Parting Chances (Fighting Chance #1) (23 page)

“Hi,” I whispered. “How is she?” It was a stupid question, considering, but I didn’t know what else to say.

“Comfortable,” Meg replied. I just nodded and turned to take Mom in. She was even smaller than when I saw her at Thanksgiving. Blankets were piled on top of her body, her head the only thing exposed. The heart rate monitor beeped slowly next to the bed and IVs galore hung around her. As expected, she was sleeping. I grabbed one of the romance novels off the small bookshelf before walking around to Dad’s side of the bed and crawling in. I sat back against the headboard and opened the book. I wasn’t going to wake Mom up, but just being next to her was comforting.

I spent the rest of the afternoon with Mom. She never once woke up, but a few times, painful moans would escape her mouth, to which Meg would hit an IV distributing more medication. After a few minutes, Mom would relax and sleep peacefully.

As I was setting the now finished novel on the nightstand, the door slowly opened. Dad stood in the doorway and gave me the saddest smile I’ve ever seen.

“How is she doing?” he asked. Though I’m sure he knew the answer.

“She’s comfortable.” I repeated what Meg had told me when I first came in. I had no idea how she really was, but she seemed peaceful. And if I could hope for one thing, her not being in pain would be it.

“That’s good,” Dad said, staring at Mom with mournful eyes. It lasted a few moments before he took a deep breath and turned back to me. “Dinner’s done. Let’s go eat.”

I leaned over and placed a soft kiss on Mom’s forehead before leaving. Dad put his arm around my shoulders as we walked down the hall and pulled me into a side hug.

“It’ll be okay,” he said, placing a kiss on my hairline. I didn’t trust my voice, so I only nodded. My fear was that I wouldn’t be able to talk to her again before she passed. I just hoped she’d be awake at least once while I was home. I didn’t want to miss the chance to say goodbye.

***

After dinner, I escaped to my room. I couldn’t recall the last time I went to bed before ten on Christmas Eve, but I couldn’t put on a happy face anymore. The whole pretending everything was okay wore on me. And though I didn’t feel like I was going to cry, I really needed to be alone. My phone sat on the nightstand, blinking at me. My heart picked up at the thought of talking to Eli. When I swiped the screen, I saw I had missed texts from both him and Kyler. I thought of reading them, but really, all I wanted to do was hear Eli’s voice. It probably would have freaked me out how much I needed him, but the day was exhausting, and I wanted my bubble. I scrolled to his name and hit the little phone instead of the envelope. It rang in my ear as I took deep breaths to calm myself. I talk to Eli all the time. This time was no different. But my heart wouldn’t stop its massive slamming in my chest.

Calm the eff down, Hales!

“Hales?” Eli’s voice came through the phone before I could talk myself into hanging up. I didn’t know why I was so nervous calling him tonight, but as soon as his voice hit my ear, my heart calmed.

“Eli,” I breathed.

Damn him and his calming effect over me.

“Haley? What’s wrong?” His voice was full of concern, and I heard him shuffle around before hearing a door close. The squeaking of what I could only assume was his bed followed.

“Um…nothing. Nothing is wrong.” That didn’t even sound convincing to me.

“Okay, nothing is wrong. So what’s up?” Eli asked. And I think I fell in love with him a little bit by his obvious conversation shift.

“Oh, you know. Christmas stuff mixed with wedding stuff.”

“Wedding stuff?”

“Shoot! That’s right. I forgot to call you the other night.” My heart started pumping faster at the thought of what I was going to ask. “So my brother got engaged in August, remember?”

“Yep, to the girl he just met.”

“Right,” I continued. “They decided on a date.”

“That’s great!” He sounded genuinely happy for them.

“Sure. The wedding is on Friday.”

“Friday? Like, the day after Christmas, Friday?” he asked.

“That would be the day. It’s all because of Mom, and I get it, I really do. And they are perfect for each other. So really, if they are sure, why not, right?” I was rambling, putting off the question for as long as I could.

“Right…” Eli sounded confused now. “So do you still need a ride back?”

“About that.” I paused and sucked in a deep breath. “Would you like to be my…date to the wedding?” My heart pounded so loudly that I was positive he could hear it through the phone. The pause coming from his end was so long, I was ready to just hang up and pretend this whole conversation didn’t happen.

Eli cleared his throat and finally responded. “Haley…are you asking me out?”

Oh god. Where is the nearest rock I can crawl under?

“Um, yes?”

Eli chuckled lightly into the phone. “Are you asking or telling me?”

“Oh jeez, just forget I asked.” Now I was beyond mortified. I’d be walking back to my apartment now.

“Oh no, I won’t. It caught me off guard. That and I wanted to ask you out first, you know, where you actually accepted,” he said quietly.

Well, that caught
me
off guard. “Oh…well…sorry?”

“Don’t be. And I would love to be your date. What time do I need to be there?”

“The wedding is at two, so any time before that. There is a small dinner afterward. Then we can head back home.” I leaned back into my bed, finally relaxed with this conversation. And my pulse returned to a steady beat, Eli’s calming effect once again washing over me.

“Okay, I’ll be there at noon. Does that work?” he asked.

“Yeah, that’s perfect.” I heard a pounding come from his end of the phone and a muffled voice yelling through the door.

“Hold on!” he yelled. “Sorry about that. Look, I have to go. I promised my brother we’d watch a movie together tonight. I’ll see you on Friday, though, okay?”

I heard the shifting of his bed again as he stood up.

“Have fun. Goodnight. See you soon.”

