Not Pretending Anymore, Ward, Penelope [books that read to you TXT] 📗

looks exhausted. Kayla said he’s been talking about stopping the chemo already.”

“Because of this? Can’t he start again once they get him better?”

Molly was silent for a moment. I watched her face as she swallowed, trying to fight back tears. “He has small-cell carcinoma. It’s metastasized to other organs already, so the survival rate is…” She again tried to swallow and keep the threatening tears at bay. But one giant drop spilled over and ran down her cheek. “His quality of life from the chemo…”

“Come here.” I pulled her against my chest and wrapped her in my arms. Stroking her hair, I wanted to say something, but the sound of her falling apart clogged the words in my throat. Her shoulders shook as she succumbed to her emotions with an aching wail. I hated that all I could do was squeeze her tighter and wish I could take away her pain.

After about ten minutes of standing in the middle of the waiting room, Molly pulled back, wiping her eyes and sniffling.

“Thank you, Declan.”

“For nothing. I’m happy to be here for you.” I leaned down and kissed her forehead. “What happens now? If they’re admitting him, he’ll need some clothes, right? There’s a twenty-four-hour Walmart about fifteen minutes from here. I can run over and get him some pajamas and toiletries and stuff.”

“That’s very sweet of you to offer. But I told Kayla I’d go to their house and get some of his things so he can be more comfortable. It’ll be at least an hour or two before they move him into a room, and they don’t like more than one person at a time in the emergency room with a patient, anyway. No one said anything because I’m friends with a few of the nurses, but I don’t want to take advantage since I work here. I’ll run to his house while they’re admitting him, now that I know he’s stable. But it’s late. I can drop you off at home on my way.”

Like hell was I letting her drive around the city alone in her current state. “I’m coming with you.”

“I’m probably going to be here all night after I go get his clothes.”

I winked, trying to lighten things up a bit. “It’s okay. Going all night is my specialty.”

She rolled her eyes, but I saw the smile in them. A few minutes later, we were back in the car. Molly’s father’s house was a forty-minute drive from the hospital. He’d been at a restaurant when he’d passed out on his way back from the men’s room. I’d been to his house for dinner a few weeks ago, but I’d only seen the downstairs, not the bedrooms, which were tucked away on the second floor. When we arrived, I offered to wait in the living room while Molly went up to pack him a bag, but she asked me to come with her. Apparently, she’d only ever been in his bedroom once, years ago, when he’d first bought the place.

I waited near the door to the master bedroom while Molly walked over to a tall dresser and opened the top drawer. A bunch of framed photos on display seemed to catch her attention. She reached out and took one into her hands.

“Oh my God. I can’t believe he has this in a frame. I’m going to kill him.”

I walked in to peek over her shoulder. “What is it?”

“It’s an old photo of me and my sister. I think I was about six, and she was seven.”

The photo was adorable. It was clear from the big blue eyes which one of the little girls was Molly. Her head was thrown back in laughter, her hair was tied up in lopsided pigtails, and she wore the biggest, toothiest smile I’d ever seen. Just looking at it made my lips curve upward.

“Why are you going to kill your father? I think you look cute.”

“Uh…because my pants are wet?”

I’d been staring at her giant smile and hadn’t even noticed her clothes. But sure enough, when I looked down, the shorts she had on were indeed wet. And not like she’d spilled something. “Did you pee your pants?” I asked.

She covered her face. “Yes! He has a framed picture of me with soiled shorts on! Why the heck would he display this?”

I chuckled. “Was this a frequent occurrence for you? You look a little old to be pissing your pants here.”

“My father and sister had just tickled me. I warned them to stop, but they didn’t. I cannot believe he still has this, let alone framed it.”

It was a little strange to show off a picture of your school-age daughter who’d wet herself, but I understood why he did it. “He loves your smile in the photo, and it reminds him of good times.”

She sighed. “Yeah…I guess so.”

Setting the photo back on top of the dresser, she shook her head, looking through the others on display. She picked up one of her wearing scrubs and a stethoscope.

“This is my nursing-school graduation picture. I didn’t give him this. My mother must have sent it to him.”

“Well, it looks like he’s proud of you, if he framed it.”

Molly’s face became solemn as she ran her finger along the edge of the frame. “I didn’t even invite him. My mother told me it was the right thing to do, but I felt like inviting him was some sort of disrespect to her. He’s missed so many things in my and my sister’s lives because we couldn’t forgive him for leaving us.”

“Don’t do that, Moll. Don’t put that on yourself. You were hurt and had your reasons. We can’t change the past, but we can learn from it. You’re here for him now, and I’m sure that means a lot to him.”

She smiled halfheartedly. “Thanks.”

After she packed a bag and collected some toiletries, we headed down the hall to the stairs. But as she took the first step, she stopped and backed up. “Hang on a second.