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Chapter 9
“You sure you’re alright with this?”
Peter looked up from his computer. “I’m fine. I’ve got an inbox of emails and calls to make. Just go. Mowgli and I will take a long walk tonight.”
“Don’t give him any more food after you feed him dinner. No matter how much he begs.”
“Yes, Dad,” Peter said, rolling his eyes. “Would you just go? Go to Ali.”
Nodding, Cornell grabbed his bag. “I’m sorry. I… ”
“She needs you. I don’t. I know how to use the Uber Eats app and Netflix.” Peter motioned to the door. “Go.”
“I’ll call you later,” Cornell said before rubbing Mowgli’s head. “Gotta go take care of Mama. Be good for Grandpa.”
Cornell set out for the lot Ali’s car had been towed to, eager to find her phone and make the drive to Fort Worth. He knew he wouldn’t be much help at Bobbi and John’s, but selfishly he just wanted to be able to lay next to Ali. I need to be wherever she is.
Twenty minutes later, Cornell pulled into the lot, leaving his Jeep and jogging into the office, looking for Jimmy, who he had spoken to earlier that morning.
“You called about the Prius, right? Out back, follow me,” Jimmy said, hopping out from behind the counter. “Not sure what you’re planning on doin’ with it.”
“It’s my girlfriend’s. She’ll need a few days to figure it out.”
Jimmy nodded. “It can stay here five days before you start payin’. But I bet insurance is gonna consider it totaled, but they’ll see how much it will cost to fix.”
Cornell wasn’t sure what Jimmy saw of Ali’s car that was left to fix.
“God damn,” he whispered, blowing a heavy breath.
“She alright? Your girlfriend?”
Cornell nodded to Jimmy but mentally shook his head. He didn’t know how Ali was alright at all. The front of her silver car was completely folded in, crushed metal upon crushed metal.
“The pole came down on it?” Cornell asked, wincing as he saw how the top of the car was also smashed in. The sight made his stomach churn.
“You’ve got a lucky one.”
That’s a fucking understatement.
“They got that pole back up already. Pretty remote area over there but close to Route 30 East.”
“East?”
Jimmy went over to the car, yanking the door open, the bent hinges squeaking loudly. “Yes, sir. She was heading east on Broad Meadow Lane.”
Why would she be driving east when Hopperville was west?Cornell wondered but dismissed the thought. “I just want to check if her phone’s in there.”
“Sure thing. All yours. Lots of glass though, so be careful.” Jimmy pulled out his card. “Call if there’s an issue with insurance. They’ll need our info for the claim anyway.”
Cornell pocketed the card. “Thanks, man.”
Jimmy tapped him on the shoulder and walked back to the garage. Cornell took a deep breath, broken pieces of glass crunching beneath his sneakers as he carefully slid into the driver’s seat, which he barely fit into under normal circumstances. Half of his body remained outside the car as he took in the view from what remained of the interior, struck by a harrowing reaction.
It was torture to imagine Ali in the car, how shaken and hurt she might have been—frantic, unaware. His mind flashed to the emergency room, hearing her cry out for him, when Ali was so deep into her confusion that she didn’t even recognize her mother. Echoes of her agonizing pleas forced Cornell to shake his head and take a deep breath. From the little he could see or safely touch, given the amount of glass fallen from the shattered windshield, there was no phone to be found.
He pulled his own from his pocket, dialing her number. A gentle vibration came from below the seat, so Cornell climbed back out of the car and maneuvered his arm carefully to retrieve Ali’s phone. There was a small crack in the screen and very low battery, but nothing he could see that was beyond repair—just like her.
* * *
