Chapter 33
Maia
I find hospitals to be the coldest and most depressing places on earth. And not because they are filled with the sick and dying, but because as the moments tick by, while my mother’s ventilator whooshes monotonously in the background, I’m reminded of the meaning of family. Little children run to hug relatives, adults embrace the hands of their elderly parents. The world is full of so much love for them. I’m happy for them, and also insanely jealous.
My hand rests gently atop my mother’s. According to the doctors, there are no signs of life, not yet; but Blake assures me that some coma patients are able to hear everything. So I talk. I tell her about school, about my life, about how I feel. It’s not until I start to tell her about Jackson that the tears come streaming down my cheeks.
“I really do love him,” I say almost sobbing. “I’ve never felt so empty in my life. I screwed so much up. Then he left, and I don’t know how it all just fell apart. I miss him. I’m lonely. But that’s over now. Now I’m focusing on you. I should never have let things get this far. I’m so sorry. I should have been there. For you.”
The curtain shuffles slightly behind me and I quickly wipe my eyes with my sleeve. Blake walks cautiously into the room. He looks every bit the lifesaving doctor in his white surgical coat, complete with a stethoscope hanging casually around his neck.
“Hi,” I say softly.
“Thought you could use some lunch,” he says quietly.
I glance down at my watch. It’s closer to dinner than lunch, but I nod and give my mother a gentle kiss on the cheek before walking out with him. The hospital cafeteria is a hot mess, with ringing cell phones, exhausted looking family members, and a lot of very antsy children running around. We order and collect our food before Blake leads me to a table in the corner.
It seems like a very long while before either of us speaks. Finally, he clears his throat. “It will be okay, Maia. One way or another, everything will work out the way it should.”
I wonder how much of the Jackson conversation he heard. “I believe that Blake, I really do. But right now everything just feels so hopeless to me. What did I do to deserve so much support from you?” I ask gratefully.
“I’m being a friend Maia, that’s all. You are beautiful. No man could possibly deny that, but you obviously have unresolved issues elsewhere,” he says looking down. “To be honest, I don’t think I can distract you from them completely.” So he did hear the conversation I had with my mother.
“Then why waste your time?” I ask, feeling every bit as undeserving as I should.
“Because that’s what friends do,” he replies simply. “And gentlemen don’t push too hard, either.” He gives me a reassuring and gorgeous smile before getting up to return our trays.
My cell phone has remained perched on my bedside, minus the sim card, since my mother entered the hospital. I don’t know if Jade or Jackson has called, and the thought plays on my mind steadily throughout the day. I call my lawyer from a pay phone in the hospital lobby, and he advises me that the charges against Jackson have been dropped completely. I make a second call to the police station here to confirm that the charges are still holding against my father, and they are. I breathe a sigh of relief on both accounts. I’m anxious as to how Jade will react to me not showing up in Atlanta or calling, but I can only hope that once she knows my reasons, she will understand.
It’s dark by the time I leave the hospital. My mother had no visitors today besides me. It’s no surprise, considering that in our society, this is a major scandal. Then a thought slams into me. I haven’t told Megs about what happened. Even if she was worried about my mother not coming home yesterday, there was no way for her to contact me, due to my disabled phone.
I stop at the convenience store at the end of my street and buy a new sim card before racing home. As I’m shoving my wallet back into my bag, I slam into a body. I look up and Bryce’s irritating face is staring back at me, with a sympathetic smirk plastered on his face. He quickly shoves a pack of Magnum XXL condoms into his pocket. It seems someone is a touch presumptuous about his own size. I meet his smirk with one of my own.
“Maia,” he breathes out.
His voice grates at my nerves. f-ucking ass. “Bryce,” I say curtly.
“Hey, so sorry about your mother and your father being in prison, that’s rough.”
“And you care, because?” I retort sarcastically.
“Trying to be supportive, that’s all,” he says defensively, looking genuinely wounded. I don’t think he realizes how much of an ass he actually comes across as.
“I’m sure it’s the talk of the town,” I say shortly. “We know how much Manhattan loves a good scandal.”
Bryce looks down. “I’m genuinely sorry,” he says, and I almost feel sorry for being so hard on him. Almost. “On a brighter note, you must be happy that your boyfriend is back in town,” he says, smiling.
My heart seizes. There’s no way I’m about to elude to the sleazy asshole that is Bryce that Jackson and I are not together. In part because I’m not in the mood for his unwanted advances, but more so because I don’t want to admit it to myself, just yet.
“Yeah, it is great, isn’t it?” I say with an overly exaggerated smile.
“Say hi to Morgan,” I jibe, before walking towards my car.
My legs quiver unsteadily, and the minute I climb into my car I let out a huge sigh. “He’s back,” I say smiling. Then I realize that he’s not mine to welcome back anymore. And my heart sinks, all over again.