We wanted to make sure he always had someone to support him through this.
The doors to the ICU open, and an exhausted Zeke walks out. His gaze is distant as his eyes meet mine.
“Hey.” His voice is shaky. “Lunch time already?”
“Yeah,” I force a smile. I don’t bother asking him how he’s doing; I already know. “Ember told me about the Chinese place near the hospital, so I picked up a bunch of stuff from there. It’s also something you can heat up later if you don’t finish it or—”
Zeke sinks into my arms. “Thank you, Tate. I honestly don’t know how I’d be getting through this without you guys.”
“We’ve got you, always. You know that. We love you, and we love your mom. Whatever we can do to help, just let us know.”
He rubs his hand against my back, a sad smile growing on his face. “Let’s see what you brought.”
He sits in the empty seat next to the food. He searches through it, occasionally pulling something out to show Avalon as if it’s the most exciting thing in the world.
I’m happy he has her.
He deserves to have a life outside of everything that’s going on. If there’s one thing I know about his mom—
She would want that for him.
thirty-eight
Fletcher
Ican’t even imagine how he’s feeling.” Stella rests a hand on her stomach.
She’s ready to pop, her due date’s around the corner, but I’m getting Déjà vu from the day I found out she and Chase were having a baby.
“Elise was always such a welcoming woman. I was really hopeful that she was going to pull through this.” Chase drops a hand on Stella’s knee, giving it a gentle squeeze. “She was always Zeke’s entire world. Every time he came over here, he spoke so highly of her. He was so excited every time she entered remission, even if it was only temporary.”
“Yeah, he thought she had finally pulled through. Honestly, if you had seen her, you never would’ve questioned her health. She looked healthier than she had in a long time.” Tate pushes a strand of hair behind her ear.
When Zeke’s mom ended up in the hospital, and we found out that she wouldn’t be pulling through this time, I knew I needed to go home.
I don’t come home often, typically only for holidays and occasionally for a surprise visit or birthday, but the minute that happened, the first thing I wanted to do was come home.
I called my moms that night, after Tate and I left the hospital, and told them what was going on and that I’d be coming home in a few days because I just really needed my moms.
I couldn’t imagine going through the rest of my life and all of my biggest accomplishments without them. Knowing Zeke won’t have his mom when he signs with the Red Wings or when he plays his first game in the NHL. It made me realize I take having them for granted.
I’ve always appreciated my parents and everything they’ve done for me, but it’s a different kind of appreciation now.
“Who’s with him now?” Stella asks, leaning back on the couch. “I take it he’s been staying at the hospital.”
“Oh, you’ll never believe this.” I sit forward. “Zeke has a girlfriend.”
“What?” Chase’s jaw drops. “He hasn’t dated anyone since—”
“High school.” I cut him off. “I know. And the craziest thing is they’ve been seeing each other since October.”
“October?” Stella’s eyes widen. “And you didn’t know about it?”
Tate sits forward, her hand resting on my knee as she does, “No, nobody had any idea. He was kind of dodgy and disappeared all the time, but we just assumed it was because of his mom.”
“You guys weren’t confused when women stopped rotating through your front door?” Chase chuckles.
“Again, we know how important his mom is.” My hand instinctively lands on Tate’s. “We didn’t question him not being around. Honestly, we constantly made up reasons why he wasn’t.”
