I felt the blood draining from my face.
“Both of your parents were in the car.”
No, no...
Panic started to break through the numbness I'd had all day.
“They're alive, but I don't know a lot. They won't tell me because I'm not family. They're at the hospital and I told them I'd call you.”
“Um...okay...thanks...I...uh...” I couldn't put together a competent sentence.
“Breathe, Nori.”
I closed my eyes and nodded even though I knew he couldn't see me.
“A car is already on the way to pick you up. I have a private plane preparing for you. By the time you grab a few things, the car should be there, and the plane will be waiting. There'll be another car waiting here that'll take you straight to the hospital.”
I was still nodding even though my brain was only partially processing his words.
My parents were in the hospital. They could be dying and I was half-way across the country because I was tired of them bugging me. They were my only family and I'd just left them.
And for what? To spend a couple weeks fighting with a man I thought might be something special but was just another asshole? To try and 'find myself' because I felt like they put too much on me?
“Nori!” Tanner's voice was sharp and I knew he'd said my name more than once. “You still with me?”
“I'm here.” My voice sounded weird to my ears, but I didn't take the time to analyze why. “I'm still here.”
“I know you're freaking out right now, but you need to calm yourself and focus. You have to pack a quick bag and then get downstairs to catch the car. Wait until you're on the plane to let yourself fall apart. You'll have a couple hours to pull yourself back together so that you can be strong for your parents.”
We might not be together anymore, but I spent nearly four years listening to him telling me what to do in tense and stressful – though definitely more pleasant – situations. It was almost automatic for me to respond, which was a good thing, because that meant my body did it without my brain having to consciously give the command. It didn't completely alleviate what I was feeling, but it did make it easier to deal with.
“You can do this, Nori,” Tanner said. “I'll stay here at the hospital and call if there's anything new.”
“I should call,” I said.
“They won't tell you anything over the phone,” he said. “I asked if I could just give you the phone, but they said they'd just tell you to come in.”
I cursed.
“Yeah, that's about right,” Tanner agreed. “My next call is to my lawyer to see if I can get anything out of the hospital while you're on your way. I doubt there is, but it's better than sitting around doing nothing.”
“Tanner.” I spoke around the lump in my throat. “Thank you.”
“Of course,” he said. “We're still friends, right?”
“We are,” I said. “But this is above and beyond, Tanner.”
“This is family. Don't worry about it,” he said firmly. “Don't think about anything other than doing what you need to do to get here.”
“Thank you,” I said again. I hesitated, and then asked, “Will you be at the hospital when I get there?”
Silence for a moment. “If you want me to be.”
I didn't need to think about it. I couldn't face this alone. “I do.”
“Then I'll be here,” he said. “Now, get moving.”
He ended the call and I stood. I had things to do.
I'd freak out later.
Chapter Twelve
Xavier
I wasn't sure which was worse, the pounding in my head or the ache in my hand. I hadn't taken any of my pain pills yesterday, so when it'd become clear that Nori wasn't going to talk to me, I found my bottle of tequila where I'd left it the night before and drained the entire thing.
It'd helped me forget about Father O'Toole, and about my asinine move with Kipp. It hadn't, however, managed to make me forget a single thing about Nori. That bliss hadn't come until I'd finally blacked out.
I enjoyed the unconsciousness, but the waking up part was far from pleasant. My mouth felt like I'd eaten shit-flavored cotton and just the idea of opening my eyes hurt. My head felt like someone was splitting it open. Sawing. With a dull, rusty blade.
I opened my eyes a slit and then groaned. My room was dark, but even the small stream of sunlight was too much. I started to roll over and felt my stomach lurch.
Fuck.
I was going to puke.
I should've just laid back down until the urge passed, but I also had to piss bad enough that I knew if I didn't get out of the bed now, I would make a different kind of mess. I'd rather clean up some puke on the floor than have to clean a mattress drenched in urine.