Page 135 of Rebel Romeo

“My mother went to get coffee?—”

“Don’t worry, a nurse will bring her back as soon as she comes up.”

Looking down, I grab the four shopping bags my mom had left and carry them back to my father’s private room, dropping them on a chair near the door.

The room is dark with the shades drawn. Beeping monitors his heart, slow and steady.

“Sprout,” Dad said, his voice barely a decimal above a whisper.

“Hey Daddy.” I lower myself into the armchair beside his bed and take his hand. “You scared the shit out of me.”

He laughs and then groans. “Don’t make me laugh. It hurts.”

“Sorry.” I give his hand a gentle squeeze. “Mom called your oncologist back home and I called Delta to rebook your flight. They were great, made it super easy.”

“What time is it?” he asks.

“A little after seven.”

“Seven?” he croaks. “You have to go! Your show, Katie—” He tries to sit up, but winces and coughs.

I launch to my feet, trying to help him settle back in his hospital bed. “Dad, it’s okay.”

“It’s not okay!” He tries to shout, but he can still barely get his voice louder than a rumbling growl, like an old engine trying to turn over. “It’s not okay for you to miss out on your dreams, Kate.”

“I’m not missing out on anything!” I lie, but I’m pretty sure my dad sees right through it. Even if we were never that close, he’s still my father. And he knows me. He knows me like he knows himself.

“So your boyfriend is on his way here? Has he canceled the show?”

I gulp, my throat burning. “No. Well, I-I’m not sure. He said to trust him. That he has it covered.”

“And you do? Trust him?”

I nod. “I do, Dad. I trust him.”

“But if the show was canceled, wouldn’t it say online? Couldn’t you look it up on the Facegram or whatever app is popular this month?”

My face heats but I yank my phone free to pull up the show’s instagram page. “It doesn’t matter if the show is canceled or not, Dad.” I say, buying time as I search for the page. “I want to be here with you.”

I suck in a breath as I pull up the instagram page. There’s only one new announcement there…

Due to unforeseen circumstances, tonight’s show will star Missy Howl as Skyler.

And below the headline, there’s a picture of Missy’s headshot, her violet eyes burning into mine.

No.

He told me to trust him. He promised me he had this covered.

I clench my jaw and even though it feels like a thousand needles are penetrating the back of my throat, I refuse to cry. In the grand scheme of things, this is nothing.

My dad is everything.

“What is it?” He presses.

“Nothing.” I shake my head. “It’s nothing. An understudy is going on for me.”

“Like hell she is,” my dad says.

---