Crazy For You by Alexander, S.B. (best ebook reader ubuntu .TXT) 📕

no visitors other than Nan and me. No matter how much pull Dr. Branson had in the ER, he didn’t have a say in the ICU.

I rounded the corner and found Georgia. It was easy, considering that the lobby was empty, save for Georgia and a man in a business suit who was pacing near the entrance with his phone to his ear.

She pushed off the wall, and even though sadness was stamped on her pretty face, I was stoked to see her.

We met in the middle and embraced like lovers who hadn’t seen each other in years.

She cried. I cried.

After a long minute, she guided me to a bank of empty chairs along the wall.

“You look great,” I said.

She was dressed in black skinny jeans, ankle boots, and a knit top that hugged her curves.

She tucked a blond curl behind her ear. “Given what you’re going through, you look good too.”

I smiled weakly. I didn’t think I did. But Nan had brought clean clothes. I’d been able to freshen up in one of the restrooms up on the ICU floor. That day, I was wearing an old pair of yoga pants and an oversized sweatshirt. They kept the ICU rather cold for some reason.

“I begged my dad to let me see your dad,” she said. “He told me this morning he would get me up to ICU.”

“Really? Dad isn’t awake, but he might be able to hear your voice.” I believed he could hear mine. Anytime I talked to him, I swore the corners of his mouth turned up a tick. Deep down, I knew I was imagining that, but I had to believe he was listening.

She frowned. “Everyone at school is asking about you. Mia wanted to come, but she has a game tonight, and I told her she couldn’t see your dad even if she did.”

I picked at a finger. My nails were gone. I’d bitten each one down to the nub. “Do you know if Colton is still in town?” I swallowed before holding my breath.

I hadn’t heard from him since he’d brought me to the hospital. I had, however, thought about him a lot and about what he’d said: I want to say so many things. But I know it’s not the time. Just know I’m not leaving until I know you’re okay.

His last line had found a home in the forefront of my mind as I wondered if he had left after all. Nan had told me the Caldwell house seemed quiet and dark, which she’d found odd. I did too. Colton had planned to stay with a friend in Virginia, but maybe he and his parents had decided to get away as a family. For Colton’s sake, I hoped he could work out his differences with his dad. He didn’t need to shoulder the blame for his brother’s death. Regardless, as much as I would have loved to see Colton, Dad came first.

Georgia placed her hand on my thigh. “Grady tried calling him several times with no luck.”

I jerked my head up. “You don’t think anything happened to him?” Oh God. I couldn’t lose another person I loved.

“I don’t think so. I went by his house before I came here. No answer. There were no cars in the driveway, either. I peeked in the windows of their garage, too, and it was empty. If you ask me, I think they left town.”

Relief coursed through me, warming my veins. “I told him I loved him.”

She gasped. “For real? And?”

I licked my chapped lips. “Not sure. He told me we would talk when I have more time. I haven’t been home. So I don’t know.”

She puckered her mouth like she was about to whistle. “Wow. I mean, I know he’s your crush, but to tell him… Now, it’s real.”

I giggled. “For sure.”

“He’ll surface,” she said with confidence.

Whether he did or not, I couldn’t worry about him.

My phone pinged. I fumbled to get it out of the tight pocket of my yoga pants.

A text from Nan: Please come up now!

I vaulted off the chair as the blood drained from me.

“What is it?” Georgia’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

“It’s Dad. I’ve got to go.”

“I’m coming with, whether or not I’m allowed.”

I wasn’t going to stop her. I could use her support. Even though she was as emotional as I was, she had a way of steadying me.

Once at the elevator, Georgia stabbed the up button hard and several times. It felt like centuries passed before the door opened, and even longer when we were inside and the car seemed to move at a snail’s pace.

I leaned against the wall. “Dad’s gone,” I muttered more to myself. I could almost feel it in my bones. I might be crazy, but that sense of loss was all-consuming.

“You don’t know that,” Georgia fired back. “Maybe he woke up.”

A small part of me rejoiced at that thought, praying she was right. I’d told Dad everything I could possibly think of over the last nine days, not certain he’d heard me. So getting that one last chance to see his blue eyes and tell him I loved him would give me a sense of closure. Despite the time I’d had to prepare for this moment, I wasn’t ready.

Maybe he woke up. That was my mantra, and the only thing I focused on as Georgia and I finally exited the elevator.

She grasped my hand as we entered ICU. “Think positively.”

Easier said than done, but I took her advice just the same. I lifted my chin and rolled back my shoulders. “I’m glad you’re here with me.”

The room tilted on its axis when I spotted Nan crying outside Dad’s room. Normally that wouldn’t freak me out, since she and I had been shedding enough tears to fill several oceans since Dad had been admitted. But she squatted down with her face in her hands, and I knew instantly that he was gone.

Surprisingly, I didn’t cry, not even when I saw how peaceful