“He’s got a point,” Cash added. I shot a glare at my friend. He shrugged and unwrapped his English muffin sandwich. “You’re not with Ronny anymore.”
I didn’t say anything, instead choosing to eat my banana and oatmeal in silence. They were right, but it didn’t feel right. I hated the idea of leaving Ronny here while I went on to live my life with Tate. It felt... wrong.
“Look, we’ll take care of him. You can visit, hell, youshouldvisit often. But as a friend. You can’t keep leading him on. The guys been through enough. And he’s probably in a weird mental state right now. You need to let Ronny accept and process the break-up. Staying here with him would give him the wrong idea,” Cash, the realist, explained.
“Fine. Okay. I’ll visit for a bit and leave. I just want to make sure he’s okay.”
“Don’t worry. We’ve got this. I’ll stay and read him bedtime stories. We’ll bring Travie and Foster up in a day or so and it’ll be fun. He’ll hardly have time to think about what you’re up to.” Dallas flashed me a smile as he picked up a strip of bacon and ate it like a fruit roll up. Watching him eat was making me nauseous.
I waited until they were finished before heading back upstairs. I suddenly didn’t want to be alone. Despite the coffee, I was growing exhausted, and my mind wasn’t in a great place. I hadn’t even seen Ronny yet and I felt like I was this close to bursting into tears. As odd as it was, I needed the support of my best friend and my twin brother right now. That was a sentence I never thought I’d say.
The elevator had just opened when my phone rang. I pulled it out of my pocket and saw Tate’s face on the screen. I waved the pair off as I went to the waiting room to take the call.
“Hey you. It’s early,” I forced a light laugh.
“Yeah, Cara got me up for a bottle. Thought I’d check in. Is he okay?”
“Yes and no. He actually just got out of surgery. Cash and Dallas are here too. They are going to stay with him. We’re about to go to his room and see how he’s doing. He was t-boned by a drunk driver.”
Tate swore.
“Damn. Well, I’m glad he’s alive. Stay as long as you need to.”
“Are you sure? How’s the baby? How many times has she woken up?” I asked quickly.
“Woah,” he chuckled. I could hear the sleepiness in his voice. “She’s fine. Only woke up twice. Fed her and changed her diaper both times. Don’t worry about us. I can hold down the fort until you come home.”
“Are you sure? I hate being away from you guys.” As I said the words, it hit me how true they were. It was insane how quickly my life had changed.
“It’s fine. You go and make sure Ronny’s okay. We’ll be here.”
“Okay, thank you. I’ll keep you updated.”
“I love you,” he yawned. I hesitated for only a moment before replying.
“I love you too.”
I ended the call and stepped out of the waiting room to go find Ronny’s room. I was headed down a hallway when Dallas and Cash popped out of a room towards the end of the hall. They were both shaking their heads, their faces grim. My heart pumped a beat faster. My brain instantly went into panic mode. I hurried over to them.
“What’s wrong? Is he alright? Is he awake?”
They shared a look quickly. Dallas blinked and rubbed the back of his neck.
“Yeah, he’s awake. He’s pretty beat up but talking.”
Cash shot him a dirty look and my brother’s eyes widened as he lifted his shoulders. I looked from one to the other in confusion. What was I missing?
“What’s going on? Why are you guys being weird? What’s wrong with him?” I shot question after question at them. Neither of them spoke for a long moment.
“He’s got some memory loss. He thinks you two are still together.”
* * *
It took me a while to go into his room. I didn’t know how to respond to Cash’s revelation. What was I supposed to do?
“I’m going to go find a doctor now to tell them. That can’t be right,” Dallas murmured.
“No shit it can’t be right,” I snapped. I turned away from them and crossed my arms. This was so screwed up. So fucking screwed up. “What did he say?” I turned back to them. Cash looked towards the open door and with an awkward smile he reached over and shut it softly.
