“Josie! I missed you girl!” I said in response.
“Are you back in San Fran?” she asked.
“Yes ma’am!” I said as she squealed in delight.
“Come over right now!”
“I am. Oh and by the way, I won’t be coming alone…”
“You better not be back with Ethan!” She said sternly.
“I’m not! His name is Axel.”
“Axel Frost?” Josie joked.
“Um, actually, yes, Axel Frost!”
“Oh, right, his name is Axel Frost, like the billionaire.”
“No, his name is Axel Frost. He is the billionaire,” I said.
“Ok, yeah, whatever. I’ll see you and “Axel Frost” in ten minutes.”
Josie hung up the phone as she tried to control her laughter; little did she know that I would have the last laugh. As I stuck my phone in my jacket pocket, Axel came up to stand next to me. He looked down at my amused expression as he tried to figure out what was so funny.
“She doesn’t believe that I’m dating Axel Frost.”
“Oh! Yeah, that has happened to one of my significant others before. Her parent’s nearly passed out when they saw me,” he said with a laugh.
“I can’t imagine the look on her face.”
“Oh, trust me, it’ll be priceless.”
Chapter Eight
Axel was exactly right. Josie’s expression when she laid eyes on Axel was priceless. For a moment she was completely speechless. I had to snap my fingers in front of her face to snap her back to reality. She apologized and blushed before she stepped back into her crazy and flamboyant personality.
“Nice to meet you in person Mr. Sexy, they call me Josie,” she said extending her hand.
“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Josie,” Axel said before kissing the back of her hand.
Oh my God! He kissed my hand,” Josie exclaimed as we all laughed at her reaction.
“Ok, that’s enough from the both of you, are we allowed to come inside now?” I asked.
“Alright, come one in. I’m sure it’s not the most lavish living area you’ve ever been in, but it’ll have to do for now,” Josie said.
“I don’t know what it is with the both of you, but I love both of your places! You two have excellent taste in home decor.”
“Oh, girl he even talks money!”
“I can see why she’s your best friend,” Axel complimented.
“Are you guys hungry? I’m about to make some Mediterranean burgers,” Josie said from the kitchen.
“That sound delicious, how do you make that?”
“With turkey, I’ve been trying to keep my eating clean. Your dad scared me.”
“Oh, so you’ve heard?”
“Heard what?” she asked.
“Dad’s in the hospital,” I said sitting down in her kitchen.
“Oh my God! It’s his heart isn’t it?” Josie asked with her hand on her chest.
“How did you know?”
“Because he’s been complaining about it. Last time I saw him, he was at the store and I heard him fussing about his cough with your mom. But what made me think it was his heart was the fact that he was out of breath and holding his chest. He tried to put on a facade when he saw me; I don’t think he realized that I heard him.”
“I guess I’m the only one who didn’t know. Here I am living it up in the Bahamas and my dad is over here dying.”
“Honey, don’t do that to yourself. I’m pretty sure that he didn’t tell anybody,” Axel said rubbing my back.
“Exactly; you have done nothing wrong.”
“I can’t help but to feel that way. We barely talk because he’s awake for such a short time. Apparently he’s supposed to go in for surgery tomorrow.”
“Open heart surgery…damn. That is one of the most expensive surgeries.”
“Almost four hundred thousand dollars,” I answered.
“Just make sure you keep me posted. I’ll be praying for him.”
“Wow, it’s already two thirty.”
We’d already finished our lunches by then and were now sitting in the living room enjoying each other’s company. I noticed immediately that Axel was the type of person who could get along with anyone. The way he joked around with Josie with such ease, let me know that he could put up with anything.
Josie wasn’t hard to get along with, but it took a special type of person to not take offense to some of her jokes. Axel laughed them off like a pro, and even had some of his own. I got up after a while to go to the bathroom, and as I was washing my hands my phone vibrated in my pocket.
Drying my hands off with haste, I shoved my hand in my back pocket and pulled it out to see that it was my mom. I got so excited I ran out of the bathroom and into the living room. As soon as I answered it, my excitement ran away and was replaced with fear.
“Come to the hospital, he’s being rushed into surgery early!”
“What? What happened?”
“Just come down! Please!” she cried before hanging up the phone.
“Go ahead, don’t worry about helping me clean up, you just let me know what’s going on!” Josie said rushing us out of the house.
Jumping into the driver’s side, Axel slammed the passenger door behind him, and we shot off down the road.
We’d gotten to the hospital as fast as we could. But by the time we got there, it was too late. My dad had already been whisked away for surgery. Tears instantly fell down my cheeks when I realized that I was too late.
As we stood in the waiting area outside of the surgery room, Samuel paced back and forth while Luke sat with his chin on his entwined fingers. Mom sat with her hands together in prayer as she whispered silently to the Lord.
Axel rested his hand on my back to soothe and comfort me as he rubbed it back and forth. We stood by the chairs; I couldn’t bear to sit down at the moment. I was about five seconds away from pacing like Samuel.
“Hey, don’t worry too much, he’s in good hands,” Axel soothed against my ear before hugging me.
