Page 70 of A Little Crush (The Little Things #6)

RORY

F ear is a funny thing. The way it can fog your mind, yet makes your focus so lasered in it’s hard to see anything else.

The chair in the corner of the room is stiff, and the fabric feels scratchy, but thanks to my dizziness, I keep my butt planted where it is.

On that stupid chair. They took Poppy to a different room so they could start an IV.

You’d think I’d feel better now. Knowing her safety is in the right hands.

It doesn’t help. I need to see her. To know she’s okay.

Please be okay.

My hands are still shaking. I doubt they’ll stop anytime soon.

After arriving at the hospital, I tried calling Iris a dozen more times, but the call would never go through.

It only feeds my anxiety. The doctor reassured me I did the right thing, and Poppy’s in good hands.

They’re just trying to get the fever down.

It doesn’t make things any easier. I feel absolutely helpless.

“Here she is,” the nurse informs me, carrying a tiny Poppy over to me. My gaze catches on the IV in her arm as she hiccups and reaches for me. Flashbacks of Archer in a room so similar to this, with tubes and machines and my fear.

Not the time , I silently remind myself. She isn’t Archer.

Wiping the tears from my face, I take Poppy from the nurse, careful not to jostle her too much. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” she returns. “She did great, and her fever’s already coming down. The IV will also keep her a little cooler, since the fluids are cold, and now we just wait for the antibiotics to do their job.” She reaches for a tissue and hands it to me. “Here.”

“Thanks,” I choke out, taking it from her before dabbing at my face with my free hand while balancing Poppy on my lap.

“I’ll be right back to check in, okay?”

I nod, unable to speak as Poppy’s exhausted body melts against me.

She’s so tiny. So delicate and fragile in her little onesie.

Another wave of grief filters through me, and I sniffle, dropping a kiss to her velvety soft hair.

“Love you, Pops. Love you so freaking”—I hiccup—“much.” My eyes feel as dry as sandpaper from all my stupid crying, but I can’t convince my tear ducts to stop.

She’s okay.

Jaxon arrives a few minutes later with our parents in tow.

When he sees me, he rushes closer, and he swallows me in a hug, careful not to squish a sleeping Poppy in my lap as I stay seated on the same scratchy chair.

And it’s funny. The power in a simple hug.

I swear it has the power to fix anything.

I squeeze my eyes shut, grateful for it in a way he’ll never fully understand.

It’s like I can finally pass the baton. Like I can finally let go and allow him to take over.

Like I can finally acknowledge the crippling fear I’ve been pushing aside in an attempt to be strong enough for her. For our little Pops.

“I got you,” he rasps. “I got you. ”

Nuzzling closer into his chest, I take a deep breath, letting his familiar scent ground me.

It’s going to be okay. He’s got me. He’s got Pops. Everything is going to be okay.

“How is she?” he asks.

“She’s okay.” I let him go, and my parents take his place, giving me and Pops a quick squeeze before Aunt Ashlyn and Uncle Colt do the same.

“They had to start an IV, but the fever’s down, and they’ve given her a round of antibiotics,” I tell them, replaying everything that’s happened since we arrived so I can pass on as much information as possible.

But it’s been a whirlwind of chaos, and I have no doubt I’m missing a lot.

“I’m sure the nurses will be in again any second and can give you all the details.

It feels like they’ve barely left the room. ”

At that moment, a gentle knock, knock sounds from the hall, and the same nurse who’s been helping Poppy steps into the room. “Hey, it looks like everyone made it.”

“Hello.” Jaxon’s long legs bring him closer to the nurse as he strides across the room and offers his hand for her to shake. “I’m Jax, Poppy’s dad. How is she?”

“She’s doing really well, all things considered.

She has an ear infection, which can be really scary, but it’s completely normal for something like this to cause a fever, especially in kids Poppy’s age.

” She tacks on a reassuring smile. “We’ve been keeping a close eye on her, and the fever broke, which was our main concern.

