Page 52 of We Can Forever

I put down my knitting. Screw biting my tongue. I’m not an expert in lupus, but I know that what’s happening right now can’t be good.

“Your ankle…” I swallow. “Let’s get you home.”

Alexis has also stopped what she’s doing to observe Maya’s ankle. “No, we need to get you to the hospital.”

My heart beats faster. Alexis and Maya have known each other for the longest of anyone in this group, so if anyone knows about Maya’s flares, it has to be Alexis. If she says Maya needs to be at the hospital, well then, we’re going to the hospital.

“I’m…fine,” Maya squeaks out.

Flick sighs. “Oh, sweetie, you could barely finish that sentence. I’ll pull my car around front.”

She jogs out of the building, and Devin, Alexis, and I help Maya to the door. She walks like a robot, shuffling along, and by the time we reach the front door, she’s stopped trying to convince us she’s all right.

Flick’s car idles at the curb, and Alexis and I hold on to Maya’s arms as she walks to it.

“How are you doing?” Alexis asks.

“I’m… I’m…” Maya’s head rolls to the side, her eyes shut, and she goes limp in our arms.

“Maya.” Alexis’s voice pitches. “Maya!”

But she won’t open her eyes, won’t give any indication that she’s even still in this world.

Chapter Eighteen

MICHAEL

“Is this small enough?” Katie stops chopping and turns to me.

I have to bite back a laugh; the bell pepper pieces are so micro you can barely see them. Is it possible that she’s even more nervous about Hannah and her aunt coming to dinner than I am?

Maybe, but there’s no way she’s as excited as I am.

“I’m going to wash the windows.” She steps away from the cutting board and opens the closet with the cleaning supplies.

“You already washed them.”

“The front ones might be dirty again.”

Apparently, I spoke too soon. She just might be more excited than me.

Which has me thinking.

How does Katie see Hannah? Is she only a cool and pretty adult to hang out with, or is she more than that? Does Katie see the potential there that I do?

They’re questions that have me wondering other things. Like if Katie has been craving a mother all these years and hasn’t mentioned it because she doesn’t want to hurt me. Or if she hasn’t mentioned it because she’s figured there’s no point. I haven’t dated, and from what she’s seen, I haven’t shown any interest in women. Maybe she assumed that I didn’t want to find a partner and left it at that.

The realization gives me instant acid reflux.

I kept women out of my life for years because I didn’t want a repeat of what happened with Talia, but was that a mistake? Did I end up hurting my daughter more than helping her?

The shrieking of the smoke alarm pierces my thoughts, and I rush over to the oven and pull out the potatoes. Luckily, only a few pieces are burned.

“Hello!” a familiar voice rings through the house.

I turn from the oven as my mother walks into the kitchen. “Hi. Did you… I didn’t hear you knock.”

“Oh, Michael. Katie let me in. You know I wouldn’t just walk into your house.”

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