Chapter 5
I quietly slipped to the bench at the end of the hallway, curled up, and tucked my face into my knees.
The cracks on my phone screen spread like an ugly spiderweb, reflecting my wretched face.
Without really knowing why, I opened up my chat history with Zane.
The last message was from two weeks ago.
It was from Zane. [Seriously, you didn't see the file? I need it tomorrow. It's important.]
I replied: [I told you I didn't. Can you stop bugging me?]
Looking at it now, it was so blunt and ridiculous.
Just as I was drowning in regret, my phone suddenly buzzed.
It was a new message from Zane's best friend, Ray Lynn.
He texted: [Yvette, why can't I get through to you? I heard Zane's in trouble.
[What happened? He called me yesterday afternoon, all excited like a kid, saying he finally finished your fifth anniversary gift and was going to surprise you big time. How could he suddenly have a brain aneurysm?]
Ray's long message hit me like a bolt of lightning, splitting through the chaos in my mind.
Our fifth wedding anniversary?
I froze. How could I have forgotten something so important?
And a surprise?
Even when we were barely speaking, even after he'd switched all his emergency contacts to Sophie, Zane was still working on an anniversary surprise for me?
That didn't make sense.
If Zane really wanted to leave me, why would he go through all this?
If I didn't mean anything to him anymore, why would he still try to surprise me?
A burning question, like a seed, suddenly took root and sprouted in the dead silence of my heart.
I lifted my head and glanced again at Sophie, who was surrounded by May and Tina.
The worry and sadness on her face looked so real.
Yet for some reason, I felt for the first time that things might not be that simple.
*****
Ray's message hit me like a sledgehammer, smashing the solid layer of ice in my mind.
I had completely forgotten my fifth wedding anniversary with Zane.
Our anniversary was yesterday, the exact day Zane was rushed to the hospital.
He said he was going to give me the biggest surprise. But reality hit me with the biggest "surprise" of all.
My fingers trembled against the cold glass, barely able to type.
With every ounce of strength I had left, I texted Ray back: [Are you free right now? I need to call you.]
He replied almost instantly: [Of course, I'm free. Yvette, don't stress, I'll call you right away.]
The phone rang almost immediately. I answered and headed for the stairwell.
I didn't want others to overhear our conversation.
"Hey, Yvette? Are you okay? How's Zane?" Ray's anxious voice came through the phone.
My voice was so hoarse that it barely sounded like me. "He's still in the ICU. He hasn't woken up."
"How did this happen? How could something like this happen so suddenly?" Ray's voice was thick with shock and disbelief.
I took a deep breath, forcing myself to stay calm, and finally asked the question that had been haunting me. "Ray, what was the surprise you mentioned? Has Zane been acting weird at all lately? Did you notice anything off about him recently?"
There was a brief pause on the other end. "Honestly, I have no clue what the surprise was. Zane kept it totally under wraps. He said he was pulling off something big, something that would finally end this two-week cold war between you two.
"He said he wanted to treat you like a queen, make you feel so loved you'd never even think about getting mad at him again."
Ray's words felt like a blunt knife, digging into my heart over and over.
"As for anything off about Zane," Ray paused, trying to remember. "Honestly, he's been locking himself in his study every day lately, acting super secretive, like he was hiding something big.
"When I asked what he was doing, he gave me this goofy smile and said he was making you a gift like nothing you've ever seen.
"Oh, and he mentioned to me that he lost some important contract paperwork. He searched everywhere and couldn't find it. He suspected someone at the company was behind it.
"He said that because of that file, he ended up arguing with you, and he felt awful. He said he shouldn't have snapped at you like that.
"Yvette, is that what you two argued about?"