She’s very lucky to have you two,” she continues.

“And the good news is, she’s going to make a full recovery. ”

A full recovery.

She’s going to make a full recovery.

I hang on to the prognosis, praying it’ll calm my still-racing heart.

“Thank you,” we all say .

“Anytime. I’ll be back to check on Poppy again in a few.”

As she leaves, there’s a shout from the hallway. “Where the hell is my daughter?”

Jaxon and I share a look of confusion before he strides to the doorway and peers out. “Iris!” he calls. “We’re in here!”

The angry click-clack of heels jars me as she marches into the room but stops short when she sees me holding Poppy. “Get your fucking hands off my child.”

Jaxon steps in front of her. “Whoa, Iris.”

“Don’t whoa, Iris me,” she snaps.

Aunt Ashlyn shifts around them, keeping a wide berth as she moves toward me. “Hey, why don’t I…”

With a jerky nod, I hand over a sleeping Poppy, then wipe my hands on my jeans, suddenly feeling more out of place than if I were dropped on Mars with a knapsack and a “see ya later.” I should give them some privacy.

Some space. Some…something. On shaky legs, I step toward the door, but Jaxon stops me.

“Rory, wait?—”

“Get the hell out of here,” Iris snaps.

My body freezes in place, and I honestly don’t know what to do.

I’ve never done well with confrontation.

Never done well with yelling in general, actually.

Add in the death glare from Jaxon’s ex, my already frazzled brain, and my more than depleted emotions, and I’m pretty sure all I want to do is crawl into a hole, bawl my eyes out, and disappear entirely.

“Iris, the nurse just filled us in,” Jaxon says in an attempt to placate her. “Poppy’s okay.”

Ignoring him, Iris reaches for me, her long, manicured nails digging into my wrist as she tries to physically remove me from the room by dragging me toward the door. I yank my arm away from her and shove her back, my body moving on instinct.

“What the hell?” I screech .

“You—”

“What the fuck are you doing?” Jaxon snarls. He pushes me behind him, using his body as a physical barrier.

Still not bothering to acknowledge the man between us, Iris seethes at me, “This is your fault!”

I rub at my bruised forearm, confused more than angry. “What are you talking?—”

“What did you do to her? What did you do?” she shouts.

“It wasn’t her fault,” Jaxon growls. “Now, I’m gonna need you to calm the hell down, Iris.”

“Don’t you dare tell me what to do!” She shoves against his chest, but he doesn’t budge. “Do you know how I found out my daughter was in the hospital, Jaxon? I had to hear it from the announcers while I was watching your game! Are you kidding me?”

Glancing over his shoulder at me, Jaxon asks, “You didn’t call her?”

The blood drains from my face as I realize how awful this must look. “I tried?—”

“Bullshit!” Iris sneers.

“I called you at least a dozen times,” I argue, defending myself. “But none of them would go through.”

“Bull. Shit!” she repeats, as if all rationality has clearly left the building. “You’re trying to take my place! You’re hurting her! You’re?—”

“Iris!” Jaxon snaps. “If you don’t lower your voice, you’re going to wake up our daughter, and after everything she’s been through, I think we can all agree that’s the last thing she needs. This isn’t about you. Now, you need to calm down because if you don’t, they’ll make you leave.”

Tears gather in her eyes, and the fight seeps out of her. “I can’t believe you would choose to be with someone who doesn’t even think to reach out to the mother of your child when she’s in need.” She peers around Jaxon and shakes her head. “Get out of here. You’ve done enough.”

Jaxon’s head falls forward, but before he can even turn to me, I press my hand against his lower back. “It’s okay,” I whisper. “I’ll, uh, I’ll be in the waiting room.”

“We’ll wait with her,” my parents announce as I make my way toward the hallway and into the empty waiting area.

Covering my mouth with my hand, I try to steady my breathing, but it’s so. Freaking. Hard. Maybe it’s the combination of everything from tonight. Maybe it’s the combination from everything over the past few months. Honestly, I don’t know, but I’m not sure I can do this. I’m not sure how to do this.

