Page 92 of Surviving Love
He smiled. “Good. She’ll get better faster with you here.”
“H… how is she?”
“Well…” He sighed. “She’s smart because she came in right away when she started having chest pains. She collapsed in the ER, which was probably the best thing that could have happened. If she’d been at home, I’m not sure…”
I winced. “I see.”
“We performed a cardiac catheterization, which pinpointed one blocked artery. Because of that, I did an emergency operation to put in a stent.”
“Oh, god.”
“Yes. She’s been through a lot, but so far, she’s doing really well.”
I glanced at Mom as she slept. “Do you think she’ll make a full recovery?”
“It’s still early, and of course, things can always go wrong.” He grimaced at my gulp. “But I think she’ll be fine. She’s strong. We caught it early, so the damage was minimal to the heart.”
“Okay. I’ll try to think positive.”
He patted my shoulder. “Yes. Do that. She’ll need your support.”
“She’s got it.”
He moved to the bed and checked Mom over while I hovered near the door. Once he seemed satisfied, he met me at the door. His expression was compassionate as he studied me. “You should get some sleep and maybe a good meal. She’s going to be sleeping a lot right now.”
“Maybe I’ll go home and shower and eat. I came straight here from the airport.”
He smiled. “Yeah, my nurses told me. Go home. She’ll be fine. She’s in good hands.”
“Okay.”
He left, and I went back to my mom’s bedside. I bent down and kissed her pale, soft cheek. She’d been so apprehensive about me going on the show, I worried maybe that stress had helped cause her attack.
I left the hospital and took a taxi home. When I entered the house, it smelled stale. I’d had someone come by to water the plants and bring in the mail, but the home definitely smelled musty. I opened up a few windows to air it out and headed to the shower.
I hadn’t had a hot shower in weeks, and I spent a long time under the water. When I finally got out, the towels felt ten times softer than I remembered. I checked over all the insect bites on my legs and body, smoothing antiseptic over the little red bumps, just to be sure they didn’t get infected.
Then I went into the kitchen and made myself scrambled eggs and bacon. I wolfed the food down, listening to the silence of my home. Outside, the faint sound of traffic on the main highway came to me. I hadn’t heard anything but seagulls and waves for so long, the sound of civilization was weird.
Once I’d put my plate in the dishwasher, I climbed into my king-sized bed, groaning as I lay down. The mattress was beautifully soft, and the pillow cradled my head to perfection. I rolled on my side and felt a pang of melancholy at the fact Jack wasn’t lying beside me. My bed felt so huge and empty.
I closed my eyes and thought about Jack’s laugh and the way his honey-brown eyes darkened when he was about to kiss me. My body warmed remembering his calloused hands sliding over my skin. I’d have been in heaven if he’d been with me in this luxurious bed. I smiled at the thought of Jack in my home. It’d be fun to cook breakfasts with him. Shower with him. Just watch movies and snuggle with him.
My smile faded as I realized I’d probably never see him again. My heart ached at the thought of never holding him or glimpsing his warm smile. I didn’t miss the bug bites or the starvation part ofDevious Island.
But I did miss Jack.
****
The hospital kept Mom for five days, but she was doing so well, they sent her home after that. I picked her up from the hospital and took her to her home, where she had a full-time nurse set up to come stay with her.
Her nurse hadn’t arrived yet, so I helped her into her bed. I fluffed the pillows and smiled down at her. She was tired and had dark circles under her eyes, but her color was much better. Her cheeks were actually pink.
“Thank you, honey,” she said softly, settling back against the pillows. Her dark hair was pulled up in a ponytail, and it made her cheekbones stand out even more.
“Were you eating while I was gone?”
“Of course.” She clasped her hands on the puffy white comforter. “You don’t look like you were eating much though. You’re so skinny, Mason.”
