You Can't Hide Theresa Sneed (top 10 non fiction books of all time .TXT) 📖

alone. Sam lay in the hospital bed in front of her, and yet, she knew it wasn’t him. If he didn’t recover, there would be no reason to go on. Her heart felt like it had died, and heavy despair settled over her.

Somewhere in the recesses of her mind, a little girl cried out, “Mommy.” It jarred her senses and brought her back to reality. Squeezing her eyes shut, she thought of little Sally. She opened them and stared at Sam’s heart monitor. She’d have to get through this, for Sally’s sake. She lay her forehead against the cold, side rails of Sam’s bed and cried. Regaining her composure, she stepped out into the waiting room.

A nurse sat at the nurse’s station. Elle approached her. “Excuse me. Do you have a newspaper?”

“Would yesterday’s paper be okay?” The nurse handed her a copy.

Back inside Sam’s room, Elle started on page one and read the news articles, just as if he was awake and listening. The doctor had said he couldn’t hear, but she wasn’t convinced the doctor knew everything. Maybe the sound of her voice could help pull Sam out of his coma.

It was better than sitting there, wallowing in self-pity and worry. She had felt deep depression in her life—the crippling-want-to-die kind of despair—and she wasn’t going to let herself go there again. Sally needed her and so did Sam.

Sam’s parents arrived. Louise was a wreck and barely able to talk. She rushed to her son and fell against the side rails. “Sammy. Oh, Sam!”

Sam Sr. was quick at his wife’s side, his face resonating the shock of a parent seeing their child’s head wrapped in bandages and his face scraped and scarred.

In tears, Louise hugged Elle and sobbed. “They said he flipped over in the rain and wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. That’s just, hogwash.” She shook her head, sobbing, in short sputters. “He always wears a seatbelt.”

Sam Sr. wrapped his arm around his wife. He turned to Elle. “I’ll call Nancy and make arrangements to send Sally back, just until things are better.”

“Yes,” Elle said.

The room was quiet. No one said anything for several moments, and then Sam Sr. spoke. “He looks bad . . .” It came out soft, like a spoken thought he hadn’t meant to say. He glanced apologetically at Elle.

She blinked back the tears. “Yes, he does look bad, but . . .” she paused, as she gathered the strength to continue, “he’s going to make it through this.”

Karen sat up on her elbows. “What is it Sally?” She pulled her down beside her.

“I heard something,” Sally said. Footsteps sounded on the stairs. “Oh, maybe it’s my Mommy.”

Karen doubted that—hoped that it wasn’t. There was only one reason that Elle would come home from the hospital. She swung her legs off the bed. “I’ll go see.” She stepped out into the hallway.

Grammie Gwen held on to the handrail and ascended the steps like each step pained her.

“Oh my,” Karen said, sucking in a breath. Sticking her head back into Sally’s room, she whispered, “It’s your grandparents. Go back to sleep.” She closed the door and met them in the hallway.

Glancing at Sally’s door, Gwen gave her a warning look. “Let’s talk in your room.” She gestured toward the bedroom Karen was staying in.

After telling Karen all they knew, and with mounting tears, Papa Joe wrapped his arms around his wife. “It’s almost morning. We’ve got to get some sleep.” He led Gwen downstairs to their bedroom.

Karen was grief-stricken. She stumbled forward as she moved down the hallway. She stood beside Sally’s bedroom door, wondering how the little girl would take the devastating news when Elle told her. Stop it Karen. He’s going to be okay. She leaned her head against the door. Not wanting to disturb Sally, she decided to go back to her own room.

The early morning sun seeped through her curtains. MJ must be ready to leave for the airport, Karen thought. She’d let him know about the accident after he got to LA. Oh, wait, he’ll have to call me. She only had his number at the university in England.

It was still too early to bother Elle at the hospital, she’d call her later. Glancing out the window, she saw Elle’s grandparent’s car and knew they hadn’t left for the hospital yet. As late as they’d come home the night before, she was sure they wouldn’t be up for a while.

She took her time in the shower, towel dried, and then dressed. “And now to check on Sally.” Her heart broke when she thought about how Sally would feel when she heard about her daddy. Well, she thought sadly, I won’t be the one to tell her. Running a brush through her tangled hair, she opened Sally’s bedroom door.

The bed was empty. “Sally, where are you?” She checked the bathroom and then called out to her again. Going down the steps, Karen called out in a sing-songy voice, “Sally, oh Sally.” But, Sally didn’t answer.

Knowing that the child spent most of her time outside, Karen opened the screen door and glanced at the porch. Sally’s homemade fairy house and two of the three fairies Karen had given her, were untouched. “Huh.”

Placing her hands on her hips, she peered out at the trees and well maintained landscaping surrounding the cabin. “Sally, are you out here?” She heard the screen door open. A sigh of relief escaped her throat. “Oh, Sally,” she said, turning toward the door.

Her hear plummeted when Gwen and Joe came through the door. Desperate, her voice rose in pitch. “Is Sally with you?”

Papa waved her down. “Calm down. I’m sure she’s here somewhere.” He looked back at the house. “I’ll search inside.”

Gwen wrung her hands. “How long has Sally been missing?”

“I don’t know. I went to check on her a little while ago, and she wasn’t in her bed.” She swallowed hard. “I’ll keep looking out here.”

Gwen looked out toward the lake.