by Sherri Renee
The automatic doors opened with a swooshing sound, and I looked up to see Jace hurrying towards me.
“Sorry I’m late,” he said, running a hand through his tousled hair as he sat on the hard plastic chair beside me.
I smiled at him, warmed that he’d actually come. “She just went back a few minutes ago,” I said. “You know you didn’t have to come.”
He took my hand in his like it was the most natural thing in the world. “I told you, you’re not alone in this.”
“What about practice?” I asked, knowing Danny would probably only miss a practice if he was the one on the operating table.
Jace shrugged with a glance around the room, taking in the other occupants. “This is more important. If Coach doesn’t understand that people come before sports then I don’t want to be on his team.”
I sat up straight and twisted on my chair to face him. “He didn’t kick you off the team, did he?”
Jace gave me a calm smile. “I haven’t talked to him yet. I left a message that I wouldn’t be at practice and told him why. I’ll talk to him later.”
I swallowed, giving him a worried look. “I hope he’s okay with it,” I said. “I’d hate for you to get in trouble, but it really means a lot that you’re here.”
And it really did. I would have faced the waiting room alone and been just fine. With Jace by my side, though, I was more than fine. I was calm and felt secure rather than scared. I didn’t realize how much I needed him to be there.
Jace squeezed my hand, and the bracelet he gave me clanked against the arm of the chair. He looked down and a content smile spread across his face. “You’re wearing it.”
I felt my cheeks flush although I couldn’t really say why. I wasn’t embarrassed exactly. It kind of felt like I was admitting I liked him by wearing it. I mean he had to know I liked him by now, but it still wasn’t completely out in the open.
He picked up the rose charm and ran his thumb over it before laying it back against my wrist.
“It was such a thoughtful gift,” I said. “I really love it.”
He looked like my words might have embarrassed him so I tried to lighten the mood. “And how many pages of your diary did you fill last night.” I gave his arm a playful poke. “I’m sure I’ve given you tons of material to write about.”
I lowered my voice pretending to be his thoughts, “There’s this girl who keeps causing problems for me. First, she gets me in a fight, and now she might get me kicked off the basketball team. I don’t know what it is about her, but she’s like an unlucky penny that I can’t seem to lose.”
Jace grinned at me and ran his thumb over my palm sending a burst of tingles through my hand. “See! That’s what I had to compete with in writing class. You never had to mull an idea over, trying to make it into a story. The stories just sprang out of you.”
“I don’t know about that. I am sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused you, though. It’s really getting to be ridiculous. You should probably be scared to hang out with me. Who knows what I’ll do next?”
His eyes drifted to my lips. “I know what I hope you’ll do soon,” he said softly.
A thousand butterflies sprang to life in my stomach, and I ran my tongue over my lips. His look was enough to drive me crazy. I wanted so badly to lean forward and kiss him, but I didn’t want our first kiss to be in a hospital waiting room.
And that thought made me feel guilty. Mom was back there somewhere being operated on, and I was imagining our first kiss? I jerked my gaze away from him and looked around.
“I almost wish I hadn’t finished your book now,” I said, hoping to get both of our minds off kissing. “It would be a great way to pass the time.”
Jace settled back in his chair. “I have the edits back on the second book if you want to read it sometime.”
I darted a look at him. “I can read it before it’s published?”
He shrugged, looking uncomfortable. “I mean, only if you want to. It’s not a big deal.”
I squeezed his hand. “I’d love to read it, and it’s a huge deal. Who knew that knowing a famous author came with such great perks.”
He instantly shushed me, sinking low in his seat and hunching his shoulders until his black jacket touched his ears. He peeked around the room to make sure no one was listening.
I laughed but lowered my voice. “Why do you hide what you do? You’re an amazing author. If I was that good at anything I think I’d want to shout it from the rooftops.”
He looked at me for a minute as if trying to decide if he wanted to tell me something or not. Finally, he said, “When I write, pieces of me go into the story. Pieces of my hopes and dreams and fears. When you joked about keeping a diary you weren’t that far off. Of course, I’m not a teenage girl riding a unicorn and fighting evil, but there’s a lot of me in there.”
He rubbed a hand over his mouth as I considered his words.
“When a stranger reads my books it’s not a big deal. They don’t know me so they aren’t judging me. But when someone I know reads them they can’t help but look deeper into the words and wonder why I wrote what I did. ‘Do I dream about unicorns? Is purple my favorite color? Did I use them as a model for the character that has long hair like they do?’”
I nodded. “I was pretty nervous when you read my poem yesterday so I guess I kind of get it. People can’t help but judge and when they know you it’s like your laying yourself out there for them to pick you apart.”
He sighed. “Sometimes that’s exactly what it’s like.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. He tipped his head questioningly. “It’s sad that you’ve done something so amazing at such a young age and now you can’t show it off.”
He smiled slightly. “I got to share it with you. That means more to me than a hundred kids at school reading it.”
His eyes stayed on mine, and I couldn’t look away. I wasn’t sure what I’d done to have such a wonderful guy by my side, but I was thankful.
“Michelle Morris?” I jumped up and looked around to see Mom’s doctor standing in the doorway. I hurried over to him without letting go of Jace’s hand.
