Page 64 of Levi

We go back and forth about the game for a bit, agreeing on bullshit calls while disagreeing on a few as well.

“Oh, my gosh, I love this song,” Stella says as she jumps up, immediately grabbing Quinn's hand and pulling her from the booth with a giggle. “Let's dance!”

Quinn looks back at me in question, but I gesture her on, excited to see her smile like this.

As the girls start dancing, I can't help but stop and smile. If you had told me a year ago I'd be in love with Quinn Sullivan, I'd have called you crazy. Today if you'd tell me, I'd tell you I've been in love with her for years, and I'm finally letting myself believe she might be able to love me too.

My phone ringing shakes me out of my daydream, my heart immediately dropping at the noise.

Nurse Holly.

* * *

My mind is imagining allthe worst-case scenarios. My heart dropped the second I heard the sound of Nurse Holly’s ringtone, as it always does. But this time I could sense something wasn’t quite right.

I mean, all I heard was that there was an incident, and I hung up on Holly and drove straight here. Rushing in through the front doors, Holly’s already sitting in her rolling chair waiting for me, laughing as she looks down at her watch.

“Nine minutes? That’s gotta be a new record for you,” Holly says.

“Would’ve been seven but I got stuck at a light.” I shrug. “What the fuck happened? Can I see her?”

“No, she’s sleeping. We had to sedate her because she was pretty out of it. She was really upset when she realized Quinn wasn’t here,” Nurse Holly says.

“Quinn? Why was she asking for Quinn,” I instantly ask.

“Probably because of what happened at the game. That’s actually what I called to tell you about, only you hung up before you let me explain.”

“I tend to do that.” I chuckle. “But seriously, start at the beginning and explain.”

I wonder if this is what Quinn wanted to talk to me about at the bar.

“It’s not a huge deal. Your nana and Delilah were using the restroom across from where we were sitting, and your nana wandered off. She was gone for less than five minutes before Quinn came walking her back to her seat with us,” Holly says calmly. As much as I want to freak out over her words, I know with her being calm, I can be calm. Holly knows how to prepare me with her words and her tone. It’s an excellent skill to have as a nurse in my opinion.

“Wait, Quinn found her? Why were Delilah and Nana alone?”

“Levi, your nana has full right to her independence, and we can’t force her to let us monitor her every step. I think right now we should just be thankful that it was Quinn who found her. She was pretty frustrated at some staff because they were stopping her from entering an employee only area. Quinn thankfully saw it going down and intervened. Your nana remembered her immediately, which saved the situation. I asked her to watch the rest of the game with us because your nana seemed comfortable with her.”

“She shouldn’t have been alone,” I growl, only hearing that part, my frustration that something bad could have happened making it to where I’m not thinking clearly.

“Levi, we can talk about all of that later. Like I said, I wanted to talk to you. Tonight though, there was not an actual issue because Quinn helped us avoid it. She’s a good one.” Holly winks. “Plus, your nana loves her.”

My heart starts racing. I’m not sure if it’s fear of what could’ve happened or the reality that I had someone on my team, someone who wasn’t paid to assist my nana, willing to drop anything she was doing to help her. Quinn was there for Nana when she didn’t have to be. My heart swells at the reality that, for once in my life, it feels like I have another person I can trust.

I want to thank her. Hug her. Tell her how lucky I am to have someone so selfless in my life. But first, I guess I have to figure out what Nurse Holly was actually calling me for.

“Okay, but why do I feel like you weren’t calling to tell me how awesome Quinn is and there was something more pertinent. You know how I feel about my phone ringing, especially in the evening. No good phone calls happen after 9 p.m.,” I tell her, finally taking a seat.

“I think it’s time we have the doctors evaluate her again. I know she fights us on it, but I really think it’s time. Her memory is getting worse, and so is her frustration. She’s starting to get more and more confused. I guess I just want to get ahead of this thing so we can try everything and anything to help her. There are so many new trials and medications. They’re coming up with all sorts of new things, and I think it’s time for us to come up with a plan.”

I sigh, running my fingers through my hair. This is a conversation I knew was coming, but damn I hoped it would be further in the future. I’m not wanting to face all of this yet, but, unfortunately, we don’t get to decide the plan. Life does that for us whether we’re ready for it or not.

“I know what you’re telling me is true, but that really doesn’t mean I’m wanting to face this head on tonight. Is it fair if I say that I’ll make an appointment with the doctor tomorrow and then we can go from there?”

“Only if you promise I can be there too,” Holly says with a smile.

“Of course you can be there. I couldn’t do this without you,” I tell Holly, meaning those words more than she could ever know.

“Now, not to change the subject, but what is going on between you and the sweet Quinn?”

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