Reese
“Are you sure you don’t want anything to eat?” I asked Charlie the following Wednesday evening.
We had stayed late after school to work with the students who would play at the end-of-the-year gala, and at the very mention of food, Charlie visibly turned green.
“Definitely sure.”
I chuckled, but couldn’t hide my frown as she stacked up the last of the leftover packets we’d handed out that evening. We’d had this on the calendar for weeks, ever since Mr. Henderson gave us the task, but Charlie had come down with food poisoning after lunch. I told her we could move the meeting, but she refused, saying it would be too difficult to get everyone together at a different date and time with such short notice.
She’d been a champ throughout the evening, and no one would have known she was ill if they hadn’t outright asked her. But now that the last students were gone and it was just the two of us, her fatigue and weakness had caught up to her.
She dropped the packets on my desk, the wind from the fall sweeping her hair back.
“I also do not want to drive right now,” she said, checking the time on her watch. “But it’s almost nine. I told Cameron I wouldn’t be later than seven.”
“He’ll survive,” I answered. Crossing the room to where she stood, I took her hand in mine, tugging her toward the door. “Come with me.”
“I really need to go.”
“Twenty minutes isn’t going to kill anyone,” I said, and when she glanced for her phone that had been abandoned on my desk all evening, I shook my head. “And no phone. Just twenty minutes, and I promise I’ll let you go.”
Charlie sighed, but nodded, following me down the hall to the library. It was dark inside, but lit just enough to see by the lights from the hall that I didn’t turn on any others. I led Charlie to the couch in the front study section, pulling her into my arms once I was seated against the left armrest.
Another sigh left her lips as I wrapped my arms around her, kissing her hair and rocking her gently.
“Better?”
“Yes,” she breathed. “It’s so quiet. And dark. And there are no… smells. Except for old books, which I can handle.”
I chuckled, sweeping her hair off her forehead. “I told you to stay away from that tuna casserole in the teachers’ lounge.”
She forced a smile, but it was weak, and it fell just as quickly as it’d come. I just squeezed her tighter, glad I could be there for her when she wasn’t feeling well — glad I could hold her without anyone around again, even if just for twenty minutes.
“I wish we could stay here tonight,” she whispered after a moment.
I sighed, running my hand through her hair. “I know, I do, too.” Then, I paused, a new idea sprouting to life. “But hey, close your eyes.”
“They’re already closed.”
I chuckled. “Okay, mine too.” I wrapped her tighter in my arms, leaning my mouth down to whisper in her ear. “Now, imagine we’re not at Westchester. Imagine we’re at home — at our home. We’re sitting on our couch, in our living room, after a long day at work. I’m holding you while we watch the fire, and you’re telling me about your day, and I’m kissing your neck as I listen to every word.”
I creaked an eyelid open long enough to see her smiling before I closed it again.
“What are we wearing?”
“Oh, that’s easy. Nothing.”
She chuckled. “I have a feeling if that were the case, we wouldn’t be just talking.”
My body responded to the insinuation, and I inhaled a stiff breath, adjusting myself in my pants.
“I wish you didn’t feel like you had to throw up every time you moved right now, because now I’m picturing a very different scene.”
At that, she laughed. “Sorry.”
“Oh, don’t apologize, I’ll make use of this visualization later.”
Charlie shook her head. “I wish we could…” Her voice faded off, growing softer. “I wish I could go home with you, that I could make you feel good tonight.”
I sighed, kissing her hair. “I know. Me, too.”
Charlie said it was past nine when she’d checked the time, which meant Blake would be wondering where I was, too. I didn’t have to look at my phone in my pocket to know it was filled with missed texts and calls from her.
“Maybe we could say we got locked in,” I tried.
“I need to go home,” she said softly, stiffening in my arms with her next words. “And you do, too.”
I rocked her again. “I know.”
I hated that we couldn’t stay, that we couldn’t have that night — one night — with just the two of us. It’d been too long, and I wanted more time alone with her. The moments I was able to steal were never enough.
“Have you told her about me yet?” Charlie asked. “About us?”
My stomach knotted, knowing Charlie had to feel the same way about me going home to Blake as I did her going home to Cameron.
“We’ve talked about this, Charlie. It’s complicated.”
“Uncomplicate it.”
