Page 45 of Breaking Point (IceHawks #1)
Grayson
KIERAN ASHFORD
is everything okay?
did you find her?
everyone is worried
GRAYSON
long story but she’s okay now!
tell everyone she’s with me
KIERAN ASHFORD
thank god, and will do
GRAYSON
question
KIERAN ASHFORD
shoot
GRAYSON
have you ever heard of endometriosis?
KIERAN ASHFORD
is it a way to consume cannabis?
if I were high trying to say that word I’d stutter
they should rename it
GRAYSON
the fuck?
why does that make you think of drugs lol
your brain is interesting
KIERAN ASHFORD
I take it it’s not a drug?
GRAYSON
no
B ack soon, my ass.
Bella must not know me very well because the entire time I trail behind her, she never once looks over her shoulder to check I’m not following her. As if I’d let my sick—I feel like screaming when I say this— fake girlfriend walk around the hospital at two in the morning.
A plethora of situations could arise. The medication could stop working. A drunk could force himself on her. She could get lost.
There are quite literally a thousand reasons why she shouldn’t be doing this, but when I saw the stubborn gleam in her eyes, I realized she wasn’t going to budge. So, like the creeper I am, I let her go, only to follow her.
And I’m glad I did, because where the hell is she going? We’re halfway across the hospital when she makes a sharp right turn, her footsteps quickening. I come to a sudden halt once I see the wing she’s stepped through.
Oncology ward.
Suddenly, I’m the one who feels the need to heave and puke.
Why is she walking through an oncology ward? Did I mix things up at her house? Is she the one who’s ill and taking the dozens of pills?
My question is answered just two short minutes later as I watch Bella enter a room and a cry of shock follows.
“Bella! Bella,” a woman cries.
“I’m so sorry, Mom,” I hear Bella gush.
“What happened? Are you all right? Why are you in a hospital gown? Why didn’t you answer your phone? I’ve been so worried!”
“One question at a time,” Bella says softly. “I got stuck on the bathroom floor with a bad flare-up. I couldn’t walk and my phone was in the living room.”
“I knew it!” the woman cries. “I’m going to call that dispatcher back. She should be ashamed of herself!” A sob is the next thing I hear, followed by a muffled, “I knew something was wrong.”
“I’m okay now. Grayson found me?—”
“Grayson found you?”
“Yeah, he said he got worried that he hadn’t heard from me, that it was unlike me, so he flew home?—”
“He flew home early?”
“Are you going to finish the story or should I? The one who lived it?”
“This is no time for jokes, Isabella,” the woman scolds.
“Sorry,” Bella apologizes, sounding sincere.
The rest of what she says is cut off as a nurse rounds the corner with a frown. “Sir, visiting hours are over. I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
Ignoring her, I take a step away from the door and instead ask, “What is Mrs. Stratford in here for?”
The nurse’s brows rise sky high. “Are you family?”
I hesitate for a second before saying, “Yes.”
The hesitation costs me. The nurse’s friendly attitude evaporates. “I’m going to have to ask you to leave, sir.”
“I just need to know why she’s here,” I rush out.
The nurse puts her hand on my back and I recoil, physically flinching away. She raises her hands. “Sir, I need you to leave. Please do so before I call security.”
Grumbling under my breath, I spin on my heel, deciding to head in the direction of someone who can answer my questions. I’m not taking no for an answer on this.
The beauty of being an athlete is the narrow-minded tunnel vision we get when we want something.
By the time Bella makes her way back to the room, it’s 4:30 in the morning. Our food is cold, and I’ve spoken to ten people who refused to tell me any information until I used my name. I’m not proud of it, but in the end, it will help Bella and her mom out exponentially.
Bella’s eyes are sunken, the exhaustion from the past couple of days coming to bite her in the ass as she practically flops onto the hospital bed. I immediately help her with the sheets, ignoring her quizzical expression as I tuck her in like my mom did to Drew and me when we were sick.
When I’m done, I take a seat beside her on the bed, my back to her as I face the wall. “You could have told me,” I say softly.
I feel her stiffen in the bed behind me. “Told you what?”
“Don’t play coy. I saw you go into the oncology ward.”
There’s a deep sigh. “It’s none of your business, Grayson.”
“Is that why you suddenly changed your mind?”
Bella’s quiet for a moment, the only sound the beeping of a monitor in the hallway. “Yes.”
I didn’t expect the truth.
I turn to face her, shocked to find she’s not angry like I thought she would be. Instead, she looks exhausted, and not from lack of sleep. No, this is a gut-wrenching, emotional, and mental exhaustion.
