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“Dammit, Marcus! Which hospital?”
“Saint Joseph’s.”
“I’ll be there in five.” I end the call, not wanting to deal with him anymore. While mom was in the hospital, I was too busy exchanging orgasms all night to check my phone. If that doesn’t make a person feel like shit, I don’t know what else would.
I stare as my mom’s motionless body as she lies in the hospital bed, resting. The sound of the rhythmic beeping of the machines fills the room. A hand grips my shoulder and I turn to see my dad. Exhaustion etched in his features.
“Doctors say it was a heart attack. They’re going to run a few more tests, but it doesn’t sound like it was too serious.”
“What kind of heart attack isn’t serious?”
“It could have been worse, much worse.”
“She’s too young to have a heart attack.”
“They suspect it was stress induced. I’m guessing it’s because of everything with The Lilith House, between finding a new building, and dealing with repairs to the current one. Your mom will be out of commission for a bit, so we could really use all the help we can get.”
“Yeah. Anything.” My parents have always wanted us to be involved with The Lilith House. For years they would drop subtle hints about us helping. At first it was we should volunteer, and then it was we should take charge one day a week, then they threw legal documents in my direction to help them sort through. But now this. There’s no way I can leave them high and dry now. Mom stirs awake and I rush to her side. I tell her I’m here before the nurse comes in to check on her. Dad escorts me to the waiting room where my sister, Brielle, and Marcus are waiting. Annoyed with my older brother, I take the chair next my sister.
“It’s about time you get here, yeesh.” Brielle looks up from her phone.
“I don’t need you on my case, too, Bri.”
“Where were you anyway?”
“Does it matter?”
“Wait…” Bri leans in and sniffs me. “You smell like peaches. Were you with a girl?” she says in a hushed whisper. But apparently not quite enough because Marcus overhears.
“You were with a girl last night? You were too busy to come to the hospital because you were with a girl? Unbelievable.” He shakes his head at me from across the aisle in disappointment.
“It wasn’t like that.”
“Then what was it? Because to me it sounds like you were only thinking of yourself.”
“You know what? I don’t need this shit from you,” I spit out before shoving to my feet and stomping to the other side of the room. My stride stops as soon as I’m standing in front of a glass wall that overlooks the lake. Maybe my brother is right. I am selfish. If I hadn’t been with Parisa all night I wouldn’t have ignored my phone and I would have been here sooner. My jaw clenches so hard I’m surprised I don’t crack a molar.
“How are you doing?” Bri elbows me in the ribs as she comes to a halt next to me.
“Meh.” I lift one shoulder and let it drop.
“Sorry about Marcus. He’s just scared and unfortunately you get to be his punching bag.”
“Right now, I can’t blame him. I should have been here.”
“So, do you have a girlfriend?” Bri beams up at me with a mischievous grin. She was the unplanned pregnancy, so being ten years younger than me she never saw me with a girlfriend.
I huff out a laugh. “I have no idea.”
“How can you not know if you have a girlfriend?”
“It’s complicated.” I cross my arms over my chest and stare up at the ceiling. What are we? We never discussed it. We spent all our time swapping orgasms. “She’s hot one minute, cold the next. She likes me, or I think she does, but also doesn’t want anyone to know.”
“Wow. Is she embarrassed or something? If a guy did that to me, I’d kick him to the curb. I’m no one’s dirty little secret. You shouldn’t be either.” Bri rests her hand on my forearm. When I look down, I’m met with sympathetic eyes. All I can do is give her a tight-lipped smile then she turns around and returns to her chair.
I stand there for a few more minutes, tuning out the world around me. No hushed voices of family members waiting to see loved ones, no doctors and nurses giving orders, no rubber soled shoes squeaking along the tile floor. Just me and my guilt-ridden thoughts.
My phone buzzes. Digging it out of my pocket I unlock it and see a message from Parisa.
