Page 107 of One More Kiss

I stand automatically.

This is it. The moment they tell me that there’s nothing they can do.

The nurse with a name tag that reads Clark walks over, smiling softly. “Your mom was in pretty bad shape, but she is stable. If you follow me, I’ll take you both to her room.” I nod and my feet pad softly behind her. We pass doors and make a couple of turns down different hallways and I’m not sure if I’ll ever find the way out of here on my own.

Room 597the door reads, a chart on the wall next to it with my mom’s name on it. I’ve seen my mom weak before, but looking at her now in the hospital bed causes a painful sob to escape and I feel myself crumble at the waist.

Arms wind around my waist holding me from falling to my knees, but I feel like someone just took a baseball bat to my stomach.

“Shh,” Asher whispers in my ear, his voice soothing. “I got you, it’s okay.”

Asher’s touch is grounding, and I can’t help leaning into the comforting warmth of it. Just when I feel like I can take a little bit of a deeper breath and stand straight, I hear the unmistakable sound of Mrs. Tiernan.

“Ma’am, you can’t go in there!” A voice yells.

“The hell I can’t,” Mrs. Tiernan says before the door opens causing me to separate from Asher and stand on my own. “Oh darling!” She cries, wrapping me in her embrace that feels like home and smells of cinnamon.

“Thank you for coming.” I sniffle.

“Sweetie, I couldn’t stand it if I was anywhere else, David is trying to find parking. Has the doctor come in yet?” She asks rubbing my hair.

“Mom, could you at least give her the shoes before you question her to death?” Asher grumbles, sitting in the plastic visitor chair.

“The shoes! Yes! I have them right here, I was so worried that I almost forgot.” Mrs. Tiernan says while going through her bag.

“Hi, I’m Doctor Scott, and – my we have a little bit of a crowd, don’t we?” The doctor says on a laugh, hugging the clipboard to his chest. “Who do we have here?” He asks, looking around.

Stepping forward on shaky legs, “I’m Genevieve Myers, her daughter.” I extend my hand wincing when his meets my sweaty palm.

“Well, I’m just a very close family friend.” Mrs. Tiernan says while sitting and crossing her legs, silently saying I’m not going anywhere.

“Very well.” He says with a sigh. “Your mother was in very bad shape, Ms. Myers, as I’m sure you already gathered, but I feel the need to stress just how bad.” The doctor addresses me.

I swallow hard.

“There were substantial amounts of alcohol in her system, as well as a prescription medication hydrocodone. The combination can cause extended-release opioids to release the entire dose at one time, triggering a massive overdose.”

“Oh my god,” I breathe. The room begins to tilt.

“We believe we caught it in time to prevent any long-term health conditions, but, Ms. Myers, I have to urge you to consider rehabilitation.”

“Rehab?” My vision blurs.

“Gen!” The room spins upside down before going dark.

Asher

Gen’s words slur, and the moment I see her eyes start to roll back, I charge up from my seat. The chair scrapes loudly against the floor, causing my mother to gasp. I reach her just as she’s falling, catching her before she hits the hard ground.

“Nurse! I need help in here!” The doctor yells out into the hall. My hand goes to her cheek and forehead, checking her temperature. She feels clammy. I knew that fucking doctor was no good, overwhelming her like this. What kind of doctor can’t see she was on the edge? I mean her mother is unconscious in the hospital bed three feet away!

“Darling, stop grumbling and let the doctor check her over.” My mom says rubbing my arm and I didn’t even realize I was growling until now. I felt primal protection over her more than once tonight.

I back up enough to let them do their jobs, but stay close enough that her head is on my knees instead of the floor.

Gen’s face starts to tense as she starts to come around and a whoosh of air escapes my chest that I didn’t realize was trapped.

“I think that’s enough for today.” I state, glaring daggers toward the doctor. “Anything else you need to say, you can tell my mother on your way out.”

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