Page 12 of Ashes of Us
Danica let out a groan as she entered her hotel room in the Rose Gold Hotel in downtown Dallas.
It was the third hotel of the three in Texas, and she was more than ready to go home.
They had arrived in Houston almost two weeks prior and then went straight to Austin.
Between her shaky marriage and relationship with Jasper when she was home and the stiff, polite relationship with Alex when they were away, she desperately wanted a break from them both.
It had been over two months since the argument in the garage, and while they were going to couples counselling twice a week when she was home, the travelling every other week was not helping.
He was distant and short with her while she was gone, and clingy and overly affectionate with her while she was home.
She had divorce papers done up but hadn't been able to give the go-ahead to have him served.
She still loved him and wanted the marriage to work, but there was something off about him that was really bothering her.
She just couldn't put her finger on what it was.
She went and showered to get ready for dinner.
The hotel manager was joining them with his assistant manager to meet Alex in person and to get a rundown of what they were looking for in the audit.
She called Jasper while she got dressed but was automatically sent to voicemail.
Frowning, she tossed her phone on the bed and started to get dressed.
He'd been sending her to voicemail since the previous night, but it was nothing new lately.
She had brought it up in therapy and he explained that he resented her still choosing to travel for work when their marriage was hanging by a thread, which she had blown up at him for, telling him he knew she didn't have a choice, and it was unfair to make her feel like she was doing something wrong.
It had then come out that he really resented the fact that she had put the money in a trust instead of quitting her job and working on her mechanic's certification, which had led to another fight where she laid out her issues with how he handled money.
He had been angry at first, but when she started guessing what he wanted to buy, he looked increasingly ashamed before he finally admitted she was right, he probably would run through the money by Christmas, and that wasn't fair to her.
He promised to look into financial classes that were specialized for people with ADHD on the advice of their therapist, but she had no idea if he had followed through or not.
She was dressed and had almost finished her hair when there was a firm knock on the door.
She looked at the time and sighed. Alex was early to pick her up.
He was trying, she had to admit. He had invited her out for drinks at the bar and offered to go sightseeing with her a couple of times when they were in different cities and had a few free hours.
At this point, she had to acknowledge that she was deliberately holding him at arm's length, not wanting to encourage anything when her marriage was in such a bad place.
“I'm not ready yet.” She said as she opened the door.
“I'll meet you at the bar...” Her voice died as she realized it wasn't Alex at the door; it was a policeman and a policewoman.
“Sorry.” She cleared her throat. “Can I help you?”
“Danica Preston?” The man asked, and she nodded.
“Yes.”
“From Boston?” He continued. She really didn't like the way they were looking at her, with a mixture of stoicism and pity, but she nodded again.
“Can we come in?” Not sure what to do or say, she hesitated and then stepped back so they could come in.
When they were inside, the woman gave her a small smile, but it was the man who kept talking.
“Mrs. Preston, I'm Sergeant Gideon, and this is Officer James. Boston PD reached out to us this morning and asked us to deliver some news.” He paused, and Danica swallowed and felt her knees get weak.
She knew this wasn't going to be good, and she sat on the edge of the bed as Sergeant Gideon glanced at Officer James before continuing.
“Ma'am, I'm very sorry to tell you this, but your husband, Jasper Preston, was involved in a motor vehicle collision last night.” Danica felt dizzy, and it must have shown on her face because Officer James came over and sat beside her.
“Put your head between your knees and take deep breaths.” She encouraged her quietly as she rubbed her back. Danica did as she was told, and it slowly dawned on her they hadn't said if he was dead or not.
“Is he...” The words caught in her throat, and she couldn't continue.
“No, from what we understood, he's alive, but it's unlikely that he will ever wake up.” Sergeant Gideon shifted uncomfortably. “As his next of kin, they need you back there, and I'm afraid you have some very tough choices to make.”
