May 15th 2021

Chapter 135
Our Arms Around Sisters

It went without saying now that, if he was at the ranch when she had her lessons, Lucas would drop in and watch Nellie as she rode with Hopper. The eleven-year-old rider was really coming along, week to week, so much so that she was being looked at for her potential in the future. She'd been doing competitions for a little while now, and her prizes spoke for themselves. It was about more than prizes for her, of course, and they could see it whenever she was up there, riding just for the fun of it. She came alive in such a unique way when she was with Hopper, and the same could be said for the horse. They were a perfect match.

Lucas finally completed his morning tasks, the regular checklist he went through before turning to what any given day would bring, and so he went off in search of his young sister-in-law so he might watch her for a little while. When he came around and spotted the horse though, there was no sight of the Hunter girl. He asked after her whereabouts, and the trainer pointed him to the nearby supply post, which had the look of a small gazebo, with its cover and bench. There sat Nellie, double braids and all. She wasn't exactly doubled over, but there was a definite impression of unease about her.

"Hey, you alright?" Lucas asked as he approached her.

"Uh huh," Nellie replied, in the most not alright sort of tone. Lucas crouched to get nearer to her eye level.

"Are you sure about that?" he held her gaze.

"I… I don't know," she finally admitted.

"What is it? Are you going to be sick, or…" he moved to sit next to her and reached to feel at her forehead.

"I was going around with Hopper before, and it just sort of hit me," Nellie explained. "Like… dizzy. Had to come down."

"Are you still feeling it now?" Lucas asked, keeping his voice from showing any potential alarm.

"Feels like I was running," she patted at her chest now, over her heart. "Like a scary movie, you know, when something comes all of a sudden?"

"A jump scare?" Lucas went on, taking her hand in his so he might feel her pulse. Nellie nodded. He couldn't feel anything about her that was nearly as bad as she said, but he couldn't explain either why it would have come upon her as suddenly as she said. "Why don't we go up to Juliet's house, okay? You can rest up a bit, and depending how it goes, we'll call your grandparents, and they'll pick you up, or…"

When his phone rang, Lucas caught a flicker in Nellie's eyes, like she was realizing something, and this time she properly looked pale.

"Hello?" Lucas answered the call, barely taking the time to notice the name on his phone as he brought it from his pocket. "Hi, I was just talking about…" he started to speak after Angela Clutterbucket had announced herself but was cut off by the woman as she told him why she was calling. "She's actually right next to me, I…" he put in when asked about Nellie's whereabouts, but then what followed kept him with his mouth shut and ears open. Soon, he was feeling blanched, too. "No, of course, we'll meet you there," he finally spoke up again. "Maya, did you call… Okay, yes. See you soon."

After he hung up, it took him a moment to allow himself to turn and face the girl at his side. He found her staring right back at him. She knew. She didn't know everything, but she knew something had happened, she'd felt it, and that could only mean one thing to her. Gracie…

X

It was fortunate that Cara had been home, too, when she got the call, because Maya didn't know that she could have felt secure in getting behind the wheel herself.

She'd set herself up on the bed to go through one of her diary boxes, all the better to keep an eye on Marianne as she sat on the floor, playing with Crowley, who had her laughing and rolling around. She could almost have let them be, knowing the dog would stop his favorite girl from getting her little fingers where they might get hurt. It was hard not to get distracted by them.

She was watching as Marianne gently brushed at the dog's back – and was incited to continue whenever she stopped – when her phone rang. For that, she reached for it where it sat at her side, never looking at the screen as she answered with a laugh.

The tremor in her grandmother's voice was like a shock of ice water, bringing her back to reality. Something had happened. Gracie… Something had happened to Gracie, and she was hurt. She was being put into an ambulance as they spoke.

"Wh… What…" Maya felt her heart lodged in her throat. She couldn't even form words.

All Grangie was able to say for now was that they'd been out in the yard, working in the greenhouse with the other kids while Nellie was at her riding lesson, and after they'd finished, Gracie had gone to get Una the dog, to walk her around the block as she and her twin did every day, alternating the duties. The rest of them were just getting back into the house to get cleaned up, and they could hear noises in the distance, but they didn't make anything of it until one of their neighbors from down the street showed up at the door in alarm and Tanner took off with the woman at once. Angela had been left to look after MJ and Haley, who both had enough sense to guess something was up and wanted to follow, even as their grandmother prevented them from doing it. After a few minutes, she'd finally sworn MJ to stay with his little sister in the house and she'd gone after her husband.

