The Escape Collection: (The Escape Collection) (82 page)

Darci’s heart skipped a beat and she clutched her stomach. “Wait a minute. I told you I needed to leave early today.” Darci tried to tamp down her panic. “I had to be at the hospital for Taylor. You said you’d come and cover for me. I called you a dozen times.”

“How is Taylor?”

“Monica! She’s fine.” Darci’s thoughts flew back to her daughter sticking needles in her. “Where were you?” she asked, forcing herself to focus.

“It was so cool, Darci, I went to a tarot card reading.”

“A what?”
 

“Tarot cards. It was a genuine reading from a psychic. She told me all kinds of things, like I was headed for great things and a change was coming soon to my life.”

“Did she say anything about your boss killing you?” Darci interrupted the recap of generic predictions. “Because you were supposed to be at work hours ago. That’s not cool, Monica.”

She could hear Monica sigh on the other end of the line and Darci could picture her rolling her eyes. She was ready for Monica to come back with a lame excuse about how the psychic told her she didn’t have to work, or something equally flaky but there was no response.

“Monica?” Darci’s irritation grew and she tapped her foot, trying to keep her calm.

“Look, Darci.” There was an edge to Monica’s voice that Darci hadn’t heard before. “I was scheduled to work today at noon. I got here fifteen minutes early for my shift, just like you always tell me to.”

“But you said-“

“And that’s what I told Felicity, when she called.”

A tingle of fear, and something else Darci couldn’t pin point, ran down her spine. “Felicity?”

“She called looking for you.”
 

“When?”
 

“Oh, I don’t know,” Monica said. “About an hour ago. I told her I hadn’t seen you at all and that the store was locked when I got here.” Darci couldn’t be sure, but it sounded like Monica was very much enjoying relaying the events to her.

“And what did you say?”

“I already told you.”

“Monica-“ Darci was going to remind her that she’d agreed to cover and the store had only been empty because she hadn’t shown up the way she said she would. But she stopped. There was no point. The responsibility was Darci’s and they both knew it. “Okay,” Darci said. “I’ll call Felicity and explain what happened.”

“Oh, there’s no need for that.” Monica’s sing-song voice floated through the ear piece.

“What do you mean?”
 

“Felicity called a staff meeting for tonight. Eight o’clock.”

Darci flicked through her mental calendar. Taylor would be getting ready for bed at the hospital. It shouldn’t be a problem. “At the store?” she asked.

“Yes, right after closing.”

“I know when closing is,” Darci snapped before she could stop herself. She couldn’t be sure what was going on with Monica, but she did know that she wouldn’t feed into it. “I’ll be there.”
 

“Great. I’ll tell Felicity.”

“I’m sure you will.” Darci hung up before she said anything else. She really didn’t need to get into it with Monica. Not yet.
 

She tucked her phone back into her pocket and leaned back against the wall. She couldn’t afford to have her job questioned. Not with Taylor in the hospital. Not with all of the expenses that were sure to come. But surely Felicity knew that if she wasn’t at the store, there was a perfectly good explanation. Darci slid down the wall, as she tried to explain away the situation in her head. She knew if she just told Felicity what was going on, she’d understand. After all, Taylor was in the hospital.
 

But would she understand? Darci couldn’t be sure. Her boss didn’t have children of her own. She’d always prided herself on being a strong independent business woman who didn’t need a man to lean on. And not having a man translated to not having a family. Darci respected and cared about Felicity, but she’d known from the very beginning of their relationship, that her boss had a very low tolerance for women who let their families get in the way of their careers.
 

Darci had talked her way into the job shortly after Ryan’s accident, when it became clear that his life insurance would barely cover the cost of his funeral, let alone any of their living expenses. Felicity had been a life line to her when she needed it the most, and Darci had paid her back by working hard and never letting her family business come between her and running the shop. In five years, Darci had never called in sick because Taylor needed to stay home for school, or arrived late because of a soccer game. She’d never let her personal life interfere with her work.

 
But her only daughter had never been in the hospital before.
 

***

Darci gave herself a few more minutes in the hallway to compose herself before going back in the room. She pasted a smile on her face and walked through the door. Cam was sitting in a chair by the window and Taylor was cross-legged on her bed showing him the oranges they’d been practicing on earlier.
 

