Page 107 of Love Marks
Quinn
My first thought is there must be a mistake. Followed by others like it. You know, this can’t be true, this isn’t right, on and on until I finally wrap my head around the contents of the folder I just had in my hands. I don’t have time to process it. Almost as soon as I register what I’m seeing, my head is in the toilet and Wesley’s concerned face is all I can see. Before I know it, I’m in the backseat as Pete drives me back to my place.
I’ve been gasping for breath for the past few minutes. Pete already asked me twice if I’m okay, and he’s eyeing me in the mirror with concern.
“Are you sure you’re alright?” He asks again, glancing back at me.
“Fine,” I grit the word out. “Remember what I said, don’t—”
“Say anything to Wesley, yeah, yeah. What’s the big secret from him? He’d want to know what’s upsetting you.”
He’s upsetting me. He’s the reason I’m on the verge of sobbing in the back of this car. I’ve managed to keep it together so far. I just need to get out of this car, into my bedroom where I can let myself break. A humorless laugh erupts out of me at how we’ve somehow come full circle. How this all started with a folder and now it ends with one.
My phone rings with a call from my mom and I ignore it. I can’t handle her soothing voice right now. She’d probably say it was a misunderstanding and that I should talk to Wes, which is the last thing I want to do right now. My shock from the whole situation seems to be wearing off as the magnitude of this betrayal rocks through me again.
I just don’t understand. Why would he do this to me?
He probably realized how pathetic you really are. Probably just wanted an easy lay.
The cold words taunt me, sending a jolt to my chest. I shake my head.
No.
No, Wes isn’t like that. He wouldn’t use me like that.
Maybe the documents are old. I guess if it was something Wesley did months ago, before we got together, I could understand that. Maybe it is just a misunderstanding, and I shouldn’t have run out of there. Don’t I at least owe him the chance to explain?
My phone rings again with another call from my mom. It’s not like her to call twice. I press the phone to my ear with a heavy sigh.
“Hello?”
“Quinn, it’s Joe. Listen, I’m at the hospital with your mom. Everything is fine, but you need to come right away. Your mother…”
Everything fades into the background as Joe speaks. I don’t hear the whooshing of the bikers passing beside us, the honking of the taxis trying to merge lanes, or the soft sound of Pete tapping his fingers against the steering wheel. It all disappears. All I can hear is the sound of Joe’s voice as he tells me the news that will shatter me completely.
I finally break down, sobbing, the wretched sobs bursting out me. I cry and cry and cry until there’s nothing left inside me at all.
* * *
Pete drops me off at the hospital. I feel far away from myself as I walk through the halls. I hear myself asking the nurse which room my mother is in. She must tell me, because my legs start moving, carrying me towards the ICU.
I see Joe first. He’s sitting, his hands clasped in front of him, his head down. I realize with a jolt that he’s praying.
“Joe,” my raspy voice breaks out as I stumble down the hall to meet him, glancing around. “Where is she? Is she okay?”
He wraps his arms around me. “She’s fine. She’s stable. They’re waiting on the results of the MRI and CAT scan before they decide if she needs surgery.”
I step back, glancing around at the too-empty hallway. “Can I see her? Where’s the doctor?”
Joe sits back down in his chair. “He said he’d be back shortly with an update and we could see her then. He’s on the phone with Dr. Emmanuel getting up to speed on her case.”
Reluctantly, I sit next to Joe. My hand is tapping on my leg impatiently. I need to do something. Talk to the doctor, see my mom. Something.
“Explain the surgery to me again.”
Joe repeats again what he told me on the phone. My mom was in the shower when she passed out and hit her head. It’s only a mild bump and luckily, she doesn’t have a concussion, but they realized that she had internal bleeding when she arrived. It turns out her liver is leaking blood or something, so they need to do surgery to repair it. Joe does his best to explain it to me, but all I know is that it sounds bad. Really bad.
“I don’t understand. If she has breast cancer, why is she having issues with her liver?”