by Violet Duke
“Alright, now I’m back to being afraid.”
This was officially the meanest game of chutes and ladders ever.
“Abby—”
“Don’t you Abby me.” She caught his wandering hands. “I can’t be your first after…” She shook her head vigorously. “No, that’s way too much pressure, Brian.”
“So you’re saying you want me to sleep with someone else before you?” he asked in disbelief.
She pursed her lips shut and glowered at him.
Evil though it may be to admit, he kind of loved the waves of jealousy rolling off of her right now. “I hate to break it to you sweetheart, but I’m not looking for some quick fix to end my celibacy.” He kissed away the worry lines from between her brows. “I want a permanent one—I want you. And I’m not settling for anything less.”
“That should not have sounded as sweet as it did,” complained Abby, even as she slid back toward him a fraction of an inch.
The sharp blare of Abby’s landline ringing right beside them cut into his chuckles, dampening his epic victory of that round just a tiny bit. She gave him an exasperated huff and reached for the phone, mouthing, behave, before picking up the receiver and saying hello.
He planned to do nothing of the sort.
With every intention of showing her just how poorly he followed orders when he was this turned on, he leaned over to nuzzle her neck. But came to a halt when he saw her go completely still.
“What’s the matter?” He pulled back to study the distress in her eyes.
Without a word, she quickly passed the phone to him.
Frowning, Brian took the receiver. “Hello?”
“Brian, it’s Connor. You have to come to the hospital right now. Skylar had a seizure.”
CHAPTER SIX
“OH THANK GOODNESS BRIAN, there you are.” Brian rushed over to meet Becky’s mother halfway in the crowded ER waiting room. “Skylar’s getting a brain MRI done right now. They’re going to let us know when they have her in the ICU. Until then, we just have to wait here.” Her words were tumbling out, frantic. “I was scared out of my wits the entire time, Brian. The past few hours have been a blur. I’ve been calling your cell phone and Abby’s nonstop since it happened.”
Brian cursed. “I know, I’m so sorry, Jean. We just saw all the missed calls. Abby and I both had our phones on silent throughout the prom and neither of us switched it back.”
“No, it’s okay. That’s what I figured, which is why I called Connor after we got here. I found his phone number on Skylar’s cell—luckily, he had Abby’s home phone number.”
“How long ago did this happen? Why are they only getting her into an MRI now?”
“Well, she was with the surgeon before that; they had to reattach her severed finger first.”
“Her what?” Brian almost throttled the poor woman on the spot. “I thought she had a seizure. Connor didn’t mention anything about a severed finger.”
“Sh-she had a seizure while she was helping get dinner ready.” Jean’s voice trembled as her eyes filled with traumatized tears. “Skylar was just slicing up some tomato wedges for the salad and the next thing we knew, she started convulsing.” She shut her eyes, her shaking hands gesturing raggedly as she spoke. “We had no clue what to do. She dropped to the ground and the convulsions hit her whole body. But her hand was still curled shut over the knife, almost like it was frozen; I was afraid for Beck to go near her. That’s when her skull started hitting the floor so hard...” A broken cry slashed through her words. “By the time George and I were able to restrain her, there was just blood everywhere, we didn’t even realize that her finger—”
Brian grabbed her hands and did his best to comfort her. “Jean, I’m so sorry you had to go through that. So, so sorry.” While he’d seen his fair share of seizures with Beth, they never got any less distressing to watch. “I’m sure you were all terrified.” His eyes widened with worry. “How’s Becky holding up?”
At the mention of her daughter, Jean’s eyes opened back up with pride, and wonder. “Can you believe she was the most calm out of all of us. There I was, a basket case and she didn’t even hesitate. The second we got the knife out of Skylar’s hand, Becky just grabbed on and didn’t let go of her, telling her everything was going to be alright. Heck, she sounded so sure, she even got me to calm down. When Skylar finally stopped seizing and started coming to, Becky just kept on talking to her and distracting her until the ambulance came.”
