by Tiffani Lynn
Another day passes and I can’t reach her on her cell so I try calling the club. Of course that bastard James answers the phone and to make things worse decides to give me lip.
“Hi, James, it’s Finn. Can I talk to Darcy”?
“If it were up to me the answer to that question would be no from here until eternity, but I don’t get a say. I think it’s pretty fucked up you would even bother to call after your little girlfriend ended up all over social media attached to you. Darcy has been through enough in this life. She doesn’t need someone who’s going to treat her like shit.”
“Fuck off, man. You don’t know shit, but I’m not going to explain anything to anyone but Darcy. Now put her on the phone.”
“Can’t do that. She’s busy in one of the scene rooms with a couple right now.”
“What the fuck?!”
“Did you really think she’d sit here and wait on you while you were out screwing the entire female population of Ottawa?”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about. I didn’t cheat on Darcy. I’d never hurt her like that. If I remember correctly that’s your department. I need to talk to her.”
“Should have thought of that before you were caught leaving the bar with another woman.”
“Fuck you. If you care about her you’d tell her to call me so we could talk about this. But I’m guessing you’ll be a dick and keep this conversation to yourself hoping you’ll get a second chance.”
“You have no idea and you’re right I’m not going to tell her you called so she can get crushed again. It was bad enough when she showed up in tears looking for me after she saw the pictures.”
“I’m done with this. I’ll find her myself.” I hang up because the conversation is going nowhere and it’s only making me crazier than I already was. Of course I have three more days on this road trip before I’ll be there to track her down, but damn if it doesn’t sting that the first sign of trouble she went into a scene room without me before we even got a chance to talk about things. Depending on what she actually did in there I’m not sure if I can forgive her, especially since I did nothing wrong. The pictures looked bad but the truth of the matter is I didn’t kiss anyone and I stayed alone. I find it sad she could believe otherwise without giving me a chance to explain.
Right as I arrive at the arena I make a last ditch effort to contact her. I leave another message on her phone and one on Tanisha’s phone. I can’t do anymore than that from here. I have to hope she believes in me enough to call me.
Three days later it’s way after dark when we descend the stairs of the plane on to the tarmac. The wind is brisk and icy as it cuts through my suit coat. I should have brought my dress coat to go over this but I wasn’t thinking when I was packing so now I’m left to shiver my way to my truck and hope the heat kicks in soon. My mood has been shitty since my conversation with James. She hasn’t called me back and knowing she was in a scene room without me after we agreed she wouldn’t do that makes me think we’re already over. I’m pissed she wouldn’t give me a chance to explain.
I should go by the club to see her but I’m afraid my surly mood and lack of sleep over the last few days will turn a bad situation to worse so I go home and crash face first into my bed. Within minutes I pass out. I barely slept the last several days worrying about things with her and the game yesterday afternoon was brutal. I wake up ten hours later refreshed and ready to handle business.
I drive to her apartment and pound on the door for fifteen minutes telling her I’m not going anywhere. When she doesn’t answer I search the parking lot for her car. It’s not there so I sit in my truck awaiting her return. Five hours later, I’m pissed and bored having too much time to think. The club opens in an hour so I go grab something to eat and head toward Eden. I’m still a member. Paid the ridiculous dues they require so they have to let me in. I stalk the whole place and don’t find her. What I do find is James behind her desk on the computer.
“Where’s Darcy?” I skip the pleasantries. He lost the right to those with our last conversation.
“She’s out. Other engagement.” He’s being slightly cryptic and I can feel my blood pressure rising as I glare back at him with his smug-ass expression.
“Where can I find her?” I grit out.
“I have no intention of sharing that information.”
“You’re a dick. If you truly love her you’d want her happy and she is with me.”
“Then why did she cry all week after seeing the pictures of you with some fucking bimbo? I’m thinking that doesn’t sound too happy.”
“Again, you don’t know shit about me. Nothing happened.”
