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Chapter 6
Julianna
“Uncle Rick, I can explain. I promise,” I plead, walking into the office. He holds his hand up, stopping me until the doors close. I look back, expecting to see Brody, but my uncle’s assistant is blocking his path to the office. I'm about to ask why when I turn back and see the sadness on my uncle’s face.
“I don’t care about any of that Juju. I just got off the phone with your dad,” he starts, but stops when his voice chokes up.
“No,” I say, shaking my head and backing toward the door. “No, no, no…” I repeat over and over again.
“Your mom fell this morning. Your dad found her when he rushed home because he couldn’t get in touch with her. They rushed her to the hospital baby, but I- it doesn’t look good,” he says, and I can see the moisture in his eyes.
“No, she was fine this morning! I just saw her this morning,” I scream at him; tears are rolling down my face and I can barely make out anything in front of me.
That is, until I run into a large, wide chest. I know immediately from the smell of him, it's Brody. I let my world fall at his feet, my legs give out, and he has to hold me up.
“What the fuck did you do to upset her? What did you say?” I hear Brody yelling at my uncle. I know I need to speak up, to tell him it wasn’t Uncle Rick's fault, but the tears are coming so fast, and my brain is working a million miles a minute.
“First, watch your language, young man. Second, this is family business. Certainly not something you need to be involved in,” my uncle hisses at him. Frankly, I don’t care about their issues or how they feel about each other. Not when I just found out about my mother, but I won't let my uncle talk down to Brody when all he’s trying to do is protect me.
“It is his business, Uncle Rick. I love him and I want to be with him so it's very much my business. If you have a problem with that, then just expel me now. If not, then great, Brody is going to take me to the hospital now,” I say through my tears. My uncle is left sputtering as I grab Brody's hand and rush out to the parking lot and onto his bike.
“Hospital, baby, are you okay? I didn’t hurt you, did I?” Brody asks worriedly, but he still keeps pace with me. I break again.
“I just found out my mom was rushed to the hospital. She has been fighting cancer for a year now, but they don’t know if she's going to make it,” I rush out to say and Brody pulls me into his arms, just holding me. I really want to stay in the comfort of his arms forever. Here, now, this feels safe. Like nothing can touch me or my family, but I know that’s not true, and I need to get to my mom and dad. I pull away and rush the rest of the way to his bike. He hurriedly jumps on, and I do the same. Just before he starts it up, he looks back at me.
“I love you too, Julianna Davis. I have for far too long. I’ll be here for you no matter what happens,” he says, blowing my mind. I wish I had more time to feel the utter disbelief and happiness he just gave me with that statement, but I need to get to the hospital.
With Brody’s driving, it only takes seven minutes to get there. The minute he pulls up, I'm throwing myself off and rushing through the hospital to the cancer ward. I get to the front desk and a nurse looks up from her computer.
“Can I help you, dear?” she asks sweetly.
“My name is Julianna Davis. My mother was brought here not too long ago. I need to see her,” I say, trying to hold in the tears. Before she has time to reply, I hear my dad's broken voice.
“Juju, baby, she's down here,” he says, face red and puffy. He looks twenty years older than his young thirty-seven years of age.
“Daddy.” I break, running to him and jumping into his arms. He holds me and we both break down crying.
My daddy, the strongest man I’ve ever known, is breaking down, losing the love of his life, and there is nothing I can do to help him. When he finally calms down, he looks up and behind me.
“Who’s your friend, baby girl?” my dad asks and I remember Brody is there behind me, giving me his silent support. I pull away from my dad and turn back to the man I’m deeply in love with.
“Hello sir, I’m Brody Jennings,” Brody says, holding out his hand.
“This is my boyfriend, dad,” I admit, which has Brody giving a small smile. My parents are the last people to judge others. For a long time, before I was born, they struggled to keep food on the table, so I know my dad won’t care.
“It’s nice to meet you, Brody. Sorry it’s not under better circumstances,” he says, and the tears are back in his voice.
“Baby, I’m going to go down to the cafeteria. Do y’all want any coffee?” Brody asks me and I know he’s trying to give us some family time and the time my dad needs to compose himself. I’m just not sure that’s possible. I shake my head, not able to stomach anything right now, but my dad speaks up.
“Actually, I think I’ll walk with you. Let Juju and her mom have some time together,” my dad says, and I suck in a breath as they walk down the hall.
I don’t want to see my mom and know this could be goodbye. I don’t know if I can face that future… but it would be even worse if I didn’t go in. So, I walk in and look at my bright, beautiful, selfless mama sitting in a bed that drowns her and makes her look pale and breakable.
“Hey baby girl. I’m glad you got here. I wasn’t sure if Rick was going to pull you out of class or not,” she says weakly. I walk to the chair sitting beside the bed and take a seat, grabbing her small hand.
“Of course, I’m here, mama. What happened? You were fine this morning,” I ask, not understanding how she can go from healthy to death's door in such a short amount of time.
“Don’t you worry about me, baby. I’m going to be alright,” she says, but the cough she struggles to keep in says otherwise. When she finally gets it under control, she asks, “where’s your father?”
“He went to the cafeteria to get some coffee with Brody,” I say, blushing.
“Whose Brody?” she asks in a teasing tone, and it makes me smile and laugh.
This is the mom I remember, and the more I tell her about him and how much he means to me, the more she brightens up. We are giggling and talking animatedly when Brody and my father walk back into the room. The minute my dad’s eyes see my mom laughing, he lights up as well and rushes to her side.
We stay for a little bit longer, but before long, the nurse comes in telling us she needs to give my mother some medicine. It will cause her to sleep and that visiting hours are over. My father gets to stay, but me and Brody need to leave. The problem is, I don’t know where to go from here.