Brian shook his head in pure admiration. “That’s one hell of a little girl you raised. My daughter’s lucky to have such an amazing best friend.” Scrubbing his hands over his face, he gave Jean a wary glance. “I know we’ve talked about the possibility…” He couldn’t even bring himself to say it, didn’t even want to think about Skylar having Huntington’s like her mother. This seizure was Skylar’s first positive symptom…and five years before Beth had had her first symptom. Brian clenched his jaw to keep the anger at the injustice of it all bottled up inside. “If you’d prefer Skylar and Becky not—”
“You can just stop right there Brian Sullivan,” interrupted Jean sternly. “Even if heaven forbid, all of our worst fears were to come true, the girls would never allow us to separate them. Becky and I have talked about this at length and she thinks of Skylar as family, and so do we. We’re not turning our backs on family, no matter how scary things get.”
A flood of emotions clogged Brian’s throat, burned the back of his eyes. “Thank you,” he whispered rougly. He didn’t know what else to say, couldn’t seem to form any other words, couldn’t seem find his footing at all.
And then a small, cool hand slid into his, anchored him.
Abby squeezed his hand in hers. “We’re going to get through this together, Brian. All of us.”
“Is the family of Skylar Sullivan here?” called out a far-too-young-looking intern with a clipboard and none of the answers they were seeking for sure.
“Yes.” Brian gripped Abby’s hand harder. “I’m Skylar’s father.”
“I can escort you back to see her and the attending physician on her case.” The young man looked over at Jean and Abby. “I’m afraid we can only allow one family member in since it’s after hours but the rest of you can come on back to the ICU waiting area if you want. There isn’t all that much room to sit, however.”
Brian shook his head and patted Jean on the shoulder. “Jean, why don’t you all go on home.” He gazed over at little Becky, sleeping in one of the waiting room chairs next to her father. “I can’t thank you all enough for taking such good care of Skylar. I’ll call you first thing in the morning with an update, I promise.”
Jean gave him a fierce hug and returned to her family.
Brian dug in his pocket for his keys. “Abby, you can head home, too. I’m going to sleep in the waiting area until morning.”
“Not a chance, Brian. I’m going to be in the chair right next to you.” Her expression brooked no argument.
That was when he finally got a good look at the buried fear in her eyes, the quivering lower lip she was keeping pursed tight. Brian pulled her into his arms. In so many ways, Skylar was as much Abby’s daughter as she was his. “If they let me use the phone, I’ll have Skylar call you on my cell,” he said softly, holding her for just a second longer.
The tears spilled from her eyes then and she nodded, clinging to him just as tightly.
“I’ll be back soon.”
THE MOMENT BRIAN DISAPPEARED through the ICU doors, Abby collapsed into the nearest chair.
No. Just no. The universe couldn’t be this cruel. Abby held her fists up to her eyes and alternated between praying, reasoning, and demanding. To any god that would listen. “That little girl does not deserve this. Her father does not deserve this. Do you hear me?” she whispered harshly. “Do not do this to them.”
“If only that worked,” said a low voice echoing in the small, nearly empty room.
Abby shivered. Just as she always did when sh
e heard that voice.
Connor.
She stood and turned to him. But she didn’t dare take a step in his direction.
She didn’t trust herself.
“Thank you for calling earlier tonight.” What an asinine thing to say. And yet that’s all her brain had been able to come up with.
Connor’s eyes ran over her with the same raw intensity it always had. “You look beautiful tonight, Abby…not that you don’t look just as amazing in your old tshirts and shorts.” He grinned. A small, crooked grin that nailed her square in the chest.
Breathing became impossible, her emotions completely unstable. If she were the type to swear, a dozen f-bombs would be flooding out of her mouth right now. Because it was taking absolutely everything she had to stop herself from running into his arms.