“I see you’ve seen the pin cushions,” she said. Darci squeezed past Cam and sat in the only available chair which happened to be next to him. The room was tight, and their knees almost touched. Darci scooted her chair back, hoping he wouldn’t notice.
 

“I hear Taylor’s been getting pretty good at the needles,” Cam said.
 

Darci forced her smile bigger. “She’s quite a pro.” She tried not to think of the syringe that had been sticking out of her arm earlier. “She’ll be ready to go any day now.”

“So, speaking of getting out of here,” Taylor said. “Did we win the big game on Saturday? You know I would have been there. It sucks that I missed it. Next one, for sure!”

Darci flinched at that. She couldn’t be sure that Taylor would be playing soccer again. They hadn’t discussed it with Doctor Wilson yet and she didn’t want to get her hopes up.

Taylor was still talking. “As soon as I get out of here, I’m coming to practice, okay, Coach Cam? I feel better than I have in ages and I’m ready to go. This sucks. All this sitting around, and-“

“Whoa,” Darci interrupted. “Don’t get ahead of yourself. “You need to focus on getting better. I’m sure the team can manage for awhile without you.”

Taylor shot her mom a look and turned back to Cam. “So? How did we do? Did we win?”

“Actually…”

“Do not tell me we lost to the Rockets. No!” Taylor tucked her head into her hands with the melodrama only a pre-teen can provide. “We always beat the Rockets. What happened?”

Cam shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said. “They played well. Their defense was strong and I think our team was a little off. What can I say? Sometimes you win and-“

“Yeah, yeah,” Taylor said. “When’s the next game?”

Cam laughed. “We actually play again tonight”

“Tonight?” Darci sat up in the chair. “I didn’t think there was a game on the schedule for today.”

“There wasn’t.” Cam sighed and sat back. “But there was a mess up with field times for the league, so they had to squeeze us in. And, as it turns out, this game is going to be pretty important for our overall standings. We’re playing the Gators.”

“The Gators?” Taylor practically jumped out of her bed. “They’re so tough.”

“Taylor,” Darci said. “Calm down. The Chargers’ will do great.”

“I’m playing.” Taylor looked between her mother and her coach and crossed her arms. “I have to play.”

“I don’t know-“

“Mom! You heard Coach Cam, he said it was an important game.” Darci shot him a look. “I’m the team captain, I have to play.”

“You know we’d love to have you play,” Cam said, “but your health comes first.”

“But I feel fine.” Taylor slid off her bed and paced by the door. “This is stupid. If I feel fine why shouldn’t I play? I got to play last week and I felt worse then.”

Cam raised his eyebrows in question but Darci ignored him.
 

“You need to give yourself time to heal, kiddo.”

“It’s not a broken arm, Mom,” Taylor yelled. “It’s not going to heal!”
 

The force of her words, slammed into Darci. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. By the time she could form a thought, Taylor was gone, running down the hall. Darci stood, but Cam gently pulled her back down.
 

“Let her go,” he said. “This can’t be easy for her.”

Darci shook her head. Of course it wasn’t, but she didn’t bother saying so.
 

“Maybe I should have some of the kids from the team come in to visit? I could bring them by tomorrow.”

Darci’s head snapped up and she glared at him. “Do you really think that’s a good idea? Rubbing it in to her that she can’t play when all her friends can?”

“Hey.” He raised his hands, warding off her anger. “I’m just trying to help, Darci. But I have to say, she does have a point. Last week she was feeling a whole lot worse than she is today and she played. So why not-“

“I don’t need your help on this one.” Darci stood, needing to put distance between them. “I’m her mother. I think I know what’s best for her.”

“All I’m saying is maybe you should ask the doctor.”

“Ask me what?”
 

Darci spun around to see the friendly, smiling face of Doctor Wilson. He had his hand on Taylor’s shoulder who stood next to him and was looking down at the floor.
 

The room was too small for all of them along with the thick tension that hung between them. But Darci welcomed Doctor Wilson’s presence. He’d be able to put an end to the crazy idea of Taylor playing soccer. She was sick and she needed to rest. And just as soon as the doctor told her that, they could move on.
 

