Pretty Pink Ribbons (35 page)

“Well?” he snaps, not saying another word.

“What time does our flight leave?” Grabbing a glass out of the cabinet, I fill it up with water and take a drink.

“It’s like a four or five-hour drive, douchebag. We’re not going to fly.” Damn it. I fucking hate driving long distances. I take one more drink and empty the cup into the sink.

“Whatever,” I growl. “What time do we need to leave?”

“Cheer up, Buttercup,” he quips. “This is a good thing. We leave at eight in the morning. Where should I pick you up at?”

“Pick me up at Laney’s.”

“You got it.”

“And Mason . . .”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t fucking call me back today.” I hang up the phone before he has a chance to respond, but right before I hit ‘end,’ I hear his booming laugh come through the line.

My eyes rest on the stack of bills on Laney’s table, and suddenly the only thing I can think of is making things right for her. When I grab the pile, a folded piece of paper falls to the floor. Bending down, I pick it up and unfold it. Laney’s bucket list is staring back at me, and I smile at all of the things I’ve been able to check off of it. I laugh out loud when I see the line drawn through number six and recall the way she blushed when I changed the wording. My cock stirs when I remember the day we checked off number eight. I’ll never forget the look on her face or her tinkling laughter when she took off running from me at the quarry, and the way she squealed when I finally caught her and tossed her into the cold water. My eyes slowly make their way down the page and my breath catches in my throat when I find number fourteen. It wasn’t there before so she must have added it. I grab a pen off the counter and scratch through that one, making a small note next to it.

Folding the list up, I put it back on the table then grab the stack of bills and start fixing things the only way I know how.

“I’M NOT GOING. END of discussion, Laney. I’m
not
going.”

It’s three o’clock in the morning. I spent the entire day yesterday checking on Laney because she literally slept all afternoon, only waking up once around five o’clock in the evening to eat, drink and go to the bathroom before she crawled back into bed, seemingly exhausted. Okay, I can understand that. But when she wakes up in the middle of the night with yet another coughing fit and a fever to boot . . . yeah, not happening.

“I’m fine,” she stresses, curling up into a ball after taking the fever reducer I gave her. “You’re going. I told you, it’s just a cold.”

“Cold, my ass. It’s not just a cold.”

“Trust me, babe,” she yawns, pulling the covers up to her chin. “Your ass is far from cold. In fact, it’s pretty darn hot.” A wistful smile touches her lips as her eyelids bob heavily. I crawl into bed, wrap my arm around her scalding hot body and pull her toward me.

“Now’s not the time for jokes, Lane,” I mumble into the top of her head before kissing it twice.

“Mmmmm . . .” she moans before drifting off to sleep.

I, on the other hand, stay up through the wee morning hours, constantly monitoring her temperature, which finally breaks around six o’clock. It’s now seven and I’m standing next to her bed, completely fucking exhausted, trying to figure out what in the hell I’m supposed to do. There’s no way I can leave her like this . . . I just can’t. My meeting will be a complete waste of time because I’ll spend the entire time thinking about Laney and wondering how she’s doing.

Right when I’m about to text Mason and tell him I’m not going, a soft knock sounds at the bedroom door. I crack it open and Mia looks at me, concern marring her face. “How is she?” she whispers, crossing her arms over her chest.

I slip out the door and Mia follows me into the kitchen. God bless her, she already has a pot of coffee ready to go and I fix myself a cup. “Her fever finally broke, but she coughed all night long.”

“I know. I heard her.” Mia walks across the kitchen and refills her coffee mug. She brings it to her mouth and takes a sip.

There for a while, Mia had been sleeping on Benny’s couch when I would stay the night, but the past several weeks she’s insisted on staying here. I’m not sure if it’s because something happened between her and Benny, or if she’s just as concerned about Laney as I am and wants to be here in case she’s needed. I suppose it doesn’t really matter. She’s a great friend, and I’m just glad that Laney has her.

“She’s going to be okay, Mia.” I wrap an arm around her shoulder and she nods her head.

“I know. I just want her to be okay
now.
” A couple of tears slide down her face. “I can’t stand to see her go through this. It makes me sick to watch her lose weight and to see the bright light in her eyes dim. I’m not sure how much more of this I can take,” she cries, setting her mug down so she can wipe the wetness from her face.

