Needing You #2 - Wanting Him
Page 15
It takes moments before I get a response, “Rowan. Tuck’s been putting off his doctor’s appointment and it’s today. We’re leaving at 5:00 p.m.”
“Okay,” I text back.
Interesting, I wondered what was going on, because it’s been almost three months since he last went to the hospital.
We’ve followed him a few times and it was always to the same house, his sister Tessa’s place. Majority of the time though he didn’t leave.
I go to the rest of my classes and head home to get changed before having to meet up with Rowan at 5:00 p.m.
When Nora gets home I let her know I’m going out for the evening, that if she needs me to call me.
Rowan shows up at my house at exactly 5:00 p.m. ready to go.
“How did you find out his appointment was today?” I ask confused.
“He was on the phone with someone this morning after Harp left for class.”
“Did he know you were there?”
“Yeah, but I think he thought I was still sleeping. Either way, I heard him say his appointment is at 6:30 p.m., but he needs to be there early to get some blood work and get settled in a room before they run some tests.”
“I hope it’s nothing too serious.”
“Me too, especially for Harper’s sake.”
“So how was your weekend?” I ask, making conversation.
“Good,” she says quickly.
“Did you talk to Declan?”
“What? No, why?” she stutters.
“You never told me about how you knew him.”
“I don’t.”
“I call bullshit. You definitely know him somehow. It was obvious the first time Harp introduced you guys.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Nice try, spill it bitch.”
I watch her shoulders fall, “I can’t,” she says sadly.
“Why not?” I ask confused.
“People just don’t understand.”
“Understand what?”
“Nothing, can you please just let it go?”
“No.”
“Please.”
“Oh my God.”
“What?” she shrieks.
“You slept with him,” I say loudly, like I figured out the last piece to the puzzle.
“No I didn’t,” she fires back.
“Bullshit, you should see how red you are. Busted! But I don’t understand why you both acted like that,” I say not understanding either one of them.
“Please Nat, let it go.”
“No way, fill me in.”
“Ugh fine, but you can’t tell anyone, not even Harp,” she says turning and giving me a serious look.
“Okay.”
“I met him at my job.”
“Okay, so?”
“I work at Level Five,” she says nervously.
“The Club?”
“Yeah.”
“Which level do you work on?”
The look I get proves to Rowan I know exactly what type of club Level Five is.
“I work on Level Five.”
“Which means you also work or are a part of the underground level,” I say as a statement, not a question.
“H-How do you know about that?” she asks nervously.
“I’ve lived here all my life. I know a lot more than you think.”
“Oh.”
“So did you meet Declan on Level Five or in the Underground?”
“The Underground,” she says never taking her eyes off the road.
“You kinky bitch,” I laugh, causing her to look at me and start to laugh.
“Please don’t tell people.”
“I won’t. I’m surprised Tuck didn’t figure it out. He knows all about that place too, all the guys do.”
“Declan wasn’t there with anyone.”
“So how did that happen anyway?”
“I don’t know.”
“The fuck you don’t. Spill it,” I say, excited to hear this juicy information.
“Fine, since you know what the Underground is.”
“Oh yes, the Underground also known as BDSM club for kinky fucks,” I say laughing.
“Shut up, it is not,” she defends.
“I know. Don’t worry, I thought about going in there a few times,” I admit.
“Why didn’t you?”
“Nervous I guess.”
“You should.”
“Oh yeah just what I need,” I say laughing.
“It would make you forget about Parker for a while.”
“Yeah, or it could make me wish the guy fucking me with chains and whips was Parker.”
“You guys did that?” she asks surprised.
“No, but I wouldn’t be against trying shit out.”
“You should definitely come with me sometime. You don’t have to partake in anything.”
“So I could what, go and watch?” I ask confused.
“Well it’s only open to members, but I could take you as a guest. That’s the only way you can get into the Underground.”
“So you’re a member? Not just an employee?”
“I don’t work in the Underground, not usually anyway.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m a member,” she says like I should already know.
“Oh,” is all I say.
“Member’s aren’t allowed to be staff. I worked an event right after I first joined and it was only because they were really short staffed. It was only one time.”
“So there are people there who work the Underground, but don’t want to become members?”
“It’s all hush hush so they have to go through extensive training and sign non-disclosures and shit.”
“But you just told me.”
“You already knew about it.”
“True.”
“So you gonna come in sometime?”
“Tell me how you met Declan there.”
“Ugh, you aren’t gonna let this go are you?”
“Not a chance,” I say with a smile.
“Fine, but if you repeat this I will kill you,” she deadpans.
“No worries.”
“I went to the club one night and he was there. I never saw him before and he looked interesting.”
“Interesting?” I ask with a laugh.
The look I get from Rowan is deadly. “Yes interesting. He’s hot, yet mysterious. I don’t know I can’t explain it.”
“Okay,” I say holding in my laugh.
