Everything

by Melissa Pearl

  Pulling out my phone, I checked the screen, realizing I’d totally forgotten about it. I’d missed a call from Jody but was about to walk through her door anyway.

  With a grin, I slide the phone away and walked straight into her place.

  “Jo, you’re not going to believe my day. Sorry I missed your call, but—”

  My voice cut short when I looked up and found Marshall in the kitchen with a mop in his hand. He was wearing his usual grumpy expression, and it instantly made me uneasy.

  “Hi, Mr. Pritchett. Um, where’s Jody?”

  His lips pursed, his brown gaze still drilling into me. I gripped the door handle.

  “She’s at the hospital,” he finally muttered.

  Fear ripped through me. “What?”

  He didn’t say more, just turned back to his mopping. Lurching into the apartment, I came around the kitchen counter, ready to grab his shirt and demand he tell me more, but then I saw the red, watery marks on the floor, and my anger was railroaded by a sickening terror.

  “Oh, shit, what happened?” My mind jumped to all sorts of nasty conclusions, making it hard to see straight. The last time I’d felt this scared, I’d been listening to Deb on the phone; she was crying and telling me my brother had just had a heart attack.

  Marshall wouldn’t meet my horrified gaze, just kept washing away the blood.

  “Tell me she’s okay.” My voice shook. I sucked in a ragged breath and he looked up at me, his expression softening with surprise.

  “You’re really worried about her?”

  “Of course I bloody am!” I yanked the beanie off my head, tempting to throw it at him. This guy was unbelievable! “You’re mopping blood off her kitchen floor!”

  I felt sick. Leaning over, I rested my hands against my knees, gasping in mouthfuls of air in an attempt to regulate my heartbeat. “Look, mate, I know you don’t like me, but I really couldn’t give a flying fuck right now.” I stood tall, my shaking voice stealing my thunder. “I love your daughter...and your granddaughter! Now, tell me where the hell they are!”

  Marshall swallowed, gripping the mop in his hand and pulling in a slow sigh. “Angel had a fall today.”

  “Angel,” I whispered the word, a newfound panic sizzling in my gut. Tears glassed over my eyes before I could even stop them. Not my sweet little girl. “How bad is it?”

  I didn’t want to hear the answer, but at the same time, I needed to know.

  “She cut her chin open and bit her tongue. She’s in the hospital overnight. Jody’s with her.”

  I pulled on my beanie and was walking for the door before he’d even finished. “Where? Which hospital!”

  Pausing at the door, I spun to face him, desperation making my movements emphatic.

  Marshall’s hesitation made me want to rip his bloody head off.

  “Please!” I thumped the door, making it swing open and smack against the doorstop.

  He looked to the floor, a slow smile forming on his lips as he nodded...and then gave me detailed directions.

  *****

  Visiting hours were over, but I lied my way through, claiming I was Angel’s father. The nurse at reception bought my lie easily, probably because I said it with such conviction. I loved that little girl like she was my own, and the idea of her going through trauma near killed me.

  The lift moved like a grandpa snail but finally pinged open on the fourth floor. I raced down to the right room, slowing to catch my breath when I spotted Jody in the chair beside Angel’s cot, holding her daughter’s little fingers through the bars. She looked ready to shatter.

  “Hey,” I whispered, stepping softly into the room so as not to disturb the other patient behind the curtain.

  Jody’s smile was sad, her eyes glistening as I stopped at the end of the bed.

  “Hey, Leo.” Ella smiled up at me from the other side. She was obviously tired, but it did nothing to hinder the sweet expression on her face.

  I gave her a little nod of recognition.

  Clearing her throat softly, she stood from her chair. “I’m gonna go and get some coffee.”

  “No.” Jody shook her head. “Ella, go home. Angel’s asleep now and I’m okay.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. Thank you for staying for so long.”

