“No!” I shout in outrage. “Stop the madness.”
Dad laughs. “I gotta get the buns. We’re almost ready here.” He passes by me, leaning in to press a quick kiss on my temple. “I’m glad you’re here, Lil. I miss you.”
I smile, turning to watch him disappear into the house. “I miss you too, Dad.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
COLT
November 16th
Children’s Hospital
Los Angeles, CA
I’ll never get used to this. I’ll never stop doing it, but I’ll never get used to it.
My stomach is tight, sick with the heavy hospital scent filling the lobby. I can’t ignore it. Not like they probably can. They live it because this is their home. Tied to machines by wires and tubes that beep and whir all night long, lulling them to sleep.
The kids aren’t the hardest part though. Kids are resilient. They’re hopeful. They’re stronger than any adult will ever dream to be. It’s the parents that kill me. That tired look in their eyes. The creases in the corner of their mouths. Frown lines. Worry etched in every feature, even when they’re smiling. Gray hairs. Trembling fingers. To give a kid life only to watch it be stripped from them breath by breath, I can’t imagine what it must be like to watch. It gives me a better understanding of my mom and how she must feel every time I take a hit.
I remind myself to call her when I’m done here.
“You’re Colt Avery, aren’t you?”
I look to my left to find a girl with white, blond hair, big green eyes, and some kind of blue uniform on. I think it’s the kind they wear in the gift shop. She’s looking up at me timidly.
“Yeah. Hey.” I offer her my hand.
Her cheeks flush red as cherries as she takes it delicately in hers. “It’s so cool to meet you.”
“Thanks. You too…”
Her blush deepens. “Garnet.”
“Garnet. Nice to meet you.”
“You’re here to visit the kids?”
“That’s the plan.”
“Oh my God, that’s so sweet. You’re really sweet.”
“It’s an act,” Tyus tells her bluntly. “He’s a jerk.”
I shake my head. “I’m not a jerk.”
“You are.” He addresses Garnet in a conspiratorial whisper. “He uses stray dogs for target practice on his property.”
“What property?” I demand.
“Wouldn’t the cops like to know?”
“You’re an asshole.”
Tyus shrugs, looking away, already bored with the conversation. “You’re the dog hunter, man. I don’t know why you’re mad at me.”
“Gentleman,” Beverly, our hospital liaison calls to us. “We’re ready if you are.”
I nod to Garnet. “Have a good one. Please don’t tell people I’m a puppy killer, okay, kid?”
“I’m nineteen,” she blurts out after me. “I’m legal.”
I pause, looking back at her passively. “For what?”
She hesitates, her mouth hanging open. She’s more shocked than anyone that she said it, but there’s no going back now.
I cast her a wry smile to soften her embarrassment. “It was just an expression. But happy nineteenth birthday. Kid.”
Beverly, a middle aged woman with a big ass and a bigger smile, quickly leads us out of the lobby, but not before giving Garnet a disapproving, motherly look.
Other people recognize us as we cruise down the long, wide corridors. They smile and wave, but no one else engages us. Tyus, Trey, and I are wearing our home jerseys over regular street clothes, making it easy for everyone to tell who we are. In addition to our agents, we’re followed by an intern from the team pulling a small cart full of Kodiak swag. Jerseys, shirts, blankets, pillows, photos, posters. He has a digital camera dangling from his neck and a wad of Sharpies sticking out of his pocket. I reach over and snag one as we walk down the long hall.
“Is this your first time at one of these?” I ask him.
He looks up at me gratefully. I don’t think anyone but Berny Shaw, Trey’s agent, has talked to the guy since we got here, and that was to tell him he was standing too close to the automatic doors. He was obliviously triggering it over and over again. “Yeah. They told me to make sure I had enough pens.”
“How many do you have?”
“Twenty.”
“For three of us?”
“Yeah. Is that not enough?”
I smile. “We’ll make it work.”
He nods, his face relieved.
Beverly stops at the end of a hall before it branches to the right and left. She turns to face us, a black clipboard hugged tightly to her chest. “This is where we have you scheduled today. I’ve warned everyone that you’ll meet as many of them as you can, but we know you’re very busy so we didn’t make any promises that you’ll get to everyone down this hall.”
“I’m here all day,” I tell her. “I’ll get to everyone.”