Harlow gives me a side hug. “This is so messy, with the fake, accidental marriage thing that I almost don’t envy you.”
“Almost,” Shelby repeats. “I would take messy over my vibrator, which I swear is about to explode from overuse.”
We all groan and Mayhem covers her ears and calls out, “TMI!”
I stand up as the colors in the sky are slowly fading. “Okay. Let’s get ready to rumble.”
We head back into the house, piling the coffee mugs on the piece of old Formica countertop which for some reason my parents have never updated like the rest of the kitchen counters. We head upstairs to the rooms we all slept in and wash up and change. I check my text messages while I wait for Liv to finish up in my bathroom. Still nothing from Nash.
He had just gotten back from meeting with his coach when I was outside waiting for my Uber to go to the airport. He seemed… off? Distant and stressed, even though he said everything went okay with Coach Braddock. He shocked me by explaining Bryce had confessed to the truth already, on his own, which was mind-blowing. Maybe the guy was telling me the truth and what he did to me was a drunken mistake. Then again, even those deserve consequences when they scare a child for life.
I push Bryce, and even Nash, from my brain so that I can concentrate on my family and this horrible day. Please may she be alright, I think as I get ready? Liv and Mayhem head home to drive to the hospital with their dad and mom, since Callie knows they're here. Shelby, Mac, Mallory, Harlow, and I drive straight to the hospital. Grady, Tate, and Conner are already there. Theo shows up shortly after. He looks rough, to say the least.
Harlow leans into her brother’s personal space as we walk into the hospital. “Is that… blood?”
She points to a couple of spots on his shirt and he pushes her hand away. “I don’t know. Maybe. I just grabbed crap that was in a laundry pile. My alarm didn’t go off.”
“How do you almost fuck this up?” Conner growls at him.
“Fuck off. I’m here, alright?” Theo replies and storms ahead of us. When he passes me I swear I smell booze, but I don’t say a thing because now is not the time.
My mom and dad, Aunt Rose, and Uncle Luc are already waiting by the elevators in the oncology wing. I hug them all. Aunt Rose, who is the biggest softy in the family, is already weepy. Uncle Luc pulls her into him and kisses her temple. “Fleur. Be strong.”
The idea for what we’re going to do is Mayhem’s. She saw it on Grey’s Anatomy. Callie, we all found out a couple of nights ago on a family Zoom, is not just having a biopsy. She's opted the have the entire ovary removed immediately and it will be biopsied later. She would rather be safe than sorry and her ovaries have been out of commission for a year and a half now anyway. That's how she worded it, talking about menopause.
So Callie was having surgery, and they'd be wheeling her down this hall and we intend to line it so we are the last thing she sees, cheering her on. Shelby goes to the nurses' station. She works here so she can get the scoop. She finds out what room Callie is in and leads us down the hall. We follow her instructions as she tells us where to stand, and that she'll be rolled down to a large elevator in the left wing. Grandma and Grandpa show up last. They're moving slower these days and Grandpa has a cane that folds into a seat, which he immediately sets up. Grandma brought flowers she's holding and will put them in Callie's room when she's done with the procedure.
Callie's room door opens and her bed starts being wheeled down the hall. Her eyes widen at the sight of us all and she begins to cry. "What are you all doing here? Tate, you have hockey! Conner, you have hockey! Grady, you are on fire. Go back to Cali and be on fire. You guys! I shouldn't be ruining your lives."
“Baby, they love you,” Uncle Devin reminds her as he walks beside her.
“And besides, you ruin their lives in so many other ways, this isn’t even on the list,” Dad quips. Mom smacks him hard in the chest.
Callie flips him the middle finger. “I’m going to be fine.”
“We know,” Theo calls. “Which is why I’m adding vodka to your recovery Jell-O. Party time in room three-twenty-six!”
Everyone laughs but I notice Harlow glare at him.
We take over an entire waiting area, but no one minds. After all our family donates buckets of money to this place every year, and we even have a wing named after us in the pediatric department. We all make small talk but it’s painful and I can’t stop glancing over at Uncle Devin. I’ve never seen him so grim or so pale. My mom doesn’t stop holding Aunt Rose’s hand.
“Okay, new game,” Shelby announces. “Everyone has to tell the rest of us one positive thing.”
“I’m not getting traded,” Theo blurts out. “I know the rumors are rampant but the coach called yesterday and he assures me I’m sticking around.”
“Good,” Luc says and smiles at his son as others clap him on the shoulder or say words of congratulations.
“I’m going back to school. To become a doctor,” Shelby announces. “I’m sick of taking orders from these dudes and quite frankly, I can do more and I want to do more. Oh and U Maine offered me a scholarship.”
Everyone lets out shocked sounds. Aunt Leah jumps to her feet and hugs her daughter while Uncle Cole beams. “That’s my girl. Kick the patriarchy’s ass and save lives doing it.”
“I asked Mac to marry me,” Conner blurts out.
“And I said yes!” Mac adds gleefully.
And now we’re cheering so loud that a nurse has to come by and shush us. After a round of hugs and tears from Aunt Rose who is a hopeless romantic, we settle down and keep going to keep the mood light. Harlow tells us she’s skating again, which blows my mind. She used to be an incredible competitive ice dancer and I never understood why she gave it up. “I have a competition in a couple of months.”
We all make note of it in our calendars immediately. “That explains why you’re so toned and lean. Training.”
