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Granted, I wasn’t good enough for her. She absolutely deserved better than me. But that excuse wasn’t going to fly anymore.
The question was, what was I going to do about it?
I didn’t have an answer and before I could think about it much, the doctor came in to let me know I was being discharged. She told me to rest and take some time off work. I could tell by her tone she wasn’t sure whether or not I’d listen.
Neither was I.
My truck was still at Marigold’s salon, so while I got dressed, I debated who I should call for a ride. It was midday on a Monday. My friends were all at work. So was my brother Theo. He was a teacher and football coach at the high school. I had no idea if Garrett was on duty today and I didn’t want to find out. I’d walk home first.
I didn’t want to call Annika either. She was busy juggling work and four kids. Josiah was a good bet. He and I generally got along. And since he worked for himself, it wouldn’t be a huge hassle for him to come give me a ride.
Mentally running through my list of siblings made me think of my brother Reese. Which was weird because the jerk had left Tilikum years ago and hadn’t been back. Although I could have sworn I saw him once, about seven years ago, give or take. I’d seen a guy in town getting into a black SUV and for a second, it had looked like Reese.
Probably hadn’t been him, but I thought about that once in a while. It made me want to punch him in the face. I didn’t give a shit if I ever saw Reese again, but Mom did. If he’d been anywhere near Tilikum without going to see her, he deserved to be knocked on his ass.
I got out my phone and was about to call Josiah when my mom, Marlene, came around the curtain. Her hair was up and she adjusted her blue-rimmed glasses.
“There you are.” She wrapped me in a gentle hug, then pulled back and touched my face. “Are you okay? Why are you up?”
“I’m going home.”
Dad came in behind her, dressed in his typical flannel and jeans. Paul Haven was a lumberjack looking dude with big arms and a thick beard peppered with gray. He looked me up and down but his expression didn’t betray anything. For all I knew, he was disappointed the shock hadn’t killed me.
He crossed his arms. “Did they really release you, or are you just walking out?”
“I wouldn’t just walk out of a hospital.”
Dad’s brow furrowed. Mom raised her eyebrows.
“Okay, fine. But it was only once, and I was like twenty. Do you need to see my discharge paperwork?” I picked up the packet the nurse had given me and held it up.
“Of course not,” Mom said. “But I think you were older than that when you wrecked the dirt bike.”
I’d been thinking about a different incident—a four-wheeler accident—but I decided not to point out that I’d been stupid enough to leave a hospital against doctor’s orders not once, but twice.
But hey, who was counting?
“How did you guys know I was here, anyway?”
“They called to let us know,” Mom said. “I came to the ER last night, but you were asleep.”
That was a little bit creepy. I had no memory of my mom being there. I must have been out cold.
I wondered if Marigold had still been there.
“Well, let’s get you home,” Dad grumbled.
“We’re not taking him home,” Mom said.
“Then what are we doing here?”
Mom put a hand on his arm. “We’re taking him to our house. He can go home when I’m sure he’s okay.”
“The doctor said I’m okay,” I said.
Dad shot me a look. “Don’t argue with your mom.”
Why did these two still have the ability to make me feel like I was a ten-year-old kid? I put up my hands. “Not arguing.”
