Page 90 of Behind the Bars

He led me to his car, and I climbed into the passenger seat. As we drove, nerves swirled in my gut, and Elliott manifested his in his tight grip on the steering wheel. “Was itbad?”

I started choking on my breath, replaying the look in TJ’s eyes. “Yes.”

He rubbed one hand on the back of his neck. “We’ll stop by my mom’s house. She’s his medical power ofattorney.”

“He doesn’t have any extendedfamily?”

“No. Just me and mymom.”

We didn’t speak any other words, and when he pulled up to the house, he hurried inside to inform his mother of all that was going on. When they came back to the car, Elliott hopped into the driver’s seat and his mother rushed into theback.

“I can’t believe this,” she murmured, holding a folder, which I assumed contained TJ’s medical records. Her breaths were wild and untamed. “But he’ll be okay,” she told herself. “He’ll beokay.”

“He’ll be okay,” I told her, echoing her words. “I promise he’ll beokay.”

“Don’t make those kinds of promises,” Elliott said harshly under his breath, only loud enough for me tohear.

His mom glanced up for a second and wiped her eyes. “Eli?”

“Yes?”

“Who is the woman sitting in the front seat of your car?” She cleared her throat. “Is it yourgirlfriend?”

My stomach flipped, and Elliott groaned. “What? No. It’s TJ’sfriend.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, TJ’s friend. I just wish it were under better circumstances. I’mLaura.”

I twisted around and smiled at her. “Nice to meet you, too, Laura. I’mJasmine.”

“Jasmine,” she said quietly, turning to stare at her son. “Like…Jasmine, Jasmine? Like…Jazz,Jasmine?”

Elliott’s eye twitched. “Yes.”

“Oh my God…I didn’t know she was back,” she bellowed. Then she turned to me. “I didn’t know you were back in New Orleans. Eli, how come you didn’t tell me she wasback?”

“Per-perhaps we should f-focus on TJ right now,” he scolded, my heart skipping beats right alongside hisstutters.

“Of course,” his mother agreed. “It’s just surreal, isall.”

Surreal wasn’t a strong enough word for what any of thiswas.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Jasmine

The second wearrived at the hospital, Laura rushed to the front desk to get more information after telling Elliott and me to wait for her in the waiting room. We sat beside one another, not speaking aword.

He made sure to leave a seat betweenus.

Every now and then, Laura glanced back at us, giving us a soft smile before turning back to thedesk.

“Okay, thank you,” she told the receptionist. Then she hurried back over, sat down between us, crossed her legs, and smiled. “Sorry, it was a lot to takein.”

“Noworries.”

“He suffered a pretty big stroke and is having a hard time with his heart.” She must’ve seen the worry in my eyes, because she placed her hand on my forearm. “It’s okay. He’s in the ICU right now, and will be for a fewdays.”

“And he’sawake?”

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