One Call Away

Carter heard him but didn’t believe him. How could this be real? His best friend since they were twenty years old was dead. Dead. Not coming home.

No more barbeques, no more vacations to Mexico, no more late nights talking about women and drinking scotch, no more sporting events. NOTHING. It just ended right that minute. Never to return. Holy shit.

Hailey went rigid. She couldn’t move after hearing the words from the doctor. He was dead. Her husband was gone. He wouldn’t be there anymore. They wouldn’t have dinner together, go on vacation together, or have a life together.

They wouldn’t have a family either naturally or by adopting. She wouldn’t see his smile, and he wouldn’t raise his eyebrow when he was happy or feeling feisty.

He wouldn’t make fun of her and Ashley’s obsession with superheroes. He wouldn’t kiss her anymore and pull on the curls in her red hair and call her carrot top to make her mad.

“Mrs. Smythe, are you okay?”

She looked at the doctor and then at Carter and back again. She had no idea how to answer; she was numb. She couldn’t feel anything other than shock.

She watched the men talk for a minute, then another person walked into the room and talked with the man in scrubs. He turned and looked at her again.

“Mrs. Smythe, the radiologist looked at the scans just now, and it appears your husband had an aneurysm, not a stroke. That was why it was so hard to stabilize him. The blood was overtaking everything in his head. I’m so sorry for your loss. I really am. I’m going to have the care team come and speak with you and help you get things started and arranged, okay?” he gently finished.

She still couldn’t say a word, but she heard Carter thank the doctor while pulling her close.

A woman came in with a sad face. Carter guided Hailey down the hall after the woman and had them sit on a sofa. The woman promised to be right back and closed the door.

Hailey looked at Carter with wide, sad eyes.

“Oh my God, Carter! What the fuck is going on?”

“Hailey, do you know what is going on?” he asked, concerned she was going into shock.

She nodded her head, and finally the dam broke. “Dan is gone!”

Relieved that she was comprehending the situation, he watched as her face crumbled and she dissolved into tears. Carter took her in his arms and felt his tears spill over too.

A friendship of over twenty years had just ended. Dan was in his wedding to Meg, and his daughter Candace adored him. Carter just held Hailey and rocked her in his arms as they let the sadness wash over them.

The woman came back and helped get some of the arrangements started, like where they wanted his body to be taken after he was cleaned up.

Carter did much of the talking since Hailey had no clue what to say. That was all they could do at that point since she had no idea what Helen would want for a service.

The woman handed Carter the folder of information, then Carter led Hailey back out of the hospital to his car. He glanced at the car’s interior clock and was shocked to see it was after eight p.m.

He drove them back home and helped Hailey get back into the house. He went into their room, moved Dan’s luggage out of the way, and cleaned up the area so she could sleep.

Hailey wandered upstairs and said she was going to shower. “Carter, please stay until I am out. I don’t want to be alone just yet.”

He nodded sadly and went back downstairs. He pulled out his phone, called Vicky, and explained the change in circumstances to her. He listened to her scream and sob. She said they would be there in the morning.

He then called Ashley and left her a voicemail saying Dan hadn’t made it and asked her to come to the house instead of the hospital. He asked her to fill her parents in.

He sat on the couch and called Sophie. She cried with him for a minute and said she would call their parents in the morning and would let him know when they would be out.

He called Megan, and they cried together for their mutual friend. She promised to call Candace in the morning. Thanking her, he hung up and sat back on the couch and heard footsteps on the stairs.

Hailey came into the living room in sweats and a hoodie, her hair slightly damp. He felt like the biggest jackass in the world for thinking how beautiful she was and how much he wanted to kiss her and take all the pain away.

He mentally kicked himself, knowing that she was vulnerable.

She sat next to him, pulled a blanket over her lap, and broke into tears again.

Carter pulled her into his lap and just rocked her. He had no idea how long she cried, but he finally felt her calming down. Her breathing evened out, and she fell asleep.

He carried her up to the master bedroom and tucked her into bed. He watched her for a few minutes, making sure she didn’t wake up, then walked back down and plugged in her phone, knowing she was going to need it tomorrow.

He wasn’t going to leave her alone, so he curled up on the couch, waiting for Ashley to arrive.

Carter woke from his restless sleep to hear the front-door handle jiggling. He sat up to see Ashley tiptoeing into the entryway.

She dropped her bags, looked at him, then went up to the couch and hugged him.

She wiped a tear from her face and asked, “How are you?”

Carter shrugged. “Still in shock, honestly.”

“How’s Hales?”

“I got her to sleep and tucked her into bed at about midnight. I crashed here until you arrived so she wasn’t alone,” Carter said.

“You’re a good man, Carter Robbins. You gonna finish crashing here or head home?” she asked.

“I’ll head home and let you have some time with her. You know where I am if you need me, but I’ll check in on you later.” Carter got up and stretched, then folded the blanket.

Ashley kissed his cheek. “I’m so sorry, Carter.”

Carter smiled sadly and nodded. He then grabbed his phone, went out the front door, and walked to his house. He kicked off his shoes, stripped down to his boxer briefs, and collapsed into bed, wishing this was a nightmare instead of reality.