“How have you been, Connor?” she managed tightly, feeling another stab of pain when she saw the small light in his eyes dim just a bit. This wasn’t fair. He’s the one who left. He didn’t get to look at her with that hurt look because she wasn’t falling right back into flirting with him, loving him.
But before she could continue her silent tirade, Abby saw a young, dark-haired woman slide a hand onto his shoulder, and then hand him his phone. Not the phone his one-month women called him on either, but the phone only Brian, Skylar, Abby, and a few of his close business associates had the number to.
As she watched Connor discuss something quietly with the woman, Abby couldn’t help but notice how pretty she was with her long jet-black hair and sweet, fallen-angel features. She was gorgeous, and her concern for Connor was palpable...as was the genuinely empathetic look she sent Abby’s way as well.
That’s when Abby knew.
Gabriella hadn’t been lying this time—there really was a nice girl who had taken Abby’s place in Connor’s life. And she was here at his side helping him through this family emergency.
Translation: Connor really had moved on.
Abby had to avert her eyes away when she saw Connor hand the woman back his phone, along with his wallet and his keys.
The keys to his Dodge Charger.
With the weird little stress-monster keychain she’d given him months ago.
Thankfully, Brian returned before she could allow herself to mourn her heart’s loss too heavily. Connor had never been hers to keep. And she was happy for him, truly. Whether he believed himself to be or not, he was a good man who deserved someone who made him happy.
But that didn’t mean her heart still couldn’t ache over the fact that she hadn’t been the one who could make him happy.
Brian’s hands slipping around her waist immediately took away some of the sting.
“Skylar was barely awake when I went in to see her,” he sighed. “The pain meds they have her on are pretty strong so she wasn’t up for a phone—” Frowning, Brian tipped her face up to his gently. “Hey, you okay, sweetie?”
As if it were the most natural reflex in the world, Abby immersed herself completely into the warm comfort he always had at the ready just for her and his arms tightened around her protectively.
While being in Connor’s arms had always been a thrill-filled rush, feeling Brian’s arms around her always made her feel like she was coming home. Connor had said to her at the start of their one month together that she needed to try something wild and fast that could take her from zero to sixty and then back again just as quickly. It occurred to her then that she never did come back down from that high…not until she was with Brian. As much as she’d loved being with Connor, she’d felt lost in his world, but with Brian, she felt like she’d been found, like she was where she belonged.
Abby knew the instant Brian caught sight of his brother across the room. His entire body stilled and she could feel his muscles fighting a back-and-forth battle between closing around her another possessive inch, and letting her go. She made the decision for him and stepped back to give the brothers their space.
“How’s Skylar doing?” asked Connor, his voice vibrating with more emotions than Abby could name.
Emotions she herself was trying to ignore.
“She says she not in any pain. And the doctors said she should have little to no nerve or function loss in her finger.”
“And what about the seizure? Did the tests find anything?”
Brian’s jaw clenched. “No. As of right now, it’s an unexplained seizure.”
Damn. They all knew what that meant. Seizures were generally one of the first presenting symptoms of juvenile Huntington’s.
Stark pain streaked across Connor’s expression. “I’m going to head out of town for a few days. Let me know if—”
“Wait, you’re leaving now?” Abby couldn’t believe it. “Can’t you at least wait until Skylar’s awake?”
“We’re booked on the red-eye.” He patted his pockets in search of his phone. “But I guess we could take a later flight…”
We. Abby’s mouth snapped shut. To her knowledge, Connor only ever traveled alone.
Apparently, not anymore.
Brian looked equally surprised, though he recovered quicker than she did. “No need to change your travel plans, man. I’ll call you if there’s any news.”
Connor nodded, and then bluntly asked the question that had been weighing on Abby’s mind the past hour as well. “Are you going to start Skylar on the testing for the HD gene?”
Connor may as well have punched him in the face by the way Brian staggered back a microstep. “No, it’s premature to even consider it.”
