Page 107 of Protect My Heart
‘I’ll be here. So will Brody. Sawyer. Mom. Dad has people here to care for him. Mia’s parents don’t.’
‘I get that, but I still want to be here if something happens to Mom or Dad.’
‘Then you’ll get on a plane and fly here. You think I didn’t feel the same way when I lived in New York? I always worried something would happen.’
‘But you wanted to leave. You wanted to be in a big city and have that life. I don’t. I never did.’ I sigh. ‘I know I need to move with her. I just wish I felt better about it.’
‘Nick!’ Mom yells from upstairs. ‘Are you down there?’
‘Yeah, Mom, what do you need?’ he yells back. He gets up, concern on his face because she sounded panicked and we can hear her running down the stairs.
We meet up with her in the hall. ‘Your father’s having chest pains. We need to get him to the hospital.’
‘Can he walk?’ Nick asks.
‘I’m not sure,’ Mom says, her voice shaking. ‘He’s in a lot of pain.’
‘Get the truck going,’ he tells her. ‘Jason and I will get him down the stairs.’
My heart’s pounding, memories from last summer coming back. Images of my dad in the hospital. The doctor telling us he could’ve died. Waiting for him to make it out of open heart surgery.
This is why I don’t want to leave. This is what’s holding me back.
‘We got you, Dad,’ Nick says, as we help him get up from the bed.
‘I just need my medicine,’ Dad says, clutching his chest. ‘I don’t need a doctor.’
‘We’re going to take you there anyway,’ Nick says. ‘Just to have them check you out.’
I admire Nick for being so calm. He’s always been that way. I think it’s an older brother thing. He takes charge when things like this happen. I panic and can’t think straight. Sawyer and Brody are like that too.
Nick and I help Dad down the stairs and outside to the truck. Mom gets out to let Nick drive.
‘Call Brody and Sawyer,’ Nick says to me as he gets in the truck.
‘Don’t be doing that!’ Dad orders. ‘I’m fine.’
‘Call them,’ Nick says, ignoring Dad. ‘Then meet us at the hospital.’
They drive off, and instead of calling my brothers, I call Mia without even thinking. She’s the first person who comes to mind now when things like this happen.
‘Hey, are you coming home?’ Mia answers.
‘No.’ I tell her what happened and that I’m going to the hospital.
‘Can I come with?’ she asks. ‘He’s my dad too.’
She’s right. He treats her like a father does, and if we get married, it’ll be official. She’s part of my family, so why am I treating her like she’s not? Am I pushing her away without even realizing it?
‘I’ll be there in a minute.’ I drive down to the house and pick her up, then call my brothers as we head to the hospital.
Mom and Nick come up to us when we get there.
‘They think it’s angina,’ Mom says. ‘But they’re going to keep him here overnight to run some tests.’
‘It sounds like he’ll be fine,’ Nick says to me, knowing I’m panicking.
‘Do you need anything?’ Mia asks Mom. ‘Coffee? Tea? I could run to the cafeteria.’