“How long have you been taking care of her?” I ask, searching her eyes for the answer.
She plays with the hospital blanket between her fingers. “Just a little over seven months now.”
Swallowing thickly, I let that sink in before I ask, “Are you her sole caregiver?”
She doesn’t answer me verbally. Just nods.
I can’t stop the sigh that escapes me. “You could have told me. ”
“No, I couldn’t. Look at how you’re looking at me.”
My head rears back as if she slapped me. “What?”
“You’re looking at me with pity. You’re looking at me like I’m a girl with a dying mother.”
“Bella, you are a girl with a dying mother.” That snaps her head up, fire igniting in her cinnamon-brown depths.
There’s my girl, my blazing wildfire. “And I’m not looking at you with pity.
I’m looking at you with admiration. I’m looking at you with envy of how strong you are.
I am looking at you, and I am in awe of how resilient, beautiful, and kind you are.
” Her gaze is latched onto mine, an emotion filling them that I can’t decipher.
“But I am also looking at you, Bella, and wondering who has been taking care of you .”
She frowns. “I have.”
“Then let me take some of the weight of that labor.”
Her eyes roll as she scoffs at the notion. “You’re my boss.”
That has me grinning. “Actually, until further notice, I am your fake boyfriend, and fake boyfriends can’t be caught slacking.”
Her gaze hardens. “You want to take my dying mother as a PR moment?”
Groaning, I slap my hand to my head. “Jesus Christ, no. Can you just let me help?”
“Why? I’m not your burden to bear.”
“Newsflash, you are. But this isn’t a burden.” Rising, I lean over her, placing my hands on either side of her head as I force her to hear my words. “ Let me take care of you. ”
Something akin to panic flashes in the depths of her eyes, but it’s there and gone before I can assess the emotion. “Fine, you want to take care of me?” she asks.
“Yes.”
Her chin rises. “Let’s see how long it takes you to leave.”
Now we’re getting to the underbelly of why she won’t let anyone help her. Layla doesn’t count. I have a feeling she has taken my approach many times and has had to force her hand to get this beautifully stubborn woman to accept help.
I revel at the hitch in her breath as I whisper, “You’re on, Blaze.
” I straighten, taking in the way her eyes heat at the nickname.
“Something tells me that you’ll be the one to walk away, not me.
” Before she can answer, I’m pulling out my phone with my schedule.
“Your mom is supposed to be let out tomorrow morning, but your doctors want to keep you for another night of observation due to the level of dehydration you came in with.”
Bella stares at me like I’ve grown a second head. “How did you get my mother’s medical information?”
I smirk. “I have my ways.”
“What are you, Satan?”
“I prefer archangel or fairy godmother, but if you want to call me your devil then I’m happy to oblige.”
A burst of shocked laughter flies from her mouth and the sound—the sound is like coming home .
“I’ll help your mom when she’s discharged. It’s an off day for me so I’ll stay with her until you come home.”
“No.”
My head slowly rises at that. “You don’t have a choice in the matter. You’re stuck in a hospital bed.”
Her eyes narrow as she folds her arms over her chest. “I don’t like you right now.”
“I think you like me plenty, but don’t make your mom suffer because you’re stubborn. I doubt she wants to stay another minute in here, let alone another night.”
She chews on her bottom lip. “Fine, but can I at least come with you to introduce you two? She won’t be happy with this arrangement.”
I clutch my chest in mock horror. “I can’t believe you’re doubting me. Parents love me,” I say with a big smile.
“They like you because they think you’re a harmless puppy.”
“Is that a compliment?”
She stares at me blankly.
My smirk only grows. “I’m taking it as a compliment.”
Bella doesn’t take me to her mom until seven in the morning. I tried to let her sleep, but it seems I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t.
“It’s not going to be as bad as you think,” I say as Bella remains standing at the entrance of the oncology ward.
“I should be the one giving you a pep talk,” she says flatly.
I snort. “If you don’t go in, then I will.”
She’s quiet, as still as a statue, but the moment I lift my foot to walk forward she sighs heavily before rolling back her shoulders. “Let’s get this over with.”
With short, clipped steps, Bella hurries down the oncology hall, making a sharp right turn before stepping through her mother’s hospital room. Trailing behind her, I’m soon greeted by a sight that utterly devastates me.
It also makes me suddenly understand why Bella assumed I would look at her with pity.
Mrs. Stratford is extremely ill, so ill I want to track down her oncologist and figure out what the fuck he’s doing to heal this woman.