Where the Road Takes Me (5 page)

CHAPTER SIX

Chloe

Josh was pacing back and forth in the waiting room when we walked in. He paused for a moment when he saw us but then continued. “They won’t let me see him,” he shouted to no one in particular.

Blake approached him but gave him his space. “What do you mean?” he asked cautiously.

“I mean that bitch didn’t put my name on Tommy’s birth certificate, so I have no fucking right to see my own son. Where the fuck is she, Blake? I’m here, so where the fuck is she when our son’s in there?” He pointed at the swinging doors next to the nurses’ station. “He’s my fucking son!” he shouted again, this time for their benefit.

Blake took a brave step forward and put his arm around Josh’s shoulders. As they headed out the door, Blake spoke quietly, with his head bent, his words meant for only Josh.

I took a seat and waited. Honestly, I felt a little out of place. And hospitals—particularly this one—weren’t filled with good memories.

A few minutes later, they came back in. Josh looked a little calmer as he slumped down on the seat opposite me. Blake sat next to me. His arm rested along the back of my chair. “You okay?” he asked quietly.

“Uh-huh.” I nodded. My eyes stayed on Josh. “Josh?” I asked. He looked up from the floor. He seemed to have aged a decade in the half hour since I’d watched him skateboarding so freely in the bowling alley. Then it clicked—why I had had that feeling when I was watching him. That was his escape. His hideaway from reality, where he could just be a kid again, instead of raising one. “Who’s here with Tommy?”

“His grandparents. Tommy’s mom’s parents. I can’t get hold of them to let them know I’m here.”

Well, at least there was that. At least Tommy had someone.

A doctor walked in, holding a clipboard. Josh was up and out of his seat instantly. “Is he okay?”

The doctor looked up at Josh, then Blake and me. His eyes fixed on me, and I knew the moment recognition set in. I slumped in my seat and averted my gaze. “I’m sorry . . .” His voice trailed off.

“What?”
Josh yelped.

“Oh no! I’m sorry. I mean, I just got here. I don’t know who or what you’re talking about. I just came in to use the vending machine.”

“Oh God.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Josh fall back in his chair.

I recognized the doctor. In fact, I’d never forget him. Dr. Ramirez was his name. He cleared his throat. I still refused to look up.

“Chloe? Is that you?”

I felt the back of Blake’s fingers skim up and down my arm, but I remained silent.

Dr. Ramirez sighed. “I’ve been trying to contact you, Chloe. I’ve been sending you letters once a month. It’s important that you come in and see me. Especially with—”

Glaring up at him, I tried to keep my emotions in check as I said, “Isn’t this illegal—you talking about me like this in front of other people? Surely that violates patient-doctor confidentiality.”

He rubbed his hand against his graying beard. “I’m just worried about you, Chloe.”

“I’m fine,” I said. I didn’t want him talking about this—not now—and definitely not with Blake and Josh there. Blake’s hand settled on the curve of my shoulder; he squeezed it lightly.

I looked down at the floor. I had nothing more to say. I heard the doctor sigh again before the sound of his footsteps faded and then disappeared.

Several seconds of silence passed. If they had questions, they kept them to themselves, and I was grateful for that.

“Chloe?” Josh said. He’d stood up and was walking toward me. He squatted down onto one knee so our gazes met. His eyes were filled with tears but clear enough that I could see the pain behind them. He took my hand in his. “I wouldn’t—” His voice cracked. He cleared his throat. “I wouldn’t ask if I had any other option. But you—you know that doctor and he seems to know you. And me—I need someone on my side right now. I need somebody that can help me. I need to see Tommy. I need to see my son. And I need to know that he’s okay. If you could do something, anything at all, to help me, to get me closer to him . . . I’m asking—no, I’m
begging
you—please,
please
help me.”

A tear fell. Not his—but mine.

I nodded, stood up, and made my way to the nurses’ desk. “Can you please page Dr. Ramirez?”

Five minutes later, Josh was led in to see his son. I’d promised Dr. Ramirez I’d come in for a checkup. I’d lied. I’d even given him a phone number. Not mine. But Josh was able to be with his son. And that was all that mattered.

“That was a good thing you did.”

I looked up from dumping sugar in my coffee. We were on the floor of the waiting room and had an assortment of snacks and beverages between us.

“I didn’t do anything, Blake.”

He shook his head slowly. “You might not think so. But Josh—he’ll remember that forever.”

I replaced the lid and took a sip of the coffee. It was nearly two in the morning now. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing there, but I couldn’t leave, and truthfully, I didn’t want to.

Blake cleared his throat and looked up at me through his lashes. “So, that doctor knows you? He’s been sending you letters?”

I slumped my shoulders, heaved a sigh, and ignored his question. “What’s the deal with him?”

“Josh?” he asked, then took a sip of his coffee. It must have been too hot because he cursed and sucked the skin on the back of his hand, trying to cool his mouth. I contained my chuckle. He shrugged and continued, “He met Natalie our freshman year—”

“He went to our school?”

He laughed. “Yeah . . . and I’m still weirded out that we’ve been at the same school for however long, and I’ve never seen you before.”

“Go on,” I said, trying to sidestep where he wanted this conversation to go.

“So, they met when we were freshman. Natalie got pregnant start of junior year, had the baby, tried to be a mom, couldn’t—so she ran away. Josh has no idea where she is. She won’t speak to him, just her parents. They watch Tommy when Josh has to work and no one else can. Natalie calls them every now and then and gets them to wire her money. They do, but they hate it.”

“And Josh?”

