Page 177 of Stick It
The nurse is trying to calm her, but it’s not working. She’s frantic, tears streaking her cheeks, hands shaking.
I rush forward. “Mom! Mom, hey, it’s okay, I’m here.”
She collapses into my arms, sobbing. “I can’t find him, Dyl. I can’t find him.”
My own tears blur my vision, but I hold her tighter, whispering soothing nonsense against her hair. “It’s okay. I’ve got you. I’ve got you.”
I guide her to a nearby chair, crouching at her feet while she clutches at me like I’m her lifeline. Behind me, I hear one of the guys murmur, “Anything we can do?”
I shake my head, not trusting my voice, too busy keeping her anchored to me.
Her shoulders shake, her breath stuttering as she cries against me. The entire time, I rub a soothing hand up her backand murmur softly in her ear. It’s not the first time I’ve had to do it, and it likely won’t be the last. For a futile moment there, when I woke up and saw her in my room, I thought perhaps she was getting better, but now I’m wondering if she willeverget better.
Without my dad, she’s not whole. Shecan’tget better when she’s forced to live in a world where her soulmate no longer exists.
My heart falls. Breaks. Shatters.
It’s a devastating scenario. One that has no happy ending.
I don’t realize I’m crying silently until a presence appears, blurry and out of focus. I blink the tears away to find a frantic Bear standing there. “I’m so sorry,” he murmurs, voice low. His face is grave as he slowly lowers to kneel beside me. He gently pries my mom from my arms, promising to make sure she makes it back to Oak Haven safely.
She goes easily with him, her expression blank and shut down, the way it often is after an episode. She doesn’t say a final parting word before he escorts her away. I stand and watch them disappear into the elevator and out of sight.
My legs give out, but my guys are there to catch me. Surrounding me, they whisper words of comfort and support as they usher me back toward my hospital room. They get me settled back in bed before crowding around me. I’m not sure the bed can support so much weight, but I’m not about to tell any of them to get off.
I need them.
54
DYLAN
“Patrick Callahan, huh?”Jax says, finally breaking the silence. I don’t know how long we’ve sat in it. Minutes. Hours. But I guess it’s now time to explain. They all know bits and pieces, Ethan and Griffin knowing the most, and Finn the least, but it’s time they all knew everything.
Rolling onto my back, I stare up at the hospital ceiling while I gather my thoughts.
“I thought your name was Carter?” Finn questions, confusion coloring his words.
Blowing out a breath, I meet each of their gazes. Finn looks the most confused. Jax has a knowing expression, so I’m guessing he’s connected the dots of what Ididn’tsay. Ethan offers me an encouraging smile, while Griffin just squeezes my hand, nodding. I know if I tell the guys I don’t want to talk about it right now, that he’ll enforce it, but it’s time.
“Carter is the name I started going by when I decided to pursue college hockey,” I tell them. “Myrealname is Dylan Callahan.” Dropping my gaze, I confess, “Patrick Callahan was my father.”
“Patrick Callahan?” It’s Finn this time who asks thatquestion. “As in,thePatrick Callahan. Hockeylegend, Patrick Callahan.”
“The one and only.” There’s a hollowness to my words. One that seems to resonate throughout the room.
No one says anything right away. It’s not the kind of thing you can just brush over with a joke or a nod. It’s a bomb dropped right into the middle of us, a revelation that seems to shift the air.
I run my thumb over Griffin’s hand, still gripping mine, grounding myself. “After he died…it was like everything broke at once. My mom especially. She…” I trail off, swallowing hard against the lump forming in my throat.
Ethan shifts closer, his knee brushing mine in silent support.
“She fell apart,” I say finally. “She couldn’t eat. Couldn’t sleep. Barely spoke. Some days she didn’t get out of bed. Other days…” I glance up, forcing myself to meet their eyes. “Other days, she thought he was still alive. Would talk to him. Set plates for him at the table. Call his phone and get upset when he didn’t answer.”
Finn’s expression crumples slightly, his confusion replaced by something else—something raw and understanding.
“Those days were the hardest,” I admit aloud. “She’d lash out when I tried to make her see the truth. When I said anything that contradicted the bubble she’d encased herself in.” I swallow roughly, shuddering as I remember those dark days. Drowning in my own grief and waking up every morning terrified that she would have joined my dad, and I’d be all alone. I’d take her throwing glasses at my head and screaming insults at me over that.
“She wasn’t safe,” I whisper. “Not for herself. Not for me. Eventually, Bear stepped in. Together, we found Oak Haven. It’s a facility for people like her, with mental health issues. She was severely depressed, but truthfully, I think it’s more thanthat. I think losing my dad broke her. They were…” My throat closes over momentarily. “They belonged together,” I force out in a haggard tone. “One doesn’t function without the other.”
