My mom gasped and froze when she walked through the door and saw Piper. “Oh my God,” was all she muttered, her eyes watering as she pulled her hands up over her mouth.

“She’s okay, Mom.” I smiled reassuringly.

“It’s hard to see her like that.” Her voice was shaky.

“I know.”

She walked over and pulled up the other chair next to me, not taking her eyes off Piper. “What did the doctors say?”

“They did the CT scan. She has a bad concussion, plus the gash on her head.” I sighed, thinking about how yesterday at this time we were hula hooping in the backyard without a care in the world. Crazy how fast life can change. “The doctor said he doesn’t think she got hit head on, that maybe she was under the water when it happened.”

Mom’s head whipped around to face me. “What do you mean?”

“He thinks she happened to go under the water seconds before she was hit, the bruising on her shoulder is even worse. Had she been all the way above water, it could have been … really bad.”

Mom looked back at Piper and closed her eyes. Her lips moved but no sound came out; I knew she was praying.

“Anyway, they are definitely keeping her overnight, maybe for a couple nights. It all depends on the swelling in her brain. They’ll do another scan tomorrow.”

“Will there be any permanent damage?” she asked hesitantly.

“They don’t think so, but we won’t know for sure until she’s awake. The doctor thinks she’ll be just fine in a few weeks.”

She reached over and put her hand on mine, squeezing it. “Thank God.”

Indeed.

“How is Lucy?” I asked.

“She’s okay.” Mom smiled at me and tried her best to sound normal. “Brody got her a grilled cheese sandwich and some apple juice. Honestly, she’s loving all the attention out there. Everyone is falling all over her.”

“Who’s everyone?”

“Oh … Fred, Shae, Brody and his parents.”

“Brody’s parents?”

“Yep, they got here a little while ago, and they’re wonderful. I’m not surprised by that though, Brody is pretty wonderful too.” She smiled at me.

“Yeah, he is.” I sighed. Blaire’s voice rang loud in my head, reminding me that he’ll never actually be mine.

What was I thinking kissing him in the waiting room? Clearly my emotions are clouding my judgment.

Another knock on the door.

“Come in,” I called out.

The door slowly opened and a petite woman in her mid-fifties stood in the doorway, wringing her hands. I knew exactly who she was by her expressive eyes. Mom and I stood up as I reached down and smoothed out my t-shirt, suddenly panicked. I didn’t want to meet her like this. I had on sweats, a blood stained t-shirt, ugly hospital booties with rubber bottoms, and no makeup. I’m sure my face looked red and puffy, like the Kool-Aid man, from crying all day.

“You must be Kacie.” Emotion overcame her as she fought back tears. “I’m JoAnn Murphy.” She unexpectedly pulled me into a hug, which felt amazing. I gladly returned the embrace.

“It’s so nice to meet you. Brody has talked about you so much, I feel like I already know you.”

“I’m gonna step out so you guys can chat for a bit.” Mom smiled as she stood up and quickly made her way to the door.

“Here, sit down.” I turned and sat on the couch while she pulled up the chair across from me. “I’m sorry about how I look. Probably not a very good first impression.”

Reaching out, she grabbed my hand in her own. “Kacie, you have been through more today than I’ve been through in twenty-seven years of being a parent. Trust me, I’m not judging your appearance.”

I liked her a lot. She was warm and friendly and immediately felt like a friend. “I feel bad that we’re meeting like this at all. I assumed our first meeting would be over lunch or dinner.” She paused for a minute and looked over at Piper. She swallowed, taking it all in. “How’s she doing?”

“Okay, they still have her sedated. Trying to let her brain heal a little before they bring her out.”

“Being a mom is tough, isn’t it?”

“Very.”

“There’s a saying … I don’t remember it exactly, but something about how having kids is like allowing your heart to walk around outside of your body. It’s so true.” She shook her head in amazement.

“Absolutely,” I said, staring at Piper, looking for any small movement. “Except right now, I don’t feel like my heart is beating at all, it’s inactive. It won’t beat again until she’s awake and smiling at me.”

She reached over and squeezed my hand.

“Oh, I almost forgot-” she paused and dug for something in her purse. She pulled out a plastic bag and handed it to me.

“Thanks,” I said, confused.

“Brody got them in the gift shop, asked me to give them to you.”

I peeked into the bag, breaking out into a huge grin when I saw the light blue fluffy hospital slippers.

“He tried to find you flip flops, but this is all they had.”

Brody’s constant fuss to take care of me made me feel something I’d never really felt before … special. Most girls swoon over things like diamonds and fancy cars. For me, all it took was shampoo and hospital slippers.

“He’s very sweet. You’ve raised a great man.” I smiled at her.

“He is a great guy, I agree, but this new side of him, this attentive side is something I think was brought on entirely by you.”

My head snapped up at her. “Me?”

“Kacie, he talks about you and the girls constantly. I know I just met you, but I feel like I already know you. You’ve made such an impact on him in such a short period of time. It’s remarkable. You’ve changed his life.”

I’d cried so much today that I didn’t think my body was capable of making more tears, but there they were, threatening to fall again. “He’s changed mine too,” I said, staring down at the slippers through my blurred vision.

“Knock, knock.” Brody pushed the door open slightly. “Can I come in?”

JoAnn smiled at her son and waved him in. “Of course, honey.”

He walked across the room and sat down on the couch next to me, resting his arm along the top. I could tell he was giving me space and waiting for me to give him the okay, but that wasn’t gonna happen.

He stared straight at Piper, clenching his jaw. “How is she?”

“She’s okay, still sedated.”

His head turned and his eyes bore into mine. “They still have her sedated?”

“Yeah,” I nodded slowly, “it’s normal though, don’t worry. They’re just giving her brain a break.”

“How about you? Do you need a break?”

“Me?” My eyebrows shot up. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Kacie, you’ve barely left the room since we got here this morning and it’s almost dinnertime. When was the last time you ate, got some fresh air?”

I stared at Piper; the thought of leaving her like this was too painful. “I can’t leave her, not yet.”