Page 30 of Switchin' Lanes
“How’s he doin’ today,” Kicks asks.
“Same as yesterday. No improvements, no worse,” she tells us.
I turn to get a look at her boyfriend and my heart drops.
“Andy,” I mutter.
“How do you know his name,” Kara asks me.
“I know his sister.”
“Wait, Andy Wilson?” Kicks is holding his charts. “As in Tink’s brother?”
“Yup.”
His eyes shoot to mine. “Did she even know he was in town?”
“If she did, she would be here right now,” I say. “I have to go tell her.”
“Go. She deserves to have someone tell her in person,” Kicks tells me.
I hurry out of the hospital as quick as I can without breaking into a run. I hop on my bike and take off. Naturally, with me being in a hurry, I get stopped by every red light between the hospital and Tink’s house. When I get there, Tink’s car is the only one in the driveway. I worry briefly that she won’t be home. I check my phone before I climb off my bike. I have one unread text.
From Kicks:I gave Prez a heads up. He doesn’t want her working tonight.
Sliding my phone back in my pocket, I walk up the stairs to the front door. I ring the doorbell and wait. A minute later, Tink opens the door wearing leggings and a Savage Menaces MC shirt that’s way too big on her. It probably belongs to Diesel.
“Oh, hey Hollywood.” She’s shocked to see me and I don’t blame her.
“I’m sorry if I interrupted anything, but I need to talk to you. Can I come in?”
“Yeah, of course.” She steps to the side, letting me walk in, then closes the door.
“When’s the last time you talked to your brother,” I ask her.
She mulls it over. “It’s been at least a month, why?”
“I think you should sit down for this,” I tell her.
She eyes me suspiciously but sits anyway.
“There’s no easy way to tell you this, but he’s in the hospital. Here in town,” I say.
“What? Is he okay?”
I shake my head. “No, he’s in a coma. A side effect from some drug he started using.”
Tears pour down her face. “H-how long has he been there?”
“I only found out it was him today, but he’s been there since Sunday. He’s dating Kicks’cousin Kara,” I explain.
“Which means he’s been in town for a while and never told me.” Seeing her in pain and crying hurts me deep. I don’t know what to do so I pull her close to me, holding her while she cries. “The only reason he wouldn’t call is because he didn’t want me knowing he was into drugs again.”
Her crying gets worse.
“I need to call my mom,” she says between sobs. “and I still need to get ready for work.”
“You don’t need to do either. Bull wants you to take the night off and you can call your mom after you’ve calmed down some. Why don’t you lay down and I’ll go make you some tea?”
She nods her head and does as I suggest, while I go into the kitchen to make her a cup of chamomile tea. Once it’s ready, I take it out to her. I set it on the coffee table, close to her, then take a seat on the edge of the couch by her legs.
“Let it cool down some before you try to drink it,” I warn her.
After it’s cooled some, she drinks half of it down. Minutes later, she’s falling asleep. When I know she’s resting peacefully, I leave.
