Page 183 of Choosing You

My heartbeat, which was just returning to normal, speeds up again. I glance over at Garret, who’s now sitting on my bed. “What’s wrong?”

“A few days ago he wasn’t using his wheelchair and he fell. He hit the floor hard and banged his head. He didn’t tell me until yesterday. He was acting confused and vomiting so I took him to the emergency room. They said he had bleeding and swelling on his brain so they did surgery.”

“What the hell, Ryan? Why didn’t you call me sooner?”

“Because you had finals and I knew you wouldn’t be able to concentrate if I told you.”

I’m mad he didn’t tell me, but I can’t yell at Ryan. He has enough stress as it is. “Well, what did the doctors say? Will he be okay?” I can barely ask the question because I have a feeling I won’t like the answer.

“They don’t know yet.” I hear his voice crack. Like me, Ryan rarely shows emotion, so if he’s on the verge of crying I know this is bad. “They have to wait and see. He’s in intensive care now.”

“So what should I do? I need to see him. I can’t stay here.”

“I was going to get you a plane ticket but I checked and they’re over $2000 because of the holiday. My credit cards are maxed out. I can’t afford it, Jade. I’m sorry. Do you have a friend you can stay with until I can get out there?”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll figure something out and call you back later. Will you be home?”

“No. I’m at the hospital. I’ll be here all the time now. Just call my cell.”

“Okay. I’m so sorry about this Ryan. I’ll talk to you soon.”

He hangs up and I slowly put down the phone, still shocked by the news.

“What’s wrong?” Garret asks, having only heard part of the conversation.

“Frank’s in the hospital. He fell and hit his head. There’s bleeding in his brain. I don’t know all the details but it sounds really bad. Ryan can’t come out here and get me now.”

“So did he get you a plane ticket?”

“He can’t. It’s too much money. I’ll just have to wait here until he can leave.” I take a deep breath, trying not to cry as I think about Frank. “I need to see him, Garret. What if he gets worse? What if he dies and I can’t say goodbye?”

Garret comes over and takes my laptop and brings it back to the bed. “I’ll get you a ticket. When do you want to leave?”

“No, it’s too much. Ryan said tickets are $2000.”

Garret’s clicking away on the laptop, his eyes on the screen. “Looks like more than that if you want to leave in the morning. Is that what you want?”

“Forget it. It’s too much.”

“It’s not too much. Frank’s in the hospital. You need to get home and see him.”

I think about it. “Okay. But I’m paying you back someday. This is just a loan.”

He ignores the comment and gets his credit card out. “We’re both going,” he says punching the credit card numbers in.

“What? No. You don’t need to go.”

He stops typing and looks at me. “Do you want me to go, Jade? And don’t pull that shit where you tell me the opposite of what you want. If you want to do this alone, that’s okay. But I don’t think that’s what you really want. So tell me. Do you want me there with you?”

I take a moment to think. Idowant him there, but there’s still that part of me that tells me to do this alone. Plus, bringing him home with me would expose him to my old life. It’s the only part of me he doesn’t know. And if I let him see that, we’ll get even closer than we are now, which scares me.

“Jade, there’s only two seats left. Do you want me there or not?”

“Yes.” I say it quickly before I change my mind.

He makes the reservations, then sets the laptop back on my desk. “The plane leaves at 7 tomorrow morning out of Hartford, so we’ll need to leave here around 5.” He pulls me up from the chair. “Come on. We’re going to dinner and then we’re buying you a suitcase. You can’t get on a plane with a garbage bag.”

I’m not at all in the mood to laugh, but his comment somehow makes one sneak out. The image of me boarding a plane with my garbage bag of clothes is kind of funny.

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