Grief-stricken, his face scrunches. “That wasn’t on you, Noah.”
“But it will stick with me. Always. Just… go back in there. I know your dad wants to talk with you.”
“Come with me, man. The doc said she linked two traumatizing events, and that’s why her mind jumped backward or some shit, so we need to find a way to help her separate them. I need you there for that. Come back inside.”
The elevator doors open beside us, revealing Brady and Chase.
We stare as Brady steps out, Chase right behind him, a bouquet of flowers in his hands.
A cool current travels through my veins, and my muscles draw up.
“Noah, what the fuck, bro?” Brady comes closer, but Mason holds his hand up, and they pause.
“My parents are in there, go say hi,” he tells them, not looking their way, and with hesitant steps, they do as he says, slowly moving toward the hospital room.
With their every foot forward, a sharp ache picks at my spine.
They slip inside, and I jerk away, unable to stand there and watch as they do the one thing I wish I could.
Just fucking be with her, near her. Anything.
The elevator doors closed again and I can’t wait for it to come back. I head for the stairwell.
“I told her!” Mason shouts before I can disappear.
My body freezes, and the swinging door comes back, almost slapping me in the face. Anger ripples through me, and I glance at him over my shoulder. “What do you mean, you told her?”
Mason looks away and I push closer to him.
“Mason.” I slip into his space, pinning him on the spot.
“She knows the baby wasn’t his.”
Swear to God something cracks inside me. “Do not mess with me on this.”
“Why would I?” He presses right back but softens after a few seconds. “I made that one point clear, but I didn’t spell out anything else.”
My hands find my hips, my cheeks filling with air as I look off. Biting my tongue, as I fight from breaking down.
“I don’t know what to do. I need her to know she’s not alone,” he stresses.
Knots form in my stomach. “She’s not. Ever.”
“I know.” His tone is low, understanding. “Noah, she’s bound to ask questions, and as much as I hate to admit it, I’m not sure I have all the right answers. Please, help her remember.”
My pulse flips, tightening my tendons. “If she doesn’t?”
“Then fuck remembering.”
A scoffed laugh leaves me, and a small grin slips over his lips.
“She fell for you once, right?” He shrugs one shoulder. “Give her the chance to do it again.”
Swallowing my fears, I ask the question that’s been haunting me. “And what if she doesn’t want to?”
Mason tips his head. “Come on now. This is Ari we’re talking about. She’s still her and you’re still you.” When I hesitate too long for him, his features pull. “Noah please. I need to know she’s going to be okay, and the way I see it, she can’t be if she’s not with you.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I’d bet on it.”
If I were thinking straight, I would too. I’d bet on her, on us, but the world keeps finding ways to remind me life is rough and for every good comes a handful of bad. Every time I think things are turning around, that I’m finally getting past the heavy, a rockslide comes tumbling down and I have to fight my way through it. But this time, I can’t do that.
I’m at the mercy of a mind I no longer hold a place in.
My sigh comes next, and I look to the door Chase and Brady disappeared into. “She doesn’t even like flowers.”
A laugh spurts from him, but the sorrow within it isn’t missed. “Yeah, man, I know. That would be my dad’s fault.”
My eyes flick to his, the smallest hint of warmth flickering in my chest. “Yeah?”
He smirks, the man knowing he’s got me, his words offering a little more of my girl to me, but the answering “yeah” comes from down the hall.
We turn to find Mr. Johnson closing in.
I stand straight and he clamps his son’s shoulder, facing me.
“Flowers are pretty, but they’re prettier in the dirt and don’t die after a week.” His mouth curves into a side smile. “My girls are spoiled with food, treats, and shit.”
My lips twitch, and Mason lifts a brow in victory. “Why you think she was all about cooking meals with you? You were winning her over when you didn’t even know it.”