“I ran into this one in the hall,” Doctor Wilson said. He squeezed Taylor’s shoulder, but she didn’t look up.
 

“I’m sorry,” Darci said. “She got upset and ran off before we could stop her.”

The doctor smiled warmly. “She tells me that she wants to play in an important soccer game.”

“I know, it’s a crazy idea,” Darci said quickly. “I told her she needs to get better, and…well, maybe if you told her, she’d listen.”

Taylor looked up then, a smile so wide Darci could see all her teeth, pasted on her face. Darci looked at the doctor who was still smiling and back to her daughter. It took a second for her to figure out what was going on. “No,” she said. “It’s not a-“

“Actually,” Doctor Wilson interrupted. “I don’t see a problem with it. Taylor’s feeling better, and she’s been responding well to the insulin.”

“He said I could play!”
 

“But you have to come back to the hospital when the game’s over.”

Darci shook her head.
 

“That’s awesome,” Cam said.
 

“Stay out of this,” Darci snapped at Cam. His face fell, and she instantly regretted it but she didn’t have time to worry about his feelings. She turned back to Doctor Wilson. “You’re saying she can play the game and then come back to the hospital? That doesn’t make sense. If she’s sick enough to be in the hospital, shouldn’t she have to stay here?”

“Mrs. Johnson, this is a good thing.”
 

“Mom? Please?”
 

“I promise you, Mrs. Johnson, it’s perfectly safe and she should be going home in a day or two anyway.”

Darci crossed her arms. “Then when she comes home, she can play.”

Taylor’s lips quivered and tears pooled in her eyes. “But Coach Cam said this game was really important. I have to play, Mom. I have to!”

Darci glanced back to Cam, who wouldn’t meet her gaze, and then back to the doctor who still stood with his hand on Taylor’s shoulder. He had said it was perfectly safe, Darci thought, and a doctor wouldn’t say that if it wasn’t. Tears were streaking Taylor’s cheeks and Darci squeezed her own eyes tight giving herself a moment to think.
 

“You promise it’s safe?” Darci asked when she opened her eyes.

Doctor Wilson smiled and nodded. “She’ll be fine. Her insulin levels have been stable and I’ll have Joelle pack a little kit with juice and sugar pills just in case of an emergency blood sugar low.”

Darci shot him a look.

“It’s just for an emergency,” the doctor adding quickly. “Taylor should get used to keeping sugary snacks nearby, especially when she’s playing sports. It’s always best to be over prepared.”

Taylor looked up, her eyes were so full of hope that Darci couldn’t say no. Not without hurting her, and she’d had enough hurt lately.

“Okay,” she said. “You can play.”

Chapter 11

Cam hadn’t been exaggerating when he’d said the game was important. The stands were packed. It felt like everyone in Bayfield was there. By the time Darci went home to get Taylor’s soccer gear and gone back to get her, they were running a little late. Cam had left earlier because he needed to be at the field for warm ups.

“Bye, Mom.” Taylor slipped out of the car and started to sprint from the parking lot towards the field, but Darci called her back.
 

“Tay!”

The second Taylor looked over her shoulder at her, Darci felt bad. She knew she should let her go and be with her friends. But she couldn’t tamper the worry that was building. Taylor raised her eyebrows in question.
 

“Just…” Darci wanted to tell her to be careful. Not to run too hard, and let the other girls play offense. Instead, she said, “Have a good game, kiddo.”
 

Taylor raised her hand in a wave and ran full tilt towards her team.
 

Darci took her time getting her things out of the car and walking to the bleachers. Standing at the edge of the field, she looked up to the place she liked to sit by herself. Full.
 

“Darci!” She turned and saw Barb, surrounded by most of the other parents, waving at her from her usual spot above the player’s bench. “Over here.”

“Why not?” she mumbled under her breath. She pulled the strap of her tote bag tighter over her shoulder and started the climb over the benches towards the group.

“It’s so good to see you,” Barb said, and motioned to the empty seat next to her. Darci couldn’t help but notice how Susanna had slid further to the end of the bench, leaving a large gaping space where none had been before.