Page 103 of Spencer and the Younger Girl
Hadley held back the biting words on the tip of her tongue and hung up. Shoving the phone into her rumpled pocket, she stepped back into the room and approached the bed.
“Hadley,” her grandpa whispered.
“I’m here.” She reached out, taking his hand in hers.
His lips moved, but no sound came out. She bent down to catch what he was saying. “I think I broke my heart.” One side of his mouth curved up.
She grimaced. “That’s not funny.”
“Find the humor in everything, kiddo. That’ll cure anything that ails you.”
“That’s my motto.” Roman’s voice surprised her. She hadn’t realized he was awake. “Laugh at life.” He bumped her shoulder. “Don’t be so serious, Hads.” Settling his gaze on her grandpa, he smiled. “Glad you didn’t die on us, Jack. I’d have missed your pies.”
“I’ll be back making them before you know it, kid.” He tilted his head back. “Hadley, what’s wrong?”
She hadn’t realized tears rolled down her cheeks.
“I think she was dumped,” Roman whisper shouted.
“Maybe she’s just tired. Are you sleeping?”
Roman dropped his voice. “It could be that time of the month,” he hissed.
“What is wrong with you two?” Hadley threw her arms in the air and stepped away from them as she wiped tears off her face. “I’m not crying because I was dumped—though, yes, that sucks, thanks for reminding me—or because I’m tired or on my freaking period, you misogynists.” She pointed to her grandpa. “You almost died.”
“That’s a dramatic characterization of the current circumstance.” Her grandpa’s brow creased. “It was just a little blip on my way to everlasting life.”
“It’s the muffins, isn’t it?” Roman asked. “They have water from thatTuck Everlastingspring, don’t they?”
“I can’t reveal all my secrets, boy.”
“Will you two be serious?” Hadley couldn’t look at them as she collapsed into the chair. Roman and her grandpa were so alike it drove her up a wall.
She needed someone to just say everything was going to be okay. That this sucked, and she wasn’t an idiot for being scared.
“Hadley.” Her grandpa rolled his head to the side, his gaze piercing into her. “Tell me about the boy. What did he do?”
That was so like him. He’d just had a heart attack and wanted to know about what happened with Spencer. While she’d waited during his procedure, she’d had nothing else to occupy her mind. She’d imagined a world in which he told her he wasn’t going anywhere, that it didn’t matter how long they’d known each other or how old she was.
In that world, he loved her.
“He’s leaving, Papa.” She shrugged. “I knew that from the beginning.”
“Knowing something ahead of time doesn’t make it hurt any less. Look at me. I knew I’d get old one day, but it still hurts when it happens.”
She laughed, the sound unfamiliar in her ears. “You’re not old.”
Before he could respond, a doctor bustled in, his white coat flapping around his legs. “Hello, Jack. It’s good to see you awake.” Two nurses followed him in, trying to get around Hadley and Roman to check their machines.
Hadley stood. “We’ll let you guys work.” She placed a hand on her grandpa’s arm. “I’ll be back.”
“Coffee,” he called after her.
“No coffee,” the doctor chastised.
Hadley shook her head as she entered the quiet hall. Dim lights lit the white tile floor and pale blue walls.
Roman stopped next to her. “I’m going to the cafeteria to see if they’ll make me a steamer. Do you want a coffee?”
