Thirty-Six
L auren wiped the back of her hand across her cheeks, cleaning away the tears before returning to her father’s room.
It was over.
It was really over.
And Scott didn’t put up much of a fight. Any fight.
She’d been right. It was better this way.
She couldn’t go back to her father’s room in her current state. He’d ask too many questions. She slowed down and as soon as she heard the elevator doors close, she circled back to the bench near the elevator where she promptly sat down and cried.
Lauren didn’t know how long she’d been sitting on the bench, but a few of the nurses had walked past and looked her way. Thankfully none of them stopped to ask questions.
The elevator doors opened, and she looked up, hoping to see Scott standing there.
Only it wasn’t Scott. It was one of her best friends.
“What’s wrong? Is your dad OK? I saw Scott leaving the parking lot when I pulled in. When is he coming back?” Melody’s questions spilled out as quickly as she hurried across the hall to the bench.
“He’s not.” And that started a whole new crying jag. As if her eyes weren’t puffy enough.
“What? Why not? What happened?” Melody wrapped her arm around Lauren’s shoulders and squeezed.
Lauren explained everything to her friend. Even the why bit. Which as soon as Lauren said the words aloud, sounded stupid.
“Well, that’s a stupid reason.” Melody confirmed.
“Only when I say them out loud.”
“There you go. I’m sure it’s not over. He’ll be back.”
“No, he won’t. He didn’t fight me when I told him. It was like he was thinking the same thing but didn’t want to be the one to say the words first.” She pressed her knuckles to her eyes in a half-hearted attempt to stop the tears.
It didn’t work.
“Let’s go rinse your face off with some cold water then visit with your dad before I take you home. We’ll figure it all out later.”