Page 96 of Play With Me

“Are you all right?” Brook asked with concern.

“Yeah, I just probably need more breakfast.”

“I’ll take you to—”

“How’s Cameron?” Kate interrupted in her dazed voice. They were the first words she spoke after repeatingI don’t knownumerous times, and we both turned her way.

“Not good. He’s being transferred to the New York hospital today. Kate, you should come with us right now.”

Us?

I pulled on his arm, away from Kate.

“I’m not going anywhere.” I grabbed my stomach again as another flash of pain zapped through me. “And neither is she.”

“Don’t you think Kate should be with Cameron?” Brook double-checked that Kate couldn’t hear him, and then added, “He’s my brother. Lola, he could die. Come with us. I need to talk to you. We need to talk about last night and what you said.”

This time I couldn’t hide the new cramp in my lower stomach when I bent in half.

“Or maybe we should check that out first,” he said with concern.

“No, you should go. I’m sure Cameron would want Kate there. You’re the only one I can trust with her.”

Given how he’d betrayed me this morning, that took a lot for me to say – but the pain was getting worse, and I knew I couldn’t go with them.

“Okay, you’re not insisting on coming with Kate, so now I’m really worried. How long were you out there for? Are you hurt?”

“No, I’m fine. I just got here. It’s probably all that food Mary brought over and I ate. I’ll go see a doctor on my own, then I’ll come join you.”

“So you’re not mad?”

“I didn’t say that, but life is too short, and today, I choose to buy the shoes.” I should have taken that to heart. I should have realized way sooner that life was too short not to live it.

“I’m sorry.”

“You’ve been saying that a lot lately.”

“I’m sorry for all of it. And I’m sorry in advance for the asshole I’ll probably be in the future. Lola, what I have to talk to you about, it’s important.”

“Okay.” The growing chaos around Kate was making me anxious. “They’ll have questions for Kate.”

“I’ll take care of it here. But you keep me updated, okay?”

My stomach hurt so much that I couldn’t even reply, and my gut told me to go straight to the hospital.

“I’ll see you soon?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’ll see you soon.”

We said our goodbyes, and after I promised to call Brook once I was home, he kissed me hard, and left. I took a cab straight to the hospital and didn’t remember much after that day. The entire day, in fact, became one giant blur because by that evening, I’d realized that one of my worst nightmares – that life would fuck me over again – almost came true. But I wouldn’t let it. This time, I would control my destiny and I would rest at home, without distractions or stress, for as long as the doctor advised.

After I showered and put on a pair of fluffy socks, I slipped underneath a blanket and called Brook.

“Hey, how’s Kate?” I asked.

“She’s sleeping in Cameron’s hospital room.” He sounded dejected, almost like he was giving up. It broke my heart that I wouldn’t be able to be there for him, but this would be for the better in the long run.

“And how’s your brother?”

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