Page 134 of Five Summers

"Just grab it, Princess," he urges, pushing the phone towards me once more.

I reach out and take his phone.

“She'll call right away when your son goes into surgery. That’s her private number. If you have any questions, just call her.”

“How did you do that? How did you just-”

“Princess, when you’ve got money and fame, you can pretty much get whatever you want. Well, almost anything.”

I can't even put into words how thankful I am to him for doing this.

“I gotta get back in there before Reg explodes and takes it out on the guys. You gonna be okay?”

I give a nod, overwhelmed by him doing this, helping me to find information about our son.

“I’ll be out as soon as I can. If you need me, text Ace.”

I nod, appreciating what he's done. Although, I can't understand why he's bothering to help when he acts like our son doesn't exist. That’s something we need to discuss, but that will have to wait.

“Everything will be alright,” he says, moving his thumb across my cheek. “I’ve arranged for the best surgeon to operate.” He leans in and kisses me on my forehead. And then he turns away and rushes off the bus.

I clutch his phone to my chest, collapsing on the couch, not sure what else to do.

I've had two conversations with the nurse in the past two hours, her kind words providing comfort during this difficult time.

The first time, I called her in a panic, unable to bear the uncertainty of not knowing what was happening. The second time was when she called me to say Alex was going into surgery.

The whole time, I anxiously waited, my heart pounding with each passing second, my eyes glued to my phone, desperately hoping for my mother's call with an update on Alex. Sadly, she never does.

While I'm on the phone with Nurse Sally, Xander comes back on the bus. While I listen to what she has to say, my gaze stays on Xander, and I can't help but notice the way his eyes explore every inch of my face.

When she finally tells me that Alex is fine, I let out a sigh of relief.

“Alex is sleeping now,” she tells me.

“How long will he stay in the hospital?”

“We'll keep him here overnight and evaluate him in the morning. If everything looks good, he should be able to go home. Do you want me to call you when he wakes up?”

“Would you mind?”

“Not at all. Oh, and before you go, can you please let Mr. Williams know my son is super excited about his guitar lesson?”

It's in these precious moments when Xander shows such kindness that tears well up in my eyes, my throat tightens with emotion. It’s hard to believe that this man is the same person who has caused me so much pain.

“Okay, I will let him know. Thank you again, Nurse Sally.”

“Don’t worry, Poppy. Alex is in good hands. I promise.”

Taking a deep breath, I finish the call and glance up at Xander.

“Everything’s fine. The surgery was successful. She’ll give me a call when he wakes up.” I get up from the couch and hold his phone out towards him. “Thank you.”

“No, you hold onto it.” He pushes my hand back towards me.

“Are you sure? What if one of your groupies rings for a booty call or something?”

I watch as irritation washes over his face, causing his features to contort, and at that moment, I deeply regret what I said.

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