Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 100750 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100750 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
“Dance with me in heaven, Daddy,” Gemma said as she kissed her dad.
“I love you, Daddy,” Lynnea cried as she said goodbye.
Nadia gripped Rafe’s warm hand. “I will love you forever,” she told him as she pushed her fingers through his hair. “Thank you for loving me, Rafe Karlsson.”
She nodded to the surgeon and stepped back from his bed. She stared at the ground, unable to watch him disappear behind the doors.
SIX
REID
As much as she hated to admit it, Reid despised being at home or work without Grayson. It didn’t help that they lived in the same apartment complex, a little fact they’d figured out the first day they’d met. Since then, they had fallen into an easy routine. Each morning, she’d text him she was leaving, and he’d meet her at the elevator. They’d walk to the train station, stopping to get coffee on the way. They had a work-life balance that worked for them. Reid liked routine, and right now, hers was off.
Almost a month had passed, with no end in sight. Reid kept her phone by her side, with the ringer full volume, in case Sydney called. Every day after work, Reid went to the hospital and sat by Grayson’s side, reading to him, while Sydney went home and showered and saw her husband before coming back to sleep next to her son. Sydney was an optimist, and each day she said to Reid, “Today’s the day, I can feel it.”
Reid also detested hearing her say those words because it meant someone would need to lose a loved one for Grayson to live. In this day and age, science should’ve figured things out by now and created some way for people to live without a heart. As soon as she thought about it, she realized how ridiculous it would be. Science and technology were keeping Grayson alive for the time being.
During the day, when her thoughts ran wild, she spent far too much time on the web, looking up Grayson’s illness and prognosis. The first night, she’d gone right to his place and rummaged through his drawers and cabinets until she’d found the pills Sydney had asked about. They were under his bathroom sink, hiding in the back. He’d refilled the bottle over six months earlier but hadn’t taken any of the pills. She counted them. More than once. And each time, she’d grown angrier with him because all this was preventable. Reid pictured herself waking him up and shaking the ever-loving shit out of him for what he’d done to his mom and her.
Reid had read that heart transplant patients might experience some changes after the fact. Like going from loving something to hating it. She hoped Grayson wouldn’t start hating basketball. He loved the game and loved playing it. That wasn’t it, though. What if, after the transplant, he no longer wanted to be her friend? She felt guilty about him being there. Maybe if she hadn’t brought up dating, he’d be at work right now. No, she knew this wasn’t true. Grayson was lucky she was there when he had the heart attack.
Her phone rang, startling her. The screen showed Melanie’s photo. After her heart went back to a normal rhythm, she put her earbud in and answered. “Hey.”
“You busy?”
“Nah, just sort of going through the motions. I pretend I’m busy, though, so they don’t fire me.”
“Would they?”
“I hope not. Honestly, being here sucks.”
“I get it. You’re probably spending all your time reading obituaries.”
Reid said nothing.
“Don’t tell me you are! I was kidding.”
“No, I’m not. I hadn’t thought about doing that. I think it would be weird to know someone died and then Grayson’s awake.”
“Awkward.”
Reid groaned. “What are you doing? Why aren’t you working?” Melanie sold high-end real estate in Baltimore. She’d graduated from American with a degree in business and had fallen into the real estate market shortly after graduation.
“Waiting for my next showing.”
“What football player are you selling a mega-house to now?”
Melanie laughed. “Nothing like that. I was thinking I’d come up after my showing, though. Spend the weekend.”
As much as she wanted to see her best friend, she didn’t want to miss time with Grayson. “I . . . uh.”
“I know, you want to sit in the hospital with Grayson. I’m good with that, but we’ll also hang with Pearce, get something to eat, sit on your couch, and eat Dibs. I’m not taking no for an answer.”
Reid sighed as she gave in. “Fine.”
“And because I love you so much, I’ll come right to the hospital. Make sure I’m on Grayson’s list.”
“I will. Call me when you get there.”
“Love you.” Melanie disconnected the call.
Reid took her earbud out, then picked up the receiver of her desk phone and dialed Pearce’s extension. “Can you come to my office?” she asked when he picked up.