Only One

“Do you want to give Sky your dad’s number so she can call him for you?”

I look up at him. His eyes are soft. “What?” I ask. I heard him clearly, but I have no idea what he’s talking about.

“We need to let your dad know what’s going on,” he says gently.

“I can do it.” I pull my phone out of my pocket and dial. It rings twice.

“Carrie?” Dad barks. His voice is nasally from sleep. “What’s wrong?”

My voice breaks. “Daddy,” I whisper.

“What is it, Carrie?”

They take Mom out the door on the stretcher, and I follow. The woman the neighbor called Sky puts a pair of sandals on my feet. I keep walking, the phone pressed against my wet face. I watch as they put Mom into the ambulance.

They motion for me to climb in too, so I do, and they buckle me in.

“Carrie!” Dad yells through the phone. The doors of the ambulance close. “Carrie, you have to speak to me!”

I swallow hard. “I think I wasted my one last moment,” I whisper.

Nick

My bed dips and I roll toward the middle. “Nick,” someone says impatiently, calling my name. I open my eyes and see Jack.

“Get out of my bed, Jack,” I say, and stuff my face into my pillow, drawing it under my head and plumping it.

“Nick,” she says, a little more impatiently. She shoves my shoulder. “Get up!”

I open my eyes. “Why?” She has her clothes on and her eyes are clear. She’s not drunk.

“It’s Carrie,” she says.

My eyes fly open. “What about Carrie?”

She gets up and opens my drawers, passing me a shirt and pants. “Get dressed,” she says. “It’s her mom.”

I start to pull my pants on. “What’s wrong with her?”

“My aunt works at the hospital, and she was there when they brought her in, but she couldn’t give me any more information. Carrie’s all by herself, except for some strange men no one knows.” She shoves me again. “Go,” she says, and she points toward the door.

I jam my feet into my sneakers. I walk by Jack and stop quickly to kiss her on the forehead. She scrunches up her face and pushes me away. She wipes a hand across her skin.

“Eww,” she says. But she’s smiling.

“Thank you,” I say.

She flops back onto my bed and pulls the covers under her chin. “I’m just going to say right here,” she says.

I don’t have time to move her out of my bed, so I let her stay. She can’t go home at this time of the night anyway. I flip the light off on my way out.

I hop in my dad’s old jeep and drive to the hospital. It’s not too far away, but it feels like it takes forever before I see the big signs that announce I’m close to the emergency room. Finally, I’m there, and I park.

I go through the emergency doors and there she is. She’s sitting in a chair with her legs drawn up close to her chin, like she’s trying to curl into a ball. Matthew Reed is sitting next to her, and I almost have to stop and do a double-take when I see him.

“Carrie!” I cry out. She startles and looks up at me, her eyes filling with tears immediately.

“Nick,” she says as I drop down in front of her. She’s in my arms before I can blink. Sobs wrack her body and she seems so small all of a sudden.

She knocks me over and I sink back onto the floor on my butt, and she comes down in my lap. I couldn’t pry her off with a crowbar, though, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I rub her back and stroke down the length of her hair until she settles. She sniffles and wipes her nose on my shirt.

“Sorry,” she whispers, as she wipes the snot into my shirt.

I chuckle and hug her tightly. “What happened?” I ask. “How’s your mom?”

She sniffles again and buries her head in my shirt.

Matt speaks up for her, thank God. “She’s having a reaction to the chemo. It’s pretty normal, but really scary.”

I stick my hand out to Matt to shake. “Thanks for hanging out with her.”

He smiles and shakes my hand. “I didn’t mind.”

Of all the people in the world, she got one of the Reeds to come to the hospital with her. Then I look up and see Paul come around the corner. My heart almost stops. He hands Matt a cup of coffee. “Hey, Nick,” he says.

Holy crap. He just said my name. He remembered me. “Paul,” I say with a nod.

Carrie looks up. “You guys know one another?”

Matt nods. “Nick was nice enough to get us some firewood.” He reaches for his pocket. “We still owe you for that.”

I wave him off. “Keep it. It didn’t cost me anything.”

He pulls his hand back from his wallet. “Thanks, man,” he says. He smiles at me.

“Can I go back and see her yet?” Carrie asks, her voice soft and wet.

Paul shakes his head. “I just saw the nurse in the hallway. She said they called your mom’s oncologist in and he’s with her now. He’ll be out to talk to you in a few minutes.”

“It’s not good, is it?” she asks.

He shakes his head and looks at Matt. “Probably not,” he says.

“I messed up, Nick,” she says. “I screwed up my one last moment,” she whispers, looking up at me. “Why did I do that?”

“Shh.” I pull her against me. “She’s still here. You haven’t passed up the last moment. There’s still time.”