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searing pull. Something cried out
inside me, warning not to let him go.
    I bit my lip and felt my eyes grow wet unsure
if I should make Luke stop the car. The further we drove, the more
agony I felt. I finally turned around to get one final glimpse of
him. But no one was there.

. . .

    4 – WAITING

    “Are you in pain?” Luke said after looking at
me, noticing my tears.
    I was, but not from my fall. I didn’t know
how to explain it to him without sounding boy-crazy. And frankly,
it confused me how my body reacted after the separation from
Nicholas. This never happened before.
    “A little,” I fibbed.
    “I’m glad I was the one who was home and not
Dad. He just left to take Jo home because he didn’t want her to
walk. If he saw you… with what happened with mom… ”
    He let out a loud gust of air and became
silent.
    I imagined the scene and shuttered.
    “When Dad found me on the doorstep, I wasn’t
injured and I was five . It’s nothing like before.” I
defended rather gruffly.
    Luke glanced over at me and tilted his head,
pursing his lips. I knew I grasped at straws speaking of
technicalities. The scene would have been close enough to bring
back the bitter memories. I turned to look out the window and
wished I could open the door and jump out. His unspoken guilt-trip
started to bother me.
    “I should call him and let him know,” Luke
said in a low murmur after a few moments of silence.
    “Wait,” I said hoping he’d help me fabricate
a story first. There had to be a way to cushion the blow for Dad
and for me.
    “Wait? Are you kidding? We can’t lie our way
outta this one, Julia. Your car is out of gas somewhere on the road
and you’ve probably got a broken foot. We are going to be at the
emergency room all night. We have to tell him.”
    Why couldn’t he be away on business?
    “Don’t get mad at me,” I said with a huff.
“It was an accident.”
    He just glared and snapped his mouth shut
while his anger flared.
    “Just wait until we get there,” I asked
softly. “I don’t want to hear your conversation. Okay?”
    He glanced over at me with surly eyes for a
second.
    “Whatever,” he said while he shrugged.
    Maybe if I wasn’t around, Luke would be more
inclined to smooth things over. One could hope.
    We came around the corner and the red
emergency signs came into view. I braced myself. There was no way
to avoid this dreadful place now.
    To our surprise, the waiting room was
deserted. The doctor pronounced I only sprained my ankle and the
rest of my bumps and bruises weren’t serious
    As we drove home, I prepared myself for the
lecture ahead. After seeing Luke’s reaction, I could imagine Dad’s.
Luke called Dad, like I asked, once we arrived at the waiting room,
but I hadn’t asked the details yet.
    “What did you say?” I said while studying my
purple toes peaking out from under the ace-bandage neatly wrapped
around my ankle.
    “I told him what happened.”
    “Is he mad?”
    “What do you think, Julia?”
    I looked out the window and bit my lip. It
was a stupid question. Whether I wanted it or not, I was going to
get a verbal beating in the next few minutes and I totally deserved
it.
    “What should I say?”
    “Just say you’re sorry and don’t make any
excuses. He hates excuses.”
    I took a deep breath. Luke specialized at
staying out of trouble, but I never got away with anything. Maybe
that was a good thing. It certainly kept me honest.
    We pulled into the driveway and I saw the
silhouette of my father standing at the doorway with his arms
folded across his chest. I’d hoped the wait would help calm him
down, but I hoped in vain. I crawled out of the cab of the Blazer,
with Luke helping me. He handed me my brand new crutches and I
hobbled the walk of shame slowly past glaring eyes into the house.
I went directly to the couch and awaited my punishment.
    His infuriation bowled me over and all I
wanted to do was go to my room. The intensity told me I was going
to be grounded