Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 75916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
“Everything’s fine, sweetie.”
“Yeah, he’s just being his usual grumpy self,” Bree said as she swept into the room, offering a fresh plate of sugar cookies. She’d been baking up a storm for Christmas. It was also the way she coped with the stress of the holiday, though she and Mark seemed to be thriving—she’d confessed as much to me—which made me feel hopeful they’d make it for the long haul.
“Oh, I think your brother’s been a bit less grumpy lately,” Mark chimed in with a devilish wink as he reached for a cookie with icing and handed Hailey her favorite kind with red and green sprinkles, most of which would end up on my lap. Ah, kids.
“True. Could it be because of a certain someone?” she coyly asked Mark, who lifted an eyebrow and shrugged as they continued discussing my love life in front of me.
“Who’s a someone?” Hailey asked excitedly as she tried to join in on her parents’ game.
I shook my head. “See what you started?”
Suddenly my cell buzzed, and I lifted Hailey off my lap to fish it out of my pocket. When I saw it was Jesse, I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Sorry, gotta take this.” I motioned toward my phone, then hightailed it to the basement.
“Is everything okay?” I asked by way of greeting, even though I was giving myself away, how worried and insecure I was feeling. But fuck it—I just needed to hear his voice and know everything was cool.
His pause felt like an eternity, and that was when I knew something had gone terribly wrong.
“Sorry I haven’t replied to your texts, but my phone ran out of battery…and I didn’t even notice because…” He sighed dramatically, then launched into his explanation. “Well, because my dad had a massive heart attack.”
“Oh my God.” I sank back on my bed, my head swimming as I tried to take in that information. “I’m so sorry. What the hell happened?”
I could hear him breathing heavily, and there was a sound in the background of his call like someone on a loud speaker. More than likely he was in some sterile waiting room.
“My dad and I were rebuilding a section of fencing,” he said, and had it been any other type of phone call, I would’ve focused on the idea of Jesse doing any sort of manual labor and might’ve made a joke. But this was no joke. “And I had just gotten done telling him that I…have a boyfriend. Not a minute later, he grabbed his chest and just…fell over.”
“Holy shit.” My hand covered my mouth, imagining how scared Jesse must’ve been.
“After I called 911, all I could think was that had I not— Fuck. I probably chose the wrong time to tell him about us,” he said in a rush. “Or maybe if I didn’t tell him at all, he wouldn’t have—”
“Jess, baby, listen to me.” My voice sounded high-pitched as my hand shook and my pulse raced, my heart breaking for him. “Your dad having a heart attack is not your fault. You know that, right?”
He was silent for a long moment as he sniffled into the phone, probably holding back tears. Fuck, I wished I were there with him so I could hold him and tell him everything would be okay.
“Logically, I know that,” he finally replied. “But my heart says something different. What if my confession pushed him over the edge? I’m such an idiot. I keep thinking if I’d waited until we were back inside or hell, even until my next visit…”
“It still would’ve happened. It was most likely inevitable, especially if he had an undetected heart condition. What have the doctors told you?”
“They said it was good I called emergency services immediately because the first twenty-four hours are crucial. They gave him an injection to break up any blood clots, and he’s been getting other kinds of testing done. They just took him for something else before I called you. An MRI, I think.”
“So you’re at the hospital right now?”
“Yeah.”
“And your mom?”
“She’s waiting in his room,” he said in a hushed tone, as if she might overhear the conversation.
“Does she know why you’re doubly upset?”
“No, and I’m gonna keep it that way…for now.”
“Understood.” I stared at the ceiling, took a couple of deep breaths. “Jess, how can I help? What can I do? Do you want me to come?”
“No! You can’t,” he replied in a haunted voice. “It might make it worse. Then my mom would ask about you and I’d have to—”
“It’s okay.” Fuck, he sounded so panicked. And so unlike him, and that was when I knew his dad’s health scare had done a number on him. “Deep breaths. I wouldn’t do anything without your permission. I’d never—”
“I…I need to go.” His voice was terse, and it made my stomach ball up. “Just…thanks, but my family needs me now.”