She sat up in my arms, her pale lips downturned as she waited for my answer.
I hated that I put that there — that frown — because in any other situation, I would have done whatever it took to make it disappear. But I wasn’t being a chum when I said it was complicated. It was — more so than I could even explain.
Nothing was black and white in the world we’d found ourselves in.
“Look,” I said, framing her face with my hand. “Every night, Blake comes home with more news about her father. And every night, it gets worse. The only thing she wants to hear from me right now is that it’s all going to be okay, regardless of what happens with her dad, and I can’t give her that assurance by telling her about us.”
“So, you lie to her for her own good,” Charlie deadpanned.
“That’s not what I mean.”
“That’s what it sounds like.”
“Please, Charlie,” I begged. “Try to understand. I know it’s hard, but can you just put yourself in her shoes? Imagine your own father was passing away slowly before your eyes, and the one and only comfort you had was that there was a friend waiting for you at home every night.”
“I get that,” she said, pushing herself up off the couch. She was slow, weak from losing so many fluids, but she waved me off when I tried to help her. “I do. But she doesn’t think you’re just her friend.” She turned to face me. “And I need you, too.”
“Right now, a friend is all I’m being to her. I swear. We haven’t so much as kissed. We sleep in the same bed, but that’s all.” I reached for Charlie’s hand, and she let me hold it as I begged her to believe me. “And you’ve got me.”
“During school hours.”
I frowned. “Come on, Charlie. Don’t be like that.”
“Whatever. It’s fine,” she said quickly, crossing the room. She was already in the hall before I was off the couch. “I should probably get going. She’ll be home soon, and Graham and Christina flew into town tonight. I should make sure they’re all settled in at Mom and Dad’s.”
“Charlie,” I tried, catching up to her. I offered to hold her as she walked, but she shook me off.
“No, seriously. It’s fine. It is what it is, right?”
We rounded into my classroom, and she bolted to my desk, clicking the power button on her phone to turn it back on from where she’d powered it down before our meeting. The screen lit up as it came back to life, and I tugged on her hand, pulling her into me again.
She huffed when I put my arms around her, but I took her chin between my thumb and index finger, forcing her to look at me.
“Do you not understand that I also wish we could be together after school hours? I wish I could come over to your house, or you to mine, or better yet — that we could go completely away from here. But, Blake isn’t the only issue, here.”
She swallowed. “Don’t bring Cameron into this. Not right now.”
“How can I not? Look,” I said, stepping more into her. “It’s complicated. The whole fucking thing. But remember what it felt like when you came to me that night, when we first touched under that fort?”
Her face softened at that, and I took the wiggle room she gave me to slide in more.
“And at the conference? In the rain, and afterward, in my room…”
Charlie closed her eyes. “Yes, I remember.”
“I need you to hold onto that, to those memories, just like I do. Remember how it feels when we get alone, when we have our time.”
“I ruined our time tonight,” she added softly, eyes fluttering open. “Stupid body.”
I chuckled. “You can’t help being sick. I’m just glad I could be here to take care of you and, hopefully, make you feel a little better.”
“You did help,” she said, though she sighed again. “I hope I don’t get you sick.”
“Don’t worry about me. Stomach of steel,” I said, hitting my stomach with a closed fist like King Kong. I bent to kiss Charlie in the next instant and she smiled against my lips, laughing a little as she pushed me away.
“You’re ridiculous,” she said, still smiling, but her face went ash white when she picked up her phone from my desk. “Oh, my God.”
“What?”
“Oh, my God,” she repeated, frantically typing out something on her phone. “It’s Christina. Something happened on their flight over. She’s in the hospital.” Charlie shook her head, still glued to her phone as she blindly felt for her purse and keys. “Shit, everyone’s been calling and texting me. Mom, Dad, Graham, Cameron. They’ve been there two hours now.”
Her face twisted, tears pooling in her eyes, and her hands shook when she finally found her keys.
“Hey,” I said, pulling her to a stop before she could bolt out the door. “Take a minute, breathe, it’s okay. Come here.”
“I have to go.”
“I know,” I said, hugging her anyway. “I know. Please, just take three deep breaths for me. You’re not going to help anyone by getting in an accident trying to speed over there.”
