Page 23 of While You're There
“Yeah. Her name was Brooke. She was great. Dem really liked her, and I’m pretty sure she liked him for more than just his money. But once we came back to Hampton, I think they both realized it wasn’t going to work. There’s just not a clear path forward. Dem and I… we’re sort of just on hold, waiting for something horrible to happen before we can finally move on with our lives.”
“Hey,” Tori breathed out, reaching between the chairs again to place her hand on his arm. “Don’t talk like that, Field. She’s your mom.” Her voice nearly cracked on the last word. Tori didn’t know who she felt worse for—Fielding, Dempsey, or their mother. “It’s not hopeless. There’s got to be something she can do. Has she ever tried getting help?”
Fielding let out a loud gaff, shaking his head at the suggestion.
“It’s hard to explain how bad it really is without seeing it for yourself, Tori. Itishopeless. She’s been in and out of rehab for the last ten years. I think she’s been three times this year already, and it’s only May. It’s just a waiting game at this point.”
“What do you mean?”
“We’re just waiting for her to black out and not wake up one day. Or overdose. We’re waiting for it to kill her.”
Tori gulped, trying hard not to judge the crassness in Fielding’s words. She took a deep inhale, letting the cool and slightly damp night air steady her before she spoke again. “I’m so sorry, Field. It’s not the same circumstances, but I know what it’s like to watch a parent struggle. To watch them suffer and to feel helpless as they slip away. I’m really sorry you have to deal with that.”
He shrugged and met her gaze straight on. His eyes revealed more sadness than his words had allowed. “It is what it is. It just sucks not knowing if we’ll be playing this game for a few more months, a few more years, or a few more decades.”
“If things are that bad, why don’t you guys live with her?”
“We did when we first moved home. But it’s not healthy for us to be there all the time. She’s going to drink regardless. It affects Dempsey more than me, really, but then I get pissed at her for how it affects him, and then he gets defensive that I’m mad at her, and then we’re all stuck in this horrible feedback loop. We have a housekeeper and a driver and a few other people on payroll, plus a ton of security cameras throughout the house, so it’s not like she’s there all by herself. We’ve lived at the Valet House with the other guys for a little over a year now, and it’s just better that way. Dem and I take turns checking on her. One of us goes over there to put eyes on her every day.”
“What would you be doing if you hadn’t moved home to Hampton?” Tori asked, hoping the subject change would cut through some of the sadness radiating off her friend.
“Hell if I know.” Fielding sighed as he ran his hand through his hair again. “I might have kept going with school. I was in the top three percent for my program. Or maybe I would have traveled or decided to just start working. Our dad is in real estate development, so I could have worked for him. He’s got offices all over the country, plus locations in London and Tokyo. I could have taken my pick and moved anywhere I wanted,” he admitted wistfully to the stars.
“Wait, what did you major in?” She had never even thought to ask him about his degree.
“Pre-med,” Fielding responded with a healthy dose of cockiness.
“No freakin’ way!” she exclaimed, hitting him on the forearm for emphasis.
“What? You don’t believe me? Do you think I’m some sort of slacker? I was in the top ten of my graduating class at Arch. You and Wheeler were together when he went there, so you know how academically challenging it is.”
“Oh, I know it’s a lot of work, but I always thought you just had to be really smartorreally rich to go to Archway Preparatory Academy.”
He smirked and cocked one eyebrow at her. “How about really smart, really rich,andreally good looking? You’re looking at the full package right here, Victoria Thompson.”
“You’re such an ass,” she scoffed for the second time that night. She couldn’t resist ribbing on him again, but she also couldn’t help but return his smile. “Hey.” She nodded once, softening her tone and holding his gaze. “I appreciate you telling me all this. And I swear I don’t think differently about you because of any of it.”
“I knew you wouldn’t.”
Chapter ten
Rhett
Toriletoutalong, heavy sigh. He knew she had to be exhausted by now. They had spent the last five hours in waiting rooms and doctor’s offices, making their case for the preventative surgery his fiancée was hell-bent on having as soon as possible.
The first doctor of the day let her lay out her case, and she even looked through her bloodwork and the huge file of scans they brought with them. But she told Tori there was no rush to do anything anytime soon in her opinion. She said she would only feel comfortable proceeding with an exploratory laparoscopy, with the goals of biopsying any questionable cells and preserving as much of her anatomy as possible.
Tori ended that meeting as soon as she realized it was a waste of time. She literally stood up, thanked the doctor for her time, and walked out. It took Rhett a few seconds to process what had even happened. He was glad he had the wherewithal to collect all of her files off the desk before following her out the door.
The second appointment had gone even worse. That doctor insisted she was too young to be making a decision like this. He had the audacity to ask Tori what her future husband would think of her taking away his ability to have a family.
It took no time at all for Tori to snap back at him. “He’s fine with it. In fact, I brought him with me today,” as she pointed to Rhett.
The whole thing would have been a disaster had it just ended there. But it didn’t. The douchebag kept going.
“What do you think of all this nonsense?” he had asked smugly, cocking an eyebrow that told Rhett he would judge him based on the answer he provided.
It was the wording. It was the dismissiveness. It was the fact that the doctor thought Rhett should have any say whatsoever in what Tori chose to do to advocate for her own health.
