I’m a crier, not a quitter.
I’m just gonna cry about it while I do it.
I put on my shoes and jacket and get out of the van, walking the short distance to the guys’ house. My heart races. I know convincing North won’t be easy, but I have to try. I have to make him understand that I’m not a fraud and that I’m here to help.
Just as I walk up to the driveway, their door swings open, and North and Nash step outside, ready for work. Hope surges, and I rush my steps, desperation in my voice as I call out, “North, please. I don’t want anything from you. Nothing. The only thing I want is for you to get help for Lio.”
But North ignores me, his face a mask of indifference. Nash tries to say something, but North pulls him along, not sparing me a second glance. They both get into the BMW and start to pull away, almost driving right over me as they back out of the driveway.
I turn, my heart sinking, to see Hunter standing in the doorway, holding Lio’s hand. Lio still looks faint, but the fact that he’s standing gives me a small glimmer of hope. I take a few tentative steps toward them, my voice trembling as I plead, “Hunter, please, you don’t have to believe me. Think I’m crazy, that’s fine. Get him checked anyway.”
Hunter’s expression hardens, and he steps forward, putting himself between me and Lio. “You’re not welcome here anymore,” he tells me, his voice cold and final.
“Why, what did Sloany do, Uncle Hunt?” Lio asks from behind him.
Not enough, buddy.
Hunter doesn’t answer him, or me for that matter. Instead, he ushers him inside, closing the door behind him. Panic risesin my chest, and I run up to the closed door, banging on it and shouting, “Hunter, please, just get him checked. If I’m wrong, it doesn’t hurt, but what if I’m right?”
There’s no response, just the sound of silence echoing back at me. I wait for what feels like an eternity, my heart sinking even more, but there’s still nothing. Defeated and heartbroken, I turn away from the door and trudge back to my van, determined to try again tonight.
FIFTY-TWO
Later that day,after sitting in my van for hours, contemplating what I should do, a sudden soft knock on the van’s side door startles me.
I turn my head, and my heart leaps into my throat.
Hunter?
But when I pull open the sliding door, I find Lio standing there before me, pale and trembling, his chest heaving with each raspy breath. Panic courses through me as I pull him inside, holding his upper arms while scanning him from head to toe.
“Lio, what are you doing here?” I gasp, my voice shaky as I notice how bad of shape he’s in. He can’t seem to catch his breath, and his coughing is violent, wracking his small frame.
“Are you going away?” he manages to whisper between coughs, tears streaming down his pale cheeks.
“No, buddy. I’m not. But you need to sit down, okay? I’m going to call your Uncle Hunter. Did you walk here all by yourself?” I ask him, my concern growing.
I grab him under the arms and sit him on my bed, and he simply nods at my question.
Brave, poor baby.
A chill runs down my neck, and I don’t have to turn to know who has just joined us.
“Sloan, we don’t have time. You need to get him to the hospital now,” Jessica urges, panic in her voice.
Lio is trembling as I lose my grip on him. His breaths come in ragged gasps, and I can see the fear in his eyes.
“I’ll call Hunter,” I state, reaching for my phone.
“No!” Jessica’s voice is insistent. “We don’t have time for that. Lio’s getting worse by the second, and Hunter will not act. Drive him to the hospital.Now.”
I hesitate only for a moment before making the snap decision to trust a ghost.
Again.
I wanted a chance to help Lio, and here it is. I just hope Van-essa can make the forty-minute drive. There should be enough coolant, and the hose should hold on long enough to get us there, hopefully. The possibility is that I will get stuck there then.
Oh well.
