"Dammit!" Dusty yelled as she tossed her cell phone on the counter.
"Still no word from her?" Aleister asked, walking into the kitchen holding Lennon.
"No! It's been two weeks now and I'm really starting to get worried."
"I'm sure she's alright baby, don't worry. She would have called if there was something wrong."
"Yeah but...what if she can't call? What if something happened and she can't get to a phone?"
Aleister sighed and walked over to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and kissing her temple. "She's fine baby, relax."
Dusty closed her eyes and leaned against him. "I hope you're right." She said just as the doorbell rang and she quickly ran into the living room. Dusty opened the door and saw Chris standing there, the worry and panic evident on his face. "Still no word?"
Chris stepped into the house and closed the door behind him. "No, nothing. Where the hell could she be Dusty? I'm starting to really freak out."
"That makes two of us. I honestly have no idea where the hell she could be. I've been trying to call and text her too."
"I knew when I woke up and found her gone that she was going to be pissed at herself but I never imagined she'd do something like this. It's all my fault...I never should have pushed her like that."
"You can't blame yourself Chris. She's a grown woman that can make her own decisions and you know that whether drunk or not...if she hadn't wanted to be with you that night then she wouldn't have been." Dusty told him and he sighed as he sat down on the couch.
"Still doesn't help to keep me from thinking the worst."
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Chris sat on the couch staring at his phone while Aleister and Dusty were in the kitchen eating dinner. They had asked him to join them but the thought of eating anything didn't appeal to him because he was too worried about Caroline.
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Dusty glanced towards the living room and sighed as she turned back to Aleister. "I'm really worried about him."
"He'll be alright as soon as Caroline decides to come back."
"I knew he still loved her but..."
"I tried to tell you he's in love with her still." Aleister said, leaning over to kiss her. "Stop worrying about them so much or you're going to make yourself sick."
"I can't help it Daddy."
"I know baby, I know."
Dusty's cell phone rang and she quickly picked it up, brows furrowing in confusion at the number on the caller ID. "Hello?"
"Yes, I'm looking for a Mrs. Dusty Black."
"This is she. May I ask who this is?"
"My name is Dr. Kyle from Capitol Regional Medical Center in Tallahassee, Florida. I found your name as an emergency contact for a Miss Caroline Henderson."
"That's my sister...is everything okay?" Dusty asked, her worry becoming stronger as she looked at Aleister.
"I'm afraid that I can't go into many details over the phone but I can tell you that she's been in a car accident. I would suggest that you come here if at all possible."
"Yes, of course...my husband and I will be there as soon as possible."
"What's going on?" Aleister questioned after she hung up the phone.
"That was a doctor at a hospital in Tallahassee...Caroline's been in an accident."
"Shit."
"Chris!" Dusty yelled, getting up and running towards the living room.
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Chris jumped up when Dusty yelled his name and looked at her in concern as she ran in the room. "What's going on?"
"I just got a call from a doctor at a hospital in Tallahassee...Caroline was in a car wreck!"
"Fuck, I knew something was wrong." He mumbled as he dug his keys out of his pocket.
You can ride with us man, you don't need to be driving right now." Aleister stated, walking into the living room. "You want to go get Lennon baby or do you want me to?"
"I'll go get her and then we need to get moving."
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"May I help you?" A woman asked, looking at Dusty, Aleister and Chris as they ran into the hospital.
"My name is Dusty Black and I need to speak to Dr. Kyle. He called and told me that my sister had been in a car accident."
"Just a moment." She said, picking up the phone.
Dusty paced back and forth as she waited for the doctor. "Where the hell is he?"
"Baby relax, he'll be here as soon as he can."
"Mrs. Black?" A voice spoke up and Dusty stopped, turning to look at the man. "I'm Dr. Kyle and I'm the one who called you."
"Where's my sister? Is she okay?"
"She's upstairs in a room and she's better than she could have been. Apparently your sister was drunk and decided to get behind the wheel...she ran her car off the road and hit a tree."
"Shit. How bad is she?" Dusty asked as the four of them made their way towards the elevator.
"She broke her right leg and she also has a concussion. I'm afraid that she hit her head hard enough that she's...confused about certain things."
"You mean she has amnesia?" Chris questioned, getting on the elevator with them.
"In a manner of speaking, yes. She can remember a lot but there are some things that she can't seem to recall...I figured it would be better that I tell you now so you can prepare yourselves." He said as they stepped off the elevator and walked down the hall.
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Caroline smiled as Chris, Dusty and Aleister walked into the room. "Hey guys...hey babe."
Chris stopped, momentarily stunned by her words. "Hi. How are you feeling?"
"Pretty good right now...they have me on some good pain meds."
"What happened Linny?" Dusty asked, walking over and leaning down to hug her sister.
"I'm not really sure to be honest. They said that I was driving drunk and hit a tree." She explained, glancing over at Chris. "Are you going to kiss me or what?"
"I...uhm..."
"Remember what the doctor said." Aleister whispered and Chris looked at him before turning his attention back to Caroline.
"Sure Caroline, of course." He walked over and leaned down, pecking her on the lips. "You gave us quite a scare."
"I'm sorry, I never meant to. I want to go home Chris and sleep in our bed in your arms. I hate being here."
"Mrs. Black?" Dusty turned and saw Dr. Kyle standing there. "May I speak to you for a moment?"
Dusty nodded and followed him out of the room. "How long is the amnesia going to last? She seems to have forgotten the last year or so."
"I'm afraid that I can't give you a specific time when her memory will return because every case is different. It may be today, tomorrow, next week or next month. You'll just have to be patient with her and try to help her through it as much as you can. I needed to talk to you because with her leg the way it is, I'm not comfortable releasing her unless someone will be there to take care of her."
"I'll do it." Chris said, stepping out of the room. "She can stay with me and I'll take care of her because she doesn't seem to remember the fact that we broke up."
"Are you sure Chris? I know that it's not going to be easy on you pretending that everything's the way it used to be."
"You're right, it won't be but I love her Dusty and I want to be the one to take care of her."
"Alright, if you're sure." Dusty stated, looking back at the doctor. "When can she be released?"
"I'd like to keep her overnight and make sure that everything is alright and if so, she can go home tomorrow."
"Okay, thank you." She waited until he walked down the hall before turning her attention to Chris. "I hope you know what you're doing."
"So do I Dusty, so do I." Chris mumbled, following her back into the room.