Page 29 of Worth the Wait

He ended the call, and I attempted to pull myself together.

I opened up the web browser and did a quick search on flights, pleasantly surprised by the price. Usually, when you searched for something last minute, the cost was so exorbitant that it rarely seemed worth it.

But I would have paid whatever the airlines asked in order to go see my dad and make sure he was okay. Regardless of what Patrick told me when he eventually called, I was going home. At least for a few days.

Wiping at my eyes, I threw open my door and passed my mother in the kitchen as I headed for Sarina’s room. She shouted my name, but I ignored her and kept walking.

“Sarina!” I yelled as I knocked on her door and threw it open without waiting for a response.

She was sitting in front of her mirror, doing her makeup.

“You scared the hell out of me,” she chastised as she turned toward me before focusing back on her face.

“Dad’s hurt,” I said, my voice shaking.

Sarina instantly jumped up from her chair. “Is he okay?”

“I don’t know yet. Patrick’s headed to the hospital to check on him.”

“You called Patrick?”

“I had to. The hospital called me, but then they wouldn’t tell me anything. I didn’t know who else to call.”

I started getting emotional once more, and she pulled me in for a hug, squeezing me tight before letting me go.

“Don’t you have any girlfriends in Sugar Mountain?” She cocked her head to one side.

“Not really,” I answered, feeling weird about my response before adding, “Patrick was my best friend, you know? We were together for years. I mean, I had friends, but I spent all my time with Patrick and his family. And with Dad.”

“That makes sense.” She shrugged it off like I wasn’t some odd girl who had no real friends outside of my boyfriend.

“I want to go home and see Dad regardless of what his prognosis is.”

Sarina walked back to her makeup mirror and sat down in front of it once more. “Okay.”

“Will you come with me? He’s all alone, Sarina,” I said as the realization smacked into me like a slap across the face. I suddenly felt a little cruel for ditching my dad the past few years and never coming back.

He had always been there for me. He’d raised me on his own and put me first, no matter what. My dad never complained. Not a single time. If there was a sacrifice to be made on my behalf, he’d made it willingly. I’d never felt unloved, and I knew it was because he always made me feel like I was worth it.

My dad was the best of them, and even though I knew I’d broken his heart a little when I said I wanted to move to New York and in with my mother, he never encouraged me not to go. The one person who he felt had stabbed him in the back, and there I was, choosing her for an unknown length of time.

But coming to New York had never been about my mother. It was always about me and my career and the opportunities that the city alone provided. And it had provided in bulk, if I was being honest.

“For how long?” Sarina asked as she reached for her phone, pulled up her calendar, and started scrolling through it. I could see it in the reflection of the mirror. There wasn’t a single day that didn’t have something in it.

“Three or four days, tops.”

“Okay. I’ll go with.” She grinned like this was going to be a fun adventure.

She started typing fast and furiously into her phone. I assumed she was moving or canceling her obligations.

“Thank you.” I felt relieved that she’d be coming with me. “Dad will be so happy to see you.”

I smiled, and her grin met mine in the mirror.

“And I’ll get to meet Patrick?” She wagged her eyebrows, but my stomach felt like it dropped to my knees. “Why did your face just turn pale? Oh, do you want to avoid your ex while we’re there?”

“I’m not sure that’s possible,” I breathed out as I placed my hand over my belly.

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