“Anyway, we started talking and right off the bat I told him not to tell me his name. It would only be a one-time thing, so there was no need for us to know each other’s names.”
“So you had crazy kinky sex with Declan and you didn’t want to know his name?”
“That man is really fucking kinky.”
“Oh yeah?” I ask surprised.
“Oh yes and holy shit did he fuck me out of my mind.”
“Wow, so what, he likes toys and shit?”
“Toys, plugs, whips, chains, you name it, that man will use it and take it,” she says looking serious.
“Take it…Never mind, I don’t want to know. I won’t be able to look at him the same way ever again,” I say as I start to laugh.
“He’s hot though.”
“So why didn’t you want to know his name?” I ask confused.
“He’s hot. I figured he was one of those guys that are complete assholes, so I figured let me get what I want for a night and not have to worry about who he is or hear about his reputation later.”
“Got it. That makes sense. Plus you are right, he is pretty fucking hot.”
Declan is tall like Parker around 6’3,” dark brown hair, dark brown eyes to match. He also has that look that he always appears tan, the lucky asshole. He also has a great body with a few tattoos that are noticeable on his arms.
“Did you talk to him last weekend?” I ask curiously.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Well shit why not? I ask laughing.
“Not funny.”
“Sure it is,” I say continuing to laugh.
“No it’s not.”
Unfortunately, our conversation ends because Rowan parks at the hospital and we head inside to find out what Tucker’s hiding.
“Well he’s here already because his car is parked right there,” I point out as we make our way inside.
“That’s good. Now we can’t let him see us first. Crap. I was hoping we would beat him here.”
“Oh well. Let’s go find out what he’s hiding.”
We head to the elevators and go up to the seventh floor, hoping that’s where Tuck is.
“Do we really think we’re going to find him in this freaking hospital? Hospitals are huge,” Rowan complains.
“We’ll find him,” I say as the elevator takes us up to the seventh floor. We get out and look around, but I don’t see him anywhere.
“Crap,” I mumble.
“Oh you’re back,” the nurse we ran into a few months ago says.
“Huh?” I say confused.
“Your friends are already back the hall in his room. You can head on back,” she says.
“Thanks,” I say as I pull Rowan down the hall.
“How the fuck does she remember us from one time?”
“No idea, but I’m thankful as shit she did,” I say with a smile.
We head down the hall and decide to go slower so we don’t actually run into Tucker, not yet anyway. We need to find out what he’s hiding first.
“Do you hear that?” Rowan asks as we hear a girl bitching about something.
“That sounds like Bianca I think,” I say trying to recall her voice.
“Sure is.”
We make our way down to the room where her shrieking voice is coming from and listen from outside.
“B if you want to leave then there’s the fucking door,” Tuck says angrily.
“Ugh, I can’t believe you sometimes. How dare you not give me a second chance.”
“Not this again. I am not here to listen to your bullshit.”
“Tucker, when are you going to realize I’m the woman for you?” she pleads.
“B, why aren’t you with my father anymore?”
“Because I realized I missed you,” she coos.
“Nice try. Try again.”
“Ugh, he got boring, he’s old. I messed up alright.”
“So now that you hit on me and I turned you down, are you going to run to Trent next?”
“Fuck you. He’s an asshole.”
“You two would be a perfect couple.”
“No Tucker, we would. We were a great couple, why can’t you see that?”
“You know why. Now drop it,” he argues.
“Ugh fine. But one day you will be mine again.”
Just then the doctor comes in, “Hey Tucker. Are you ready for your tests today?”
“Not really, but whatever.”
“They won’t be that bad, just a few scans.”
“Will I know any results today?”
“Some, not all. I’ll be able to tell if the experimental drug you’re on is working or not.”
“How?”
“By the size of the tumor. If it’s growing then it shows the drugs aren’t working and we’ll have to plan for surgery.”
“But if it is shrinking then possibly no surgery?” he states, sounding hopeful.
“Possibly. How have you been feeling on the medications?”
“Alright,” he says.
“Don’t lie,” another girls voice says, “He’s been sicker than hell and feels like shit. Not to mention he’s losing weight and he’s passed out a few times.”
“Tess be quiet,” he warns.
“Is that true?” the doctor asks, sounding worried.
“Yeah, but if the meds are working, it’s worth it.”
“Well, we will find out soon enough,” the doctor says.
I can’t help but feel helpless right now. I can see Rowan feels the same way by her facial expression. Tucker has a tumor. Though I’m not sure what kind, it still brings back memories, sad, horrible, awful memories.
“Let’s go ahead and get you down for some scans and see what’s going on with that tumor,” the doctor says, causing Rowan and I to rush down the hall around the corner so Tucker doesn’t see us.
“A tumor. How the fuck do we tell Harper he has a fucking tumor?” Rowan practically yells.
“We don’t,” I say, as I take a seat.
“We have to tell her something.”