  “Of course, Jo-Jo. I’m always here for you.” She moved around me, placing a kiss on the top of Jo’s head before squeezing my arm and leaving.

  My sigh was slow and heavy as I gazed into the cot. Angel’s chin was bandaged up, but it didn’t hide the purple bruising around her mouth. My gut twisted in agony, feeling her pain as if it were my own.

  “Geez, Jo, I’m so sorry I wasn’t there today. I didn’t even hear my phone ring.”

  She shook her head, her lips forming a wobbly line as she blinked at fresh tears.

  I moved to her side, rubbing the back of her neck and crouching down beside her. “You doing okay?”

  Her teeth pinched her lips together. Shaking her head, she turned away from me.

  “Hey,” I whispered, resting my forehead against her cheek. “She’s okay.”

  “I should have been watching her.”

  “Accidents happen.”

  “This one didn’t have to. I was careless. I left her playing in the living room while I practiced at your piano. I’d blocked off the stairs and left the doors open, but...” She shook her head. “It wasn’t good enough. I screwed up.”

  “Jo, you can’t be too hard on yourself. You—”

  “Stop.” Her eyes hit mine, blue and vibrant, even in the dim lamplight. “I was wrong today, don’t try and tone it down. My daughter ended up in the hospital and has stitches in her face, because I left her for too long.” She licked at the tear running down the edge of her mouth, her gaze shifting back to Angel’s face. “We can’t go with you to New York, Leo.”

  “What?” My face bunched with a frown.

  Her curls rustled over her shoulders as her head shook yet again. “I couldn’t reach you today, and my dad ended up taking us to the hospital. I can’t move to the other side of the country to pursue a dream that will put Angel at risk.”

  I licked my bottom lip, telling myself to think about where she was coming from, but I couldn’t. She was being illogical, letting her tattered emotions rule this decision.

  “Jo, this was a one-off freak accident. It’ll probably never happen again.”

  “But what if it does, or something else?” She sucked in a quick breath. “I need my family around me, Leo. I need the support. I made the decision to keep her. I can’t just run off and start pursuing the stage and forget that I have a one-year-old I’m responsible for.”

  “We’ll find care for her in New York. We’ll make it work.”

  “Would you stop saying that!” She slapped her leg, finally turning to face me properly. “What if we can’t make it work?”

  I opened my mouth, but she cut me off before I could speak.

  “I know what it’s like to be abandoned and yes, Angel is only one, but I would rather die than have her go through what I did. I want her to know without a doubt that her mommy loves her and that she’s more important than anything. I can’t pursue the stage right now, Leo. Angel needs me to be her mother and that’s it. I have to think about what’s best for her...and moving miles away from people who love and support me is not what’s best for her!”

  I picked up Jody’s fingers, squeezing them between mine as I tried to bring my raging emotions into check. Damn, it hurt. I didn’t want to give up New York, but there was no way I’d be able to change Jody’s mind after an argument like that.

  “Okay,” I sighed. “Okay, so I’ll shop the musical around here then. There’s bound to be someone in LA who’ll be interested, right?”

  “Leo, you can’t.” She rubbed her thumb over my knuckles. “You have to go and take this chance.”

  “I don’t want to go to New York without you.”

  “You have to. This is what you want. This
is what you’ve been working so hard for.”

  “But I love you, Jo.”

  Her expression folded, her lips trembling as she sucked in a breath. “I love you, too, which is why I have to let you do this.” Pulling her hand free of my grasp, she swiped at her tears. “I’ll feel guilty for the rest of my life if I hold you back. This is why you came to the States. This is everything you want.”

  “Not everything,” I mumbled.

  “Leo, you’ll regret it. If you pass this up, you’ll regret it, and I don’t want that to hinder us. I don’t want it to be something that you’ll hold against me on some subconscious level. You have to go.”

  “No, actually, I don’t. It’s my decision.”

