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“You don’t understand.” I throw my hands in the air.
“Then make me understand.” He leans back in his chair and crosses his arms.
I sigh, take a seat across from him, and drop my head in my hands. After a few deep breaths, willing my heart to slow down, I look up at my brother.
“Sage has lupus. For her, being sick isn’t like it is for the rest of us. Even if she has a simple cold, things could get bad. Her immune system is compromised, so I need to go make sure she’s okay.”
I know she lives with her parents, but they work. I want to be there for her and see with my own eyes how she’s doing.
“Oh, man.” Hudson leans forward, looking at me with pity. His brows furrow and he grabs his phone.
I throw my hands in the air and rub my forehead. Who is he calling?
“Babe? Hey.” He looks at me. “Are you near the studio already?” He pauses, listening. I sit straight, holding my breath.
“Can Tristan borrow your car? I’ll take you home after work.” Another pause. “Yeah, I’ll explain later. Thanks, Lex.” He hangs up and looks at me.
“Lex will drop her car off here. She is on her way to the studio.”
I blow out a breath and nod, scrubbing my face.
“Thanks, Hudson.”
My body is buzzing, so I walk outside to wait for Lex to arrive so I can get some fresh air. Every single cell inside of me vibrates at hyper-speed. Hudson comes out a few seconds later and stands beside me, looking ahead.
“You really like her, right?”
“I do,” I confess. To him it’s not suspicious, and it feels too good to be honest with someone for once. “She’s different. I don’t know.” I shake my head. “I didn’t expect her, and I’m worried about if things can work out when I start traveling again.” I look over at him with pursed lips.
“Maybe you don’t have to stay away for so long. You can have your home base here. You’ll be running the administrative side of things. Sorry to break it to you, bro, but you won’t get to be just another volunteer. You’ll have other responsibilities, even if you can allow yourself time to go on trips.” Deep down, I know what he’s saying is true.
“Look.” Hudson turns to look at me, his hand landing on my shoulder. “You can take shorter trips, and Sage can go with you. You can work together if that’s something she’d want to do. If I’ve learned anything in the past few years, it’s that some things are impossible to surrender.”
Lex pulls up right at that moment, and Hudson looks at her with a smile. His expression reminds me of the feeling I get when I see Sage. It’s this deep pull in my chest that drags me to her.
It’s the sensation of swimming against the current, knowing you’ll eventually let go and allow the river to take you. I’m fighting the truth.
“Think about it.” He squeezes my shoulder. “In the meantime, go see your girl.”
My girl. I like the sound of that.
I nod and thank him, hugging Lex quickly before hopping in the car, adjusting the seat back, and driving off to Sage’s house.
My insides tremble like an earthquake, and my palms clam up as I get closer to her house. I hope she’s willing to see me. Even if it’s just for two minutes so I can make sure this isn’t serious. I’ve done some reading about the disease, but every website says something different.
If I listen to every word I read, I’ll go insane and lock her up in a glass case so nothing can hurt her.
Not really, but I’d want to.
I park beside her car and jump out, ringing the doorbell right away. There’s another car in the driveway, so I assume someone is home with her. When I don’t get an answer, I knock hard on the door.
The door swings open, and I freeze. A woman I’m positive is Sage’s mom stands before me with wide eyes.
“Hello?” She tilts her head.
“Hi, ma’am, I’m Tristan.” I reach my hand out.
A slow smile creeps up her face as she shakes my hand.
