“Mom,” I interrupt, because I cannot bear to hear the word again. “Please don’t fall apart. You’re the strongest person I know.”
A sob is her only answer.
I hug her tightly. “Everything will be fine, Mom,” I say lamely, but I’m not sure what else to say. I can comfort my siblings, but Mom has always been my rock. Seeing her come apart like this, my own tears threaten to spill.
I make her drink all the tea, and by the time her cup is empty, she looks more like herself. Looking up to me, she asks, “How are you, child?”
Scared is what I want to say, but I’m afraid Mom will fall apart again. So instead I go with, “Optimistic. Dad’s a fighter. He’ll get through this and tell us he wants to fix the house himself in one week.”
“I bet he will. I’ll give that stubborn old mule a piece of my mind when he comes out of the surgery.”
I smile and Mom puts her hand over mine, squeezing it slightly.
***
When we return to the others, Ava and Nadine have joined my siblings. I take the sandwich Nadine hands me an
d then sit next to Blake. A heaviness forms in my chest, and I hug my knees, mirroring Summer, hoping to quench the uneasy feeling. The wait is killing me.
Thank God for Ava and Nadine. They run around, making sure everyone’s all right. After a while, though, there’s nothing more for them to do, so they wait too. Sebastian sits next to me with Ava on his other side, holding her hand.
My eyes travel from their hands to my brother’s face, and his expression startles me. Sebastian is the master of the poker face. He’s so good at hiding his feelings that sometimes even I can’t read him. But right now, he’s let his guard down, and the emotion stretched on every line on his face is crystal clear—fear.
“Pippa, I forgot to tell you,” Alice says about an hour later. “Your phone has been beeping while you were away with Mom.” She hands me my bag. I fish my phone out of it and find quite a few texts from Eric.
Eric: Give me a call when you’re out of the office.
Eric: You’re still working? You’re more of a workaholic than I am.
Eric: Now I’m worried. Is everything all right?
Eric: For Christ’s sake, write something back, or I’ll go to the police.
There are two more messages from him, but I don’t read them, just type quickly. We’re all at the San Francisco General Hospital. Dad had an accident, and now he’s in a surgery. I’ll call you later.
I put my phone back in my bag and resume holding my knees, rocking back and forth. A heavy silence falls over the group, interrupted only by Summer’s sobs. My own sobs are locked in my throat, and I refuse to let them out.
If I can’t find any words to comfort my family, the least I can do is not break down in front of them.
I don’t know how much time passes before I hear Alice saying, “Eric.”
My head snaps up and I immediately rise from my chair, dashing to him.
“What are you doing here?” I whisper.
He takes my hands in his, pulling me a few feet away from the rest. “How’s your dad?”
“We don’t know anything. He’s in surgery.”
“How are you?” he asks.
“Fine.” My voice breaks on the word, so I clamp my mouth shut. My hands start shaking in Eric’s grip.
“I’m going to take Pippa downstairs. She needs some air,” he calls to the group. “Anyone need anything?”
There’s a collective no, and the next thing I know, Eric leads me to the elevator, holding my hand. I’m too tired to question anything, and maybe stepping outside is a good idea after all. The knot in my throat threatens to suffocate me. We ride the elevator in silence and Eric slides closer to me, curling an arm around my waist, keeping it there as he walks me outside.
The air is warm and heavy outside, but it soothes me. I take what feels like the first real breath in hours.