Page 10 of Until Forever
“But you have his chart, right? And we know you so—I’d like to hear it from you,” I admit with a sideways grin.
She begins to speak but is interrupted by a beeping sound. Latoya digs into her pocket and pulls out a pager. As she reads the alert, I rake my gaze over her face. My god, she’s beautiful, and while I realized that already, it still blows me away.
My father coughs, drawing both of our attention to him. He was sleeping when I walked in, but now he’s coming to, and the moment his sight settles on me and he realizes who I am, he frowns.
“What are you—?” He stops short and gasps before breaking out into a coughing fit. “Why are you here?” he chokes out.
“I got a call that you were in the hospital and in pretty bad shape,” I add while glancing back at Latoya.
He scoffs. “Like you care.” Another cough claims him.
She shakes her head and gives me a weak wave and a tight-lipped smile. “His doctor should be in soon to talk with you,” Latoya affirms.
I turn around in time to catch her stepping out into the hall. She shuffles to keep from running into someone.
Latoya steps over to the nurses’ station, and I follow behind her. Not that I planned to, but my feet move before my brain can register what’s going on. All I know is this is the girl who’s had my heart since before I broke hers eight years ago.
“Um. Harmony…can I get Mr. Glassik’s chart? I’m gonna take his vitals,” Latoya says to her colleague.
The girl frowns, and I glance at her, a twinge of familiarity running through me. I feel like I’ve met her before but can’t quite put my finger on it.
“He’s my patient,” Harmony says while handing the file to Latoya anyway.
Toya hands her my father’s chart. “Thank you.” She accepts the dark-red binder. “And you paged me?”
“No.” Harmony frowns.
“Oh, there you are. That was me.” Another nurse walks around the counter and hands Latoya a piece of paper from her desk. “The school called about your son. It sounds like he’s having a bad day.”
Latoya quickly takes the message, shoving it in her pocket without viewing it. I can’t see her face, but I notice the slump of her shoulders and the sharp breath she takes.
She has a son?
I mean, what did I expect? Of course, she’s moved on, started a life—why wouldn’t she? But does that mean she’s married or seeing someone? I try to remember if I saw a ring on her finger. It was hard to take my eyes off of her, and believe me, I’ve locked every inch of her to memory.
No ring, though.
“Thank you, Crystal.” Her words fall flat, her tone laced with fake pleasantries, the exhaustion and frustration seeping from her.
“Toya,” I call out, but she ignores me. “Come on. Can we talk?”
Her coworker peers at me, and then it hits me. I recall Latoya saying the girl’s name,Harmony. I knew she looked familiar, but it doesn’t seem Harmony recognizes me. But how could she? I was fourteen the last time she saw me.
Harmony straightens in her seat, her brows pulled so high they bleed into her hairline. She smiles, and Latoya rolls her neck with a grunt.
Harmony tips her chin at me. “And who is this?” She grins and stands.
Latoya squares her shoulders and cocks her head. “This is—Jasper. Mr. Vanek’s son.”
Harmony gives her a questioning glance. “Jas—?” She stops short as she finally puts the pieces together. “Oh.”
They communicate with their eyes, and something happens between them. Latoya releases the tension in her shoulders, not entirely, but a little. And Harmony shuffles the papers in front of her before nodding at Latoya.
Of course she told her friends about me. That’s why they are staring at each other like that—because Toya shared all about how I left her.
After a minute, Latoya pushes off the counter only to pause and glance back at her friend. “Yes. I-I’ll come tomorrow.”
“Eek.” Harmony squeals.
