Page 70 of Crazy for You
Georgia placed her hand on my thigh. “Grady tried calling him several times with no luck.”
I jerked my head up. “You don’t think anything happened to him?” Oh God. I couldn’t lose another person I loved.
“I don’t think so. I went by his house before I came here. No answer. There were no cars in the driveway, either. I peeked in the windows of their garage, too, and it was empty. If you ask me, I think they left town.”
Relief coursed through me, warming my veins. “I told him I loved him.”
She gasped. “For real? And?”
I licked my chapped lips. “Not sure. He told me we would talk when I have more time. I haven’t been home. So I don’t know.”
She puckered her mouth like she was about to whistle. “Wow. I mean, I know he’s your crush, but to tell him… Now, it’s real.”
I giggled. “For sure.”
“He’ll surface,” she said with confidence.
Whether he did or not, I couldn’t worry about him.
My phone pinged. I fumbled to get it out of the tight pocket of my yoga pants.
A text from Nan:Please come up now!
I vaulted off the chair as the blood drained from me.
“What is it?” Georgia’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
“It’s Dad. I’ve got to go.”
“I’m coming with, whether or not I’m allowed.”
I wasn’t going to stop her. I could use her support. Even though she was as emotional as I was, she had a way of steadying me.
Once at the elevator, Georgia stabbed the up button hard and several times. It felt like centuries passed before the door opened, and even longer when we were inside and the car seemed to move at a snail’s pace.
I leaned against the wall. “Dad’s gone,” I muttered more to myself. I could almost feel it in my bones. I might be crazy, but that sense of loss was all-consuming.
“You don’t know that,” Georgia fired back. “Maybe he woke up.”
A small part of me rejoiced at that thought, praying she was right. I’d told Dad everything I could possibly think of over the last nine days, not certain he’d heard me. So getting that one last chance to see his blue eyes and tell him I loved him would give me a sense of closure. Despite the time I’d had to prepare for this moment, I wasn’t ready.
Maybe he woke up. That was my mantra, and the only thing I focused on as Georgia and I finally exited the elevator.
She grasped my hand as we entered ICU. “Think positively.”
Easier said than done, but I took her advice just the same. I lifted my chin and rolled back my shoulders. “I’m glad you’re here with me.”
The room tilted on its axis when I spotted Nan crying outside Dad’s room. Normally that wouldn’t freak me out, since she and I had been shedding enough tears to fill several oceans since Dad had been admitted. But she squatted down with her face in her hands, and I knew instantly that he was gone.
Surprisingly, I didn’t cry, not even when I saw how peaceful he looked, as though he’d found freedom from that stupid disease. I made it to his bedside without collapsing and kissed him on the cheek. “I love you, Daddy. I hope heaven is everything you dreamed it to be and that you see Mom. I hope you can walk and talk again and tell all your friends in heaven jokes until they’re laughing so hard they’re crying. Embrace peace. Hug Mom for me and know I will be fine. I’ll be thinking of you every day for the rest of my life.”
Georgia sobbed, the sound tearing out my soul. “I’m sorry.” She stood on the other side of the bed. “I love you, Mr. Lawson. You were always like a second dad to me.”
Nan cried in the background.
I went over to console Nan—or maybe it was my way of consoling myself. Either way, we needed each other.
Georgia joined us, and the three of us formed a group hug.