“Do I need to have Charles remove you from the premises?”
“I don’t see how you can. I paid my membership dues and I’m not doing anything but calling you a dick.”
I finally shake my head and leave the building because the truth of the matter is I don’t want to be here without her anyway. I almost reach my truck when I hear Tanisha call my name. She doesn’t have a coat on and she’s out of breath as reaches me.
“You have to leave her alone, Finn.”
“I didn’t do anything. It wasn’t what it looked like I swear. You can talk to Jacque; the guy I was with. He’ll tell you. Besides, from what I understand she was right back in there,” I motion to the building, “doing her thing with a couple and we agreed not to do that without each other. I didn’t do anything, but it sure sounds like she did.”
Tanisha looks confused. “Why do you think she did that?”
“I got the pleasure of hearing about it from James when I called the club looking for her when you two wouldn’t answer.”
She lifts a brow. “James?”
“Yes. He was pretty clear that she wasn’t waiting for me.”
“You believed James?”
“Since no one else would talk to me, yes.”
She crosses her arms tighter over her chest and sighs.
“She hasn’t been with anyone else. Her sister took a turn for the worse. She’s been at her bedside for four days. I’m here to help look after things while she was away.”
“Georgia’s not doing well?”
“No and Darcy’s heartbroken. Doc doesn’t think she’ll last the week.”
“Fuck!” I run my fingers through my hair and pace in front of her. “Where is this place? I know it’s not close, but I’m going. I’m not leaving her to sit there alone. She can be pissed at me all she wants but she needs someone right now.”
“Good answer. I’ll text you the name and address. It’s about two hours north of here.”
“Thanks for telling me.”
“You’re welcome. Just don’t make me sorry I did. She’s fragile Finn. More so now than ever before.”
I race toward the Happy Faces facility that Tanisha says Darcy hasn’t left in days. She may not even want to see me when I get there, but the thought of leaving her to deal with this alone makes me feel a little sick to my stomach. It’s 9 p.m. now and I’m sure the staff won’t be thrilled I’m here, but I’m not leaving until I see her.
The doors are locked but there’s a doorbell for after hours so I press it. An annoying buzzer sounds and a woman’s voice comes over the intercom, “Can I help you?”
“Yes, I’m here to see Darcy Baxter. She’s with her sister Georgia.”
“Just a moment, sir.”
I bounce on my toes. My body is full of nervous energy as I rub my hands together trying to warm them up.
A short stout African American man answers the door. His eyes widen when they catch site of me. I think it’s because I’m so much taller than he’s used to visitors being. He clears his throat and throws his shoulders back.
“Need to see your drivers license,” he tells me in a heavily accented Jamaican voice.
I pull my wallet out and pass him the necessary card. He reviews it all of about thirty second before he asks, “You that hockey player?”
“Yes, sir.” I give m
y most charming smile and pray he’s a fan.
“That explains why you look like a giant standing there. Come on. The nurse said you want to go to Georgia Baxter’s room?”
“Yes, sir. That’s correct.”
He takes me down a long corridor that reminds me of a hospital with its fluorescent lighting and rooms hidden behind brown wooden doors. The only difference is art covering the walls. By the looks of it, everything was done by the residents here. The color it adds to the place makes me think of Darcy and I wonder if she helped with any of this. We make a left turn, walk more, then a right turn and finally arrive at a closed door. He stops and gestures to it.
I take a deep breath and pray she doesn’t make the tiny security guard try to throw me out. I don’t plan on going anywhere until we talk, although talking about us is not first on my agenda while her sister is dying in the bed next to us.
I’m as quiet as a mouse as I push the door open. A hospital bed sits in the far corner of the room with enough space between the wall and the bed to fit a chair. Georgia’s on her right side curled up facing the wall while Darcy sleeps covered up in a small recliner next to the bed.
