My heart warmed, and I smiled down at him. Though I was sitting in the hospital as Mom was in surgery, something felt … better. In some fucked up way, I felt like I was finally in a good place. I had people who were here to support me. I had friends and—I glanced down at Michael—family who would be there when I needed them.
“I know,” I said, and for the first time in a long time, I meant it.
He nodded to the seat next to me. “Can I sit?”
I patted the seat beside me and curled my arm around his, resting my head on his shoulder. Melissa gazed at us from across the room, and I didn’t know if she was glaring or just staring. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. At some point, we’d have to work things out, but I didn’t want the drama right now.
I intertwined my fingers with his, my eyes closing gently. After what seemed like days of waiting, Dr. Jackson walked into the waiting room.
“Mia,” he said, lips pressed into a tight line.
I shot up from my seat almost instantly, my stomach dropping. “What’s wrong? Is everything okay? When can I see her?” I asked, hoping to God that she’d made it.
James stood up next to me and placed a shaky hand on my shoulder, nodding to the doctor who had done surgery on him too.
Dr. Jackson paused for a moment and glanced around. “Your mother had some complications during her surgery …”
My heart stopped.
“But she is in recovery as we speak.”
I stood there in complete disbelief. After the complications bit, all I’d expected to hear was that she’d passed away.
I shook my head. “What did you say?” I asked, my voice small.
“Your mother is recovering, but—”
But? I didn’t care about the “but” right now. All I cared about was getting to see Mom again—alive. By the way she had talked earlier, I’d thought I would lose her for good. I’d thought I’d never see her again.
I threw my arms around him, not even able to cry happy tears. But I was beyond happy. I was ecstatic, gleeful, and so fucking thrilled. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”
“Mia, please, let me speak,” Dr. Jackson said after a few moments, gently pushing me away.
Michael grabbed my shoulders and pulled me off of him. “Let him tell you about the complications before you get excited,” he whispered in my ear.
My smile dropped, and I nodded to let him speak.
“A couple days ago, we found a blood clot in your mother’s brain, which can happen after brain surgery for aneurysms, especially after two. So, today we inserted a catheter to help the blood flow, but in recovery, we noticed your mother acting …different.”
I held my breath, my palms sweating, and listened to him. “Different how?”
“In her right eye, there’s some peripheral damage,” he said. “Her speech is a bit slurred at the moment. And she is having minor memory problems.”
“She won’t remember me?” I asked quietly, my heart sinking in my chest. “My mom won’t remember me?”
“I believe she will. We’ve run a couple tests, and we think she’s having some trouble with forming new memories. This usually lasts between a few minutes to months, but I can’t tell you for sure when she’ll recover from this.”
My heart sank, but I tried to keep a strong mind. Mom was alive. That was what I had hoped for, and maybe not remembering this time in the hospital might be good for her … but I had a feeling it wouldn’t be.
CHAPTER39
MIA
“Mom,” I said, throwing my arms around her shoulders and pulling her into a tight hug as soon as I could. The doctor had said she might not be able to make new memories anytime soon, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t. “You made it.”
She wrapped her arms around me and laughed into my chest. “I did, sweetheart. All those tears were for nothing,” she said, but there wasn’t reassurance in her words.
I didn’t want to tell her I had lost faith in her recovery or her ability to withstand another surgery, so I smacked my lips closed and enjoyed our moment together.
