by Megan Smith
Today has worn her out plus being in the sun I’m sure didn’t help any. “Let’s get you home, babe.”
“Just come home with me. Tuck me in, no one can do it like you can.”
I groan. “Let’s not go down that road.” I signal for Eli and Fallon to come over. “Come on.”
Jaylinn let’s me pull her up from the bench and the four of us walk back to the car. They drop me off at the hotel shortly after and I stand outside of Eli’s car with Jaylinn wrapped in my arms holding on to every last second.
“I love you.”
I kiss her forehead. “I love you, too. I’ll see you next month, I should actually be able to spend the night at the house for one night.”
“Damn,” she laughs. “I was getting used to taking up the whole bed.”
I chuckle. “You can still take up the whole bed since you’ll be underneath me the whole time anyway.”
Jaylinn laughs and looks away. “Yeah, that’s going to be a problem.”
I drop my hands and put them on her stomach. “Because of this?”
“There would be no other reason.”
“We’ll figure out a way,” I wink.
“Get out here, Mr. Cahill. Go get some sleep.”
I pull her in for one more hug and kiss her before I let her go.
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
She takes a few steps away but still holds on to my hand. “Text me when you get up.”
“Okay, it’ll be earlier. Mom has a doctor’s appointment in the morning.”
“Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, baby.”
Jaylinn finally slips from my fingers and opens the door to the car. Eli honks as they pull away.
I pull the keycard from my wallet as I make my way into the hotel. When I get into my room it’s empty which isn’t surprising because Montz probably found his cleat chaser for the night. He’ll be running to the bus tomorrow morning smelling like cheap beer and sex. I shudder at the thought. I’m so glad those days are long over.
I strip down to my boxer briefs and climb into bed. I send a quick text to Jaylinn wishing her sweet dreams.
My alarm goes off the next morning and I hit snooze at least three times before finally crawling my lazy ass out of bed. I go into the bathroom, take a piss then start to throw my shit in my suitcase and get dressed. I grab my phone to see if Jaylinn texted back after I feel asleep. I’ve got a missed call and text both from her.
I tap on the text first.
Jaylinn 12:41am: Mom’s back in the hospital. Call me.
Jaylinn
My phone ringing causes me to stir. I just sat in the chair to rest my eyes. What a freaking night this turned out to be.
“Hey,” Cooper sounds a little worried. Maybe I should have just texted him to call me.
“Hey, what’s going on?”
“Hang on,” I pull the covers off my legs and slip from the room quietly so I don’t wake mom or Hunter. “Sorry, I wanted to walk out into the hallway.”
“It’s okay, what’s going on?”
I lean up against the wall right outside of mom’s room. “Well, Eli had just dropped me off at home. I was about to get in the shower and then go to bed but my phone rang with mom’s number,” I sniffle. “She hardly ever calls me late so I knew whatever it was that it wasn’t good. To my surprise, it was Brittany.” And man, was that a surprise.
“You’re fucking kidding. Why can’t she get the fucking clue and leave us alone?”
“Nope, she called nine-one-one for mom.” The thought of Brittany doing it softened my heart a millimeter. “Apparently, she was at Walgreens getting some medicine for herself. When she came out she noticed someone lying on the ground. She ran over and that’s when she saw mom laying on the ground.”
“What are the fucking chances?”
“That’s exactly what Hunter said, too.” I shake my head. “Brittany called nine-one-one, the ambulance came and took mom to the hospital. Brittany didn’t have any of our numbers so she opened mom’s car door that was unlocked and found mom’s cell phone in the cup holder. She called the first number which happened to be mine. She told me what happened and that she was sorry. I quickly called Eli back and had him drive me here while I called Hunter.”
Cooper blows out a breath. “Do you believe her?”
I look down the hallway. “Yeah, Mom’s white blood cells are dangerously low,” I take a deep breath and let it out. “There is a chance she may not make it, Coop.”
“Damn,” he says.
My heart squeezes painfully. “She has to make it, Coop. She has to pull through this.”
Hunter steps out from mom’s room and wraps his hands around me as I cry into the phone.
“I’m coming to the hospital, Jay. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
“No, Coop, you’re about to leave,” Hunter takes the phone from me and walks down the hallway a little bit. He’s talking quietly and I can’t hear what he’s saying. A few minutes later he hands me the phone back and steps back into the room.
“Hello?”
“Hey,” Cooper sounds defeated. “I need you to make me a promise.”
“Okay.”
“If things continue to keep going downhill I need you to call me immediately. Promise?”
I sniff and wipe my nose with the palm of my hand. “Promise.”
“I’ve got a few things I have to take care of. I’ll call you back in a couple of hours.”
“Okay.”
“This is another moment where we’re living in fast forward. Just hold on, alright?”
“I’m holding on,” I whisper.
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
I disconnect the call and take a few deep breaths. I know this stress isn’t good on the baby and I have to get myself under control. I walk back into the room and grab my purse. Hunter’s watching me. “I’m going to do downstairs, get some fresh air and some water.”
“Want me to go?”
I shrug. “It’s up to you.”