“But what if she has the gene, Brian? We should be looking at new treatments and ways to try and stop or at least slow down the progression. Why have her go through all the pain? Think about all the symptoms that will make it impossible for her to continue going to school.”
“And you think I haven’t?” snapped Brian. “You think every time you’ve called to tell me about how unusually clumsy she’d been that day, or when her teacher mentions that she’s been different in her behavior and concentration, I don’t play out every day of her life in my mind with her going through everything Beth went through? Is that what you really think?” Brian covered his face with his hands. “Some nights, it’s all I ever think about.”
Abby’s hands flew up to her mouth in horror. She’d had no idea Brian was going through this. Not really. What the hell kind of best friend was she?
Connor went over to grip Brian’s shoulder. “Of course not. I’m sorry. I’m just…I’m just worried about her, too.”
“I know you are.” Suddenly, Brian looked so tired, so very much the age amassed from his experiences and not his years. “But I’ve talked with the doctors and read all there is to read about it. At this point, having her go through the testing will do way more harm than good. It’s hard enough for an adult to deal with the knowledge that there’s an expiration date on their life; the load is exponentially harder for a child to bear. Most times, they’re completely ill-equipped to deal with it, which often leads to psychological issues, errors in decision-making, and other health problems. Besides, simply knowing if she has the HD gene doesn’t do us any good at this point.” Brian looked up, his face fiercely protective. “Right now, Skylar is considered presymptomatic so I’m not putting her through testing. Period.”
The words melded, echoed in her ears. She’d read them all in her research over the years anyway; she didn’t need to hear it again. As the brothers continued to talk, Abby felt herself drifting, not to sleep but to a place where all her fears and worst nightmares came to rest, came to weigh on her, grow, and multiply. She didn’t even know when Connor had left, when her head had found Brian’s shoulder, or when she’d finally fallen asleep. The only thing she did know for sure was that her brain kept repeating the one statistical data they were all thinking about but didn’t want to mention.
That the common life expectancy for juvenile HD was often shorter the younger the onset…and Beth had only lived ten years after she’d had her first symptom at the age of eightee
n.
Skylar was only twelve.
BRIAN WOKE UP TO THE SOUNDS of hospital clatter, and the warm weight of Abby against his chest. Scritching her hair to wake her gently, he pressed a few soft kisses to her temple. “It’s morning, sweetheart. I’m going to go check in with the doctor and see if Skylar’s awake.”
Abby stretched and nodded. “I’m heading to the restroom to splash some water on my face. Then I’ll see if I can find us some coffee, give you two a chance to talk and spend some time together before I head in.”
He was grateful that she inherently got things like that. That he’d want some time to just be with Skylar for a bit. Hold her hand, talk to her, convince himself that she was still really here.
Once back in the inner walls of the ICU, he found Beth’s doctor and Skylar’s pediatrician outside of her room discussing her case. He’d left messages for them both last night. After chatting with them for about ten minutes and hearing them reiterate everything they’d already discussed for years, Brian thanked them both and headed in to check on Skylar.
“Hey Sky-bug, how’re you feeling today?”
She shrugged and stared off at the wall, mumbling, “Fine.”
His heart cracked right down the middle. “What’s going on, munchkin?” He tried infusing as much normalcy into his tone as he could. “Is it the meds?” Right, as if this were a normal conversation for them.
After a brief headshake, she quietly repeated, “I’m fine,” before turning over and closing her eyes, shutting him out completely.
For the next ten minutes.
Just when he was about to try, yet again, to engage her in conversation, he sighed in relief when he saw Abby pop her head in. “Look, sweetie, Abby’s here to visit.”
Skylar’s eyelids fluttered but didn’t open all the way.
Abby shot him a worried look and he shook his head helplessly. He had no idea what was going on.
“Hey kiddo, want to talk about it?”
The quiet ‘no’ was filled with tears. And Brian felt his legs grow weak under him. His little girl was suffering and he had no clue how to help her.
