Page 62 of Inked Persuasion

“Okay.” My dad paused so long that I was afraid he’d hung up. I held my breath. “It’d be good to see you.”

“Okay, I’ll see you soon.”

We disconnected, and my hand shook. I reached for my keys again. I’d only had one beer and three glasses of water at the bar, so I was fine to drive, but all I wanted to do was reach for my phone again and call Annabelle, tell her where I was going.

But that wouldn’t make sense. My parents would call her if they needed her. I couldn’t call her and lean on her. That’s not what we were. We were friends with a connection, sure, but I didn’t want her to get the wrong idea.

When my phone buzzed again, the choice was taken from me.

Annabelle:Did my brothers harass you?

I cursed and got to my car, calling her on Bluetooth rather than texting her back.

“Hey. You’re calling? What’s wrong?”

“First off, everyone’s okay. I’m just on my way to the hospital because Mom needs fluids.”

“You’re already in your car? Wait, you should’ve come and gotten me. I would have gone with you.” I heard her rustling, and I cursed under my breath, just not loudly enough for her to hear.

“No, get some sleep. They’re only going to let family back there anyway.”

“I’m on their list as their daughter-in-law,” Annabelle bit out. “Remember? I know this is hard for you….”

“You’re right. So, I guess I’ll see you there.” She paused, and I heard so much in the silence. “We can talk about dinner with my brothers or something to make your parents laugh. They’d like that, right?” she asked, and I heard the fear in her voice. It echoed mine, but I tried to ignore it for both of our sakes.

“Sure. We can do that.” I inhaled deeply through my nose. “We can do that.”

“I’m getting in my car.” She paused. “We should have gone together, Jacob.”

“Maybe. I’m still trying to figure this out, Annabelle.”

She was silent again, and I heard her car start, and the sounds as she pulled out of the driveway. “You’re right. We’re figuring it out. I’ll see you soon.” She paused again. “Jacob, she’s going to be okay.”

“Yeah, she will.”

“Jacob?”

“Keep your eyes on the road, Annabelle. I don’t want either of us to get into an accident tonight. I’ll see you soon.”

“Okay. I...well...bye.” She hung up, and I gritted my teeth, taking the turn onto the highway.

Everything was so fucking complicated. This wasn’t what either of us had wanted, and yet, here we were, going late at night to the hospital together to see my mother. I hated that I couldn’t take away Mom’s pain. There were so many things I couldn’t do for her, but I had to find a way to help her however I could.

So, here we were, meeting at the hospital because my mother loved both of us. I’d almost said those words to Annabelle casually over the phone just now. And I was fucking worried that she’d almost said the same to me. But that wasn’t what we wanted. Wasn’t whatIwanted. Something needed to change.

I didn’t know how I was going to do it, not when change was the thing that inevitably crept up and smothered me these days.

Annabelle and I needed to talk, to get things situated. But first, I needed to hold my mom. And my dad. And I needed to remember why I was back in town.

Chapter 18

Jacob

Irubbed my temples and did my best not to scream in frustration. I didn’t push everything off my desk and pretend that it would make it all go away. I didn’t shout to the heavens and rage and confusion. Instead, I took a deep breath and searched my desk for water.

We had won the case yesterday, but I wasn’t sure about my next one. I was so pissed off about everything, and it wasn’t even about the defendant or the prosecution. No, it was about the fact that I couldn’t focus. And it wasn’t just one thing. It was a thousand of them.

“Jacob?” Seressia asked, walking into the room hesitantly. Seressia never walked hesitantly. But the fact she was, told me that I was likely scowling once again, something I didn’t do before we moved here. Now, she was afraid of me. Damn it.

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