Page 61 of Devoted

And then he’s running, sprinting across the grass towards the side gate, flying through it so fast I barely have time to register that he’s leaving.

“What the—Brooks!” I shout at him, but he doesn’t stop and the slam of a car door as I make my way off the porch and through the gate only serves to make me even more confused.

“What the hell just happened?” Piper comes up behind me, out of breath from chasing me.

“I don’t know.” I reach for my phone in my pocket and dial his number, surprised when he answers. “Brooks?”

“Jess. I’m sorry. I had to leave.”

“Is everything okay? You’re freaking me out!”

He’s silent for a minute but then finally chokes out. “I’m headed to the hospital. It’s my mom.”

“Is she okay?” My palm covers my beating heart as I wait for him to reply.

“I hope so. Look, I’ve got to go. I’m sorry for leaving you, but… I’ve got to go.” The line goes silent and then I look up to see Piper staring at me.

“What happened?”

“Something with his mom. I’ve—I have to go to the hospital. I need to be with him.” I open up the Uber app and schedule a ride with the nearest driver. Brooks and I drove together so I have no other option.

Piper reaches out to place her hand on my arm in comfort. “Do you think what he’s hiding from you has to do with his mom?”

I nod slowly, realizing that I do now, in fact, believe it does. “Yeah. I think that’s a genuine possibility.”

“Then go. Be there for him.”

“He didn’t ask me to.”

She swivels her head from side to side. “It doesn’t matter. That’s what we do for the people we care about. We show up. Go,” she waves me off as the Uber driver pulls up to the curb in front of Luke’s house. “I’ll tell everyone there was an emergency and you had to leave.”

“Thanks girl.”

“Good luck.” Piper hugs me goodbye and then I scurry down the sidewalk and jump in the car, directing my driver to Emerson Falls Memorial Hospital, trying to anticipate what I’m about to walk in to.

It’s different walking into the hospital as a civilian and not a nurse, although I sense his mom would be in the emergency room given how quickly Brooks left the party. When I walk through the doors and head to the check-in window, the receptionist quickly recognizes me.

“Jess, what are you doing here? Aren’t you off today?”

“Yeah, I am, Gretchen. But I’m actually here to see a friend.”

She bites her lip and then looks from side to side. “Is that friend Dr. Bennet?”

I nod and then whisper. “Yes, please.”

She flicks her head to the door and buzzes me in, letting me pass through the thick wooden doors as I begin to scour the bays for Brooks. I walk around a few corners before I see him, slumped forward in his chair and holding hands with a woman in the bed that I can only assume is his mother.

And she’s bald.

Oh, God.

He leans his head down on the mattress, his shoulders falling as another woman comes around the corner with a cup of coffee in her hands. She’s looks a lot like Brooks’ mom, but with hair. Average height, heavy set, light brown hair pulled away from her eyes, but worried based on the tense muscles of her face. She rests her hand on Brooks’ shoulder and stands next to him, just as Dr. Hill comes by.

“Hey, Brooks. So sorry to be seeing you like this.”

His head pops up and I see him brush his cheek as if he’s wiping away tears. “Yeah, you and me both.”

“I’ve called Dr. Lexington. He’s ordered some tests for right now, and an IV and ibuprofen to try to get her fever down. I’ll check back when we have the results of her bloodwork.”

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