Page 62 of Your Biggest Downfall
Iris looked up, meeting his gaze, and nodded. “All set.”
“Perfect. See you out there, Hart,” the owner added with a nod.
“Thanks.” I grabbed my bags, preparing to leave.
I had plans to head down to the PR offices, hoping I might catch a glimpse of Nova. She hadn’t been at this meeting,just like the last one, likely avoiding me after what happened yesterday, but I had to try and talk to her somehow.
As I made my way toward the door, Iris called out from the other side of the table. “Austin, could you please stick around for a moment?”
I paused, nodding at my agent and Coach as they exited the room. My heart skipped a beat, a mix of curiosity and apprehension swirling in my chest.
As the room emptied, I turned back to Iris, her gaze steady on me. The door clicked shut, leaving the two of us.
“What’s up?” I asked.
Iris was looking down at her papers, putting things into a neat pile. “I, uh, this isn’t my place, but I thought you should know...”
My heart sped up, and sweat formed on my palms. “Know what?”
“Nova—”
“Nova?” I asked, feeling a pit in my stomach. Something was wrong.
“She— her mom?—”
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Her mom and the cancer, something had to be wrong.
“What’s wrong?” I asked frantically. “Please tell me.”
“Her mom is in the hospital. I don’t know what’s going on, but she left after receiving the news.”
“Thank you.” I gave Iris a nod of appreciation before I bolted out of the door, running down the halls and rushing out of the building.
I needed to get to Nova.
I ran to the car and dialed Jeremy. “What’s up, bro? Welcome back to reality.”
“Thanks. What hospital around us has the best cancer center?”
There was a pause on the other line. “Are you okay?”
“No,” I barked. “I’m not fucking okay. What hospital?”
I gripped the steering wheel as I put the car in drive and ripped out of the parking lot, headed to the highway.
I need a drink. I need a drink. I need a fucking drink.
“My foster dad went to U of C, but Northwestern is also ranked high,” Jeremy said.
Jeremy’s foster-dad had cancer a couple years ago, but from what he’d said, it was pretty bad for a while.
“What’s closest to the rink?” I asked.
“Northwestern. It’s downtown.” He rattled off instructions on how to get there, and I depressed the accelerator, trying to get there as fast as I could. “Are you sick?”
I paused, realizing he thought this was about me. “No. Nova’s there with a... family member.”
“Oh shit,” he added. “I didn’t realize you’d already seen her since you’ve been out. Didn’t you get out yesterday?”