“I don’t know what happened. I don’t know if she’s okay, if the baby…” She choked. “Oh, God, the baby, Reese.”
“Charlie,” I said again, pulling back until I could see her. I held her trembling body in my arms, smoothing my hands over her shoulders. “Breathe.”
She blew out a breath, shaking her head like I was crazy, but then she inhaled long and deep, letting the next breath out slower. I breathed with her, and after her trembling stopped, she opened her eyes again.
“Better?” I asked.
She nodded, though worry still painted her face. “I have to get to them.”
“I know. Drive safe, okay? I mean it. And text me once you know more. Hey,” I said when she started breathing faster again. “It’s going to be okay. You hear me? It’ll all be okay.”
She nodded, eyes finding mine again. “Can you come with me? Please. I just… can you come, too?”
I swallowed, chest aching with the way she watched me.
“I want to, Charlie. I do. But, Blake…”
Her breaths stopped altogether, mouth flattening, and she stepped back from my hold. “Right.”
“She’ll be home soon, and I just…” I tried to explain, but I could see by Charlie’s expression that there was nothing I could say. “It’s better this way. You need to be with your family right now. How would you explain it to your parents, if I showed up with you tonight?”
“You’ve been a part of our family since you were a kid,” she countered.
“Yes, but what are you going to tell them? That you were with me all night at school, that we stayed long after everyone else left? Or that you had already left, but you called me first instead of rushing to the hospital once you turned your phone on?” I shook my head. “Graham will call and tell me soon, and I’ll come to the hospital then. We were supposed to meet up tomorrow evening. He’ll call me, Charlie,” I said again, making her look at me. “And I promise, I will come.”
She let out a long breath, nodding, though I knew she hated the truth of the situation as much as I did.
“Okay,” she said after a moment. “I have to go.”
“Text me,” I told her as we walked out to her car — well, as I walked, and she practically sprinted. I held her door open for her as she climbed inside, holding it open until she promised. “Let me know you made it okay.”
“I’ll try.”
“Charlie.”
She sighed. “I will. And I’ll drive safe.”
“It’s going to be okay,” I repeated.
Charlie tried to smile, but it fell short, and as soon as I closed her door, she backed out of my driveway and peeled off down the road.
Charlie
By the time I made it to the hospital, I was sicker than I’d been all day.
Food poisoning I could handle, but driving across town to the hospital where my brother and his wife were, where my sister-in-law and future niece or nephew were in trouble, where my entire family waited without knowing where I’d been or why I wasn’t there — that was too much.
I couldn’t even relieve the pressure by getting physically sick. I just had to sit and drive, cursing the speed limit and other cars around me as I tried to breathe through the horrible twist in my stomach.
Cameron was waiting outside when I arrived, his hands in the pockets of his work slacks, dress shirt undone a few buttons at the top. His eyes were worn and tired, his brows pinched together as I rushed toward him. I started in a speed walk that eventually turned into a jog, and by the time I reached him, I didn’t realize I’d been full on sprinting until I crashed into his chest.
“Oh, Cameron,” I cried as he wrapped his arms around me, the familiar smell of his cologne comforting me more than I could have imagined it ever would. “I’m so sorry. I had my phone turned off, and I didn’t know, and I rushed here as fast as I could and—”
“Shhh, it’s okay.”
Cameron rubbed my lower back with one hand, the other smoothing over my hair as I shook my head against his chest.
“No, no I should have been here. Is she okay?” I asked, pulling back enough to look up at him. “Christina? Is she okay? Is the baby okay?”
“They’re both fine,” Cameron said, and a sigh of relief rushed through me, making me even weaker in his arms. He held on tighter. “It’s DVT.”
“DVT?” I repeated, and he nodded, smoothing his hand over my lower back again.
I was familiar with the term from my own pregnancy, the acronym short for Deep Vein Thrombosis. We’d been warned of the risk when we were trying to decide if we could fly for a trip on spring break when I was pregnant. We’d stayed local, just to be safe.
“The doctor said Christina likely sat in the same position too long on the flight,” Cameron continued, “which caused a blood clot in her left leg. She didn’t even realize it until they landed and she tried walking on it. The pain got worse the farther she went, so Graham brought her here. But, she’s okay. They’ve got her on blood thinners and a few other cautionary medicines and they’ve got fluids going through her.”