“Josh’s parents kicked him out of the house when they found out he got a girl pregnant. He leases a garage apartment off an old lady that loves the shit out of him and Tommy. I don’t think she even lets him pay rent anymore. He maintains her yard, and she watches Tommy when she can. She’s more like family to them than his own parents are. How fucked up is that? Josh stepped up to be a parent, and his own parents failed him.” He paused for a moment. “Actually, everyone failed him. His parents, his girlfriend, our so-called friends.”

“So you knew him in high school?”

He nodded. “Yeah. We were best friends. I mean we still are. He’s kind of my reality, you know?”

I didn’t respond. I didn’t really understand what he meant.

“It’s hard,” he continued. “He leads this whole other life that kids our age are way too young to be living. But you should see him with his kid. It’s like a higher power created two living individuals at different times and made them fit perfectly for each other. Josh loves that kid more than anything in the world. And when they’re together, their age difference doesn’t matter. Nothing matters. Just Tommy.” His eyes roamed my face, and I swear he wanted to say something more, but he held back. “Anyway,” he said with forced peppiness in his voice, “Josh was gonna be a pro skater. He had sponsors chasing him and everything. It was his dream.” He looked away and stared into the distance. “I remember when we were kids at the skate park and everyone would just watch him. He demanded attention. He was
that
good.”

“What about you? I mean, you’re pretty good, right?”

“I’m good, but I’m not Joshua-Warden good.”

“So what’s your dream, Hunter?”

His body went rigid with the coffee cup halfway to his mouth. He tilted his head slightly, his lips apart, examining me. “I think I’d prefer it if you called me Blake.”

I dropped my head to hide my grin. “Okay, Blake. What’s your dream?”

He inhaled audibly, and his shoulders tensed. “Ball.”

“Basketball?”

He nodded. “But it’s just a dream, Not Abby.”

I laughed at his nickname for me before saying, “But you’re good, though, right? I mean, good enough for college?”

His smile was tight.

Then Josh’s voice interrupted us. “I’m so sorry. I forgot you guys were out here.”

“It’s fine,” Blake said as we both stood.

“He’s going to be okay,” Josh said.

I hadn’t realized how tense I’d been until I felt my muscles relax.

“It’s a horrible case of the flu, but he’s going to be okay.”

I felt the rush of breath from Blake and looked up at him. His head was tipped back in relief.

“Thank you, guys. I mean it. And Chloe, I can’t even—”

“It’s no problem. Really,” I cut in.

Then his arms were around me, holding me tight. “Thank you,” he said again. He pulled back. “I better get back in there. When Tommy’s out of here, I want you to meet him, okay?”

I smiled. “Of course.”

Then he was gone.

“Home?” Blake asked.

“Home.”

Blake

I drove her back to the bowling alley, where she’d left her car. We didn’t speak. She looked exhausted. “Will you be alright to drive home?”

She nodded through a yawn.

I pulled my car up next to hers. “Thanks for coming. I don’t know how Josh would’ve handled it if you hadn’t been there to come to his rescue.”

She shrugged. “At least Tommy’s going to be okay. That’s the main thing, right?” She opened the car door and stepped out. I followed. I wasn’t ready to say good-bye yet. Throwing her bag in her car, she turned back to me. “I can’t wait to climb into bed and crash.”

“Yeah . . .”

“Are you tired?”

I shook my head. “Not really. I’m probably gonna go for a run.”

She laughed quietly. “That actually doesn’t surprise me at all.”

For a moment, silence filled the space between us, then she spoke. “So, I’ll see you on Wednesday, right?”

“Or at school tomorrow.”

“About that . . .” she said. Her eyes focused on the ground while she contemplated her next words. When she looked up, her bottom lip was caught between her teeth. “I think—” She broke off and let out a breath, then started again. “I think that maybe you shouldn’t talk to me at school.”

“What?”

“I just don’t want people to know that you know me. I know it sounds strange, but it would just cause issues.”

“What—”

“Nothing bad.” She cut me off. “It’s just for me. It’s something I want. Please?”

“I don’t get it.”

“I don’t expect you to. I just need you to do it, okay?”

“So, what? I see you in the halls, and you just expect me to ignore you? That’s gonna be hard, Chloe.” I didn’t know why I was so pissed, but the thought of not speaking to her when she was
right there
made absolutely no sense.

“You’ve done it for four years. I’m sure you can manage another three months.”

My eyes narrowed.

“Please, Blake.”

I wanted to argue, but I didn’t. Instead, I took a step forward and placed my hand on her hip. Her body stiffened, but she didn’t push me away. “What are you doing?” she asked, exhaling a shaky breath.

“I don’t know,” I told her truthfully. I had spent the entire night doing everything I could not to replay that kiss in my mind. And to ignore her uniform . . . her goddamn shirt was so tight I could see every bump, every curve, every part of her.

Leaning down, I rubbed my nose against her cheek, followed by my lips. Her breath caught on a gasp, and she held it. She must have sensed it, too. Whatever this was between us. I felt her hands on my stomach as she gripped my shirt. I had her pressed up against her car by the time my lips moved to her jaw. “Blake,” she whispered.

My tongue grazed across her skin. “Mmm?”

She tilted her head, inviting me to keep going.

I started kissing her neck. When she let out a soft whimper, I was certain she wanted the same thing. My hand moved from her hip, to her thigh, gripping it and lifting it off the ground so I could get between her legs. My other hand settled on the back of her head. Fingers curled in her hair, I pulled back slightly, dipping her head back so I could see her lips. Her eyes were half-hooded, and even in the darkness, I could see the lust filling them. My mouth descended, aiming for hers.