  Jody’s face bunched with a mixture of agony and frustration. “You don’t know what you’re saying! You don’t know what it’s like to have a dream ripped out of your hands. I don’t want that for you.”

  “I don’t want to do this without you!” My voice was growing tight and strained. Did she honestly not get it?

  “You are going!”

  My eyes narrowed; I couldn’t help glaring at her just a little. My hackles rose whenever anybody ordered me around like that. “And what if I stay?”

  “Then we’re through. I’m not letting you give everything up for me.” Crossing her arms she slumped back in her chair and wouldn’t look my way.

  Damn if that didn’t rip me in half.

  I wanted to stand up and yell in her face, tell her she couldn’t boss me around, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it, because what if she was right?

  Unable to speak past that thick swell of emotion in my throat, I leaned forward and took her face between my hands, rubbing my thumb gently across her lips. They trembled beneath my touch, and I placed my lips against them. She kissed me back, her body quivering.

  When I pulled away, she wrapped her arms around my neck, squeezing until I thought the circulation might be cut off. I gripped her to me, never wanting to let go. A new argument for New York formed on my lips, but I couldn’t make it.

  In that moment, it didn’t matter if I thought we could overcome the odds, she didn’t...and I could tell that nothing I said or did would convince her otherwise.

  She was staying to be the best mother she could be.

  I left about an hour later. We didn’t say much to each other, just sat and watched Angel sleeping. I drove home in a daze and arrived back to an empty, soulless apartment. Marshall had left Jody’s place; I could tell by the lack of light coming from under the door.

  Slamming my own door shut behind me, I leaned against the wood, feeling like a tattered wreck. All the excitement of my journey across the country had been shattered by Angel’s accident and Jody’s decision.

  Throwing my keys on the counter, I headed for the piano.

  My rough sheet music for “Dream Chaser” was still on the stand. Jody must have been working on that one. She knew how much I wanted it to shine. She’d been working for me.

  Damn, I wanted her to sing it so bad.

  Ripping off my beanie, I threw it over my shoulder and slumped onto the stool. The keys let out a disjointed groan as I leaned my elbows against the keyboard and rested my head in my palms.

  It wouldn’t be the same without her.

  She turned my dream into sunlight. She made it bigger, better, more perfect. She enhanced every note, every beat...she made it everything I couldn’t on my own.

  Jerking back in my seat, I placed my fingers on the keys and played an E-flat chord, my fingers fiddling with it as I tested out a few variations and chord combos. Closing my eyes, I let my fingers take control, ridding my body of the myriad of emotions. They swirled into the room, a cacophony of sounds that slowly started to take shape and become a mournful tune...a pointless argument that could not be resolved...an everything dream that was no longer coming true.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Jody

  Angel was discharged by nine o’clock the next morning. Morgan drove my tired ass home and put both Angel and me down for a nap the second we walked in the door. When I woke to Angel’s cries, I hauled my butt out of bed and collected her up. She was still pretty sensitive and fragile. I made sure to give her extra cuddles and attention as I went about the day.

  She fed okay but couldn’t play on her own, needing my attention basically twenty-four-seven. I had no idea where Leo was. He hadn’t popped over, and I didn’t have the strength to go and knock on his door. I’d seen his face when I told him we weren’t coming to New York.

  If only he knew how much it was killing me, too, but I couldn’t let that show. He had to go. He had to take this chance. He wanted Broadway more than anything, and he was a good enough guy to give that up just to keep me happy. Well, I wasn’t having it.

  I loved him enough to send him across the country so he could get everything he’d ever dreamed of.

  My fingers tapped on the kitchen counter as I held Angel on my hip and looked around the apartment. It was going to be so lonely without him. So quiet. So depressing.

  The phone rang, snapping me out of my stupor. I picked it up and noticed Ms. Thornby’s name flashing on the caller ID. I closed my eyes with a sigh. I had no idea what she wanted, but I did know that I couldn’t handle it. I didn’t want to hear her complaints or try to figure out how to solve them. Placing the phone on the counter, I let the call go through to voicemail.

