The Red String | ONC 2024

9. Long Drive Home

Emma got to the hospital and was immediately placed in a small waiting room with hard, plastic chairs. Logan had been taken somewhere else as soon as they entered the building. He'd seemed relatively ok, and the doctors had assured her that he'd be fine, so she tried her best not to worry. But the fact that he'd been seen almost immediately while she was stuck here waiting didn't do much to put her mind at ease.

Still, there was only so long that she could sit here and worry before her mind started to drift aimlessly. She got out her phone, texting her mom to let her know she wouldn't be coming home quite as early as she'd hoped. Then, she settled down to wait.

Emma spent an incredibly long time sitting there idly, scrolling through nothing in particular on her phone. Finally, her name was called. The doctors looked her over and found no broken bones, no sprains, no deep cuts that needed to be stitched up. Not that she was surprised by that; she was a little sore, but otherwise felt fine. She was pretty sure she was going to end up with a gnarly bruise across her collar bone where the seat belt had kept her from going through the windshield, but all things considered, she couldn't complain. The doctor told her to call if anything changed, then sent her on her way. She met her mom in the waiting room. As soon as she crossed the threshold, her mom was jumping up, rushing over to her.

"Oh, Emma!" she said, worry causing her to be just a bit too loud. "How are you feeling? Is everything ok?" Anxiously, she inspected Emma from head to toe, like she would somehow find something the doctors had missed.

"I'm fine, mom, really. Just a couple scrapes, that's all." Emma told her.

Her mom didn't appear to hear her; she was too busy pulling at Emma's arms, searching for any apparent injuries.

"It was just a small accident." Emma insisted.

It was more than that, she knew. And the nerves she'd felt as the car lurched through the intersection were only just now beginning to die down. But she didn't want to worry her mom, especially since the doctor said she was ok. As prone as Emma was to worrying about things, her mom was ten times worse. Besides, Emma didn't really want to talk about it anyway. If she brought it up, her mom would ask her a million questions. All she really wanted was to get out of this place and go home. And maybe take a nice bubble bath.

As they walked through the hallways towards the exit, Emma was lost in thought. Her mom, on the other hand, seemed to have plenty to say. Where had Emma been when the accident happened? Was it at that curve just passed the highway? That place always was too dangerous— they really ought to do something about it. Was she driving too fast? Did she miss a stop sign? Had she been on her phone? She made sure she was never on her phone when she was driving, right? Did she get the other driver's insurance information? Did the other car even have insurance? She asked questions almost nonstop from the moment she met Emma in that waiting room until the moment they walked through the hospital doors with Emma only barely paying attention.

As they stepped out into the parking lot, Emma breathed in the cool autumn air. It took her a few seconds to realize that her mom had stopped talking.

"Mom?" Emma asked, looking over. Her mom was staring at her with a destressed expression on her face.

"I just don't understand. What happened?" her mom asked as they made their way across the parking lot.

"Well..." Emma started slowly, gathering up her courage. Suddenly, she almost wished she'd texted Abby instead of her mom. "My car wouldn't start, and—"

"Again? That car of yours." her mom said, shaking her head. "We really need to get you something else— it's too unreliable. Did it break down on your way home again?"

"No, mom." Emma said quickly. She could see her mom was getting ready to start her endless questions again, so she hurried on. "It didn't start at all this time. So, Logan said he'd give me a ride—"

"A boy?" her mom's eyes went wide. "You were riding some boy's car?"

"Yes, mom." Emma sighed. Was that really the most important part of this story? Emma was sure she'd heard her mom ask what had happened. So why did it suddenly sound like that wasn't her primary concern?

"Who is he? Do I know him?" her mom asked.

 Emma bit back a sigh. Somehow, this conversation was even worse than she'd imagined it.

"It was Logan Harris, mom." She wasn't sure if her mom knew him, but it was possible; she did use to help out a lot with field trips. "He's been in my class since seventh grade."

"Is he the one who—?"

"Yeah." Emma cut in, not wanting to talk about it; Apparently, her mom did know him. As they neared her mom's car, Emma looked around, thankful that no one appeared to be within earshot.

"What were you doing in a car with him?" her mom asked, looking completely flummoxed by the very idea.

"I told you— my car wouldn't start, and he offered me a ride home."

"...That was... nice of him." her mom said slowly, unlocking her car doors as they approached. She sounded like she really wanted to ask why Logan would do that, but she didn't. "So where's your car now?"

"Back at the school."

Emma's mom didn't say anything for a minute; she seemed to be lost in thought. Emma was glad for the silence. She turned the radio on, and leaned her head back onto the headrest. She'd had a long day and this was the first time she was finally able to relax. She closed her eyes and just listened to the music. She was halfway to sleep when she felt the car stop and the small lurch as her mom put it in park.

Emma opened her eyes and looked around. It took her a second to realize they were back at the school. There was only one car in the lot. Emma turned to her mom, ready to protest. She'd just been in an accident only a few hours ago, and now her mom expected her to get into another car and drive?

"You cant leave it here." her mom said, seeing the look on Emma's face.

"What if it doesn't start?" Emma asked.

"It always starts sooner or later."

"Yeah, but—"

"If it doesn't start, we'll get it towed." her mom told her. "But the longer you put it off, the more nervous you'll be. Best to get behind the wheel as soon as possible."

Emma grumbled something to herself, but she knew her mom was right. More importantly, her mom wasn't going to accept any excuses, so there was no point in trying to argue. Emma might have been on the debate team, but her mom put her to shame in any argument. Truth be told, that was actually why she'd joined the team in the first place. While her debate skills had improved dramatically in the last two years, they were still no match for her mom's.

She got out of her mom's car, surprised at how nervous she was. It wasn't like she'd been behind the wheel during the accident. And she wasn't even hurt. So what was her problem?

Her mom must have seen how nervous she really was because she rolled down her window and called out, "Let's just get the car home. Then I'll take you and your sister to dinner. Wherever you want."

Emma turned and gave her mom a small smile. Then, she got into her own car. She took a deep breath and turned the key. She fully expected— and, maybe hoped a little— that the car would be just as dead as it was when she and Logan had left the school. After all, it wasn't like they'd actually done anything to fix it. So she was more than a little surprised when the car started up without a problem. Actually, it sounded better than it had in months.

"Well, doesn't that just figure?" she grumbled to herself.

She slowly pulled out of the parking lot, following her mom home. She tried not to feel guilty, but she couldn't help but think that if her car had started in the first place, Logan wouldn't have had to take her home. They wouldn't have been in that intersection at the same time as the sky-blue car, and Logan wouldn't have had to go to the hospital. It wasn't her fault, she knew that. But she still couldn't help kind of feeling like it was.