right up.”
“Where is Pearl?”
She shook her head. “Honey, I don’t know.”
“Has she called?”
“Hmm. You know, I don’t recall the phone ringing.”
If Gran hadn’t heard any of my calls, that meant she wouldn’t have heard