They made it to the hospital in minutes.
“You okay?” she asked as she pulled into a parking space. Elliott’s complexion had changed from pasty white to a gonna-puke green.
“You’re never driving again. Not just me. I mean anyone, ever.”
She laughed. “I have to take you back to your car.”
“I’ll walk.” He clutched his stomach. “How the hell do you still have your license? Wait, how are you even still alive? You know a red light isn’t a suggestion, right?”
“It wasn’t red. It was yellow.”
His forehead wrinkled as his brow shot up. “Are you color blind? Is that what the problem is? Christ.” He stepped out of the car and rubbed his temples. “You are a terrible driver, Clare Reynolds.”
She laughed harder and shook her head. He wasn’t the first person to say that to her. “I’ve survived this long, haven’t I?”
“That’s your bar? Surviving?”
“My grandma was one of those fearful old lady drivers who always went ten under the speed limit. She used to boast that she’d never been in an accident and my dad would always say under his breath, “But you cause them every time you get behind the wheel.”” She shrugged. “I guess I went a little the other way.”
His brows shot up when she said a little, but he said nothing.
She motioned to the door to the hospital. “Want me to go with you? I can stay here. I don’t mind.”
His head snapped back and forth between the hospital and the car. “Would you mind waiting here? I don’t know that she’ll remember you. If she doesn’t, she might get stressed, or there could be two hundred questions that add to her frustration, and mine. I just…” He shrugged. “I never know what I’m going to get with her anymore.”
Ignoring the spikes of disappointment and pain jabbing at her stomach, she nodded. It wasn’t about her, and all things considered, she had no right to be upset. It wasn’t that he didn’t need her, or want her, it was about him and his unwell mom. It was that simple.
“I can take an Uber or a Lyft back to the rink for my car if you’d like to go home. I don’t want to cause any more hassle for you than I already have.”
She tossed him a smile. “It’s what friends are for, Eli. I’ll be here when you’re done.” She waved her phone at him. “I’ve got a date with my smut.”
He pointed at her. “This conversation isn’t over.” With a clear sadness she felt in her bones, he turned and jogged into the building.
An hour later, her cell phone rang jolting her out of an unplanned nap. “Mase-Mallow? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, Mom. I just wanted to let you know that Dad dropped me off at home and Cat’s here. We’re good.”
“Okay. Thanks, kiddo. I’ll be home as soon as I can.” She spoke through a yawn, sensing hesitation through the line. “Mason? What is it?”
“It’s just…” He cleared his throat. “Dad said you’re dating Coach Swift. Is it true? Are you?”
She bit into her fist to stop her from groaning or swearing out loud. She didn’t want to lie to her son, she didn’t want to put him in the position of being caught in the middle between her and his dad, or being pressured to pass information to him. But there also wasn’t much to tell. They weren’t really dating, were they?
Sighing, she cursed Alex in her mind and opted for being as transparent as she could. “That wasn’t really your dad’s place to share, Mason. I’m sorry you didn’t hear it directly from me, I promise I wasn’t keeping anything from you.”
She rubbed the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger. “Elliott and I are old friends. We aren’t dating.”
“But you’d like to?” Was that hope in the kid’s voice?
“I think so. I mean, it obviously depends on what he wants, too, but yes, I’d like to see where things go with him. Would that be okay with you?”
“Totally.” He took a drink of something and sighed. “It would make it easier for me to go live with Dad if you weren’t alone.”
Knife to heart. Vital organs compromised. Instant oxygen deprivation. He still wanted to leave? He’d mentioned it months ago but she’d thought they’d put that to bed. Things were better. They were happy—or so she thought.
Her stomach heaved. She couldn’t throw up in her car. Closing her eyes for a moment, she steadied her breath. What other burdens were her too-young-for-this-drama child carrying that she didn’t know about?
Tears pricked in her eyes and her whole body shook, with the cold, with tiredness, and with a soul-deep agony. If Mason moved in with that asshat, she’d barely ever see him.