  I turned to Angel, twisting one of her soft curls gently around my finger. “Hey, do you want to move back in with Grandpa?”

  She looked at me with those big blue eyes of hers and said, “Ba-ba.”

  I grinned, kissing her nose. “Yeah, it’s a good idea, isn’t it?”

  He’d offered it to me that morning, when he’d called to check in. I was busy trying to sign Angel’s paperwork, so had rushed through the conversation, telling him I’d think about it…and I had...all day.

  It was time to go home.

  The phone started ringing again. Pulling in a slow, defeated sigh, I ignored it and walked Angel through to my room.

  “Time to get packing.” I forced a cheery note that I’m sure even my one-year-old could see through. She was gracious enough not to let me know as I sat her down in the middle of my bed and pulled out a suitcase.

  *****

  I lugged the second suitcase over to the door. Sean and Morgan were due to arrive in the next hour or so. I had everything except Angel’s crib and changing table packed up. The rest of the furniture had come with the house, so it was a pretty easy move. If Leo was okay with it, I’d come back for the table and crib the next day when I could borrow Dad’s truck. She’d sleep in the little portable crib for the night, which Morgan said she’d set up before she came to collect me.

  I fought tears the entire afternoon. Angel ended up falling asleep on my bed, making the second half of packing a million times faster. I still had no idea where Leo was and felt bad I was leaving without even telling him. I knew I was shirking my responsibility, but he’d already arranged for someone else to take over the care of the building while we were in New York. They were moving into Leo’s apartment the next day.

  My face puckered. We’d had it all planned so perfectly. He’d walk in, we’d walk out and fly to NYC.

  I rubbed the heel of my hand between my breasts, trying to dull the ache.

  A soft knock at the door made me flinch. Angel crawled toward me and used my pants to help her stand. I picked her up and moved to the door.

  “Please don’t be Ms. Thornby,” I murmured.

  The second I opened the door, Angel squealed and stretched out, wriggling her fingers and begging our visitor to take her. My smile was sad as I handed her to Leo, who gently nestled her against him.

  “Hey, cherry blossom.” He kissed her forehead and ran his finger down her pudgy little cheek. She nestled her head against his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his neck.

  He gazed at me, his green eyes begging me to reconsider.

 
I bit my lips together and looked to the floor, kicking at the corner of my suitcase.

  “Where are you going?” His voice sounded kind of lifeless.

  I couldn’t look at him. Crossing my arms, I shrugged. “Back home. I figured what’s the point of staying when you won’t be here.”

  “They might not take it. I might be back by tomorrow night.”

  “Leo.” My chuckle was soft and shaky. “You wrote it...of course they’ll take it.”

  “I wrote it for you,” he murmured.

  My head shot up, my gaze colliding with his. The sad smile dancing within them melted me. I couldn’t breathe as he stared down at me, his lips forming that little half grin of his. Holy heartbeat, I was going to miss that face.

  Without a word, he unzipped the satchel sitting across his shoulders and, one-handed, wrestled a thick wad of paper out. It was tied with a red ribbon.

  I took it off him and shifted the ribbon aside to read.

  Dream Chaser

  A musical by Leo Sinclair

  “I know you’re going to shake your head at this, but it was Jody inspired. It all started that day I saw you singing ‘Defying Gravity’ in this kitchen.” He pointed to the spot I’d stood with my arms outstretched, blissfully unaware of his eyes on me.

  “I was your muse?”

  “For every song.” His voice cracked.

  I gripped the musical in my hand, running my thumb lightly over the cover page. I held gold. Leo gold—the most precious gift anyone had ever given me.

  “I know you haven’t heard the whole thing in order yet, so I wanted you to have a full copy, including the alternate ending.”

  “Why did you need an alternate? The one you have now is so perfect.”