Page 105 of That First Night
“She told you that?”
She nods her head as the smirk grows wider. “That girl is hopelessly in love with you, Tommy.”
“The feeling is mutual.” I nod.
“She ran off towards the bathroom,” Sheila finally says. “Her phone was ringing like crazy the whole time I sat here with her, but she refused to pick it up. I was being the nosey body that I am and peaked over her shoulder one of the times she took it out to silence it. It was an unknown number, but I recognized it coming from a New Jersey area code. North Jersey to be exact. Probably somewhere right outside of the city.”
New Jersey area code.
Right outside of the city.
Realization dawns on me and my stomach churns with nausea as I think the worst possible thing I can think of. Walking away from Sheila without another word, I reach into my pocket for my phone to call Eddy to see if he picked Peyton up.
“Mr. Ford,” he answers on the first ring.
“Eddy, did you pick up Peyton from here a little bit ago?”
“No, Sir. She hasn’t called me. I have been on the side of the building all night waiting for a call.”
“Shit,” I mutter under my breath. “Bring the car around front. I think she might have gone home, and I need to get there now.”
I hang up the phone and begin walking towards the exit. Logan spots me and stops me in my tracks. “Hey, what's the 9-1-1?” He laughs.
“Logan,” I manage to get out in a hoarse whisper. My throat is dry from panic, and I can’t find anything to say. Logan knows me, and sensing my panic, he begins to scan the room.
“She’s gone, isn’t she?” He places a hand on my shoulder.
“She is.” I nod. “But I don’t think it was on purpose. Can you call me in a favor?”
“Yes,” he says quickly as he pulls his phone out of his pocket. “Tell me what you need.”
“I need you to get me an escort home.” I place my hand on his shoulder. “As fast as you fucking can.”
“Let’s go, brother.”
We’re out the door in a matter of minutes. The world around me is just a blur. I spend the short drive to the penthouse shaking my leg and staring at the city lights. I hope she’s there and I hope she's alright. We come to an abrupt stop in front of the building, and I am out of the car before Eddy can even put it in park. When I enter the lobby, I barely register Jim sitting there. When I blow past him, his words stop me in my tracks.
“She’s not here,” Jim says in a sympathetic tone.
“What do you mean?” Panic sets in, yet again.
He comes out from behind his desk, his face never once forming a greeting smile like he normally would. In fact, his eyes look sad and sympathetic. Something is wrong and I feel my pulse beating faster and faster with every second that passes before he speaks.
“When they couldn’t get a hold of Peyton,” he starts, shaking his head as if he’s trying to avoid tears forming in his eyes.
“Tell me, Jim.” I plea. “Please tell me.”
“They called here to look for her. The hospital.” He wipes a tear from his eye and shakes his head again. “It’s her grandmother.”
It was around five in the morning when Gigi took her final breath.
When the hospital called last night, I was forced to leave the charity event abruptly. I couldn’t think straight, and I couldn’t find Thomas. My only thought was getting to the hospital as soon as I could.
Avery was with Marc when I found her and told her the news. I barely remember being able to get my words out while telling her about the calls. Marc was quick to have his personal driver meet us out front and take us to the hospital. Avery wanted us to stop at the penthouse for me to change but I didn’t want to waste any more time than I already had when I was ignoring the calls, not realizing it was the hospital calling. Kali said she would meet us there when she spoke to Avery and ended up beating us. They are just as affected by this loss as I am because they adopted her as their grandmother too.
She had taken a turn for the worse and the decision was made to place her on hospice care almost as soon as I got there.
It wasn’t a decision that was made lightly because Gigi is my world. She’s my rock. She’s my everything. But she wasn’t herself. She was disoriented and kept calling for my parents. Her heart and kidneys were failing her. Cancer had taken over every part of her body.
