chapter 11

late night phone call

CHAPTER 11

            Sometime between the end of September and the middle of October, fall rolled in, or what one can consider fall on the Gulf Coast. I was up to my ears in schoolwork, and I was racking up the miles on my Tahoe, going back and forth to Tallahassee practically every other weekend. I loved every minute of my life, though, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

            Fall break was coming up, but since my university was closed for almost a month due to Hurricane Katrina, our Fall break was forfeited. Colt and I had planned on a few days in Destin, but since I couldn’t go, he was coming to stay with me in Mobile for a few days, and I couldn’t wait. I was still longing for the three weeks we spent together at the end of summer, so I would take what I could get.

            It was Friday, my last class of the day had ended, and Colt was due to be here anytime. I ran by the grocery store to pick up a few things before going home. I hope to at least get a shower before he showed up.

            I pulled up to my apartment building and saw Colt’s Jeep Cherokee parked in my extra spot. My heart nearly jumped out of my chest. It’s a good thing he has seen me after I wake up in the morning, because as of now, I looked like s**t. I went for an early morning run before class and was still in my running attire, that I was sure smelled like dried sweat. Oh well. I got out of the Tahoe and practically ran up the steps to my apartment.

            “Hey! I didn’t expect you to be here this early,” I said, putting my grocery bags on the counter. I went to give him a kiss.

            “I thought I would surprise you. Seth let me in,” Colt said, holding me to him.

            “Well, you did. I am glad you’re here. But, I need to take a shower. I’m sure I stink. I went running this morning before class.”

            “Yeah, you do. Go wash your nasty a*s,” Colt said, laughing.

            I stuck my tongue out at him and wandered off into my bedroom to get cleaned up. I took a quick shower, washed my hair, body, shaved and was out in ten minutes. I pulled on a pair of American Eagle jeans and a white tank top and my Florida State hoodie.

            “What do you want to do tonight?” I asked, walking into the living room.

            “I don’t know. I would say bar hop, but we aren’t old enough to legally drink, so it wouldn’t be much fun,” Colt said. “Or we can order in Chinese and watch movies and canoodle on the couch all night?”

            “Chinese and canoodling,” I agreed. I rummaged through a drawer in the sofa table and found a take out menu and threw it at him.

            We ate supper and watched movies, and wound up falling asleep on the couch. Around three, my phone woke us up. It was Hillary.

            “Hey, Hil,” I said, sleepily.

            “Harleigh! You have got to come home, now! Madison was in a bad car wreck tonight and she isn’t doing well!”

            “What?!” I exclaimed. “Where are you?”

            “We are in Greenville still. We were planning on going home tomorrow afternoon. There was a party we wanted to go to tonight.”

            “Okay, let me get some clothes together and hit the road. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Tell her to hold on if you get to see her,” I said and hung up the phone.

            “What’s wrong?” Colt asked, sitting up.

            “Madison was in a car wreck,” I said, with tears filling my eyes. “She isn’t doing well, we’ve got to go.”

            “Okay. We’ll take my Jeep. I’ll go down and get it started while you get dressed,” Colt said, slipping his shorts on.

            I went into my bedroom and threw on the same clothes I had earlier and hastily put some clothes and toiletries into a Nike duffle bag and grabbed up Colt’s bag. I headed into the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee. While it was brewing, I went down to Seth and Jared’s apartment and beat on the door.

            “Who is it?” Seth asked, sleepily. I could hear him shuffling to the door.

            “It’s me,” I said, and I heard the door unlock.

            “What’s wrong Harleigh?” Seth asked.

            “We have to go to up to ECU. Our friend Maddie was in a bad wreck and not in good shape. Will you keep an eye on my car and apartment for me?”

            “You know it. Be careful and keep me posted.  Call me when you get there,” Seth said.

            “I will.”

            “What the hell is going-- hey Harleigh,” Jared said, coming to the door.

            “Her friend was in a bad wreck and they are going up to Greenville and she wants us to watch her apartment and car until she gets back,” Seth explained.

            “I’m so sorry, Harleigh. Go on, don’t worry about a thing,” Jared said, giving me a hug.

            “Thank you.”

            I walked back up to my apartment and poured Colt and I travel mugs of coffee and picked up our bag. He met me at the door.

            “Are you ready?”

            “Yeah, I fixed us some coffee for the road and I got your bag,” I said, handing him his cup of coffee with shaking hands.

            “She will be alright, love. I’ll get us there as fast as I can, but it’s a long haul.

            “I sure hope she is,” I said, sipping my coffee.

           

We drove through the rest of the night, and by the time the sun came up, we were crossing into Georgia. We stopped for breakfast at a McDonalds and got out and stretched our legs. After breakfast, I took over driving and let Colt sleep for a bit.

            I called Hillary to get an update. As of now, Madison was in a medically induced coma to let the swelling in her brain go down, and Hillary didn’t know how long she would be under. She was still hysterical and in my head, I was going crazy, but I was putting on a brave front for her. That’s what I did, Hillary was always a little melodramatic and I have always been level headed. We balanced each other out. I guess that’s why we have been friends our entire life.

            I lit a cigarette after I got off the phone and let my mind wander to Madison. Oh, how I hoped she would be okay. She is a great girl, smart and loving, and cute as a damn button. I prayed she made a full recovery, but I also prepared myself for worst-case scenario: her funeral.

            Most of the time I loved road trips, I always have the windows down and the radio blaring. This trip was different, though. Thoughts of Madison were running through my head, all of the fun times we had, and I was wondering if our time in Tallahassee a month ago would be our last. I prayed not.

            I met Madison when we started kindergarten. She was a shy thing back then, and Hillary and I befriended her, and have been inseparable ever since. I always thought we’d all wind up going to college together, but when my urge to get away kicked in, I knew that wouldn’t happen. I had wanderlust and Madison and Hillary were content staying in North Carolina, where I wanted out. We don’t talk as much these days, with me being in Alabama, and them being up in Greenville, but I still consider Hillary and Madison my best friends, no matter where life takes us.

            Colt woke up around noon, as we were crossing into North Carolina.

            “How much longer do we have?” He asked, stretching in his seat.

            “About three more hours,” I said, putting on the best smile I could, even though I felt like I was dying inside.

            “Have you heard anything from Hillary?”

            “Yeah, a few hours ago. She said Maddie is in a medically induced coma until the swelling around her brain goes down, but she doesn’t know anything else,” I said, lighting up a cigarette. I have been smoking like a freight train and my voice was starting to show it.

            “Damn, I hate that,” Colt said, rubbing my thigh. “Do you want to pull over for lunch and let me drive the rest of the way so you can get some rest?”

            “Yeah, I am starting to get hungry.”

            We stopped in Lumberton for a quick lunch and Colt took over the driving for the last few hours of our trip.