“And the baby—”
“Is fine,” Cameron said quickly. “Heartbeat is strong, no stress. They want to keep them here for a while, just to monitor everything and make sure her clot clears up and that they can hopefully prevent it from happening again.”
I blew out a hard breath, running my hands back through my hair. “Oh, thank God. Are Mom and Dad here?”
Cameron nodded.
“I’ve got to call Mr. Henderson,” I said, ripping my phone from my pocket. “Tell him I’m not coming in tomorrow.”
“It’s okay. I already got in touch with him.”
I blinked, thumb hovering over Mr. Henderson’s contact in my phone as I looked back up at Cameron. “You did?”
“I did. I told him the situation and he said to take your time coming back, he’ll get you a sub for the rest of the week.” Cameron squeezed my hip where he held me. “And he sends his prayers.”
“Okay,” I said, relieved. “Well, next, we’ll need rooms nearby. I’ll ask the front desk here what they recommend and get us set up for the next couple of nights, at least.”
“I got us all suites here at the hotel connected to the hospital. It’s just a short tram ride away, takes less than five minutes, and we’re all on the same floor. Me and you, Graham, and I got your parents a room, too.”
I stared at Cameron, my heart squeezing like a sponge under my tight ribcage. “The birds,” I said. “They’ll need someone to feed them and give them water, and the cage, it has to be cleaned every other night.”
“Baby,” Cameron said, pulling me closer. He framed my face with his hands, running his right thumb along my jaw line. “It’s handled. I got it all covered, okay?”
My throat was thick with emotion, and all I could do was nod. It was more than Cameron had said to me in the two weeks since I’d been home from the conference, and every word out of his mouth was as comforting as his hug. He’d handled everything, because that’s what Cameron did — it was who he was.
“Now, the one who needs you most right now is your brother. He’s had one hell of a night, and I remember what that felt like,” he said, swallowing. “Being a father-to-be for the first time is already scary as hell, and to have something like this happen, it’s hell on Earth. So, go freshen up in the restroom, take a few breaths, and I’ll meet you at the room with a coffee. Okay?”
Tears were flooding my eyes again, but they didn’t fall. I forced a breath to hold them back, squeezing Cameron’s forearms as he let me go. “Okay. Thank you, Cam.”
He smiled, tucking his hands back in his pockets as I took a breath and headed into the hospital.
I rushed through the halls, asking nurses along the way to make sure I was headed in the right direction. All the while, my mind swirled with thoughts of Cameron.
He didn’t even ask where I was.
And, what was worse, was he likely already knew.
After two weeks of barely any conversation, of absolutely no love shared in our bed, I assumed he’d given up. I assumed he was finished, just waiting out the time I’d promised him, knowing what would happen at the end of it.
But he was here, in a time I needed him most. He already had everything handled. He knew exactly what I would need, and he took care of it — before I even got to the hospital.
He was here.
And Reese wasn’t.
But now wasn’t the time to think about any of that.
Dad was the first one I saw once I’d made it to the room, after I’d done as Cameron suggested and made a stop by the restroom. I started in on my story telling him why I was late, but he shook his head and swept me into a bear hug.
“No need for all that. You’re here now.”
“Is Graham inside?”
Dad nodded, and his eyes looked just as tired as Cameron’s had. “They just asked us to leave for the evening so Christina could get some rest. He’s saying his goodbyes to her now, though truth be told, I’m surprised she convinced him to leave, at all. I think the only reason he was okay with it is because he didn’t sleep much last night, either, knowing they’d be flying.”
“Charlie! Oh, Charlie, you made it.”
I heard Mom’s voice before I saw her, and I turned just in time to catch her hug.
“Hey, Mom. You okay?”
She pulled back with a sniffle, but a smile, nonetheless. “I’m better now that you’re here, too. Did Cameron find you?”
“He did,” I answered. “I think he was going to grab some coffee and head back this way.”
“Bless his heart. He’s done so much for all of us tonight.”
My heart squeezed again, and I opened my mouth to respond when the door to Christina’s room opened behind me.
I turned, finding my brother there, and he looked worst of all.
Graham had always been a larger version of myself — same dark hair, same dark eyes, and same knock-off version of our mother’s nose. Where I was petite, he was just over six foot and shaped more like Dad with his broad shoulders.
