Page 111 of Fake Love

I hear the room door open, but I don’t turn to see who just walked in.

A hand lands on my shoulder and gives me a gentle squeeze telling me that it’s Jen.

“You should go, you have a game to play tomorrow.”

If it was any other time, I would be ecstatic that she knows my rotation schedule, but not right now.

I shake my head. “I’m on family leave until the division games start.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that,” she says, dropping her hand from my shoulder. “At least go home and take a shower.”

I’m already shaking my head again at her suggestion. “I’m fine here.”

Jen lets out a sigh and comes to stand in front of me, kneeling before me, her eyes filled with concern.

“She’s going to be fine, Maddox. Watching her sleep isn’t good for you. When she wakes up in a few, she’ll probably yell at you to go home.”

I shrug at her. “She can yell at me all she wants, I’m not going to be leaving until she does.”

“And you tell me I’m a pain in your ass.” She mutters and now I’m the one narrowing my eyes. “You need to rest.”

When she says the last part, her tone is more affirmative.

“I said I was fine. How is that so hard to understand?”

When Jen flinches back, I realize that my words came out a lot more harshly than I intended them to.

“I’m sorry.” I say, reaching out to place a hand on her face, but she pulls back.

She looks at me with those eyes of hers, has me feeling like an asshole.

“I know this situation pisses you off, it pisses me off too, but don’t take it out on me.”

She’s right.

It may be just a cold that got too aggressive, but I hate that it brought my mom to the hospital and they won’t let her leave. I hate seeing her weak, because never has Nora Bauer ever been weak.

“She’s right, you know, I am going to yell at you for staying and not going home.” My mom’s voice flows through the room, causing both me and Jen to turn in her direction.

Much like all the other times she has woken up, she looks like hell. There are dark bags under her eyes and her face looks like a good lather of lotion or something.

But I do have to admit that she does look better than when we got here a few days ago.

“I’m not leaving until you leave. Take it or leave it.”

Ma narrows her eyes at me, as if with her stare alone she can force me to do what she says.

It worked when I was a kid, and maybe it still works a few times now that I’m an adult but it won’t work right this very moment.

We have a stare down for a food two minutes, just like every stare down we’ve had every day she’s been here.

And like every single time before, mom loses first.

She’s letting me win, I know she is? But she will never admit it.

Ma wants me here, and for that very reason I don’t leave.

“Fine, you can stay but the second I get out of here you’re taking me to get some real food. A person can only take hospital food so much. I need real food.” My mom says, scrunching her nowadays at the soup that the nurse had brought in earlier

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