She didn't have to look long to discover where he'd gone. Just three houses away, there was an ambulance, and a splash of onlookers, neighbors who'd come out of their homes, too. There was also a car sitting in the middle of the street as though it had been forced to stop there and remain. None of it mattered anymore once she got close enough to see what was going on. Even before she got there, there had been enough for her to put the pieces together, but it couldn't prepare her for the image of her young granddaughter laid out in the street, as one paramedic tended to her while another pulled the gurney from the ambulance.

Gracie was awake, alarmed, frantic… She would no doubt be in pain, and yet all she really cared about was to know whether Una was okay. The dog had gotten away from her, and she'd run into the street. Gracie had reacted at once, she'd run after her and then… and then she didn't remember the rest, except she was there, on the ground, and everything hurt, and she couldn't see her dog…

The story was still being relayed to her when Maya got up from the bed, feeling just overrun with a panic that could only be resolved by getting a hold of her daughter. She scooped Marianne up with her phone stuck between her ear and shoulder and moved out of her room. Her mind and body felt as though they acted under two different leaders. Her body knew what it had to do, so it did it, while her mind… Mouse-Mouse… She could just see her, in her head, and what she saw was just… It was too much.

Her grandmother wanted her to be the one to call her parents, and the thought of it made Maya feel like she would be sick, but she promised she'd do it. Her grandmother was rattled, and she needed to see to things on her end…

"Tell her I'm on my way," she begged, and Grangie swore that she would. As soon as they hung up, Maya stopped at the top of the stairs, took a breath. Her knees felt loose. "Cara?" she called out. "Gran?"

"In the kitchen!" Granny Lizzie was heard, and it made Maya move. She climbed down the stairs at a surprisingly swift speed. Marianne was laughing, like she thought this was a fun game. When her sister and grandmother saw her face though, they definitely knew it was anything but.

"Maya?" Cara got up. "Hey…" she came up, giving a look like she believed her sister would pass out.

"I need you to drive me, okay?" Maya held her eye for a moment before turning to their grandmother. "Can you stay here and watch her? One of the neighbors is going to bring you MJ and Haley, they might be shaken up a bit, whatever you can do to change that…" Elizabeth received this request with confusion but also determination. She came and took hold of Marianne. "Gracie…" Maya said her sister's name, and the one word had all the weight of a boulder to the gut. "Sh-she was hit… by a car, running after Una, I… I need to go and…"

Cara and Granny Lizzie may not have been blood relations of the Hunter kids, but they were all so close that they might as well have been, so the news came with no less impact. Right now, it also served to get everyone on track with what they needed to do. Elizabeth Hart would be ready for her young charges when they arrived, while her granddaughters took off at once in Maya's minivan. They were both silent for a few minutes, until another call came in, and Maya hurried to answer as soon as she saw who it was.

"Lucas…" she breathed, feeling her eyes sting. She'd been trying to keep it together, to focus, but now the tears wouldn't be held back, and maybe it was just as well that they came now rather than later.

"Your grandmother just called, I'm bringing Nellie," he promised at once. Maya took a breath.

"Is she okay? What did you tell her?"

"Just what I was told, it wasn't much," Lucas replied. "She already knew, or she felt it," he went on, and he told her about how she'd been left all out of sorts before they even got the call. "What about you?"

"Gran's staying at the house with Marianne, the other kids are going there, too. Cara is driving me now, I… I have to call our parents, in LA, Grangie asked…" Maya revealed. With him, she wasn't concerned about showing her fear. She couldn't stop imagining what it would be like for them, to be so far away and hear this news, to be left feeling so helpless…

"Maybe wait until you get to the hospital, until you know more, so you can tell them more straightaway," Lucas suggested.

"Yeah… Yeah, I should do that," Maya nodded to herself. She'd need to get better control of herself before she spoke to them, too, otherwise she'd only add fuel to the flame of their worries. "Can I talk to Nellie?" Lucas passed the phone over, and even before she spoke, Maya could hear a fretful breath that made her wish she could be holding her little sister right then and there.

"Maya?" she asked, voice trembling like she was crying.

"Hey, sunny girl, I'm on my way, okay?" Maya promised. Her own tears wanted to rush out, but she had to be stronger for her.

"Is Gracie going to die?" Nellie asked. She needed to know. She trusted her big sister to reassure her. Her big sister was presently forcing herself to take a deep breath.

"The doctors are going to take care of her, okay? We'll be there soon."

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners