Page 81 of Scoreless Nights

“I need room 441,” I explained.

“Are you family?” the lady at the desk asked.

“My girlfriend is there,” I said, as if that would solve her issues.

“I’m sorry sir. That floor is for immediate family only.”

“What?”

“You can call—”

“I’m her brother,” I yelled, not caring who I had to be as long as I got to her.

“You just said you were her—”

“He’s right,” my dad’s voice told the woman. “He’s her brother.”

“Oh, Mr. Martin,” the lady said kindly. “He said he was her boyfriend.”

“He’s not,” my dad said sternly, looking at me with a mean glare before repeating. “He is her brother.”

She looked confused as my dad and I had a stare down. The entire waiting room was looking at us, probably just as confused, but eventually, another woman came up and took control.

“Mr. Martin?” My dad and I both looked at her, but she was referring to me. “You cannot be here,” she waved to my uniform, “like that. Go on upstairs. Your, whoever she is, is in room 441. It's better to be there than here.”

She looked behind me as a crowd of fans had started to swarm in closer. I nodded and ran past the doors she unlocked, my dad on my heels.

“Son?” My dad called, trying to grab my shoulder. “You need to slow down.”

“I need to see Lily.”

“You need to know a few things first.”

The elevator slowed me down and Dad came in behind me, huffing like he was out of breath. “I need to know if she’s okay. I need to know what’s going on.”

“I need to know more about what I saw this morning?” Dad snapped back. “I need to know what the hell is happening.”

I ticked my jaw, unable to explain to him until I saw Lily. There was no time to get into the details of what was happening between Lily and I. And to be honest, he didn’t have a right to know anything we didn’t want him to know.

Instead of answering him, the elevator door opened and I ran straight toward room 441. It was a good thing I was still wearing cleats because I came to a fast halt that would have put me on my ass had I not been.

Gloria stood up from her chair, anger in her eyes that I ignored, and made my way to Lil’s bedside. She was in a gown, hooked up to monitors and wires, but she looked fine. There wasn’t even a scratch on her.

Taking her hand, I knelt down and whispered her name.

Her eyes were closed, but she smiled. “Cruz.”

“Baby, what happened?” I asked, not caring that her mom and my dad were watching me.

Her eyes fluttered open and she gave me a sad smile before she shrugged. “I’ve been lying to you too.”

ChapterThirty-Nine

Lily

When I was three years old, my dad died of a sudden heart attack brought on by complications of cardiomyopathy. By the time I was seven years old, doctors had discovered that I inherited that disease. My mom didn’t take that news well at all, having already lost my dad.

I promised her I would always take care of myself and that I would be okay, but throughout the years, I was in and out of hospitals–sometimes fighting for my life. My mom carried the fear of losing me every day, and oftentimes, I felt guilty for putting her through it.

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