Page 77 of View With Your Heart

“Sounds good,” Britton says, wrapping an arm over his shoulder and guiding him toward the door.

As we descend the stairs, my dad stands at the base, and his eyes narrow at us, as if he knows what we did in my room. He wants to comment, and I see his mouth twitching with questions, but he doesn’t speak to me. Instead, he addresses Gee.

“What did Mom say?”

“Ice cream it is,” Gee says, and my dad laughs. It’s a sound I haven’t heard in a long time. “Hey Grandpa Jack, where can you learn about ice cream?”

“I don’t know, where?”

“Sundae school.”

My dad laughs harder, and tears burn in my eyes for some reason.

Take 24

Scene: The Hospital

[Gavin]

It’s the middle of the night when I hear rustling below me. Mum is hacking, and something crashes. I rush down the stairs to find my dad helping Mum into a sweater.

“What’s going on?” Mum’s on the couch, looking gray as goose feathers. Her body folds in half as she coughs.

“We’re heading to the hospital,” Dad commands as if telling Mum more than explaining the situation to me.

“I’ll go too,” I tell him and take the steps two at a time back to my room. I tug on a T-shirt and step into my shorts from last night. Slipping into flip-flops, I skip down the steps to see Dad struggling to help Mum stand.

“I got her,” I say, leaning forward to scoop her up. Dad doesn’t want to let her go, his arm still around her, but I look him square in the eye. We don’t have time for a standoff. We need the hospital.

“You drive,” I tell him as we head to the old truck. Slipping Mum between us, I pull her to me.

“Waited for you,” she says between coughs. “He’s so amazing.” I glance at Dad over Mum’s scarf covered head. I’m afraid to ask what she means.

“Call Karyn,” Dad strains. I reach for my phone and press her number in my contacts. No one answers, but I leave a message.

“Call Ethan,” Dad says next as stress vibrates off him, filling the cab of the truck.

Once we arrive at the emergency entrance, Mum is immediately taken, and Dad follows. I offer to park the truck for him, trembling as I pull into a spot. My head knows what my heart does not want to admit about this situation.

After being told Mum was taken to oncology, I finally find the floor to see Karyn outside Mum’s room. She’s dressed in scrubs, and it explains why she didn’t answer her phone.

“What’s going on?” I ask.

“She has pneumonia again, but it’s more than that.” Karyn’s eyes meet mine, and without words, she says it all. I slip both hands into my hair and spin in a slow circle, blowing out a breath.

“This can’t be happening,” I mutter.

“Oh. Not convenient for you?” Karyn snarks. “Cancer’s a bitch.”

“That’s not what I meant,” I snap, hating my sister just a little. “Is E here yet?”

Karyn shakes her head, lifting her phone.

“I already called him.” She looks up at me, surprised.

When a nurse steps out of the room, Karyn knows her, and she tells us all she can. “They’re going to sedate her. Keep her as comfortable as they can.” The nurse reaches out and pats Karyn’s arm before stepping down the hall.

Ethan enters the hallway with Ella at his side. “What’s going on?”