“Is there someone we can call for you?” Officer James asked quietly, still rubbing her back slowly. Danica took a deep breath and slowly blew it out. She was all alone, and that realization terrified her.
“Um, my boss is in room 1612,” she mumbled. “I guess I have to tell him.” She was vaguely aware of Sergeant Gideon leaving the room and wrapped her arms around her middle, like the act would hold everything in.
“Is there anyone else?” Officer James prodded gently. “Someone who can meet you at the airport?”
Danica shook her head as hot tears slipped down her cheeks. “Just his parents. Were they told?”
“You're listed as his next of kin everywhere.” The officer explained.
“Do you want to tell his parents, or would you like me to request Boston PD send an officer to them?” Danica shook her head.
She should be the one to tell them. She flew across the Atlantic to tell Alex in person about his dad, and she knew they wouldn't forgive her if she sent an officer to tell them about their son.
She also wanted to meet with the doctors and get the information from them before she spoke to them.
“I'd prefer to tell them.” There was a knock on the door again, and Officer James got up to answer it. Within seconds of the door opening, Alex was suddenly crouched in front of her.
“I have the pilot getting the plane ready to go,” he told her, reaching for her hand and holding it in both of his.
“And there will be a car waiting to take us to the airport by the time we get down there.” She nodded dumbly, some part of her brain registering that he was doing her job and wanting to stop him. “Have you unpacked anything?”
“Just my toiletries,” she mumbled, and Alex straightened up and disappeared into the bathroom. A few seconds later, he returned with her toiletry bag. He tossed it in her suitcase and zipped it up.
“Thank you, Officers, I'll take it from here.” Alex dismissed them calmly as he set her suitcase on the floor.
Danica felt like she was underwater; everything was slow and muffled.
She blindly obeyed when Alex's warm hand gripped her elbow and helped her stand, and she was vaguely aware that someone came into the room and took her suitcase away.
The police officers said their goodbyes and left.
After a few minutes, she heard Alex's phone beep, and he led her from the room.
She turned automatically toward the elevators, but Alex's hand was on the small of her back, and he turned her in the opposite direction.
“Service elevator,” he explained when she stopped in confusion.
“Oh.” A small flame of gratitude ignited when she realized he was allowing her to avoid the crowds of hotel guests who would be heading out for their dinners right about now. He kept her close to him the whole way to a side entrance that staff used and bundled her into the back of the car.
She was an hour into the four-hour flight when the damn broke and her silent tears turned into deep, body-wracking sobs.
Alex held her close and let her cry on his shoulder until the tears slowly stopped.
She was dreading getting to the hospital.
If she understood what the police officer was saying, she was going to have to decide to pull the plug on her husband, and she didn't think she had the strength to do it.
They landed, and her anxiety shot through the roof as Alex helped her into the car and directed the driver to take them to the hospital.
“Alex,” she whispered, using his name for the first time in months. “I don't think I can do this.”
“You don't have to do anything tonight.' His voice was low and soothing as he rubbed her arm. “Just see him and hear what the doctors have to say.”
She nodded, feeling her anxiety start to come down as she realized he was right.
They wouldn't ask her to make that decision immediately.
She would need to hear what his prognosis was and talk to his parents before she had to make a decision.
When they got to the hospital, she gave her name to the reception desk and was told to go to the fifth-floor reception.
They would page his doctor and take her to her husband.
When Danica got to Jasper’s room and saw him, she would have collapsed if Alex hadn't had such a firm grip on her waist and held her up. The few places that weren't bandaged up were black and blue. The doctor explained that a car ran a red light and struck his side of the vehicle.
“He was taken into surgery and operated on immediately. We were able to fix most of the damage, unfortunately, he never woke up after.” The doctor opened his tablet and showed her an MRI image.
“There isn't any neural activity at all.
To put it simply, he's brain dead.” He closed the tablet and looked him over.
“We kept his heart beating and the machines breathing for him so his family could say goodbye when we found out you were out of town.”