He takes my purse and tosses it back on the chair and together we make our way downstairs. The sun is just starting to rise and it’s already getting hot. This heatwave in the middle of June is no joke.
Hunter and I find a bench and wander over to it. We sit down side-by-side and he pulls me closer to him offering me his comfort.
“She’s got to make it, Hunter.”
The hand that’s wrapped around my shoulder gives me a little squeeze. “She’s mom, she will.”
“You heard the doctor though. There is a chance that she might not.” I turn my head as the tears start again.
Hunter removes his arms and rests them on his legs. “Chance is the key word, Jay. They are doing everything possible right now to help her.”
The sun hits my engagement ring and it sparkles against my jersey that I’m still wearing from last night. “I need her here for my wedding,” I cry clutching my left hand to my chest. “I don’t want to get married without her. I don’t want to do any of this without her.”
“Come on, Jay.” Hunter coaxes me back into his arms where he holds me and lets me cry it out. “Everything will be okay. If, God forbid, something does happen I’ll be here for you, just like I always have been, okay. You’re not going to be alone. Everything will be okay.”
I nod clutching on to him for dear life for a little while longer. When it starts to get unbearably hot Hunter asks if I’m ready to go back inside.
We walk through the doors and past the check-in desk and around the corner to the cafeteria so that we can grab some waters. Hunter pays for them and as we come back out I stop dead in my tracks causing Hunter to bump into the back of me.
“What the hell?”
I lift my chin the direction of Eli and Brittany. I thought Eli had left a little while ago and I didn’t even know Brittany was still here.
“What the fuck?” Hunter exclaims.
I feel the anger rolling off of
him. We don’t need anything else to worry about. We have our fair share upstairs. Before I can decide to pull Hunter in the other direction, Eli spots us. He raises his hand a little motioning for us to come over.
Hunter is moving towards them in the next second and I’m hot on his trail.
“What the fuck is going on?” Hunter seethes.
Eli holds his hands up. “I was leaving and found her here crying. I stopped to make sure she was alright.”
Eli always did have a soft spot for any girl crying. If he could have channeled his old whoring ways and ignored Brittany the way he did all his past one-night stands, I think I’d love him a little bit more. Now, I just feel like wringing his neck.
“You’ve been here for what, the last hour?” Hunter glances over towards me and then back to Eli. “What bullshit lies has she told you?” he curses. “This should be good.”
Brittany stands. “I’m just going to go. This is a bad idea and they have enough to worry about.”
Eli reaches a hand out stopping her. I glance over to him with a raised eyebrow. He can’t be serious. “Just sit down and listen to what she has to say,” Hunter crosses his arms making him look bigger. “She did call for an ambulance for your mom,” Eli looks me in the eyes. “Please.”
I sigh and sit down in the closest chair. The sooner she says whatever she has to say the quicker this can be over and we can go back upstairs. I pull on the hem of Hunter’s shirt but he gives me a little shake of his head. Well, okay then.
Brittany sits back down and fidgets in her chair before finally blowing out a deep breath. “First, I just want to say I’m sorry for everything I’ve done.” She bites on her bottom lip nervously. “I know that doesn’t fix anything that I’ve done in the past but it’s a step in the right direction for me, for us,” she glances over to Eli and he nods. I’m going to have to have words with him after this shit is over. “Hunter, I’m sorry about all that stuff that went down with MacKenzie a few years ago. I wasn’t in the best place in my life and that isn’t an excuse. I’ve been seeing a therapist for the last six months working through my issues,” she plays with the straps on her purse that’s in her lap. “Our dad—”
“Your dad,” Hunter interrupts her by correcting her. We don’t have a dad. He gave that right up years ago. It’d be a cold day in hell before we’d even give him the time of day.
She nods. “My dad did a real number on me. I didn’t know any better at the time until Lynn came around.” Ah, the nurse who was helping Hunter and MacKenzie when she had the accident. “She helped me see my dad for who he really is. Growing up, I only had him, as you may or may not know, my mom died of breast cancer when I was three.” We knew this. “He was hardly ever around, always working. I bounced from one babysitter to the next. Everyone I started getting attached to was taken away from me. When I was old enough to start staying home by myself, dad would leave me a bunch of money and made sure one of his employees was there to take me school. So, you see, I never knew how to act, when someone started paying attention to me I latched onto them. I wanted someone to notice me.”
She wipes away a tear and takes a second to regroup.
“Ugh, this is so stupid,” she looks away from all of us. “I know that no matter what I say or do it can’t change the past.” Brittany stands up and puts the strap of her purse on her shoulder. “I’m sorry for everything,” she turns to look at me with tear-filled eyes. “I’m sorry about your mom. I know what you’re going through, if you ever need someone to talk to, I’m here.”
And with that she glances towards Hunter who is looking at the floor and walks away. No one says anything or even moves for a full minute. I know what she’s done is inexcusable but if mom has taught me anything in life it’s that people deserve to have a second chance.
“Brittany,” I call out.
She turns and glances up.
“Thank you.”
I see her nod her head as she turns around and walks around the corner.
“Jesus,” Hunter says falling down in a chair beside me.