“You know what, before I was just trying to follow my sister’s wishes, but now, I don’t care anything about that,” Samuel started after standing still.
“What are you talking about?” I asked lifting my head from Axel’s chest.
“The guilt that you feel right now could’ve been avoided if you weren’t too far up his ass is what the hell I”m talking about!” Samuel busted.
“You can dislike me all you want to, but I’m sick of the way you keep talking to your sister!” Axel snapped.
“Oh, so now you decided to defend her? It’s been almost about a week and you haven’t had anything to say before.”
“Because like you, I was respecting Jaida’s wishes to keep my composure, but for you to say something like that shows me you don’t have any respect for her request.”
“You don’t know anything about me, or her, being that you’ve only been dating for a few weeks! Who are you to challenge my respect?”
“Look, I may not have mown her for longer, but it’s very apparent who has more respect.”
“It’s not called respect it’s called puppy love. The only reason you’d do anything she says is because you’re getting laid.”
“Samuel!” My mom interjected.
“No, he’s right, Ma. You can’t tell me this man loves our sister. He’s a billionaire playboy who could get anyone he wants!” Luke added.
“Lucas, I’m going to need you to stop complementing the man who is screwing baby sister,” Samuel said.
“What I’m saying is, it’s just a matter of time before he loses interest and tosses you to the side for another woman.”
“How dare you talk about your sister that way? How dare you try and make me seem like I have those intentions for her? Do you want to know why I’m here? It’s because I love her, and I would do anything and everything to makes sure that she’s happy. And if that means leaving another country to make sure she sees her mother, her father, an
d her asshole brothers that’s exactly what I’m going to do!”
That was the first time I’d heard Axel say that he loved me. The room went quiet for a moment after he said those words. I didn’t know how to react to that. I felt stuck like I should say something, but the situation trapped me and prevented me from saying anything at all.
“You don’t love her,” Samuel said getting close to Axel’s face, “You love what she does to you at night. I refuse to let you use my baby sister like she’s some toy.”
“The only one who’s playing her right now, is you. You may not like me because I’m white, you may not like me because I’m not Ethan, but you damn sure better get used to the fact that I love your sister, and I’m not going anywhere.”
Samuel scoffed and took a step back to look at me. I hadn’t said anything through this whole charade. I knew exactly what Samuel was about to do by the look in his eye.
“And why haven’t you said anything? This man is here defending you, and all you can do is watch? You may love her,” he said while still looking at me, “But right now, she doesn’t love you as much as you think.”
“Samuel, stop it” I said.
“Tell me I’m wrong and I will.”
Though everything within me screamed at Samuel that I loved Axel as well and that he was the one for me, my mouth never opened. The words were right there, but one thing stopped me; fear. I looked down at my shoes in shame. I could feel Axel’s eyes on me, and I knew my silence hurt him.
I heard Axel chuckle humorlessly, and just as I looked up, I saw his back as he walked away. My heart immediately began to ache with pain. I just let someone amazing like Axel walk away. And I did nothing to stop him.
I couldn’t bear to watch him any longer, and turned away and back to my family. Tears moistened my eyes and spilled as I tried to blink them back. My hand covered my mouth as I sobbed into it.
I heard footsteps before I felt hands against my shoulders. But they weren’t the hands I’d grown to love. Anger boiled my blood hot as he tried to comfort me with a hug. Losing composure, I shoved him away from me as he stumbled towards the ground. He caught himself before he fell, and looked at me as if I’d suddenly grown a third eye.
My mom exclaimed, but I didn’t pay her any attention. There was a way to protect someone without running their life in the process. I no longer saw my brother as my protector, but rather my enemy.
Maybe he was right, maybe he was wrong. All I knew was that right now, Samuel was not my brother at that moment. Lucas came to help, but stopped when Samuel righted himself. Though I wasn’t as mad at Lucas as I was at Samuel, I still didn’t want him near me.
The only reason I didn’t leave was because my Dad wasn’t out of surgery yet. I didn’t want to leave without hearing what the surgeons had to say, so I sat all the way to the back of the room, and waited until the surgery was over. I didn’t care how childish it seemed, I didn’t want to be around the people who’d rejected Axel without so much as giving him a chance. But I couldn’t just be made at them either. I had myself to blame as well for not sticking up for him.
I needed my dad. I need to hear his voice. I needed to see how he felt about it all. I’d never had this experience, but my dad was different from the rest of my family. My dad was an understanding father, and he was always in my corner.
Chapter Nine
“Mrs. Peterson?” I heard from the other side of the waiting room.
“Yes, is my husband ok?” my mom said as I came up to stand beside her.
“Your husband is doing remarkably. He’s recovering right now, but he should be awake within a few hours.”
“A few hours? Is that normal?” I asked.
“Generally, a patient of open heart surgery doesn’t have a specific recovery rate, so we can judge how or when he will wake up. But, in Mr. Peterson’s case, he should wake up sooner than later. The plaque buildup was not as severe as most men his age. Besides the need for open heart surgery, your father and husband is very healthy. He will be transferred to the CICU, but we will let you know when you can go in and see him.”
