“Ryan,seriously?”
I nodded and suddenly felt like I had made a big mistake in telling her. I thought it would bring uscloser.
“I need to call myparents.”
She got up from the couch and began pacing around the small living room as she spoke on the phone to her parents. The way she delivered the news to her parents, mademesound like thecriminal.
“Prison…No, I didn’t know! He said for life…something about hurting him and hisbrother.”
The conversation went on for too long, and I grew agitated. This reaction wasn’t what I had expected. I felt like I had after my mom’s friends used me and I hated the fact that Nikki managed to make me feel thatway.
* * *
Istill receivedemails from my brother and sometimes my mom, though it had been dwindling. I opened one that came over just this morning and had a subject line of “Mom.”
Ry,
Mom collapsed at work and was taken to Sherman Oaks Hospital. Don’t be a dick, put yourself to the side for once and come seeMom.
“Fuck,” I said under my breath. I told Nikki that I needed to go to California to visit mymom.
“Okay, baby, Iunderstand.”
Baby.
I was fully aware that she would have difficulty getting out of teaching, but part of me was disappointed that she hadn’t offered to go with me.I honestly didn’t want her around my mom, or more like, I didn’t want my mom near her. But still, I’d thought she would have at least offered to go. Maybe that was selfish ofme.
By early evening, I stood in front of the reception desk at the hospital. I made my way towards her room and prayed that my brother wouldn’t be there. I cautiously stepped into her dimly lit room and sitting next to her was mybrother.
“Well, you do read your email after all,” Chad said as hestood.
I glanced at Mom; she had been asleep. Chad rounded her bed and stood about a foot away fromme.
“It’s been over two fucking years,Ryan.”
“Iknow.”
“I’d hoped that in two years you’d have realized that the world doesn’t revolve aroundyou.”
“It’s never revolved around me. You sent destructive videos to my university. Don’t act so surprised that it has been twoyears.”
“Still selfish, I see.” His eyes roamed down my body, making me instantlyuncomfortable.
“What happened?” I quickly turned the attention away fromme.
“I got a call around eight this morning from her work. They said she passed out and collapsed. The ambulance brought her here. By the time I got here, she was alert. They’ve done a shit load of tests, and we’re just waiting for the doctor to come by and tell us what’sup.”
After a few hours of insults from Chad, the doctor finally came in. They had nothing conclusive at the moment but were going to continue totest.
“Ry, let’s go get something to eat. I’ve missedyou.”
“Are you fucking kidding me? You wrecked my life, and then you want to go grab food like were friends. Who’s the selfish dicknow?”
“We were friends once,remember?”
“I do. I also remember you making a choice to not give a fuck aboutme.”
“Those weren’t always my choices,Ry.”