“Hey.” My dad wraps his arms around me. “It’s okay, Squeaks. It’s okay?—”

“I swear I called her, Dad. I swear?—”

“I know, baby. I know.” He squeezes me tighter as I fall apart even more.

“I just, I don’t understand how someone can hate me so much, you know?” I cry, still in shock. “Like, I understand that I’m around her daughter, and that I’m in a relationship with her ex, and that she has to put up with me, but why does she have to be so…mean?”

“I don’t know, Rore,” he mutters. “I don’t fucking know, but she’s lucky I’m not calling our lawyers right now to have her charged with assault for that move in there.”

“Maybe we can ask Ash if she has any suggestions? Or Kate,” my mom offers beside us. “I know your Aunt Kate has to put up with your Uncle Mack’s ex every once in a while.”

It’s only half-true. Miley and Hazel were teenagers when Aunt Kate came into the picture, so she never had to deal with Macklin’s ex.

Not really. A run-in here and there is so much different from weekly drop-offs and pick-ups.

So, even though I know my parents are trying to help, it doesn’t work.

It only makes me feel more hopeless and overwhelmed.

My teeth dig into my wobbling bottom lip in hopes of stopping the tears from streaming down my face, but I’m a mess. A big. Fat. Mess.

“Want my two cents?” Colt asks.

I turn to face him, surprised he followed us into the hallway instead of staying with his wife, granddaughter, and son. Hands tucked in his pockets, he moseys toward me, looking so much like Jaxon, it makes me want to cry even harder.

“Hey, Uncle Colt.” I sniff. “And I’m pretty sure I can use all the help I can get, so, yes. I’d love your two cents.”

“Nah, you’re doing great, sweetheart.” He moves closer to our little circle in the waiting area. “But not all exes are the same. It seems Jax got the short end of the stick on this one, which means you did, too.”

“Not helping,” my dad grumbles beside me.

“Just saying it like it is, Henry.” Colt squeezes my shoulder.

“Eleanor was easy. She was willing to work with us. Willing to accept Ashlyn after realizing she wasn’t the one for me.

Willing to share her little boy and the title of mom because she knew it was best for him in the long run.

” He glances behind him, making sure we’re relatively alone.

“I have a feeling Iris doesn’t agree with that sentiment. ”

“Me, too.” I sniff. “And just to be clear, it’s not that I want to replace her, but if she could just hate me a little less?—”

“I know.” He steps closer. “Trust me, I know. You don’t need to defend yourself.

Ash and I were the evil in-laws, so we know what it’s like to be on Iris’s shit list.” He pauses.

“And maybe it’ll get better. Maybe I’m being an asshole for not giving Iris the benefit of the doubt, but…

” He squeezes the back of his neck. “I guess I just want you to know that I’ve been where Jax is, and it isn’t a picnic even under the best of circumstances.

Add Iris to the equation and…he need s you.

Needs you more than he knows. And I know that’s a selfish take on everything.

He’s my son, so I know I’m biased. I know you’ll have to put up with name calling and being blamed for shit you didn’t do.

And I know that isn’t fair,” he adds, his eyes flicking to my dad’s for the briefest of seconds before returning to me.

“It isn’t. But, uh, stick with him, all right?

It’s in our darkest moments when us Thorne boys like to beat ourselves up the most.”

He’s right. And boy do those Thorne men like to beat themselves up and take blame for things that are out of their control.

The reminder manages to quiet the chaos inside of me, bringing with it a fresh, yet somehow familiar perspective.

Because if that was rough for me, I can only imagine how hard it was for Jaxon.

“I’m not going anywhere,” I promise. “As long as Jaxon believes me and doesn’t buy her lies, I’ll be right by his side.”

“That’s my girl.” He pulls me into a side hug. “You’ll get through this.” And for some reason I can’t explain, his promise makes me feel a little bit lighter.