“Goodnight, Hales. Sweet dreams.” His voice fell husky, and he hung up.

Oh dear, my heart
. I’d never get tired of those words. I placed my cell back on the nightstand, exhaustion settling in from the running around and massive emotions I had today. Without going through my nighttime routine, I fell off into a blissful sleep, dreams about Eli already under the surface.

***

Christmas morning is usually one of my favorite times of the year. Dad makes a big breakfast, we open presents, then sit around the fireplace listening to music and just being with family. When I woke up that Christmas morning, I feared the unknown. I knew nothing was going to be the same, and part of me just wanted to stay in my room until morning passed so I wouldn’t have another tradition ruined. But I sucked it up, crawled out of bed, and made my way into the bustling living room. Once again, I was the last person up. I stopped in the doorway, taking in the beautiful sight that was sitting in the armchair.

“Mom,” I whispered, drawing the gaze of everyone in the room. She was bundled up in blankets, and the dark circles around her eyes were so pronounced it almost looked like someone had punched her. Her skin was pale and void of much warmth. But she still managed a smile when she saw me, and her eyes lit up for a second. I rushed over, dropping down in front of her and burying my head on her lap. Tears I hadn’t even realized I was crying were now soaking the blanket, but she only ran her hand up and down my back, soothing me.

“You’re awake.” I lifted my head and brushed the tears off my face. “You’re awake,” I whispered again.

She cleared her throat before speaking. “Of course I am. It’s Christmas.” Her voice was weak, barely above a whisper and didn’t hold her usual melody to it. As happy as I was that she was awake and I got to talk to her again,
everything
was different. Mom tucked her arm back under the blanket and leaned back into the chair. The IVs around her bed had followed her out into the living room, so I assumed we didn’t have a whole lot of time before she needed to sleep again. And by the agony she tried to cover up on her face, I could tell she was trying to bear through the pain so she could be a part of Christmas morning.

I stayed in my spot at Mom’s feet throughout the gift opening. Emma’s parents had joined us this year, but instead of it feeling awkward, they were the one thing that kept us all feeling normal. They had gone to make breakfast, so we could spend the time around the fire listening to music as a family. It wasn’t long after that Mom needed to lie back down. Dad lifted her with ease and carried her back into the bedroom with Caleb wheeling the IVs behind them. Her nurse, Meg had begrudgingly taken the day off. It was Dad’s orders that she spend Christmas with her family, and being the amazing nurse that she was, she didn’t want to leave Mom’s side. But Dad promised we would take perfect care of her for the day.

After Mom was tucked away sleeping peacefully, we enjoyed our large Christmas breakfast. The rest of the day was spent lounging around, watching Christmas movies on TV and playing board games. By the end of the night, as I crawled into my bed, I had a smile on my face. Today was a good day, a
great
day because Mom was awake for a little part of it. And even though I didn’t want to think about it, I felt like maybe we had created a new Christmas tradition, and maybe our family
would
be okay once she was gone.

Friday afternoon I was stuck in my tiny old bedroom with Emma and her mom. Though it was a completely untraditional wedding, Emma still wanted to be the traditional bride and not see Caleb until she was walked down the aisle—or well, the hallway as the case may be. She even slept in my room last night and forced me to kick Caleb out this morning so the chances of them seeing each other were nonexistent. He had arrived about an hour ago, hence the reason why we were all hanging out in the small room. I suppose we were also busy getting the bride ready. Hair and makeup were done by her mom, while I was like her gopher—anything she needed I’d rush out to get it. Truth be told, I was ready for this wedding to be over with.

My phone buzzed next to me on the bed. Eli’s name flashed across the screen. My finger slid nervously across the phone, and I put it to my ear.

“Hello?” I was both relieved and nervous that he was calling. That meant he was probably here. So, I could finally have an excuse to escape from the room, but I’d also have to introduce Eli to the family.

“Hey, Hales. I’m here.”

I held back the stupid squeal that was about to escape and jumped up to look out the window. Sure enough, he was slowly making his way up the walkway to the front door.

“I’ll meet you at the door!” I didn’t even hide the excitement in my voice. I hung up, put the phone in the pocket of the dress I already had on for the wedding, and gave Emma and her mom a wave before bolting from the room. Eli had already knocked before I had gotten out of the hallway, which resulted in my dad opening the door. I skidded to a halt a few feet behind him and caught Eli’s expression. The poor guy looked so off guard, I couldn’t help the chuckle I let out.

“Hi, sir, I’m Eli, Haley’s—”

“Something more,” Dad interrupted. My cheeks flamed to life as he brought up what we had discussed the other morning. Eli and I hadn’t even had that conversation yet, but
now
he knew what I was thinking. I had thoughts of sneaking back to my bedroom and hiding there for the rest of eternity, but Eli had caught my eye.
Damn it.
After talking my feet into moving forward, I managed to come to a stop next to my dad. He was blocking the entryway and was trying to give his best fatherly glare, but I knew him better than that. I bumped him with my hip and reached for Eli’s hand.

“Hey, Eli, welcome to the Cavanaugh home. The man giving you the evil eye is my dad. He’s harmless, promise.” I tugged on his hand, pulling him into the house and out of the crisp winter afternoon. Eli stuck his hand out to my dad, who looked at it as a slow smile spread across his face. Dad finally shook Eli’s hand, and then much to our surprise, pulled him into a hug. Dad whispered something into Eli’s ear, something I was not privileged to hear, but Eli listened to what he had to say. When Dad finally stepped back, Eli nodded.