Her hair is a ratty mess and by the looks of her she hasn’t left to change or shower in days. Tanisha was right. Instead of waking her up and with no where left to sit I plant my ass on the floor with my back against the wall so I can face the bed and Darcy. I bend my knees up and prop my arms up on them. When my eyes grow heavy I lay my head against the wall and drift off, never really going to sleep, but also not staying awake. It’s a strange purgatory to be in. I’m not sure how much time passes but I hear a strange noise and my eyes flip open to assess the situation. Darcy is awake and has lowered the feet on the chair, her wide eyes trained on me.
I spring to my feet and whisper, “Darcy.”
I can’t tell what she’s going to do by the look her face but I’m a little afraid she’s going to slap me and I’d prefer to avoid that. I take a step toward her chair and she continues to look at me. I take one more step and pause.
“Finn? Why are you here?” she whispers.
“Tanisha told me what was going on. I know you’re mad at me and I can explain, it’s not what you think, but that’s not why I’m here.”
“It’s not?” she interrupts by asking.
“No, of course not. I’m here because I don’t want you to go through this alone. I know how much you love your sister. I can’t imagine how bad you’re hurting. I also know Tanisha and James can’t be here with you because of the club so I came.”
“You came.” Her expression can be considered confused or awed, or maybe both. It’s hard to tell. I’m praying for the latter.
“Yes.”
I don’t have to wait another second because she’s out of her seat and in my arms like she flew there. God I missed her, even if she smells like she needs a shower. I hold her as close to me as I can get. Her body shakes with the tears of her grief. It’s been awhile since I’ve heard anyone cry this hard and my heart breaks for her. I hold her until she settles down, then I pull back and wipe the remaining tears from her cheeks.
“Can I stay with you? I’m off for two days. I’m supposed to be at morning skate but I’ll call coach and tell him what’s going on. I’m sure I can stay with you.”
A fresh wave of tears breaks free and she nods and lays her head on my chest.
“What can I do for you, honey?”
“Nothing. Please stay with me. This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done and I’ve been so alone. Doc has been in every day and we’re tight but it’s not the same as having one of my people here.”
“I get it. Here sit on my lap and you can go back to sleep. If anything changes, I’ll wake you.”
I don’t give her a choice. I tug her over to the recliner and pull her into my lap. I snatch her blanket off of the floor where it fell when she jumped into my arms, and spread it over her. I pull her against me so her right shoulder and head are against my chest, legs sideways over the arm and we sit quietly and watch her sisters’ sleeping form. I wrap my arms around her and listen to the cadence of her breathing as she dozes back off.
A few hours later, the door opens and a short, round nurse creeps in to take Georgia’s vitals while I observe. Darcy’s out cold so I hope that the nurse will stay quiet so she can sleep. Once she’s done she sneaks back out the door. It’s quiet again for a few hours until the next nurse comes in to take vitals. This time Darcy wakes up and stretches, looking around like she is trying to figure something out. When she looks up at me her eyes narrow.
Chapter Sixteen: Darcy
I’m a little disoriented right now, not to mention grubby. I’m not even sure when the last shower I had was. The nurse gave me a tooth brush the first night I was here and I’ve been using Georgia’s toothpaste but a shower would be wonderful. I turn my head to see Finn awake assessing me. His expression is wary like he isn’t sure what I’m going to say in the light of day. I narrow my eyes at him.
The truth is I want to be mad at him but right now I don’t have the strength. I’m hurt and I don’t understand why he’d cheat, but taking care of Georgia and staying with her during her final hours on this earth are my priority.
He strokes my hair down a little and back while he asks in a soft voice, “How do you feel?”
“Stiff, gross, still tired, but better. You?”
“I’m okay. I do need to make a couple of phone calls, but I’ll be right back. I didn’t want to wake you so I waited until the last minute.”
