Page 64 of Loving Leo

I know what kind of bills this will lead to.

I move toward her and she reaches out and grasps my hand.

“What happened?”

“Someone ran a red light. Hit me. The car is totaled.”

“Mom, oh my god, I’m so glad you’re okay. We’ll figure this out.”

“I’ll be fine, just worried about the bills.”

“We’ll manage. We always do. Don’t worry about the money, just focus on yourself right now.”

She won’t do as I say. She will fret over this and probably end up back at work far too soon. When the doctors take her to orthopedics to put on her cast, I finally pull my phone out and see the missed messages and calls from Heath.

My chest swells that he hasn’t forgotten about me and I quickly message him back, letting him know what’s going on.

He’s quiet, not responding, and I place my phone back in my pants pocket. Maybe I shouldn’t have told him. This whole thing between us is pretty casual and may not ever be more than that. We just like to kiss and I enjoy blowing him. I may have met his sister and he met Asher, but still…friends. Friendly.

That could be all this is and I majorly overstepped by oversharing.

Fuck. I always overshare. It’s a problem.

I sit in the waiting room, toying with my phone and worrying about my mom and Heath when I see someone move next to me. I glance up and my eyes widen.

“Heath,” I gasp and see that he’s carrying a bouquet of flowers in one hand. My heart flutters ridiculously fast and I almost feel light headed. “What are you doing here?”

“You said your mom was in an accident. I…am I overstepping by showing up like this?”

He looks so concerned that I jump up and engulf him in my arms.

“No, not at all. I felt bad for involving you in my family drama.”

“It’s not drama. It’s your mom,” he whispers and I hold onto him a little tighter.

“She’s all I have. I was so scared.”

“You’re shaking,” he says and then pulls away. “Let me get you something to drink.”

Before I can protest, he moves over to a machine on the far end of the room, swipes his card and returns with a hot chocolate.

“Probably tastes like shit but drink it. You need the sugar.”

“Okay,” I say as he leads me to a chair and helps me settle into it. “She’s fine, by the way. Just a broken arm, but I know she’s going to worrying about bills and will be back at work far too soon. She doesn’t really have sick days at her jobs.”

“Jesus,” Heath says and then pulls a face. “I hate that.”

“Me too, but she didn’t go to college and well…it’s really all she can get.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, it’s not your fault. It’s just how it is. It’s why I want my camming to be successful. I want to help her in times like this.”

“I get it,” he says, but I’m not sure he does. We’re from different worlds.

It doesn’t matter though. He’s here. That’s what’s important.

As I process these thoughts, my mom is rolled out in a wheelchair and I stand up, feeling Heath following behind me.

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