The Hour of Dreams Read Free Page B

her car. Certainly, the security detail following behind were unhappy, but they would just have to deal as I kept looking.
    Sure enough, on my left, her car was parallel parked directly across the street from Jackson’s house. Just as I passed his driveway, I noticed two figures in the dark, without umbrellas, and knew immediately it was them. A sense of relief came over me, knowing they were communicating and that she was safe. I kept driving, and it wasn’t until I turned around in the distant cul-de-sac and made my second passing that I noticed her push him in his chest. He shuffled backwards and then reached for her elbow. She snatched it away and pushed him again.
    As she spun around and darted across the street, Jackson began walking back up his long driveway, shoulders slumped. By the time I pulled up beside Dawn’s car, she had plopped into her seat and was hunched over the wheel. I left my Jeep right in the street and jogged around to her door.
    She jumped at my knock and then rolled down her window a few inches. “Jesus, Sophie! What are you doing here?”
    “Hey. Sorry, I went by your house to talk to you and you weren’t there. I thought I’d check here before going home. Are you okay?” As soon as the words left my mouth, I knew it was a dumb question. “I mean, you wanna talk?”
    “Not really.”
    Her eyes were red and puffy. I felt helpless, but I didn’t want to let her go so easily.
    “Look, I’m getting wet out here. And you're wet already. Let’s go to my house and get in some warm clothes. Spend the night. Get away from your house and we’ll talk. It might help to get away.”
    She looked at me. By then, my hair was soaking wet, framing my face in a sticky mess. Standing there, in a downpour, I shrugged my shoulders.
    “You’re nuts, you know?” she said.
    “Well?”
    “Fine. I’ll come…I definitely don’t want to go home, that’s for sure.”
    I jogged back around to my car, feeling a little victorious, and gave a little wave to the Tahoes.
    She followed me to my house, and Wes was still not home, which was fine. It allowed us some privacy to get Dawn to the spare room, which I’m sure she appreciated. I gave her clean towels and a fresh pair of sweats, and convinced her to take a warm shower, knowing the last thing she needed was to get sick.
    While she was settling in, I thought about a warm shower myself. With the rain, the temperature had dropped and I had started to shiver. Sweats sounded good to me too, so I scooped some up and made my way to my own shower.
    The hot water relaxed every muscle in my body, helping me to think more clearly. I closed my eyes and tilted my head back, letting the water soak through my hair and run down my back.
    Feeling calm, I ran my palms over my face to clear the water trails, but a slippery sensation caused me to open my eyes. I pulled my hand away from my face and saw that, sure enough, it was another nosebleed.
Dang.
Just this once, it would have been nice not to have to think about myself. Irritated, I rinsed my hand and pressed a washcloth to my nose.
    Standing there with a bloody cloth pressed against my nose, it was impossible not to think of my own problems. Why now? Why tonight? How was I supposed to help someone else fix their life when I couldn’t fix my own? Thoughts like that made me realize something unimaginably important.
    That was exactly it. My future might be nonexistent. For whatever reason, it might not be in nature’s plan, and that’s something I’d have to face and deal with every single day. But Dawn shouldn’t have to worry about her baby’s life. Not when it could be saved. Closing my eyes, I resolved myself to do whatever possible to help the life inside of her. Even if I had no control over mine.
    “Hey, you.”
    I snapped my eyes open to see Wes’ silhouette through the glass shower doors.
    “Hey. You scared me,” I said, turning toward the water to rinse out the bloody washcloth.
    “Sorry,” he said,