Page 129 of Love Unavoidable
KAT: E hurt at site, in hospital.
My heart stops.
He can’t be hurt. I just told him not to call me anymore.
ME: OMG. Is he okay? What happened?
KAT: I don’t know, sorry. Will keep you posted.
ME: Please. Thank you.
He has to be okay. He can’t be hurt. I can’t lose him.
“Tenley, it’s about Ethan. Kat says he got hurt at a fire and is in the hospital, but she doesn’t know any more than that.” I feel like I’m in a daze.
“Wow, sounds like the excuse Aaron used to get you back here.”
“Wait, do you think he’s not really hurt? Should I text him?”
Maybe he’s okay.
“If he’s pretending to be hurt, Sadie, he’s not going to text that he’s okay.”
“Ethan wouldn’t do that.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. He’s nothing like Aaron or my mother.” I slap my hand over my mouth, not believing I said that.
Which means he’s hurt.
“Well, if that ain’t telling as fuck, I don’t know what is,” Tenley gloats.
“Shut up.”
What do I do? If he’s going to die, I need him to know how I feel. That I didn’t mean it today. If I were hurt, Ethan wouldn’t hesitate to come to me. And I did just rush home to see my mom when she was hurt. Why wouldn’t I do the same for him?
“Maybe we should go see him,” I suggest.
Tenley gets up and walks over to her desk. “I’m going to look at plane tickets right now.”
“No.”
“Yes.” She types something and goofs with her computer, then looks back at me on the screen. “Here, we can leave tomorrow morning and get there in the afternoon.”
“Tenley, wait!”
“Yes, please, I’ll take two.”
“I don’t know for sure if I should do this,” I say, feeling nervous.
“There, I have them in my cart, let’s see . . . yes to upgraded seating . . . typing in my full name . . . typing in your full name . . .”
She talks through every step as she does it until she purchases the tickets. I have plenty of time to stop her. But I don’t. This is the side of Tenley that I adore. The one that convinces me not to marry the man I don’t love. And hop on a plane to visit the man I do.
“Done. Now go pack a bag, beautiful girl, we are taking a trip to the golden state. Woot!”
“What about—”
“Zip it. I don’t want to hear it. Your mama will be fine, she’s got the nurse, and she’s well enough to talk your ear off, so she can’t be that sick anymore.”
She’s got a point.
“Okay, I’m gonna go pack.”
“That’s my girl!”
