Everything had unfolded in slow motion. The crowd, the flashes of cell phones recording the scene, Dallas talking to the dispatcher. Even in the midst of the chaos, her voice had centered me, cleared my mind enough to do what was necessary. So far, the doctors had pumped Mom’s stomach and started an IV drip. The years of binge drinking had taken its toll on my mother’s body. End-stage liver disease and acute pancreatitis. The diagnosis should’ve been a wakeup call when she’d received it a couple of months ago, unbeknownst to me. But she’d continued to drink, continued to do everything she shouldn’t. And now she could die.
“Preston?” My mother’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
I stood and walked over to the bed. “Ma.”
Tears filled her eyes. “You came.”
“I just happened to be there at the casino tonight.” I’d told myself to stay calm when she woke up, but my anger wouldn’t let me. “Good thing I was, because you could be dead if I wasn’t.” My voice cracked and I could feel my own tears burning my throat. But I continued, “If you’re not going to care about yourself, maybe you could try to care about me. For once.”
My mom closed her eyes. “I do care about you.”
“Prove it. Get yourself together. Stop burying yourself in that bottle.”
“He broke me,” she whispered.
I frowned. “What are you talking about? Who is he? And what doeshehave to do with this?”
“Your father.” She met my gaze then. “Your real father, Parker.”
I stepped back. “I don’t want to talk about this. I already know the truth. I had a DNA test and I’ve met his kids, my siblings. No thanks to you.”
“You have every right to be angry with me.” She tried to grab my hand, but I moved out of her reach. “I haven’t been the best mother to you.”
My heart pounded in my chest. “I can’t get into this with you right now.”
She sobbed. “I have to say this, Preston. In case I don’t make it.”
“Don’t say that,” I ordered. “You can live if you want to.”
“I’m not strong enough.”
The first tear fell from my eyes. Because I knew she was right. She wasn’t strong at all. She’d never been strong. “Mom.”
“Listen to me. It was never your fault. It’s just that every time I look at you, I see him. And I’m reminded of the man who promised me he loved me and never did. I’m reminded of the man who used me, then left without even saying goodbye. I’m reminded of the man who treated me as cold as the ground you’re standing on.” She sniffed.
“Here.” I handed her a Kleenex.
“In spite of my behavior, you’ve exceeded all of my expectations. I’m so proud of you and the way you’ve risen above everything that life has given you, that I’ve given you.” This time when she reached out for me, I held her hand. “I’m sorry.”
I leaned down and kissed her brow. Because no matter what she’d done, I still couldn’t turn my back on her. “You can show me you’re sorry by getting treatment.”
“I’ll try. One of these days, I’ll get this mother thing right.”
“Hopefully before I turn fifty.”
She shot me a wobbly smile. “Maybe?”
I sat there with her for a few more minutes. Once she’d fallen asleep for the night, I walked out to the lobby. I picked up the phone to call Dallas when I heard her voice.
“Preston?”
I turned around. Dallas was standing there with a cup of coffee in her hand. “You’re still here?” Once we’d made it to the hospital, I’d told her to take my truck home and I’d figure out the rest later. But the fact that she’d stayed… “You didn’t have to wait for me.”
She stepped closer to me. “I wouldn’t leave you.”
I pulled her into my arms and held her. “Thank you.” I kissed her head. “Thanks for staying.”
“How’s your mother?”
