Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 77992 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77992 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Oh fuck.
Blood.
He’s puking up blood and not a little like last time.
“No, no, no,” I beg, yanking my phone out of my pocket. “Hollis, babe, it’s going to be okay.”
He groans, his head lolling forward. I stroke his hair with one hand while dialing Kelsey with the other.
“Roan,” she answers. “Are you—”
“It’s Hollis. He’s puking up a lot of blood. Help!”
“I’ll be right there. I’m calling nine-one-one.”
We hang up and I text Mike.
Me: Hollis is puking blood. Upstairs. Help!
I don’t wait for his reply. I’m too busy making sure Hollis doesn’t fucking die on me. Within minutes, Mike rushes into the bathroom. He squats down beside Hollis and starts trying to ask him questions. Hollis is completely fucking passed out.
Oh God.
“Hollis,” I say, shaking him. “Wake up.”
“Paramedics are on the way,” Mike assures me. “We just need to keep him from hurting himself before they get here.”
He’s passed the hell out, so I don’t know how he’d hurt himself. I’m panicking when Kelsey blasts into the bathroom.
“My baby,” she cries out. “Hollis, baby, it’s Mom. What’s going on, honey?”
We’re a mess, trying to rouse him, when the paramedics arrive. They gently push the three of us out of the way so they can get him on a stretcher. I’m damn near ripping at my hair when Mike tells us he’ll drive us to the hospital.
“He’s going to be okay,” Mike assures me from the front seat of his truck. “He’s in good hands.”
Kelsey is on the phone, speaking rapidly and answering questions to someone on the other end. I’m nearly catatonic by the time we reach the hospital. Mike parks out front, letting me and Kelsey climb out while he goes to park the truck. She has her phone pressed to her ear as she guides us inside.
“I don’t know, Garrett. Just get here when you can. It’s the only hospital here. You can’t miss it.” She hangs up only to call someone else. “Oh, God, Karen. I’m freaking out.”
She continues to talk as she walks over to a front desk. The person motions for us to wait in the lobby area with a million other people. Kelsey finds a chair, but I can’t sit. I pace in front of the vending machine, worry eating me from the inside out. Someone vacates a chair and I fall into it, suddenly exhausted. My life is a mess and I don’t know how to fix any of it.
I wake when someone tosses a package of muffins at me. With the heel of my hand, I rub at my eye. The waiting room has thinned out some. Mike settles in the seat beside me with a package of muffins for himself.
A man strides over to us. Muscular. Handsome. Confident. Familiar. He sits beside Kelsey and for a moment, I think he’s the doctor. I perk up, listening to what he has to say.
“It’s a perforation on the stomach. A pretty good-sized tear from an untreated ulcer,” he tells her. “They’re prepping him for emergency surgery.”
Doctor.
Definitely the doctor.
“I told you to get my son to the doctor. I knew something was wrong,” he hisses, his voice turning nasty.
I’m already on my feet stalking over to him, crushing the muffins in my fist. “Do not blame this shit on her when all she’s ever done is take care of your fucking kids.”
The guy’s eyes—blue and just like Hollis’s widen—and he gapes at me. “And who the hell do you think you are, young man?”
“I’m your son’s boyfriend,” I spit out at him. “And if you have a problem, you can take it up with me.”
Mike grips my shoulder. “Enough, bud. That’s enough.”
“I’m going to have security take this brat out of here,” Hollis’s dad states, an air of superiority in his tone.
“Garrett,” Kelsey says in exasperation. “Cut the kid some slack. Cut me some slack. We’re all doing the best we can. He’s worried about him. If you think you’re going to go in there and act this way around Hollis, he’ll never forgive you.”
Garrett’s shoulders hunch. “It’s just a serious condition, Kels. If he were to go septic, his organs could fail. We could lose our son. I feel like had I been around, I would’ve seen…” He trails off, fisting his hands. “This is all my fault.”
The idea of losing Hollis makes me suck in a sharp, horrified breath. Both Garrett and Kelsey wince. They must feel that pain every bit as much as I do.
Mike gives my shoulder a squeeze. “Want to grab a coffee?”
Kelsey gives me a small smile and a nod. “We’ll be right here. I’ll let you know if anything changes.”
I allow Mike to guide me down to a Starbucks kiosk. I’m numb as he walks over to take our order. My phone buzzes in my pocket. As soon as I pull it out, my heart stutters.