Thrust: Bad Boy Racing Romance (Fastlane Series Book 2) (20 page)

I swallowed, his words shocking me back into a state of awareness. I looked at him for a fraction of a second and then, at last, the tears trickled. I leaned in towards him, pressing my face against his chest. The sobs came hard, and fast. Moisture flowed and after fending it off with a few feeble swipes, I gave up. Marco wrapped his arms around me, holding me close in silence while I cried.

I had no idea how long we stood there. The emotions of achieving my own goals suddenly seem to pale in comparison to the loss I’d probably face before long. Marco began to rub my head, stroking my hair with long, tender swipes. Eventually the surge of grief left my body and I pulled away from him, trying to collect myself once again. Sniffling, I reached for the spot on his shirt where I’d placed my head, touching it.

“I’m sorry about that. I got your shirt all wet.”

Marco shook his head and slid one hand inside the front pocket of his jeans.

“There’s nothing to apologize for, Dani,” he said, brushing at the damp spot. “It’ll dry.”

A sad smile came to my face. I let out a deep exhale and glanced in the direction of his dresser.

“Oh, the box. I-I’m sorry, I…”

“Dani,” Marco began, his tone firm. “Quit apologizing. Okay? The most important thing for you to do right now is to get home to your family.”

“You’re right. I need to,” I began, reaching up and rubbing my forehead while I tried to refocus. “I’ve got to book a flight.”

Marco shook his head.

“You won’t be able to get a direct flight to New York until tomorrow, if at all. You can use my jet. I can have it ready to go within the hour.”

“No, Marco, please…” I said, shaking my head. “I couldn’t let you do that. I’ll find another flight.”

“I’m not
asking
you to do it, Dani. I’m
telling
you I’ll have my jet ready to go for you within the hour. That’s all there is to it.”

I looked away from him, struggling to get some clarity with my thoughts. Marco edged closer to me and reached towards my chin. He placed the first two fingers of his hand underneath it and with a gentle pressure, lifted it. Our eyes met and he smiled.

“I
want
to do this for you. I know how strong you are, but everyone needs help sometimes. All right?”

Looking up at him, I sniffled once again, feeling the sting of redness in my eyes.

“Thank you, Marco. Thank you.”

DANI

I grew up in a small town, not far from Pittsburgh. From a very young age, I promised myself I’d do whatever it took to get out of there and
never
look back. After high school, I went to college, paying for it on my own. I never wanted to owe my success to anyone else and I still don’t.

The same, however, could not be said for my immediate family, including my brothers and their wives, not to mention the dozens of aunts, uncles and cousins who were born, lived and died in the same place. I was as different from them as I could be. Even so, they were my family, and family comes with obligations, often at the most inconvenient of times. The good news was that thanks to Marco, I was able to get to the hospital to see my father in less than a day.

After entering, I made my way to the intensive care unit. Just outside of it, in the waiting room, I saw faces I hadn’t seen in years. I knew all too well if I wasn’t careful, they would easily suck me into the petty drama of their lives. Ignoring them for the time being, I noticed my brothers standing in the hallway just ahead of me, talking to what looked to be a doctor.

Seconds later, I approached them. The presumed doctor took notice and stopped talking. My brothers both turned their heads in my direction. We hugged, greeting each other briefly before my brother, Scott, introduced me to the man.

“Dr. Chen, this is my sister, Dani.”

I extended my hand towards him. He took it and offered me a polite smile.

“Hello, Dani. I’m your father’s cardiologist.”

His youthful appearance surprised me. If I’d had to guess, I would’ve said he didn’t look to be more than thirty years old.

“Dani, as I was explaining to your brothers, your father is in a precarious state. If we were in a situation where the issue was just his heart and its blockages, it would be one thing. However, he’s having some fairly serious issues with his kidneys as well.”

My other brother, Michael, spoke up, interrupting him.

“His kidneys? This is the first we’ve heard about it.”

The doctor nodded.

“Yes, well, in order to get your father into the catheterizing lab, we have to make sure that his kidneys are in a functional state. They need to be able to clear the dyes that we utilize. Otherwise, there is the potential for renal failure.”

“What does that mean?” I asked.

“Well,” Dr. Chen began, crossing his arms in front of his body and holding my father’s chart in his hand. “There’s no way of getting around it. Renal failure is a life-threatening situation. At this point, we’ve got to find a way to help his kidneys do their job. Until we are able to stabilize them, trying to do anything for your father's heart is simply too risky.”

“Okay,” Scott said. “What now?”

Over the next several minutes, the doctor explained my father would have to undergo dialysis to bring down some of the toxic levels in his kidneys. Afterward, if the kidney function improved, he believed that it would be much safer to deal with his heart issues.