“Is she okay?” I asked before he could say anything. “Is my mom okay?” I felt Jace holding my hand tightly and drew strength from his touch. Once again I was so glad he was there.
Dr. Jackson smiled. “Your mother is in recovery now. Everything went very smoothly. There were no problems at all.”
Relief coursed through me like cool water on a hot day. I knew she still had a ways to go until she was well, but step one was behind her.
“Jace?” Dr. Jackson noticed Jace and gave him a worried look. “What are you doing here? Are you feeling all right?”
Jace squeezed my hand before releasing it. “I’m fine. I’m here with Michelle.” He tipped his head towards me.
Dr. Jackson looked back and forth between us before his forehead smoothed. “Oh, that’s good to hear.” He clapped Jace on the shoulder before turning his attention back to me. “I can take you back to your mom now if you want.”
I felt Jace pulling away from me, physically and mentally. “You should go,” he told me, stepping back. “I’ll probably try to catch a little bit of practice before it’s over.”
I looked at him in confusion. “Okay,” I said, but it didn’t feel okay. He gave me a tiny smile and walked away. I watched him go out the automatic doors and tried to figure out what had just happened.
“Michelle?” Dr. Jackson said, reclaiming my attention.
“Oh, yes. Sorry. I’m ready when you are.” I followed him down a long white hallway past door after door until he turned into Mom’s room, but I couldn’t get Jace out of my mind. I didn’t think I’d done anything to upset him, but I couldn’t figure out why he’d left so suddenly. And how did he know Dr. Jackson?
Chapter 28
I hung out in Mom’s hospital room until she finally kicked me out. She claimed she wanted to get some sleep, but I knew she just didn’t want me
spending my whole day stuck in the hospital with her.
As mean as it sounded, I was a little relieved. I was ready to get out of that place. Mom was in great spirits and very optimistic that she was going to make a full recovery, and that made me feel as good as anything could have.
I stopped at the grocery store and loaded up on fruits and vegetables, adding a giant bag of carrots and apples to my cart. Mom and I had decided our diet could use some cleaning up, and I was determined to start fixing fresh juice for her every day to help her heal faster. I headed home in a pretty good mood until I saw the strange black car in the driveway.
Drake.
I let out a loud groan. How had I forgotten my dad was going to spend the night while Mom was in the hospital? I parked in the garage and hauled my groceries to the kitchen trying to figure out what Drake and I were going to talk about all night. I wondered if he’d sit through Casablanca with me. That would eat up a couple of hours.
“Michelle?” I heard Drake call from the living room.
“Yes, it’s me,” I said. “I’ll be right there.” I stuck a couple of perishables in the refrigerator and wiped my hands on my jeans. With a deep breath, I worked up a welcoming smile and went to the living room
“Michelle,” Drake quickly stood up. “I spoke with your Mother. She said everything went well.”
He was dressed in tan slacks and a striped button down. He was nice looking, and very clean cut, but he was still a stranger.
“It did, thanks.” I twisted my hands together and was about to suggest that movie when a loud crash drew my attention to what was once a snowman music box.
“What . . .?” I looked over and saw Drake wasn’t alone. A little girl with light, almost white blond hair looked up at me. I instantly saw she had my eyes. Well, technically Drake’s eyes.
Wow. I had a sister. I swept a quick glance around the room searching for any other random siblings, but she seemed to be the only one.
“Oops,” she said with a shrug.
“Leigh Ann,” Drake sounded all fatherly, and I almost smiled. “What did I tell you about touching things?”
Leigh Ann lowered her head, her blond hair draping around her face. “We don’t touch things that aren’t ours without permission.”
“That’s right, now apologize to Michelle.”
Leigh Ann peeked up at me from under her hair with a smirk on her face. I blinked in surprise.
“I’m sorry I broke your stupid snowman,” she said.
I think my eyes must have almost popped out of my head. I wanted to say my mom would have slapped me if I’d ever been that disrespectful, but I wouldn’t know because first, she’d never slapped me in my life and second, I’d never tried being that rude. Drake on the other hand simply shook his head.
“She’s twelve,” he said running his hand through his hair with a pained expression as if her age explained everything.
I cautiously walked over to the little girl and held out my hand. “Hello, Leigh Ann. I’m Michelle.”
The little twerp looked at my hand and rolled her eyes. “I know who you are. You’re my dad’s illegitimate child who we all have to do penitence for now that he knows about you. You’re the reason I’m stuck in this boring house instead of at home with my friends.”
She sounded liked she’d memorized lines for a play, and I could only gape at her.
This was going to be a great bonding experience I could tell already. It was funny. I’d always wished I’d had a sister. Big. Little. It didn’t really matter to me. I pictured us sharing all our secrets and talking about the boys we liked while we stayed up late giggling. Why was it when I finally got my wish the sister I got turned out to be the devil’s spawn or something?
“Leigh Ann! Where did you even hear such things?” Drakes face flushed to a dangerous shade of red. I could tell he was in over his head with this one.
