Page 77 of When You're Home
“Hey, man, listen, she can’t even hold the phone,” Fielding tried to explain.
“Fine,” Rhett conceded. “Put me on speakerphone, and you hold the phone for her.”
Rhett heard rustling in the background. A few seconds later, Fielding’s voice came through the line again. “Tori? Tori, can you hear me? Rhett’s on the phone.” Then, louder: “Okay, you’re good, she can hear you now.”
“V, it’s me. Jake just called me and said you got a phone call. Was it about your scans?”
Silence.
“She’s… she’s nodding,” Fielding confirmed. Rhett closed his eyes in frustration. He hadn’t been there for her when she went to her appointment, and he couldn’t be there for her now. On top of that, he was dependent on Fielding to translate this conversation between them.
He felt the anger rise inside him. A tremor caught him by surprise as he tried to bury down his rage. All of that would have to wait for later. This wasn’t about him. This wasn’t about Fielding. This was about Tori. Whatever she needed, whatever he could offer her right now, that was his primary focus.
“V, listen to me. I know you can hear me. What did they say? Can you remember?”
More rustling on the end of the line. Rhett thought he heard footsteps. He silently cursed to himself as he remembered that Fielding lived with a bunch of other guys. He was sure Haas hadn’t thought to take Tori somewhere private so she didn’t have to have a goddamn panic attack in the middle of his house for everyone to see. Of course he wouldn’t have thought of that. He didn’t know how to take care of her.
“Sorry, we’re back. Jake just got here,” Fielding explained.
Rhett let out a long breath he didn’t know he was holding.
“Rhett, you there?” Jake questioned.
“Yeah, man. I’m here.”
“Hey, baby, hey, come here…”
Rhett listened intently as he heard his best friend go to Tori. His shoulders dropped slightly. Jake was there. Jake would be there until he could get there. Relief flooded his body, but panic started to rise again as he saw one of his buddies from class enter the business building. He didn’t have much time left. He had to get through to her.
“Tori.” Her name came out strong and clear even though that was the opposite of how he felt. “Tell me what the doctor said so I can figure out what we need to do,” he insisted.
“Abnormal blood work,” she whispered through the phone. Her voice was low and gravelly. She didn’t sound like herself at all. “I have a follow-up appointment on Monday.”
It was the worst possible news, coming at the worst possible time, but at least he knew the cause of her pain. Now he could make a plan.
“Okay, beautiful, listen to me. I have to take a final right now. I’m so sorry, but it starts in a few minutes. Then I have to take another one tomorrow morning.” Rhett heard the frustration in his own voice. He inhaled, trying to calm down, trying not to let her know he was seething. He could do this. He needed to do this for her.
“As soon as I’m done tomorrow, I’m there. I’ll be back in Hampton by late afternoon, dinner time at the latest. We can do this.”
Silence.
“She’s nodding,” Jake assured him. Rhett knew Fielding was probably still in the room, too, but he didn’t give a damn right now. There was only her.
“Tori, listen to me. You’re going to be okay. We will get through. I’m going to be there as soon as I can. I’ve got you, beautiful.”
“Okay,” she finally mumbled. Her voice still didn’t sound like her own, but that one single word was all the confirmation he needed.
“Jake?” he asked, turning his attention to his best friend.
“Yeah, bro, I’m here.”
“Take her home. Make her eat something. Don’t leave her alone until Paul gets home, and make sure you talk to him before you leave her house. If she can’t tell him what’s going on, then you tell him to call me,” Rhett ordered, commanding the situation the best he could from so far away.
“Got it. Go take your test. I’ve got you.”
Rhett glanced at the screen of his phone again. He had four minutes until his final. He started jogging toward the business building, desperate to get this first obstacle out of the way.
“One more thing, man,” he added.