“Of course,” Dr. Chen began, looking at each of us individually. “Dialysis isn’t without risk as well. There’ll be consent forms to sign. Which one of you is going to be doing it?”

Before any of us could reply, the answer came from behind me.

“That would be me.”

I turned in place to see my mother standing there. After hugging her, I stepped to one side so she could join the conversation. Dr. Chen quickly recapped the situation for my mother. Not long after, he tucked my father’s chart under his arm.

“Do any of you have questions for me right now?”

We exchanged glances with one another but soon after, shook our heads in unison.

“Very well,” he said, turning and preparing to walk away. “I’ll have those consent forms readied, and one of the nurses will be back to get your signature.”

We thanked him, and after he left, my brothers went back inside of my dad’s room, leaving my mother and me alone to talk.

We hugged again.

I’d never seen my mother look so exhausted. Puffy bags drooped under her eyes. Combined with lines of redness in her eyes, it appeared she hadn’t slept for days.

“I guess I don’t have to ask how you’re doing, Mom.”

My mother shook her head.

Soon after, I watched as one corner of her mouth started to twitch. She raised her hand to her eyes. I hadn’t noticed before, but in it, she clutched a wad of tissue. Before I said a word, her face disfigured with sadness and she reached in my direction. For some reason, until that moment I either didn't realize, or didn’t want to accept the seriousness of the situation.

My mom leaned against me, sobbing. I wanted to be strong, but it took everything I had. A hard lump the size of a fist gathered in my throat. For almost a minute I stood there holding her while she cried. At last, the jostling of her shoulders began to ease and she pulled away from me.

“I think you need to go and see him, Dani,” she said, nodding and gesturing towards my father’s room.

I choked the lump in my throat down.

“Is he conscious?”

My mother shook her head. I nodded, leaning in towards her for another hug.

“Okay,” I began, glancing towards his room. “Are you coming with me?”

“No, you go ahead. I need to go out to the waiting room and give everyone an update anyway.”

Just then, my brothers reappeared, exiting my dad’s room. I passed by them, walked inside and closed the door behind me. When I turned around, I covered my mouth and froze in place at the first sight of my father. Tubes, wires, and tape crisscrossed his body. I inched closer, shaking my head at the sight.

He looked pale, fragile and… old. In a word, unrecognizable.

Standing next to him, I reached down and wrapped my fingers around his forearm. His skin was cool to the touch, almost rubbery in texture. In the background, periodic beeps, the sounds of monitoring equipment, and an IV drip served as sobering reminders of the magnitude of the moment. For several minutes I just stood there, looking down.

It seemed impossible it was him.

“Dad,” I began, letting out a deep exhale. “I don’t know if you can hear me or not. I just want you to know that I love you.”

I paused for a few seconds and looked in the direction of a single large window in the room. Just then, I was reminded of the cycle of life when a new mother, holding her baby, passed by it in a wheelchair. Pushing it from behind with a smile on his face, a proud father. I looked down at my own and wondered what he felt like when his children were born.

Then I thought of my own life and everything I’d given up to get where was. I squeezed his forearm with a gentle curl of my fingers. Most of the time, I never gave it a second thought. But the idea of a new life beginning beyond the pane of glass and another one nearing its end in front of me made me feel the sharp sting of reality in its starkest form.

Numbness washed over me.

From behind, I heard the sound of the room to his door swing open. I looked over my shoulder to see one of the emergency room nurses enter. She walked around the side of my father’s bed.

“Hello,” I said.

She smiled at me but didn’t reply. Instead, she spent the next minute or so checking the connections of the equipment and making notes in her chart. For an instant, her aloofness seemed odd, almost insensitive. While she worked in silence, the reason dawned on me.

Each and every day when she came into work, she had to deal with people in their most frantic and desperate moments. She was human after all, just like all the other doctors and nurses. It wasn’t a job I would have ever wanted, but in the span of a few seconds I realized that part of her behavior was self-preservation.

It had to be.

DANI

“Ma’am,” the nurse began, nodding towards the entrance to the room. “You’re going to need to step out while we prep him.”

I nodded, dropping my hand away from my father’s arm.

“Yes, of course.”

I took a final look at him and turned to go. While the nurse got to work, I left and made my way to the waiting room. Entering it, I noticed everyone stop and look in my direction. I ignored their stares and walked over to join my mom and brothers.

“Dr. Chen just came by,” my mother said. “It looks like they’re going to start dialysis within an hour.”

I nodded. “I guess we’ll have to hope for the best.”

We stood there in silence for a few moments.

“Kinda surprised you got here as soon as you did, Dani,” my brother, Scott, said.

I frowned at him.

“What do you mean?”

He shrugged.

“Nothing.”

I bit my lip, wanting more than anything to avoid starting something with him. I let the comment slide by. Or at least, that was my intention, until Michael decided to take a shot at me as well.