Page 145 of Unspoken Rules

Mila is a nurse. She works in the delivery unit, delivering babies, but she’s still a nurse and has a decent amount of medical knowledge.

“Cole said the doctors have no idea, but each day that passes, the chance is less likely. I’m at the airport now. I need to see him.”

“I’d like to see him too.”

“I’m sure that will be fine. Whenever you want. I’ll let Cole know.”

She sniffles. “This is so bad, Bryson. I just…” A sob leaves her, and I bow my head.

“I know, Mila. Everything about this is so fucked up. I mean, what if he—” I snap my mouth shut, unable to finish my words. I don’t want to think about what will happen if Chris never wakes up. We had a huge fight. He was not in a good place. He can’t die thinking no one in this world cared about him. He just can’t.

“We shouldn’t think like that, Bry. Let me know when you’re here, okay? I’d like to see you.”

“I want to see you too.”

She wishes me a safe flight and we end the call.

I sit down in the seat by my bag and try not to curl into a ball and cry myself to sleep.

My best friend could die. I may never speak to him again. The last time we did talk, it was so hateful. So full of anger. He felt nothing but betrayal from me.

How do you deal with something like that? I need to get to him. Talk to him. Tell him how sorry I am and that I love him. That I didn’t do this to hurt him or betray him. It just happened.

Because I’m in love with his father and was too weak to say no to him. He made me feel too good to turn away.

“Hey.” Cole’s voice is soft. I squint my eyes open to find him standing in front of me, holding out a brown bag with a burger joint logo on it. I don’t recognize it, but the bottom is soaked in grease, so that’s a good sign. Greasy food is always good when you feel like shit.

I take the bag and soda he offers. He sits beside me as I open the bag. There’s one burger and one container of fries.

“You didn’t get anything for yourself?”

“Not hungry.” He closes his eyes, resting his head back.

“You need to eat something.”

“Don’t want to.”

I sigh. “Here.” I pull a fry out and offer it to him. He opens his eyes and when he sees the fry, he smirks.

“One fry? How generous.”

I roll my eyes. “I’ll give you more, but you can start with one.”

Instead of taking it with his fingers like I thought he would, he leans forward and uses his mouth. I grit my teeth and look away. I pull the burger out and hand him the bag.

“Don’t eat all of them.”

He huffs a laugh and eats a few fries. The burger is so good, and honestly, I could devour this entire thing. But I only eat half, because Cole really does need to eat. When I offer it to him, he looks at it and frowns.

“Take it. Don’t make me shove it down your throat.” He smiles and opens his mouth to say something. “Don’t speak. Just take the food.”

He closes his mouth, smiles to himself, and takes the burger. I grab the bag from his lap and eat fries while he works on the burger. He finishes it quickly. I knew he was hungry and just being stubborn. The man can eat. I hate knowing he hasn’t been taking care of himself, but I understand why he hasn’t. And it isn’t my responsibility to make sure he does.

Our flight was delayed about an hour because of bad weather, which had my anxiety spiking. Logically, I know the airline wouldn’t have us fly if it were unsafe, but the thought of us getting hit with a tornado while in the air doesn’t bode well with me. Dramatic, I know, but hey, that’s my brain.

I’m more nervous than usual, and it only gets worse when our ride is bumpy as hell only an hour in.

“Did you take anything?” Cole asks. I shake my head, squeezing my eyes shut. “Maybe you should consider that for the future.”

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