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“Just to get some tacos,” I say.
She looks me over. “You don’t look like yourself.”
“That’s the point, Mom.”
“Your father said you’re not to leave the house yet. He said you two are working on a plan, and that—”
“Mom, I have to. I’m here for a reason.”
“Of course you are. You’ve come home. We need to protect you.”
“I don’t deserve your protection, Mom. You know that as well as I do.”
“Lucy, you’re my baby. My first baby. I will never turn my back on you. Not ever.”
“You know what I’ve done. You know who I am.”
“You’re absolutely right. I know you’ve done horrible things. But you’re also right when you say I know who you are. You’re my child—my sweet, beautiful firstborn child. I know there is good in your heart.”
She’s not wrong. There’s a lot of good in my heart. Especially now, since I got off the alcohol and since I’ve been to therapy. Since I’ve realized the things I did were not just wrong but unforgivable. And that’s the whole issue.
“There is good in my heart,” I tell her.
“That’s all I need to know.” She pulls me to her and embraces me.
For moment I’m a little boy again, getting comfort in my mother’s arms.
I let myself succumb to her loving warmth for a moment.
But only a moment.
I pull away. “I love you, Mom. But I have to do this.” I head to the door of the mansion and walk through it.
24
KATELYN
“Everything okay?” Lance asks.
“It’s my mother again,” I say. “There’s an issue with my father’s surgery after all.”
I read the text again.
Call me right away. It’s about your father’s surgery.
“Could you excuse me? I need to make a quick call to my mother.”
“Of course,” Morgan says. “We’re done here anyway. Go ahead, and I’ll take care of the check.”
“Thank you.” I rise and walk through the restaurant to the doorway. Once I’m outside on the busy sidewalk, I walk around to the back of the restaurant.
The alley. The alley where Luke and I…
It’s a little quieter back here, but was this really the best idea to come back here to make a phone call?
A dog wanders up to me. He’s a little scruffy but adorable with short light hair.
“Hey.” I kneel to pet him. “You must be Jed.”
With Luke gone, is anyone feeding him? He looks hungry.
“I’ll find you some food,” I promise. “Right after I make a call, okay?”
His big brown eyes gaze at me, and for a moment, I’m sure he understands me.
I quickly make a call to my mother.
“Katelyn?” she says frantically.
“Yeah, it’s me. What’s wrong?”
“Your father… He had a reaction to the anesthesia or something. They’re not quite sure what, but he’s…” She chokes out a sob.
“Mom, what’s wrong? Tell me what’s wrong with Dad.”
“He’s in a coma,” she says. “And I don’t know… I don’t know how to get through this, Katelyn.”
My heart thumps wildly as fear tries to strangle me. Not my father. Not after everything else.
“If you can possibly come,” she says. “I understand about your new job, but…”
She’s not lying, is she? My mother’s capable of a lot of things, but she wouldn’t lie to me about my father. Right?
“May I speak to the doctor?”
“He’s not here right now.”
“Mom, before I pack my life up and come to LA, leave a new job I just started today, I really would like to talk to the doctor.”
“I can’t believe this. You think I’m not telling you the truth.”
“It’s not that at all. But please understand, I have people depending on me. I just started the new job today.”
“All right. Hold on. I’ll try to find him.”
I have no idea how long I’ll be standing here behind the restaurant, waiting for my mother to get back on the phone with the doctor. Heck, she could have someone pretend to be a doctor and tell me what I want to hear.
I’d call the hospital myself, except I don’t know which hospital, and there are a ton of hospitals in LA. I have no choice. I have to stay here, looking into Jed’s sad brown eyes and waiting for my mother to get back on the phone.
I sit down on the ground, knowing full well I may be staining my clothes. I pet Jed’s soft head. He’s a little thin. “Hey, buddy. I’m going to take care of you.”
Something hits me in the heart then. This dog is mine. He’s going home with me. Am I allowed to have a dog at my place? I don’t even care. I need this dog, and he needs me.
He makes me feel closer to Luke.
Plus…my mom never let me have a dog when I was a kid.
“I promise you, Jed,” I say, “you’ll never be hungry—”
“Katelyn?” My mother’s voice is breathless.
“Yeah, I’m here.”
“I found an intern. She’s going to tell you what’s going on.”