She plopped down on the couch and crossed her arms, kicking her feet back and forth. “That’s all grandma and grandpa have been talking about.” She looked at Drake. “Grandpa said you didn’t keep it in your pants when you were young and now you have to deal with the consequences.”
I’d heard about all I could take without turning the little brat over my knee and teaching her the respect her dad obviously didn’t know anything about. And for the grandparents to say such things about me. . .
“I don’t know what you’ve been told.” I narrowed my eyes at the little hellion. “But I’m pretty sure you weren’t invited here. You need to knock off the attitude or you can go right back to wherever you came from.”
The girl smirked at me again before crocodile tears began rolling down her cheeks. “Da-ddy!” she wailed. “She’s being mean to me. You said she’d be nice, but she isn’t.” She cried, and Drake actually went over and comforted her!
I stared at them both in utter disbelief. I’d never seen such a show before except in the movies where it belonged.
“Michelle,” Drake said as he cuddled his crying child. “You’re older. You need to try to get along with your sister.”
I blinked at him. “You did hear the same things come out of her mouth that I did, right?”
He blew that off. “This was a big shock to her. She’ll adjust.”
I put my hands on my hips and stared at both of them. “And this wasn’t a big shock to me? No one even told me I had a sister.”
Leigh Ann let out another howl like someone had just pinched her, and I wished it would have been me.
“Listen,” I said, gritting my teeth and forcing myself to rein in my emotions. “It was so nice of you to come over here while my mom’s in the hospital, but I’m eighteen. A legal adult. I think we might need to ease into getting to know each other. Why don’t you take Leigh Ann back home so she can be with her friends and maybe we can get together for lunch or something sometime.”
Drake’s brow furrowed with worry. “But your mother. . .”
I cut him off with a look that dared him to defy me. “My mother will understand perfectly.”
I was actually surprised Drake caved in as easily as he did, but I figured this was as uncomfortable for him as it was for me. He grabbed their bags and hurried Leigh Ann to the door with his free hand on her shoulder.
At the door, he turned back to me before looking down at the floor. “I’m sorry this didn’t work out,” he said. “I’ll call you tomorrow to see how you’re doing.”
I wanted to tell him not to bother but bit my tongue. I was sure he was doing the best he could. It was an odd situation for all of us. “That sounds good,” I said.
Leigh Ann stuck her tongue out at me, and I gasped and opened my mouth to say something, but she tugged on her dad’s hand. “Let’s get out of here.” She looked up at him, her green eyes filled with conniving innocence. “She scares me.”
Drake gave me a wary look and opened the door. “Um, yeah, so I’ll call you.”
I shut the door behind them and watched until they drove away. I replayed the whole encounter in my head before I started to laugh. What was that saying? Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it?
I couldn’t stop laughing. I’d always longed for a big family and a real dad. Now I had a dad, a sister, and possibly even grandparents—I didn’t know if the grandparents Leigh Ann talked about were my dad’s parents or not. I could even have aunts, uncles, cousins, the whole works, but from what I’d just seen and heard I was much better off with just my mom.
I rubbed my eyes. I couldn’t even believe that little girl was for real. She had her dad, our dad, wrapped around her finger and he didn’t have a clue. How did that even happen? I wondered what her mom was like then decided I didn’t really care. I didn’t want to think about them anymore.
I got the broom and dustpan and carefully cleaned up Frosty. The things Leigh Ann said were embarrassing and hurtful. Was that really how Drake and his family thought of me? As something they had to do penitence for.
Mom said Drake was a nice ma
n, but she hadn’t been around him in years. Once she was feeling better, she and I were going to have to have a heart to heart about the guy. Even now I wanted to have a dad in my life and possibly an extended family—I was really rethinking the extended family part after meeting Leigh Ann—but I wasn’t sure if it would be worth it.
I dumped the ceramic remains in the trash and put the rest of the groceries away. I was used to being home alone, but for some reason, the house seemed too quiet. I started a movie for noise and pulled out my phone. I still hadn’t heard back from Danny. It was fine. It didn’t even hurt. I just couldn’t understand how we’d gone from being inseparable to being almost strangers so fast.
Chapter 29
I watched part of the movie, but it didn’t hold my attention. It was nice having some noise in the house though so I left it on. I knew basketball practice was long over, and I still hadn’t heard anything from Jace. I didn’t think anything was wrong, but he’d sure rushed out of the hospital fast earlier, and I hadn’t heard from him since.
I sent him a quick text asking what he was up to.
He replied quickly again. Not much. Home, writing.
I wondered if he was working on the third book in his series or something else.
I was starting to get hungry and thought about making a salad with some of the fresh vegetables I’d just bought, but Burger Baby’s sounded really good. It had been over a week since my last veggie burger. It was possible I was having withdrawals. I decided I could start my healthy diet tomorrow.
I sent Kristen a quick text to see if she was interested in a veggie burger since she loved them too. She replied that it sounded great, but she and Matt were eating out. They were so cute. I was glad they were finally free to date like a real couple after having to hide their relationship from George for so long.
A sudden thought hit me. I texted Kristen again and asked her to get Jace’s address from Matt for me. Maybe I could surprise Jace with a burger. I bit my lower lip while I waited for Kristen to get back to me.
