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“I know, baby.” His voice cracks making me cry harder.
“We need to get her out of the hospital,” Coach Pop says. “Is your mom home?”
I feel Beau shake his head.
“We can take her to my place,” Aaron says. “My mom can meet us there.”
I feel Beau lean closer to my ear. “Are you okay with that? Going back to Aaron’s?”
I breathe in a shaky breath, but my words don’t come out, so I nod as I grip Beau’s shirt more.
Without another word, Beau turns and carries me out of the hospital and to his truck.
“I’m coming with you,” Aaron says. “You need to focus on driving. I’ll be with her.”
Beau doesn’t hesitate as he says, “You can drive my truck.” He whispers in my ear, “I’m going to set you down so I can open the door, okay?”
I loosen my grip and allow him to set me down, though he doesn’t let go of me as he digs in his pocket and throws Aaron the keys to his truck.
We wait as Aaron rushes to the driver’s side of the truck and crawls in, leaning over to unlock our side of the truck.
Beau opens it, then helps me hop in to sit in between the two of them.
Once Beau is in, he shuts the door and instantly wraps his arm around me to bring me to his side. He holds me tight again as Aaron cranks the engine, and the beast of a truck comes to life with an angry roar that feels like my soul right now—mad at the universe and wanting to scream until it can’t anymore.
The ride home is a blur as I try not to think about everything that just happened and what this means for my life.
I’m an orphan.
The thought makes me sick to my stomach, and I sit up, screaming, “Pull over.”
Aaron’s quick to stop the truck, and Beau opens the door just in time for me to climb over his lap and throw up all over the ground.
“It’s okay.” Beau rubs my back, and I lose it.
“It’s not okay!” I scream as I hop out of the truck completely and they follow me. “My dad died today! My only parent. I have no one.” I pause, and when I see the look on both Beau’s and Aaron’s faces as they stand next to each other, I can’t take it anymore, so I turn away from them and scream, “Why, God? Why? Why did you take both my parents? Why would you leave me alone like this?”
My throat hurts from screaming so loudly, and when I fall to my knees, sobbing, Aaron and Beau rush to my side, trying to console someone who is shattered in so many pieces that the thought of ever being able to be put back together again is absolutely hopeless.
* * *
By nightfall, I’ve been able to calm down enough to function at least, which is an improvement compared to what I was earlier.
They brought me back to Aaron’s house, and Beau hasn’t left my side this entire time.
Debbie made us all dinner, but the thought of food isn’t sitting well with me.
“You have to eat something,” Beau says as he rubs my leg.
I close my eyes and inhale, knowing he’s right, but the sound of food right now makes me want to throw up again.
I pick up the buttered roll she put on my plate and nibble at the side of it, not wanting to take a big bite and testing how it makes me feel.
Once I realize I am able to swallow it, I take a slightly bigger bite and lay my head on Beau’s shoulder as I chew what’s in my mouth with my eyes closed.
When I feel Debbie’s hand over mine, rubbing it softly, I open my eyes and look to her, keeping my head down on Beau.
“Sweetie, I want you to know you can come stay with us if you want.”