Glaring over at Eli I open my mouth but he speaks before I do. “I know. I know, alright. I saw her down here crying, I just asked if she was okay and then one thing led to another and she spilled all that shit out on me. I only know bits and pieces of everything that’s happened but I knew you guys should have at least heard her out.”
“Don’t try getting in the middle, Eli,” Hunter warns. “She’s toxic.”
Can’t argue there but maybe, just maybe, she can walk away from all this with a little dignity. If what she is saying is true then I do feel sorry for her. Jason, our dad more appropriately referred to as our sperm donor, is a piece of shit who deserves to be lying in that bed upstairs and not our mom.
Eli holds his hands up again. “Like I said, I don’t want to get in the middle,” he gets up and holds his hand out to Hunter. “We good?”
Hunter shakes Eli’s hand. “We’re good.”
“I’ve got to get over to Fierce, let me know if you need anything.”
I stand and wrap my arms around Eli and whisper in his ear. “Thank you for everything and for that.”
I feel him nod. “You’re welcome, thought you should have heard it from her.” Even if I didn’t want to hear a damn word Brittany said, but Eli asking me to listen means I would have done anything for him. He’s a good friend and I know he’d never do anything to hurt me.
“I’ll see you later.”
“Let’s get back and check in on mom,” Hunter says as he wraps his arm around my shoulder.
It’s been a week since mom got out of the hospital. I’ve moved most of my clothes back into my old bedroom. I’ve barely been at my house anyway and with mom needing the extra help, it only made sense.
Mom’s cancer has spread. It’s not just in her lungs and lymph nodes anymore, it’s also in her liver, too. The treatments that she has been receiving have stopped working. Dr. Carter, mom’s oncologist, has given her about three months to live. When Hunter and I got that news, it was a hard pill to swallow. It was suggested that she have a home health aide but mom refused. Hunter and I talked it over and agreed. We would do it. Which is how I basically came about living at home again.
I take care of mom during the day. Make sure she eats, bathes, takes her medicine and clean up around the house. MacKenzie, Elle, and Hunter come each night to give me a break for a little while. It’s hard watching your mom disappear before your eyes. She now has to walk around with an oxygen tank since breathing is such a hard task for her.
Elle is here tonight sitting with mom at the kitchen table. Mom still insists on fixing her own plate. I try all the time and she says each and every time, ‘I’m not dead yet, I can do it.’ So I let her do it. I can hear them chatting about the weather. It’s quite funny.
My phone rings and I pick it up from the patio table. “Hey.”
“Hey, babe,” Cooper’s voice sounds sexy as ever. “What are you up to?”
I lean back in my chair and look up at the sky. “Relaxing out on the back deck. Your mom is here eating dinner with my mom.”
He chuckles. “Are they talking about the weather again?”
I laugh. “How’d you know?”
“Because I bet someone asked how she was doing.”
“Ah, so far away and yet you know how she deflects.”
He sighs. “I miss you.”
“I miss you, too.”
“How’s the baby doing?”
And, as if the baby heard him, I get a good kick. “Baby is fine. My ass on the other hand is a different story.”
Cooper groans. “Can we not talk about your ass?”
“How’s the weather?” I giggle.
“Smartass.”
“You said no talking about my ass.”
His deep chuckle causes goose bumps against my skin. What I wouldn’t do to see him and have him in my arms.
“Want to hear something crazy?”
“Depends on what
kind of crazy. I’ve got enough here to last me a lifetime.”
I picture him rolling his eyes. “I’ve got three days of down time the middle of July. I was talking to Mason the other day and he’ll be home, too.”
“Peak of the season and you’ll both be home? That is crazy,” my voice is all animated.
“I swear,” he laughs. “I need you to get on the crazy train with me.”
“I’m already there, remember?”
“Marry me.”
I pull the phone away from my ear. No way had I heard him right. “What?” I have to ask to get clarification.
“Marry me when I come home,” Cooper clears his throat and I feel like he’s a little nervous. “We don’t need to wait for the fall. We’ll have a small wedding just like Mason and Hailey did.”
I look down to my stomach. “You do realize I’m just about seven months pregnant. I’m going to look like a whale in a wedding dress.”
“You could never look like a whale, Jay. Come on just think about it.”
“I am thinking about it and all I see is a whale waddling down the aisle.”
“Jay,” Cooper pleads. “For me, please.”
I don’t respond because I honestly don’t know what to say.
Cooper sighs loudly. “Remember a while back when you said you have two wishes that you would love to come true?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, I want to make one of them come true and have your mom walk you down the aisle.”
With everything going on I never even thought about that, hadn’t thought about the wedding at all recently. Mom and this baby have me spent. As I let it sink in I blink away the tears. He wants to make one of my dreams come true. How could he be any sweeter?
“Cooper?”
“Yeah?”
“Let’s do it.”
“Finally!” I hear him yell. “I’ll be home July thirteenth to the fifteenth. I’m glad I didn’t have to call MacKenzie and Hailey and tell them we had a change of plans. We’re keeping it low key like you asked for.”
Shaking my head, leave it to him to already have the ball rolling. We did, after all, only have about two weeks. “How long have they known?”
“Since your mom went back into the hospital, I knew I had to move it up, for you and for her.”
