Just Breathe

Chapter Twenty-Two Bailey

"I come from a small town just like this one, Berry town. We were known for the best berry jams in three towns and every fall at the town fair, my momma and I would make at least three boxes of them to sell. My parents were high school sweethearts and had me really young. My momma was only nineteen and my ... father was twenty-one. My momma told me they were really happy when they found out about the pregnancy and that my father was over the moon having a baby with the love of his life. When I got older my father let me hang out with him regardless of what he was doing. Whether it was grocery shopping or taking the car to the mechanic, anything, I was always with him. Mom used to say I traded her in for him."

"Once I hit high school, things changed a bit between me and my father, but not much. I hung out with friends after school, joined the basketball team, things like that. I grew closer to my mom as a teenager and became a woman. We still did our family stuff together like dinners, going to church, things like that."

"I knew my parents had wanted more children but since they had me so young, they wanted to wait. Get their life settled more and get used to having one kid before adding more. My father worked at a factory, loading goods into trailers, and my mom was a receptionist at the local clinic. We weren't rich, but we were doing okay. At least my parents never let it show in front of me if things were different."

I took a deep breath as I prepared for the next part in my story, as I knew it would throw Ash off, and she would want to ask a million questions. I had told her before starting, to just let me say everything, because once I told my story it would answer all the questions she may have. This just really sucked, talking about my mom. I wish she were here with me. Oh, how I wish she were here.

"I was sixteen when my mom had Logan." Ash inhaled sharply but didn't say a word. I've been staring out her living room window, I didn't have the courage to look her in the eyes while baring my soul.

"Most teens would dread having a sibling so many years younger, but not me. I was beyond excited to be a big sis and show him all the cool things I did growing up and how much fun he would have. My parents were so happy they were finally able to add another member to the family and that it was a boy. My father was a real proud man when he found out it was a boy. I guess it would make sense, being that fathers and sons have that male bonding stuff."

"When I was seventeen, I had my semi-final basketball game but neither of my parents could make it. Logan was barely two at the time and was teething, so he was running a bit of a fever. I was totally cool with it, I felt bad for the little dude. My father was supposed to come to pick me, but mom said she needed to stop by the pharmacy to pick up more Tylenol, and he didn't really know how to pick that kinda stuff out."

This part really sucked. Like, it really fucking sucked. I took serval breaths and Ash reached out and held my hand really tight. I never took my eyes from her window, I couldn't look at her, or I wouldn't be able to keep my shit together. Lord knows I was already dying inside, just from saying all this crap out loud.

"It was raining really hard when I reached the car, but nothing too alarming. I was super excited because our team made it to the championship game, and I had been the highest-scoring player that night. Mom was my biggest cheerleader. We were singing along to some country music mom loved and then, out of nowhere, our car was flying through the air, flipping around for what felt like forever. I couldn't tell you what hit us, how it happened, or when all the damn spinning stopped."

"I just remember feeling numb and seeing a lot of flashing lights. When I came to the second time, I was in a hospital room alone, and trying to figure out why everything hurt."

"I found out, shortly after waking up, that I had several cuts on my face from the broken glass, but would heal without a problem, I had a broken rib, a broken collar bone, my right arm had been broken in two different places, and had a third-degree concussion. The doctors were confident that everything would heal quickly, and I would be good as new since I was young. I just need rest and some physio."