“I don’t need anyone to take care of me,” I say as I reach for my water bottle.
“Oh yes. Miss Independent,” she teases me. Her thumb brushes my cheek, the other swiping under my eye. “Sweetie, you look so tired. Are they working you too hard?”
“No,” I say, pushing her bony hands away. “I’m fine. They take care of us.”
“I might have to have a word with that manager of yours. You have one of those, right?” she asks.
“Oh yeah. Avie. He’s fun,” I reply, beginning to tense.
“Avie. Well, now I have a name to call—”
The words have barely left her when she begins to cough. She smiles like it’s over after a couple of seconds. Still, my dad is on his feet, bucket in his hand. He launches it under her just as she starts coughing again, and this time, blood splatters from her lips.
Beep.
Beep.
I jump off the mattress. My dad hits the nurse button.
“What’s happening?” I ask.
I back into the wall when a nurse enters the room. Everything begins to run together. I don’t know where to look—
And the spell is over just as quickly as it began.
“Whew, that was a bad one, Mrs. Miller,” the nurse says, and I don’t understand how she’s making light of what just happened.
“A bad one?” I repeat, balking. “That’s what you call—”
“Bonnie.”
My dad’s voice is stern. It’s enough to punch me in the gut, and I stop talking before I clearly embarrass myself.
The nurse peers my way. “Oh, this must be your daughter,” she says. “Livi, she looks just like you,” she adds to my mom.
Mom wipes her mouth, relaxing back as the nurse checks her vitals for the hour, and the loving smile she gives me makes me want to run out of this room and never look back.
“My pride and joy,” my mom says. “She’s been touring with a band over the last year. Her dream. That’s where she’s been.”
“Uh huh.” The nurse looks at her watch and writes down the numbers on her hand before pulling out the computer behind the bed. “You told me. Drummer, right? What kind of band is it?” she asks me.
I hug my arms around my chest, hating this small talk. “Ah… metal—well, metalcore. A rock band,” I manage.
The nurse’s brows raise as her eyes drag over me again. “You’re a drummer in a rock band?”
“Yeah,” I say, beginning to sway.
She nods, smile on her lips. “That’s impressive,” she says. “You couldn’t ask them to give you a night off before now to come see your mom? You’re all she talks about.”
Beep.
Beep.
I clench my teeth. “It’s been a busy year,” I manage.
Calm down.
This isn’t personal.
