even though telling Ty was the right thing to do, I decided to hold off. Instead, I called Jacoby.
As the phone rang in my ear, I contemplated how quickly things had changed. When I needed advice or a pick-me-up, I used to always call on Dave. But now, I seemed to rely on Jacoby a lot more. On one hand, that made me sad for Dave, but on the other, it filled me with contentment. I’d had a running joke with Dave, that if I ever found a man that I could rely on as much as my best friend, then I needed to hold onto him, because he would be “the one.” For the longest time, I didn’t think I’d ever find such a person.
But then Jacoby had dropped into my life when I’d least expected it.
One second, I was lost in blissful thoughts of Jacoby while the phone rang, and the next, my chest became tight, my ribcage threatening to crush my heart. Jessa answered his phone, which I didn’t think much of until she told me why—Jacoby was in the hospital. He’d injured himself while working in the yard.
I didn’t listen to anything after that. Instead, I ordered the driver to take me straight to the hospital. I needed to see him. No longer was I thinking about Serenity or my sister’s affair. Nothing else registered in my mind other than getting to Jacoby. I had no idea what he’d done to himself or even how bad his injury was. I didn’t give Jessa enough time to tell me everything. Then again, I doubt that I would’ve done anything differently, even if she had.
Forgetting that I was supposed to be impersonating a famous person, I hopped out of the car and ran inside. I was so frantic that I could barely focus on the directory along the wall that told me where to go. Not that I knew where to go, because I didn’t even get that from Jessa before I hung up. All I knew was that he was in the hospital. So that’s where I went. Now that I was here, I was lost.
I decided to give up on trying to figure it out and ask for help, so I went to the circular desk in the middle of the lobby. “Hi, I’m looking for a friend. I was told he was injured doing yardwork and is here, but I don’t know where to go.”
“What’s his name?” she asked, putting her fingers on her keyboard, prepared to type.
“Jacoby Abbott.” I even spelled out his last name for her, and then internally panicked that I had spelled it wrong. There was no way she’d give me any information if I couldn’t even spell my friend’s last name correctly.
But then smiled and said, “He’s in the ER. You’ll have to get a sticker to see him, but one of the ladies on that side will give you one. I hope your friend is okay.”
I wasn’t sure if I thanked her, or if I just shouted it over my shoulder as I ran in the direction she pointed when telling me where to go. I don’t think I took a single breath until I walked through the swinging doors that led into the ER waiting room, and it wasn’t until I found Jessa that my heart began to beat again.
She smiled and waved at me from across the room. Meanwhile, I practically tripped over injured people as I ran to her. For some reason, seeing her out here without him made me freak out even more. Somehow, her smile and easy demeanor didn’t register, just the fact that she was out here, and he was back there somewhere. Alone. In my frazzled brain, that meant he was either dead or in surgery.
“Hey, I was just heading out to pull the car around while they’re finishing up. You should go back and see him. That way, you can help him outside so I won’t have to leave my car unattended.” Jessa pulled a red sticker off her shirt and gave it to me. In black marker on the bottom was a number. She pointed to it and said, “That’s what bed he’s in. He’s literally straight back and to the right, just before you get to the nurses’ desk.”
After a quick and desperate hug, I headed back to find Jacoby.
“What are you doing here?” he asked with big eyes and an even bigger smile.