He slipped out the door as stealthily as he’d come in. She stared at the end of the bed where he had been, clutching her phone under the blanket. Morgan had been brave enough to open up, just a tiny bit, to someone who he was still trying to figure out. Was she brave enough to do the same?
Mom would be back any minute. She pulled out her phone and opened David’s last message.
I’m fine.
She paused, thinking, then finished and sent the text.
But scared. Call me tomorrow.
CHAPTER
FORTY-THREE
She’d only been in the hospital for one night, but it might as well have been a whole week. Rae couldn’t wait to go home and take a shower. Couldn’t wait to see Mr. Whiskers.
Mom held out her clothes. “Let me help you get dressed.”
“Mom, please.” Rae tried to roll her eyes, but sharp pains pierced her head. “I can do it myself.”
“But you heard what the doctor said. You’re supposed to take it easy.”
Rae snatched the clothes from her hands. “I think I can handle getting dressed.”
Mom held up her hands. “I’m only trying to help. I’m worried about you.”
“Worried enough for me to skip school today?”
“There’s no way you’re going to school.” Mom put her hands on her hips. “After the weekend, depending on how you’re feeling, then maybe you can go.”
“But I have two finals today. And three tomorrow.”
Mom rubbed her forehead. “I’m sure your teachers will understand. I’ll call the school when we get home.”
Rae pulled on her pants and reached behind her back to untie her ill-fitting gown. “I might not have time to catch up on everything before the last day of school. What about The Plan?”
“Honestly, sweetie, now’s hardly the time to be thinking about that.”
Rae slid her arms into her T-shirt and frowned. “Really?”
Mom’s eyes widened. She crossed her arms and sputtered, “Of course. What—I—how could you think I’d care about that at a time like this?”
Rae shrugged. “It’s always been the most important thing.”
“No.” Mom put her hands on Rae’s shoulders. “You’re the most important thing.”
Rae tossed her gown on the bed and ran her fingers through her hair. They were nice words—something a mother would say—but her parents had always made The Plan a priority, regardless of what Rae thought. She didn’t know what to make of Mom’s statement.
Her phone dinged, and she checked the screen. A text from David.
Just got released. How about you?
Her stomach flip-flopped. When was he going to call her? Would she be ready? What would she say? She slipped the phone into her back pocket.
“Who was that?” Mom’s voice was high-pitched and overly casual. She wasn’t fooling anyone. “Kind of early to be getting a text.”
“It’s not that early.”
“Was it David?”
Rae looked away. David was kind of a touchy subject at the moment, for both her and her parents. They weren’t pleased to learn Rae had been driving around with a boy without permission. Rae shuddered to think how Mom might react if she knew about Morgan’s visit to her room last night.
Mom slung her purse strap over her shoulder and motioned toward the door. “I’m not sure I want you communicating with him right now.”
“We’re just friends.”
“He put your life in danger, Rae.” Mom stopped at the door, holding it open with one arm. “And you went with him behind my back.”
Tears pooled in Rae’s eyes as she trudged into the hallway, her head pounding as if the hall lights were hammers and her skull was an anvil. Mom was right. Sort of. She’d gone behind her back, but had David put her in danger? It was an accident. The driver of the car that crossed the median was at fault. But Rae didn’t know what to think. The pain in her head made it hard to think at all.
“Are you okay?” Mom touched her arm. “Should I call for a wheelchair?”
Rae shook her head. “I need more ibuprofen. I’ll be fine.”
They rode the elevator to the first floor and walked out to the car in silence.
Mom waited until Rae was well secured before starting the engine. “Do you want to stop somewhere for breakfast?”
“I just want to go home.”
“I can run in at the market and grab some cinnamon rolls.”
“Mom. Stop.”
The harshness of her own voice made Rae wince. She was exhausted and in pain and—and—out of sorts or something. And probably would be for a while. She’d never been in a car accident before. She couldn’t even think about it without freaking out. But her irritation at her mother had nothing to do with that.
“I like David, Mom. He’s a good guy.”
Mom kept her eyes on the road ahead. “Maybe we should talk about this when you’re feeling better.”
Rae didn’t want to wait. She didn’t know when she would be “feeling better.”
“I don’t know if I want to be a lawyer.”
Mom’s mouth opened and shut. Her expression was guarded. “You’ve always wanted to be a lawyer. It’s your dream.”
Rae looked out her window. Maybe it had been at one point. But it had been a part of The Plan for so long, she couldn’t remember whose dream it really was.
“God’s got big plans for you.” Being a lawyer was pretty big, wasn’t it? If she joined the right firm, she would be involved in cases that could make a difference in people’s lives. “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Was being a lawyer the same as doing good? Did the verse mean she shouldn’t give up on The Plan?
“I don’t know anymore.”
“Sweetie, you’re upset. You’ve had a traumatic experience.”
Rae twisted in her seat to stare at her. “That has nothing to do with it.”
“Is this all because of David? When exactly did you plan to tell me about going out with him?”
“It wasn’t a date.”
Mom gave her a skeptical look.
Rae slumped in her seat, weariness