“No, that needs to come from Tucker. We can’t be the ones to tell her this, plus we don’t know how serious or what kind of tumor it is.”
“What do you want to do?”
“I don’t know.”
“Should we wait for him to come out of testing?”
“Yes,” is my only reply.
“Alright, well then I’m gonna run down to the cafeteria. Do you want anything?”
“A water please.”
“Okay, I’ll be right back,” she says as she heads off towards the cafeteria. Where ever that may be.
I sit in the chair thinking back to how this time with Tuck is going to be different. He’s not my mom.
I can’t help seeing the doctors, the nurses, everyone running down to where she was in surgery. Bringing machines and syringes with liquid to help stop or start whatever was needed. Me watching from the hall confused and lost, not understanding what was happening. It was a simple surgery they told me. Me…the 18 year old daughter who stood waiting patiently for the news on what happened in that surgery room.
I needed the reassurance that she was okay, that there was a small problem, but they fixed it and that mom was alright. Unfortunately that moment never came.
“Are you alright?” I hear as Rowan touches my shoulder.
I jump, “Sorry, spaced out I guess,” I lie.
“No, you’re as pale as a ghost, what happened?” she asks nervously.
“Nothing.”
“Now I call bullshit. Where did you just go?”
“I was just thinking about how much I hate hospitals.”
“Bull shit again.”
“What? Why?”
“Nat you’re going to school to become a nurse, so you can’t hate hospitals that much. Plus that wouldn’t have made you go pale like that. What happened?” she asks sounding really concerned.
I can feel my shoulders slump, “I was thinking about my mom,” I admit.
“What about her?”
“Just hearing about Tuck having a tumor just brought back a lot of memories for me.”
“Not good ones, obviously. What happened?”
“My mom had a brain aneurysm.”
“Oh shit, I’m so sorry I didn’t know. You don’t have to tell me,” she says quickly.
“It’s alright. We went to the hospital for her to have surgery to have it removed. It was supposed to be a simple surgery.”
“But it wasn’t,” she asks sadly.
“No it wasn’t. When they were opening her up, I guess there was a brain bleed, they weren’t able to get it to stop in time,” I say as I feel my eyes well up with tears.
“Oh God, I’m so sorry,” Rowan says as she sits beside me wrapping her arm around my shoulders.
“It’s alright, I’m getting better with it. Time does that I guess.”
“How old were you?”
“18.”
“So that’s why you take care of Nora. You took full custody of her when your mom passed away,” she says as a statement not a question, “Why didn’t you tell me when we came here the first time?”
“It’s a different hospital. Plus it’s not something I like to tell everyone.”
“I get that, I do, but Nat, do you seriously think you’ll be able to work in a hospital setti
ng?”
“Yeah. It was just hearing that he has a tumor that sparked more memories. I’ll be alright.”
“If you’re not, let me know.”
“I will. Thanks.”
We continue to sit for another hour and a half before hearing Tuck and the two girls heading back into his room.
Rowan and I sneak back down the hall to listen to what the doctor says about his next steps.
“Tell it to me straight doc,” Tuck says nervously.
“The good news is that the experimental medications you’re taking are working on the tumor.”
“That’s great, so why does it look like you have bad news?” Tuck asks, sounding scared.
“The bad news is that it looks like the medication is causing another tumor to develop.”
“WHAT?” I hear Tucker and the two girls yell in unison.
“It was a potential issue, but it hasn’t been happening, so we were optimistic that no more tumors would develop. But since they have, Tucker we need to schedule surgery to remove both tumors as soon as possible.”
“Why so soon?”
“The new tumor seems to be growing quickly. If we let it go too long, it will affect your brain activity and possibly your sight as well.”
“So you can get both tumors out of his head in the same surgery?” a girl I assume is Tessa asks.
“Yes, that’s the plan,” the doctor says.
Shit Tucker has two tumors…in his brain. This cannot be happening.
“Harper needs to know,” Rowan whispers.
“I know and I’ll make sure he tells her.”
We leave the hospital before Tucker has a chance to see us and discuss ways for him to tell Harper. Hopefully, when he comes home he tells her, though I feel he won’t. He may need a little push, but he will be telling her before his surgery.
I’ll give him until before he has his surgery to tell her what’s going on.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It’s Friday night and there’s a band at PowerTrips. I’m working along with Harp.
By the time I get into the bar, the place is starting to get busy. Marcus is behind the bar serving a few patrons. I punch in and get behind the bar and start to restock the beers that are low.
After thirty minutes later, Harp comes in looking beyond pissed.
“You okay?”
“No, fucking Tucker,” is all she says.
“What did he do now?” I ask on a laugh.
The evil glare I get tells me I shouldn’t have laughed. “He’s still being secretive and he won’t go to the doctors to get over this cold or flu or whatever. No matter how many times I ask him to talk to me, he gets all nervous and weird, and then leaves,” she says frustrated.