Page 43 of Bully's Second Chance
I drew in a deep breath to relieve the knot in my throat before I spoke. “It makes you merciful because all you want is for your father to no longer be in pain.”
His wails filled the room. “I don’t want him to die, but he can’t live like this anymore. None of us can.”
I wrapped my arms around him as best as I could. “I know, Jax. I know. And there’s nothing wrong with a son being tired of seeing his father in agony. I know I grew tired of seeing my mother the same way.”
“I can’t believe I didn’t know, Lily. I didn’t fucking know, and I’m so sorry.”
“Shhhh-sh-sh-sh,” I said softly in his ear. “It’s okay. Deep breaths.”
And as he drew ragged breaths against my chest, I made the decision to stay. Despite my knee-jerk reaction to leave while I was in the woods, I knew Jax needed me. I knew they both needed me. I also knew it would hurt for a long time to come. I knew that being by Mr. Levy’s side when he finally did die would haunt me for ages, maybe forever. But, the alternative was leaving Jax alone to deal with it by himself.
Which wasn’t happening.
Not on my watch.
“Why don’t we go get something to drink?” I asked softly.
He picked up his head and pressed his forehead against my temple. “I don’t want to leave him. What if he dies before we get back up here?”
I cupped his cheek. “Adelaide will come running to revive him. You know that.”
He sniffled. “Dad signed a DNR a few hours ago.”
I paused. “He was lucid enough to do that?”
He picked up his head and looked at me. “He told me to tell you something.”
I faced him. “What is it? What did he say?”
And as he cupped my cheek, his thumb sliding softly against my skin, his eyes danced between mine. “He told me to tell you that he’s proud of the woman you’ve grown up to be despite the parents you had.”
My lower lip quivered so much I thought it might actually fall off. “I’ll go get us some drinks so he’s not alone. What would you like?”
His hand slid down to my shoulder. “Just water. And bring some ice chips for Dad, if that’s okay?”
I leaned forward and kissed his salted lips. “Of course, it’s okay. I’ll be right back.”
Yep. I was staying as long as Jax needed me. Whether it was for another week, or another month, or even another year, I didn’t care.
I wasn’t going anywhere so long as Jax needed me with him.
17
Jackson
As I sipped my coffee out back, I watched the sun slowly rise over the tops of the trees. The sky had turned from dark and sparkling into a Picasso painting of colors that swirled and swayed across the sky yet somehow kept their boundaries. It was a beautiful sight to behold, and I latched onto it for as long as possible.
Lily had been at my place for going on three weeks now, and yet she hadn’t made a move to pack up and leave. I wasn’t in any hurry to have her go, either. During this trying time in my life, her presence had been very reassuring, despite its inherent ups and downs. Setting all of that aside, though, it was nice sharing a bit of the burden that came with watching my father slowly deteriorate into nothingness.
I figured she would have joined me for breakfast. But I found her in my home office after cleaning myself up for the day and preparing for a long-ass day of paperwork.
“Morning, Jax.”
I set a mug of coffee beside her hand. “Didn’t see you for breakfast.”
She shrugged. “Too much to do.”
“Would you like me to go have the chef whip you up something?”
