Into the Crowd. ✔

CHAPTER 3

Beep, beep, beep.

I couldn’t open my eyes, I tried but failed every time. I tried to move, but my head felt heavy. What happened? I want to reach for someone in my dreams, but all I saw was a shadow of a ghost I never knew, but then I was seeing clearly for the first time in years.
The shadow got a face, a beautiful gentle face. The bluest eyes I have ever seen. I remember soft spoken words of endearments, all the ‘I love you’s’, the pain, the lost, the
fear, the lies and an everlasting crash and the number 2. I remembered. I remembered
everything! But I can’t wake up, I can’t wake up!

********

“Wait... No.” I whisper out loud as I look down at the girl standing right so close to me. A mirror image of her mother. Is this my baby who has grown into a beautiful little girl? Tears fills my eyes as she looked up at me with confusion, sadness,
happiness and anger rolled into one expression. I couldn’t decide which. Everyone was speechless. Vicky stood there silently, waiting for something. I watched Charlie watching Vicky. Graham and Rebecca watching the girl. Drew, Ezra and Michael
watching me as my gaze lingers on all of them. What did my life come to? All the people I hate and love in the same room. No words can describe the feelings I feel right now. I missed almost ten years of my daughter’s life and Graham and Rebecca was to blame, no one else, not even the lies from Vicky, because Vicky I trusted. She may have lied, but with good reason and that is what I need to find out, because I know I would not be getting the truth from any of the others. Maybe not even Maddie herself… I turned to Vicky and searched her watery eyes. With a nod she confirmed my suspicion. Charlie was the only one still looking at her. Strange. They hardly knew each other back then, so why the glares? The elevator doors opened and the three of them stepped in, leaving me, my brothers and Vicky alone.
“Vicky, please you need to tell me what going on.” I ask about a minute later when I finally found the strength to stretch my vocal organs.
“Come with me then.” She nods to where we came from earlier. I drag the guys along.
“Their coming with me.” She managed a small nod and we walked of trying to find a place we can talk in private.
“Tell me.” I ask her as soon as we sat down in a nearly empty waiting room. We kept our voices just above a whisper.
“Are you sure you want to hear this?” She asks me first.
“I’ve waited ten years I am NOT going to wait for another minute.”
“The accident. They weren’t sure she was going to make it. Since the other car slammed into her side of the truck, caused severe damage in the upper body. Surgery after surgery. We waited and waited. Hours past and still no changes. Then a few
days later she woke up. She woke up after three days and seventeen minutes. When she woke up she didn’t remember what happened, anything at all. We did scan after
scan, but nothing. She didn’t remember anything. Weeks turned into months and months turned into years. She still doesn’t remember anything. The doctors said it
was the trauma…” Charlie threw his arm over my shoulder hugging me close as I felt a sob tear through my body.
“All these years I thought I was going crazy. I kept on seeing her. At shows, on the streets. She was all I could ever think about day after day. I blamed myself for years that she was in my truck that day and that I couldn’t save her.”
“I am so, so sorry Josh. I wish I could tell you. I wished it every day.”
“Why? Why couldn’t you tell me? I have a daughter I didn’t even-even get a chance to meet and when I saw her for the first time I acted like a raging beast!”
“It’s not that simple. Graham-“
“Did he put you up to this?”
“I wanted to tell you, I came close so many times, but I couldn’t, I couldn’t risk my family.”
“What about mine Vicky, I deserve my family too!”
“Please Josh, you have to understand I had no choice.”
“What does she know about me, the father of her child?”
“Nothing. She doesn’t even know your name. Graham and Rebecca made sure of it in every way. Honestly I didn’t even know, I suspected it from the start, but you never came around.”
“I would have if I knew! You know me Vicky, I would have found a way to support my family, no matter if she couldn’t remember me.”
“I know Josh, I mean you are an amazing guy and would have had made a wonderful father if any of us had a choice, but we didn’t. I let my life be controlled by Graham Price and I should have stood up to him a long time ago, but the time was never right, now it is. I don’t have to live with the secrets anymore.”
“She’s right Josh. That bastard controlled your whole relationship with Maddie, now that the truth is out on what a lying assfuck he truly is, we can step up, man up and you my brother should take your woman back, take your family back even if
she might never remember you. I know you make her fall in love with you again. For now you get to be the guy who brought her back to life, to get to know your little girl. It’s never too late to face the music.” Charlie’s inspirational words brought another lode of tears, tears I haven’t cried in ten years.
“Charlie’s right. You should take your family back. Now’s the time. The woman Maddie is now, might not be the same girl you fell in love with, who knows? This is a woman who had to rise her baby alone without the knowledge of how she came to be. It will take time Josh, and a lot of prayer and patience. Vicki came to me and
dropped to her knees in front of me.
“Josh, I hope one day you would be able to forgive me for what I have let happen. It’s horrible and unfair, you never deserved any of it.” I hugged her close, letting her sobs turn into a soft sniffle. It might take some time to be able to live with the deceit and
eventually forget about it, but for now I need to focus on forgiveness. She’s alive, that’s all that matters and not even Graham Price would be able to keep me away from my family, not ever again.