Chapter 33

Okay so if you read both of my stories, I originally said that some of the events in both stories would line up with each other, just ignore that. Because it's too hard to write common events in both stories right now when both plots are going in different directions and start at different times.

Hope this chapter calms all of you down. Sort of. Don't worry, I have plans for these two.

Eliza's POV:

Vaguely I could hear my phone buzzing somewhere around my head and I struggled to open my eyes. Who's calling me after 2am?

"Hello?" At least I think that I commuicated that clearly.

"Eliza? It's Jeremy." Jeremy, one of my bosses from the legal department, Jeremy?

"Eliza are you there? This is important." That got my attention and I sat up in bed. Something was very, very wrong and I felt my stomach bottom out in anticipation. Where's Max? Max isn't here.

"Eliza, Max was in an accident. You're his girlfriend and his lawyer so we need you to come down to the hospital. If you can't take care of the legal side of this, I understand and I'll do it. But we knew you would want to be there regardless."

I didn't think that I was capable of breathing much less talking but somehow I managed an "okay, I'll be there" and listened to his instructions of where to go. The words 'Max was in an accident' played over and over again in my head sucking out all of my other thoughts.

I got out of bed throwing on what I had worn to the game and woke up Lucy and Serge explaining what had happened. I didn't know what to say or how to handle the situation. This was their son but I was in an absolute panic because I didn't know anything except for the fact that he was in the hospital. Hell, did I even know if he was alive? I hadn't even asked! I couldn't see straight, I wasn't entirely sure that I was really breathing and I could feel tears running down my cheeks as I struggled to keep it all together for the sake of his parents.

"I'll drive." Serge stated taking the keys out of my hands and opening the passenger door for me to my car.

At the hospital we went straight to the emergency room like Jeremy had instructed me. After giving my name to the nurse, she informed me that Max had been admitted upstairs to the hospital and doctors were with him now.

"Eliza!" I turned and saw Jeremy walking towards me, his face looking grim. My non-existent stomach bottomed out even more. What had happened?

"First of all, he's going to be okay." I felt the relief rush over me like a flood and Lucy let out a "thank god" and squeezed my hand tightly. I realized that both of them were holding my hands now offering me support even though it was their son that was in the hospital.

"What happened?" Serge asked not looking like his usual self at all. He looked scared and shocked like all of us felt but underneath that, there was still a trickle of strength.

"What we know so far is that he was on his way home and hit some sleet coming around a bend. Police are investigating right now because his car was totaled. Luckily a good samaritan spotted the wreck and called 911." As he said this, Jeremy's eyes darted between me and Max's parents before finally resting on me again. I hadn't said anything yet and he knew that Max had a history of wreckless driving.

"I need to sit down for a minute" I said leaving the group and sitting down on a seat in the waiting area. I was sure that my legs were going to buckle out from underneath me unless I sat down and breathed for a minute.

For the past few months he hadn't had any driving incidences at all. No parking tickets, no speeding tickets, not even a knick or a dent in his beloved car. Nothing. So how could he do this now? Everything was so perfect and he just risked it all with careless driving and speeding. Did he even realize that this was how my Dad died? All I could think about was how I could have lost Max the same way and then what would I have done? I'd have nothing. The anniversary of my Dad's death was approaching and I was almost angry at Max for not knowing that he had reasons to be careful. He has reasons to be careful and live. Namely, he had me. My Dad had thought that he was invincible and had sped up a bit to get to his meeting a little bit earlier that day. And he had wound up dead.

"Sweetie, are you okay?" Lucy came over to take my hand in hers. It was so something that Max would do and had done countless times before, that it made me want to bawl like a baby. I should be comforting them, not the other way around. I have to keep it together.

"They said that we can see him, but he's not awake. He should be up in about an hour or two. They gave him something to make him sleep off the shock a little bit." I nodded at what Lucy was saying and the three of us followed the nurse down the hallway to where his room was blocked off for privacy from the media.

When I finally stepped into the room and took in his sleeping form, the urge to cry returned and I felt my internal strength start to give out. He didn't look like Max. He didn't even look like he was sleeping. He almost looked dead.

He looked like a doppelganger of Max from a horror movie with the hospital lighting above his bed glowing eerily around us. He had stitches on his forehead from where he had hit his head due to the impact of the crash and dried blood still lingered around it. My hands itched to wipe it clean and chase away any reminders of possible death.

"The doctor said that he'll be fine. He probably has a concussion though and they're not sure how is shoulder is yet" Serge said joining us in the room and taking in Max's sleeping form. He slipped an arm around Lucy as we all stared at him. They both looked exhausted but I could feel the relief radiating off of both of them since hearing the news that Max would eventually be okay.

"If you both want to go relax in the waiting room, I can stay here" I offered knowing that they would want someone to be here.

Serge squeezed my shoulder on the way out leading Lucy back down the hall and leaving me alone in the room with Max.

Now alone in the room with only the noise of the machines beeping to keep me company, I stared at his face digesting everything that had happened already tonight. All I could think about was my Dad and how my Mom had felt after learning that he had been in an accident, and then died. All because he just assumed that everything was going to be okay. Just another day travelling on the highway and in a hurry to get to his next meeting. I knew that Jeremy was trying to keep me uninvolved in the process of filing all of the insurance reports and dealing with the police because he had been speeding but part of me wanted to be involved. Working would calm me down and I was the right person to do it anyway. My blackberry had been buzzing steadily with questions emailed from Jeremy asking where certain forms were and emergency information I had on file to answer any insurance or medical questions for Max. It was information I always hoped I wouldn't have to use but now sadly, it had come in handy.

Suddenly the hand in mine twitched and I saw that he was beginning to slide out of his deep sleep and back into the world of the living.

"Oh good. It looks like Mr. Talbot is waking up, I bet you're glad to see that" a nurse said walking into the room to change fluids in his I.V. She was oblivious to the sheer panic that had blossomed over my face. I couldn't be here or talk to him right now. His hand felt warmer than it had before, as if blood was flowing through him again alerting me that I didn't have that much time left.

"The nurse said that he's waking up" Lucy said suddenly standing behind me and watching Max stir.

"I'm sorry, I have to go" I said rising from my chair. "I have to work" I said blurting out the first excuse I could think of and moving quickly past Serge who had just appeared in the doorway.

As I drove to the Mellon to start digging Max out of this new mess, it occurred to me how ironic all of this was. We had essentially met and gotten to know each other because he was a careless driver and now, it could also be the very thing to tear us apart.