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Ronan
I’m at your door.
I groaned and walked over to open it.
“You look like shit,” he said and walked inside, “but I brought this for you.” He had a box with my favorite bottle of scotch.
“Why are you trying to bribe me?” He was a nice man, but he was never this nice. Unless Reyes went and blabbed to the boys about my predicament.
He sighed and walked over to my couch, “I was in the store and picked it because I didn’t get you a birthday gift yesterday asshole. Plus I need to talk to you about two things.”
“I’m not a therapist.” He chuckled and I stared blankly at him.
“Your girl’s mom has cancer,” he spat out.
What the fuck? My head shot up the fastest it’s ever and my heart pulsated. Azzaria would’ve told me if her mom was sick, and the bills were so fucking expensive. She couldn’t do it on her own.
“Now’s not the time to joke,” I said, punching him in the knee but he didn’t move or flinch. His expression remained the same, and that’s how I knew he was being honest.
“It’s terminal, and she’s had it for 5 months.” Cancer was a disease Ronan and Lucio hated. Their parents died from it, and so did their younger sister. Those deaths plus more drove him into medical school, and he worked tirelessly until he got the chance to open his own place and then buy a hospital. He’s a bit extreme, but we do things that make us happy and hospitals make him happy… as questionable as that sounds.
I sat in shock and disbelief. “How do you know?”
“You sent us to get background info on Leann. At the time when you told me the name I was wondering why it sounded familiar. I ran back to my clinic and went through patient files and saw her name in the system. I couldn’t include it in the report because I wasn’t sure. This morning I went into clinic and she was there sitting in the waiting roo—”
“Was she there alone?” My curiosity peaked. Was that why Azzaria had completely gone silent with me? Because she was hurting over this? And I could understand but I wouldn’t ever leave her to handle anything alone. I always want to be with her. “Yes and I went to examine her. Stage four terminal cervical cancer which is spreading very rapidly and damaging her organs. I asked her if she was having any troubles, and she mentioned the inability to pay as well as leaving her daughter behind and then I remembered—”
“Your mom. You remembered your mom,” I said, cutting off his statement. It took me back to the time he went through his mothers death and how much it hurt him.
“Exactly. I put her on a payment plan, and she hasn’t told Azzaria yet. She’s waiting on the right time to, based on her words. It’s a very messed up disease, and it brought me back to a time I don’t want to be in,” he sighed, frustration clear on his face. I offered him a drink of the strongest alcohol we had, and we just sat in silence.
Azzaria loved her mother to no end, and I knew losing her so abruptly would shatter any remaining happiness in her. At this point, I wasn’t even worried about whether she still wanted there to be an “us.” I was worried about if she’d be able to get herself back when her mother dies. It was a tragic inevitability.
“I’ll take care of the bills.” I grabbed my checkbook from the table beside me while sipping my scotch. “How much is the whole thing in total?”
“I have no idea. I’ll have to get you an invoice, but you have time. I won’t let them stop treating her, even if she’s behind on every payment. I may be an ass, but I’m not that cruel,” he chuckled and sighed.
“Get that invoice to me. I’m not worried about you. If you could help every cancer patient, I know you would, but your auditors are ruthless sons of bitches,” I pointed out, and he knew it was true. “How long do you think her lifespan will be?”
“Five months if she’s lucky, but it’s unpredictable, as you know. These things change ever so often,” he sighed.
The two of us sat in silence until night fell. Ronan was snoring loudly, and I couldn’t take it, so I went into my bedroom, and to my surprise, I saw pebbles laying in her spot.
“You miss her too?”
She looked me and pouted. At least my dog and I were feeling the same.
I jumped into the bed, hugging the pillow she slept on and started petting pebbles’ fur.
I grabbed my phone to text her and lingered in the chat. It took a lot for me to be thrown off my normal axis. But the world wasn’t spinning as it should be. It felt alone, I felt alone without her and I felt lost.
Me
Please come back to me. Whatever happened, we can fix it, but we can’t do that if I don’t know where you are or if you’re safe.
I hit send and went to bed. Day one without her was a mess, and I just hoped, by some miracle, she’d call me or even show up at my door. I needed her, especially for a day like tomorrow.
CHAPTER 27
