Page 47 of Everything We Left Unsaid

Abby

“Well, that’s a huge relief.” I can’t believe my aunt Roselyn didn’t put Jacob through the wringer! She must have sensed his honesty and sincerity.

“Yeah,” Jacob agrees. “That went better than expected.” He reaches over and laces the fingers of his free hand through mine as he drives us back to the hospital. I send Tiff a quick text, checking in on Chloe for the third time today.

She replies quickly.

Tiff: Still fast asleep.

She was napping the last time I texted Tiff. I need to just chill out and not be such a helicopter mom. It’s hard, though, when I’ve been a single parent all this time.

I leave Jacob in the waiting room with a kiss and head toward the ICU’s double doors. The tingle of his gaze on me makes me stop to glance over my shoulder. He watches me with a heated look in his eyes that trails up my legs, over my frayed denim shorts, and lands on my face.

“I’m not going to tell you to hurry,” he begins, his voice gruff. “But just know I can’t wait for you to get back.”

My cheeks and my heart warm, a giddy smile splitting my face as I push through the doors.

“Abigail!” my grandmother croons when I enter her room. “The doctor was just here. You just missed him.”

Guilt washes over me and I frown. Instead of galivanting all over town with Jacob and making out in his car, I should’ve been by her side listening to what her doctor had to say. “I’m sorry I missed him. What did he say?”

“Everything looks good. My EKG and blood work are normal. As long as I stay on the right track, I’ll get to come home tomorrow or the next day, at the latest.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful news, enisi.” I hug her to me and kiss her forehead.

“That’s the good news,” she proclaims, and an ominous cloud overshadows my delight.

“Is there bad news?” I’m almost afraid to ask.

“My sugar levels are quite high,” she admits sheepishly. “They have a blood test that can give them an average over the past few months, and, well, mine was rather elevated,” she confesses. “I’ve been eating a lot of candy here lately, and the doctor warned me I had to stop.”

“Enisi!” I scold, exasperated.

“And I have to lay off the bacon,” she adds with a frown.

“It’s fine. We can do this,” I declare encouragingly. “I’ll only buy turkey bacon from now on, and we’ll have it once a week, twice at the most.”

Her face scrunches up in disgust and she sticks her tongue out like she’s about to be sick. “Yuck,” she pouts, and I shake my head. I swear it’s like dealing with a child when it comes to her and food.

“It’ll be fine,” I promise her. “We’ll get through this. Together.”

I sit with her for a while longer. We watch TV until her dinner tray comes and I help her sit up, propping an extra pillow behind her back.

“They’re going to let me get up and walk here in a bit,” she informs me as I open her cutlery and help her cut up her chicken.

“That’s great. I bet you’re ready to get out of this bed.”

“You have no idea,” she bemoans. “It’s like laying on a pallet with nothing but a lumpy blanket for a cushion,” she exaggerates. “Why don’t you head on home to Chloe?” she suggests after a moment. “You’ve been here most of the day and she needs her mama. You need your rest, too.”

“I don’t want to leave you.” I’m too afraid to leave her. Look what happened the last time I did.

“Don’t you worry about me. They’ve got me hooked up to so many monitors, they’re gonna know if I fart sideways.” Her crude joke makes me giggle and all the tension drains from my body. She chuckles right alongside me and rests her hand on mine. “Seriously, I’m in the best place I can possibly be if something happens. Go home, sweet girl.” She cups my face, her eyes pleading. I really do miss Chloe, and I’m sure she doesn’t understand why neither of us are there.

“Okay,” I finally give in.

“And Abigail?”

“Yeah?”

---