I shift off his lap and let him stand. He stretches his ginormous body which seems to dwarf this little room further. He kisses my forehead and slips out of the room. I drag myself into Georgia’s bathroom and brush my teeth. Then I pull a hairbrush out of my bag and attempt to run it through my fuzzy ratty hair. I give up and put it into a clip at the back of my head and walk over to the side of the bed. She’s still curled on her side. She used to sleep like this as a little kid, but hasn’t done it in awhile. I push the hair away from her face and stroke her cheek with a gentle hand.
“I love you baby sister. I won’t leave you.”
She doesn’t move. Ten minutes later Finn returns and places his large hands over my small shoulders and says, “The nurse said Doc will be here within the hour. After he goes, if everything is still the same I want you to go to a hotel I booked to take a shower and rest if you want. Grab something to eat while you’re at it. It’s only a mile up the road so you can get back here quickly if you need too. Everything is already arranged. I have someone grabbing you all the necessities and a change of clothes. I’m not sure what they’ll look like but they’ll be clean. Then we can run what you have on through the wash. The nurse said they could handle that for us. If there’s any change at all, I promise I’ll call you. I’m going to sit here so you can take a break.”
“I can’t ask you to do that. You haven’t even met Georgia.”
“No, but I met you and I’m here to help. It’s not a big deal for me. I don’t have any where I need to be right now. Just do this for yourself. You’ll feel better and be stronger for her if you do.”
I debate for several long minutes. The thought of leaving my baby sister while she’s dying goes against everything I am, but I also understand what Finn’s saying. If I take care of myself, I’ll better be able to take care of her. I run through the pros and cons in my head until the idea of a warm shower wins me over, so I nod and say, “Thank you. I’ll do it. Who is bringing me this stuff? I didn’t know there were services here that did that kind of thing.”
“They don’t. One of the guys on the team is from here so I called him and he set me up with his sister to help us. It was going to be his mom, but I was afraid she’d bring you old lady clothes. Her name is Casey and she’s really nice, you’ll like her.”
“Oh, Finn. You didn’t have to go to all that trouble, I feel awful dragging someone out to do this for me.”
“Don’t. She doesn’t mind a
t all and I plan to pay her for time and energy. It’s worth it if it helps you get through this.”
His sincerity confuses me. Why is he even here doing all of this for me? He cheated because I wasn’t enough for him. I don’t understand why he’s trying so hard to help me. Why doesn’t he move on? I wish I had the energy to ask the questions and hear the answers, but I don’t. Emotionally I’m drained. Between Georgia and Finn’s betrayal I’m a mess.
“Okay. I’m too broken at this point to argue. Thank you.”
“I have to say one thing before it starts getting crazy around here and you go to get cleaned up and rest, so please listen. I didn’t do anything with that girl. She jumped in my lap when I was having a conversation with some guys at a bar and kissed my cheek and my neck before I realized what happened. The whole thing happened really fast. When I did figure it out, the pictures were all ready taken. I dumped her off of my lap, paid my bill and left.”
“Then why is she holding your hand outside of the building like you are leaving together?”
“She followed me out of the building and grabbed my hand. I shook her off and told her I already had a woman and walked away. I swear that was it. I’ll let you talk to Jacque, the guy I was with, when you’re ready. I’m pretty sure he took that girl and her friend with him back to the hotel. I heard his roommate complaining on the plane the next day.”
I don’t say anything I just nod. I need time to think about it when I’m not so tired. I want to believe him so bad, but it’s hard to ignore the pictures when they tell a different story. We’re quiet as I check emails on my phone until Doc comes in twenty minutes later and reads through her chart.
“Darcy, not much change here, honey. I’m sorry. The notes say she’s been sleeping most of the time since I was here yesterday. She doesn’t seem to be in any pain but most of the time with Adult failure to thrive there isn’t any pain. The feeding tube hasn’t helped at all except to make her more cantankerous. I guess it’s a waiting game. The staff has my number and I’m staying nearby for now.”