Page 89 of Somebody to Save
But I guess there was something special about sharing more about my past, about my parents, with Beckett that made emotions stir to life. As much as I trusted Beckett, it was hard to muster the courage to talk about them. I didn’t like how much it hurt.
“I remember when Addie was born, her father thought she was the most beautiful thing in the world. He would just stare and stare at you,” Grams said, and I swallowed thickly around the emotion sitting heavy in my throat, willing those stupid tears not to fall. “So, he said they had to name you after the most beautiful person he’d ever met, your mama.”
I sucked in a breath, and Beckett ran his thumb in soothing patterns across the back of my hand, which only made me want to cry more. But just before I lost it, the waiter returned, and we all straightened.
We ordered our food, and I was thankful that the conversation moved on to lighter topics. But the entire time, Beckett held my hand like he would never let go.
FORTY-FOUR
VERY SNEAKY
Beckett
Walkinginto the offices of Grant Events, I waved to the receptionist, who was busy on the phone, and strode down the hallway directly to Addison’s office.
I was technically there to discuss final preparations with Caroline about the Crawford Law anniversary party in just two days, but I couldn’t miss an opportunity to see my perfect girl.
Life had been tricky lately. Individually, Addison and I both had things going on, which made it more difficult to connect. We were almost four months into their year, yet it had felt like a lifetime.
We’d finally confronted Bill about his stealing from the company, and it had gone just as I’d expected. He’d yelled and accused me and Andrew of setting him up. Then he’d thrown a stapler across the room and a couple of markers sitting on the ledge of the whiteboard. He was fucking irate. And it wasn’t until my dad got involved that he calmed down enough that the building security was able to escort him out.
Now, we just had to pursue legal action, which no one was excited about. We’d just finished up a meeting with our corporateattorneys to discuss how to proceed, but none of us wanted to mess up the anniversary party. We couldn’t wait, though, and it turned out Bill would likely be arrested the same day we were celebrating thirty years in business.
A business he tried and still could ultimately drive into the ground. Recouping a million dollars was tricky.
But as much as I was worried about the health of our company, I was more concerned about Addison.
Nana’s health had continued to decline. She’d gone from utilizing a walker to a wheelchair sometimes to now using the wheelchair almost all the time. She struggled to get around and was in so much pain that most medications were no longer helpful.
I’d gone with Addison to her most recent doctor’s appointment the week before, giving Mary a much-needed break, and they were prepared to write her a prescription for an opioid pain patch. While she was speaking with Nana and Addison, I’d seen it on the doctor’s face—Nana was running out of options.
And as expected, Addison wasn’t taking it well. Watching the woman who raised her, who cared for her through the most difficult moments of her life, be in so much pain and not be able to do anything about it. It was driving her mad. She told me she felt helpless and discouraged and that she wished she could do anything to take it away.
I wished I could do the same. Take away both Helen and Addison’s pain.
It was torture. Pure, unadulterated torture to watch someone I cared so deeply for suffer.
Juggling the hot chocolate I knew she loved from the café down the street in one hand and shoving my phone into my pocket with the other, I tapped on her office door before pushing it open. Addison looked up from her desk, but the smile I was used to seeing didn’t meet her eyes and barely graced her lips.
I stepped inside her office and closed the door behind me. Luckily, her officemates were gone.
“Hey, baby girl,” I offered, but all I received in return was another barely there smile.
Her freshly dyed light pink hair was pulled back out of her face, and she was cradled in a soft, beige sweater that covered her hands. Her eyes followed me as I approached her desk, setting the hot chocolate on the edge, and rounding it until I was next to her chair.
She let me spin her around to face me, and I stooped so we were eye level.
There was something I couldn’t discern behind her eyes, and I braced myself. “What’s wrong, Bubbles?” I asked.
I rested my hands on her thighs, and she sighed, sliding her hands over my own. Her green eyes bounced between mine, and I didn’t breathe once while I waited for her to speak.
“I’m going to ask you a question, and I need you to be honest with me, please.”
Automatically, I nodded, and she tilted her head to the side.
“Are you paying for Nana’s nurse, Mary?”
“Yes.”