I hadn’t seen my brother cry since he broke his arm in tenth grade, but his eyes were red and puffy, his expression long and sad as he forced a smile.
“Hey, Sis.”
“Graham,” I whispered, pulling him into a hug and holding him there. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay. Both my girls are okay.”
I pulled back then, eyes wide. “Both girls?”
Graham nodded. “They did an ultrasound to make sure she was okay, and they didn’t know we hadn’t had our appointment yet. The doctor said, ‘Her heartbeat is strong and steady.’” Graham choked out a laugh. “I think I blacked out for a second.”
I laughed with him, squeezing his arms. “A baby girl. Congratulations, big bro.”
“Thank you. Do you want to say hi?” He pointed to the door behind him.
“No, no. Let them rest. I’ll see Christina first thing in the morning.”
Mom and Dad were down the hall at the nurses’ station, talking with someone behind the desk. Graham watched them for a moment before walking me away from Christina’s door.
“Where were you tonight?”
I swallowed, avoiding his eyes as I picked a piece of lint off my shirt.
It was from Reese’s blanket.
“I had a meeting at school,” I said. “I turned my phone off so it wouldn’t interrupt.”
“This late?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Well, I mean, it ended a while ago, but we had to clean up and everything. As soon as I turned my phone on, I came straight here.”
Graham watched me closely, one brow raised just a bit. I knew he didn’t believe me, but thankfully, he didn’t push.
“Well, I’m glad you made it. It’s been hell, Charlie.” He shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest as his eyes found Christina’s door behind me. “When I explained her symptoms, they rushed her back here so quick. I couldn’t come at first. And I…” He blew a breath through his lips. “I was a mess. I thought I was going to lose them both. I know that sounds dramatic, but it was all I could think. And I blamed myself, even though I didn’t know what was wrong. It had to be my fault. I had to give myself the blame so I had something to focus on other than the fact that my wife and child were behind closed doors with their care in the hands of complete strangers.”
I offered Graham a sympathetic smile, reaching out to squeeze his arm. “I can’t even imagine. But they’re both okay now, and you didn’t do anything wrong.”
“It’s just crazy, you know? I haven’t even met her, my daughter, and she’s already my entire world.”
That spot inside my chest for Jeremiah and Derrick singed to life, the ache strong and present, and I pressed a cold hand over that spot as I nodded.
“Trust me. I get it.”
Graham’s eyes found mine then, and he frowned, reaching out to pull me into a hug.
“I know you do. I’m sorry, I know turning on your phone to all those messages must have been hard.”
“It was,” I admitted. “But I’m okay. Don’t worry about me. The only thing I want you to worry about is finding a way to get some sleep tonight.”
Graham laughed, letting me go. “Yeah, well, I’m going to try,” he said. “It’ll be a little bit easier, thanks to Cameron. He got us all rooms right here at the hospital hotel, so I won’t be far from Christina.”
“He told me,” I said, and as if on cue, I heard Cameron’s laugh from down the hall.
He was there with Mom and Dad, making everyone laugh over something he’d said — even Mom. Her face was still spotted with mascara, but she was laughing and holding onto Dad’s arm, staring at Cameron like he was the only source of relief in this entire building.
“He just stepped right up and started handling everything when he got here,” Graham said, and my eyes stayed on Cameron down the hall as he spoke. “I mean, Mom was a mess. Dad, all he could do was try to keep Mom from having an all-out anxiety attack. I wasn’t good for anything but hounding the doctors for more information. But Cameron? He made the calls, brought us coffee and water, made us eat dinner.” Graham shrugged. “He took care of us. All of us.”
“It’s because we’re his family,” I whispered, more to myself than to my brother. “We’re the only one he’s got, you know?”
I turned to Graham then and he nodded, his hand finding my shoulder as we both looked down the hall again.
“He’s a good man, Charlie.”
Cameron’s eyes found mine then, like he could sense me watching him, and he smiled, holding up the coffee he’d brought me just enough for me to see. He looked so right, standing there with my family, like it was a picture he’d been painted into long before the sketch was even drawn.
I just smiled back, still rubbing that ache in my chest — one that stung for more than one reason, now.
“Yeah,” I said to Graham. “He really is.”