Page 65 of Fractured Frets

“There is nothing we can’t handle together.”

“Mom’s getting worse, Slip.” Worry shook her voice. “What if something happens when I’m not around? Or I can’t get home in time?”

“Mads, I know she’s sick, but you can’t be with her every second of the day. You have a life too.”

She puffed out her breath. “Between Mom and work, I don’t have a life.”

“Yes, you do. You have me.” Keeping my eyes on the road, I wrung my hand around the steering wheel. “Just do me one thing...don’t be blindsided by your mom.”

“Blindsided?” She jerked her chin back. “I’m not. Mom’s been sick for a very long time.”

“I’m not arguing with that.” I pulled up at a red traffic light. “It’s just something I’ve noticed.” I softened my tone. “When did your mom start calling you to rush home from functions, or parties, or from hanging out with me to help her?”

The street lights painted a golden sheen over Maddy’s hair as she rubbed her forehead. “I don’t know. Twelve to eighteen months ago?”

“So, once we started seeing each other?”

“Yes, but her condition has gotten worse.”

“Yes, but does she call you for these emergencies or even have them when you’re away?”

Maddy stilled, pursed her lips, then shook her head. “No. No, she doesn’t.”

“Out of the dozen or so times you’ve rushed home to her, how many times has she had an actual flare-up? Or an emergency?”

“Um...” She winced, as if she were sifting through her memory bank. “None. Maybe one or two mild panic attacks.”

“Exactly.” I shrugged to highlight my point. “She’s your mom, and I know you’re worried about her. I am too. But she’s fine when you’re away. She doesn’t want you to give up your job, she won’t move to Vancouver, and she hates anyone intruding on her time with you when you’re in LA. She’s very protective of you and doesn’t like you spending more time with the guys, Sutton...and me. So...I’m convinced she’s faking some turns.”

“You’re wrong.” Maddy shook her head as tears welled in her eyes. “She wouldn’t do that.”

“I hope I am, Mads.” I smoothed my hand down the back of her hair and gave her neck a rub as a cement truck rumbled and thudded through the intersection. “I don’t want to upset you. But whichever way you look at today, she didn’t have a flare-up.”

“No.” Distress pitched her tone skyward. “But she missed a vital appointment. Went out drinking. Like...what the fuck?” She sniffled and wiped the tip of her nose with her fingertips. “Today was bullshit. I trust Bridget to care for Mom. I can’t be everywhere at once. I struggle to focus on us because I’m constantly worrying about my mother.”

“Hey? It’s okay.” The light turned green, and I drove off. “We’ll work everything out.”

“How? When?” A tear fell onto Maddy’s cheek, but she was quick to swipe it away. “Stolen hours and days here and there aren’t enough.”

“No, they’re not.” My heart ached as I gripped the steering wheel. I felt the same way, deep in my bones. There was never enough time with her. “But we’ll be together soon. I promise.”

She blinked the tears from her eyes and nodded. “I want that. More time with you.” She stared out the windshield toward the hills blanketed in evening light and sprawling homes tucked among the trees. “It’s still early. Can we go for a drive? To the beach? I just want to be outside, underneath the stars, away from everyone.”

“Yeah. I’d like that.” I turned onto my street. “Let’s eat, get changed, and then we’ll head out.”

After we had dinner—I ate, Maddy picked—I dashed upstairs to change. I threw on a pair of beach shorts and a clean T-shirt. In the bathroom, I sprayed on some deodorant and tossed the can back into my toiletry bag. But the light caught my orange bottle of pills. My hip and back weren’t too bad. The pain, tolerable. But if Maddy and I went walking along the sand, it’d ache like a bitch. I didn’t want that.

I glanced at my watch. 7:07 p.m. Taking my oxy a couple hours before I was supposed to wouldn’t hurt. I unscrewed the cap and popped one into my mouth. That would ward off the onslaught of agony.

But just as I swallowed the pill with a mouthful of water, Maddy appeared behind me and grabbed the bottle. Worry loomed in her eyes. “What are these?”

“Just my pain-killers.”

“You’re on oxy?” She stared at the label. “This is strong shit.”

“Yes. Temporarily until I can have surgery after the tour. Jade put me on them.”

Confusion rippled across her brow. “I thought you were seeing your doctor here for meds.”

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