AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Dad… are you okay?” I grabbed hold of him, but it quickly became obvious that he was slipping toward the ground, passing out. “Fuck. Someone call an ambulance,” I yelled. “My dad needs help. Someone help me please!”
I slumped down to the floor, holding my dad’s body closely to mine as he trembled in my arms. This couldn’t be happening. This couldn’t be happening! What the hell was I supposed to do now? This was too soon. I hadn’t had the chance to pay for any more treatment yet. He couldn’t die. No, no…
“The ambulance is coming,” the waitress reassured me. “Is there anything I can do? Does your dad need water or anything?”
“I… I don’t know…” I admitted, praying to God that help arrived soon enough.
“Okay,” she stepped back cautiously. “I’ll get you a glass anyway. Maybe a cool rag.”
My heart was breaking. My world was falling apart. I’d hoped I would have longer to fix this, but I could see now that the cancer was back with full force. It was eating Dad alive, and it sure as hell didn’t intend to wait for me to earn enough cash to try to fix it.
The paramedics arrived, and Dad was pulled from me. Watching them carry him on a stretcher sent everything freefalling too quickly for me to keep track of anything.
This couldn’t be it. It just couldn’t. I was not ready.
Chapter 29
Lotto
As I raced the car toward the hospital, I tried to steady my nerves. I needed to remain strong for Bones. I could hear it in his voice the minute he called me. Panic. Uncertainty. And a man who knew I’d drop everything and rush to his side no matter what.
I practically ran through the hospital hallways until I finally found Bones standing there with his head in his hands. Without even thinking about it, I hurried to his side and threw my arms around him, pulling him in for a deep embrace. Bones was trembling against me, falling into me, and I felt helpless. If only I could do more.
This strong man who could decimate any beast was broken, and I held nothing but pieces in my arms. The shell of tattooed muscle crumbled within.
“It’s the cancer,” he said softly. “It’s spreading through him. I don’t know what the fuck I’m going to do about it. I want to help him, to get him treatment, but I don’t know how.”
Oh fuck.
I’d seen this before.
Don’t do it. Don’t get too desperate. Please, don’t go down the same road again.
I held him closer, willing him to feel me, to know I was there for him. If he knew he wasn’t alone, maybe he wouldn’t get sucked into the darkness so easily. He was more grown up now and a changed man, but there was a desperation within him, and that scared the hell out of me.
“What did the doctor say exactly?” I asked.
“I don’t know. It was a blur, and my ears were ringing and… they said it wasn’t good. That’s all I got from the conversation.”
“Okay,” I said on exhalation. “Okay.” My own ears were starting to ring, and my head pounded, but this was no time to be weak. Not now. Not when they both needed me.
“And on top of that, I need to get ready for the fight tomorrow,” he continued. We were fucked if Bones didn’t show up. It would be a PR nightmare, especially this close to Heathens Hollow, but of course we couldn’t ask him to fight. Not now. Not with all this going on with his dad. “I don’t know what to do about it.” He pulled back from me. “I want to fight because we all need the money. I also haven’t given enough notice with regards to my contract. But I also don’t want to go and leave my dad. I’m a fucking mess. And we’re supposed to go catch the flight to Detroit in an hour.”
“I’ll call Ari,” I suggested. “She’ll understand.”
“I’ll look like a fucking flake.”
“No you won’t. She’ll understand.”
“Frankie won’t.”
“Fuck Frankie. This is about you right now,” I reassured.
He shook his head. “I don’t want to let any of them down, and I don’t want either of them knowing until… I don’t know. I just don’t want them knowing yet.”
“Fine. I’ll stay with him.” I’d do whatever he needed me to. “It doesn’t really matter if I’m at the fight or not. Frankie can fill in for me where I would be missed. This way you can fight, and you’ll know your dad isn’t alone. I won’t leave his side.” I pulled away so I could look him straight in the eyes. “I’ll talk to the doctors and see if I can get more information on the cancer. I’ll handle it.”
“You will?” He looked really relieved. “I don’t trust anyone else to be here without me but you. But… I’ve been trying to make a decision about what’s for the best. Dad’s asleep at the moment. He might not even notice me gone, but still.”