“Thank you so much, doctor,” Samuel said while taking his hand in a firm shake.
“No problem, you have a great night, we’ll be out again shortly to let you have some time with your father,” and with that, the doctor nodded and walked away.
“Please call me when he wakes up,” was all I said before I walked away from them.
I heard my mom call after me, but I ignored her as I made my way out of the hospital. I rounded the corner of the main lobby, and eventually walked through the automatic doors. I dug my keys out of my back pocket and unlocked my doors before I hopped in and drove off.
When I arrived home, I noticed that, of course, it was empty. His stuff was still there, but I knew that he could do without them. All he needed was his phone and his wallet. He probably hailed a taxi and checked into a hotel by now. I felt a pang of anxiety when I realized that he would probably be gone in the morning.
It was only three in the afternoon when Mom called to alert me that they would be performing surgery early. We hadn’t been in the hospital for an hour before Axel had stormed out. I was hoping that Mom would call me before visiting hours were over.
I felt like I should reach out to him, but I was afraid and ashamed. What if he didn't want to talk to me at all? I pulled my phone out of my pocket to see if I’d gotten any calls while I was driving home. I’d turned my phone off upon entering the hospital.
When it came back on, I saw that Axel had actually tried to call me. He sent me a text message telling me to call him as soon as I turned my phone back on. I immediately called him back, and waited anxiously for him to answer.
“Jaida,” he said when he picked up.
“You wanted me to call you?” I asked gingerly.
“I just wanted to let you know that I will be leaving in the morning. I know that you love me, Jaida, I do; but you’re not ready for this.”
“Axel-“
“Jaida, I love you,” he said before hanging up the phone.
“Axel!” I yelled before tossing the phone down on the bed. I sobbed immediately, realizing that I had just tossed away the best relationship of my life. And because of what? My overprotective brothers? It wasn’t as if Axel was bad for me. It wasn’t as if he was the reason I didn’t want to be with him.
I let someone else make the decision for me, and I had to live with that for the rest of my life. I didn’t know where he was, all I knew was where the airport was. But what if I was too late to get to him?
I could only hope that he would leave later in the morning, instead of early just in case my dad didn’t wake up until tomorrow. I could kick myself if it were possible. God I was so tired, but there was no way that I could fall asleep.
I decided to force myself to relax. I went to my fridge and pulled out a bottle of red wine. After pouring my first glass, I felt instantly better. After my second glass, I started to wonder why I was so upset in the first place. I wasn’t ashamed to say that I was a light drinker.
Stumbling to my bed, as soon as y head hit the pillow, I burst into tears. I was sobbing as if I were a child who had just gotten a spanking. Clutching my pillow to my chest, I realized that I had been holding on to these tears longer than I should have.
The alcohol brought my emotions out of hiding with little to no coaxing. Eventually, I cried until I had no tears left to give. I got up, turned off the lights in my apartment, and stumbled back to bed. As soon as I covered up, I went to sleep.
Chapter Ten
It was six in the morning when I heard my phone screaming in my ear. I had a massive headache and felt as though I was still drunk. But as soon as I heard my mother’s voice telling me my dad had woken up, the intoxication faded away. I shot straight up, jumped out of bed, got dressed, and ran out of the door.
My hair looked like straw , my clothes were dirty, and I didn’t have any socks on, but I didn’t care either. I needed to
get to my dad. As soon as I jumped in the car, I sped off, caring little about traffic laws. Good thing there weren’t any cops out to stop me; I’d made it to the hospital in record timing.
I ran through the hospital doors, past the main lobby, and slowed down as I reached the CICU. I didn’t want to possibly crash into a patient. My mom told me what room to go to, but I was confused when I got in. Only Dad was there. My brothers were MIA as well as my mom.
But I instantly forgot when I saw my dad’s eyes on me. He smiled so brightly, I wondered what he was doing in CICU. It was so strong, so powerful like he hadn’t just woken up from open heart surgery.
“Daddy,” I said with tears in my eyes as I leaned down to hug him.
“It is so good to see you,” he said as I straightened up to look at him.
“It’s good to see you too, Dad.”
“Why do you look so tired? I’m the one who just had surgery, remember?” he joked.
“Oh, I just woke up. It’s nothing. How are you feeling?”
“As strong as I have ever been, but I’m also a little upset with how my sons and my wife have been treating you,” he said.
“What did they tell you?”
“Nothing besides the fact that you have been seeing someone else.”
“His name is Axel Frost, but, we’re not together anymore.”
“And why is that?” he asked bemused.
“Because of an argument.”
“Samuel told me he said some things…and are you telling me that’s why you gave up on love?”
I felt too embarrassed to look in his eyes. I looked down at my hands and nodded my head. I didn’t want it to be true, but there was nothing that I could refute. I had let him walk away because of my brother’s opinion, not my own.
“Look at me,” he said sternly before I looked into his eyes, “Go get him.”
“What?” I asked shocked.
“If you love him, then you don’t need to let anyone else get in the way of that. Follow whatever your heart is telling you no matter what, and you’ll have a love that can move mountains.”
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