“I know. I feel the same way.” I fold her into my arms, and her shoulders tremble and shake. “We have to stay strong for her, okay?” She nods weakly against my chest and then pulls back, her face red and splotchy from crying.

“I’m trying,” she says, her voice cracking as another batch of tears roll down her face. “It’s just hard. I want this to be over for her.”

I pat her back awkwardly. I’m not sure it’s doing any good, but I really don’t know what else to do. It’s one thing to comfort Laney, but trying to comfort her best friend is something entirely different.

“She’s almost done. Only a few treatments left,” I remind her.

“I know. But then she has radiation every single day for six weeks. What in the hell is
that
going to do to her?”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. She’s a fighter, Mia.”

“Trust me, I know that better than most.” She sniffs, grabbing a Kleenex to wipe her nose. My phone buzzes with a text and I look down.

Mason: I’ll be there in 30 minutes.

“Shit,” I hiss, running a hand along the back of my neck. “There’s no way I can go to Nashville.”

“You have to.” Mia smiles at me, her eyes still watery. “I have strict instructions from your woman that you are not allowed to bail on Mason.”

I shake my head and chuckle. “Of course you do. When did she tell you that?”

“She got out of bed last night to get a drink and I heard her stumbling around in the kitchen. We stayed up and talked for a couple of minutes.”

“I don’t know, Mia. What if something happens? What if she needs me and I’m not here?”

“I’ll be with her, and so will Luke. I promise that I’ll call you right after she sees the doctor, and then as soon as she gets done with her chemo, I’ll call you again.” She pauses, her eyes softening. “She wants this for you, Levi. So even if you don’t want to go for you . . . you should go for her. You know,” she continues, a nostalgic look on her face, “she used to talk about you all the time. I felt like I knew you long before we actually met. She was always so proud of you. Luke would call, and the first thing out of her mouth was always, ‘How’s Levi?’ followed by her begging him for information. She told me once what happened between the two of you, but I always had the feeling she wasn’t giving me the whole story. But I never pushed her or questioned it because I knew it wasn’t important. She loved you, and that was all that mattered.”

My heart is jammed in the middle of my throat and I swallow hard, trying to push past it. There is no way I’m going to lose my shit in front of a chick, but just hearing Mia say that does something to me. It touches me in a way that I can’t even explain.

“Okay, I’ll go,” I concede, although a sick feeling in my gut is telling me to stay. “But you promise to call constantly?”

“I promise.” She gives me a friendly push toward the bedroom. “Now go get ready.”

Laney is still asleep when Mason pulls up thirty minutes later. “I don’t want to wake her up,” I whisper, looking over at Mia, who’s hovering over Laney right along beside me.

Mia places her hand gently on the top of Laney’s head. “She doesn’t feel warm. Maybe just let her sleep and I’ll have her call you as soon as she wakes up?”

“Sure,” I say with a massive amount of hesitation. Bending forward, I place a soft kiss on Laney’s cheek, but it’s not enough so I do it a couple more times and then whisper, “I love you, pretty girl
.
” She doesn’t move or make a sound as Mia and I head out of the room.

“Will you sleep in here with her while I’m gone?” I don’t want Laney to be by herself.

“I was already planning on it.” She gives me a quick hug, and after I double and triple check that she has my phone number programmed correctly into my phone, I finally make my way out to Mason.

The second I close the car door, I officially begin the countdown of when I’ll get to come back. Mason is bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and it takes everything I have not to slap that damn smile off of his face. I know he’s excited but I’m cranky and tired, and this is the last thing I want to be doing right now.

The drive is long and boring, and despite Mason’s multiple attempts to start up a conversation, I just don’t have it in me. He finally gives up, and about two hours into our drive—after our first and only bathroom break—I manage to actually fall asleep.

Mason shakes me awake when we hit the city limits of Nashville, and the first thing I do is check my phone. There’s a text from Mia waiting for me. I’m a little concerned that Laney didn’t call, but given the circumstances, I really didn’t expect her to.

Mia: We’re heading to treatment center.

That text came in about an hour ago. Since there’s nothing after it, I assume that Laney is still going through the usual pre-chemo blood work and doctor visit.

As Mason pulls up to Mark and Brady’s office, I turn my phone on vibrate and shove it in my coat pocket. Then I give my brother a congratulatory fist bump and step out of the car. “Let’s do this.”