Chapter 28
The phone call that changed everything.
Devyn
The atmosphere in the room shifted in an instant. Silence filled the air as the news was shared. My mate looked as if he wanted to say something, but couldn’t find the words. Instead he stood there, staring, his body language sending out a cry for help.
No longer was my family there with us. It was just us…
my mate and I. His eyes glistened and his lashes sparkled with tears.
He didn’t need to say anything. Not that he could get any words out.
I was thinking it, too. We were too late.
Due to financial bullshit, his dad’s time was running out—had been since he got the news he had to have surgery, but now it was sprinting toward the finish line and there was nothing we could do about it.
I crossed over to Heston, his body trembling as I wrapped him in my arms. “It’ll be okay,” I hoped to gods I wasn’t lying.
I didn’t understand so many people being okay living in a world where it wasn’t criminal to withhold medical treatments due to finances. And it wasn’t little money either. Nobody could say, “If you stop drinking coffee, eating avocado, or get rid of cable TV, you’ll be able to afford it.”
And the sick part was, this wasn’t elective surgery by any definition of the word.
There was nothing cosmetic about it, nothing frivolous, nothing that could wait while he tried something else first. This surgery was the only way to keep him alive.
Every day… every minute… every second without it, he was getting closer to joining his former husband with the goddess.
“My dad…” Heston hiccuped and sobbed against my chest.
“I know, my love. I know. Let’s go to him.
” We needed to get there, but more than that, we needed the money and today was my Hail Mary.
Tears drenched his shirt, and it was all I could do to hold back my own.
We needed the money, and I’d figure out how to get it.
If I had to rob a bank, so be it, but right now, we just needed to be with his father, to hear from the doctor first hand what was happening.
“I promise you, I’ll do everything I can,” I said, kissing the top of his head, wishing there was more I could do. “Let’s go. We’ll know more there. We’ll make a plan.”
There were jokes and TV shows about selling kidneys for money. If that were an option, I’d be doing it right now. I’d do just about anything, which was how we ended up here with my father in the first place. He was a last resort, one that failed.
“You really care about him, don’t you?” I twisted around to see my father standing in the doorway, staring at us as if it finally dawned on him that I was telling him the truth.
“I love Heston. He’s my mate,” I said, my voice firm.
My father’s expression changed as if for the first time he understood that maybe, just maybe, he was in the wrong. I didn’t have time to process what that meant. We needed to go. I’d never forgive myself if my mate didn’t get to say good-bye.
“He needs help. They won’t give him the surgery unless he has the money. That’s the way it is. I wish it was different. I wish I could fix it.” My insides were roiling as I scrambled for a solution to the ordeal. “But… why do you have to be such a dick, Father? Why?”
Roy had appeared at my father’s shoulder and he sucked in a breath before mumbling something about being ungrateful.
Asshat.
I went back to comforting my mate, trying to steer him out the door. Him crying hysterically wasn’t what his dad needed to see. They needed to hug one another and whisper anything unsaid.
I intertwined our fingers, ready to push past Father and Roy but my father’s voice had me standing in place, frozen, unable to move.
“Billing department, please.” I looked at him on the phone, and he held up his finger, asking me to wait a minute. What happened next blew my mind.
He talked to three people before he finally got the one he needed.
I wasn’t sure what made him do it. He guaranteed the hospital that the money was there for Heston’s father’s care.
He also promised a large donation if they made sure the red tape was cleared away and the doctors could ignore all of the usual protocols that might slow Heston’s dad getting the operation.
What amazed me, but shouldn’t have, was that it worked.
From what I could overhear, they promised him that everything was instantly pre-approved and that the medical team had been informed.
Just like that, no week to process or get signatures.
Just some tapping on the keyboard and done.
It was bullshit that money could do this, but for today I was willing to accept the benefit of said bullshit because it was life saving for someone I cared about.
Maybe my father wasn’t a heartless piece of shit after all.
I wouldn’t say that made him a good person, but who was really when you scratched the surface?
Everyone had something not great about them.
I just wished his cruel side wasn’t on the surface and you had to dig deep to get to his other side.
My father scribbled on a piece of paper as he was talking, then hung up the phone. He ripped the paper off and brought it to me. “This is the name of the person I talked to. This is the case number. It should be all done now.”
He didn’t say he was sorry. We took two steps, and my mate stumbled. “Screw this,” I said, and I scooped him up, ready to carry him all the way if need be.
“I’ll call for the car.” My father said and before I could question what he meant, he added, “You’ve got to go and I have a driver on stand-by. Your mate needs you to comfort him. Besides, if they try to mess with you, I’ll handle it so you can do what needs to be done.”
In that moment, my heart softened even more toward him. Maybe I needed to give him another chance.
We made our way down in the elevator, and I realized Father was dragging Roy with us.
I understood why. We were in the middle of the Sebastian debacle when we got the news and he probably wanted to finish the discussion, at least the part with my brother.
The entire situation was messed up. Did I think this was the best time to be dealing with it?
No, but I wasn’t going to express my opinion. Not when my mate needed me.
I sat in the back seat, holding Heston as the driver decided he was the racing kind.
A couple of times we passed police cars and I was sure we were going to get pulled over.
But that’s the thing with fancy, expensive cars like this one.
Cops often looked the other way. Normally, I thought it was bullshit, but today I couldn’t be more grateful.
Apparently, I was one crisis away from being morally gray.
We arrived at the hospital and my mate and I ran through the emergency doors, asking where his dad was before they even acknowledged us. Who knew where my father and Roy were? They’d come in another of Father’s cars. At any other time, I would have given anything to hear their conversation.
“He’s already been moved,” the intake nurse said.
“To a room?” If so, I needed to know which one and which direction to head.
“No, to surgery. If you go out the double doors and turn left, you might be able to catch him before they go. He’s on the docket, but not quite up yet.”
My mate and I ran, and caught up with his father at the elevator. His hospital bed was being pushed by a man in scrubs. A second man had one hand on an IV stand and the other on a cart of monitors, all of which were connected to my father-in-law.
“Dad,” my mate said, his voice cracking.
His father forced a small smile, “Don’t cry. Someone here worked a little magic. My surgery’s been approved. I’m not going anywhere… anywhere except the OR.”
The elevator binged. It was only a couple floors away.
“What do you think I’m gonna do? Die on you? I just got a new addition to the family.” He looked to me, “And if I’m lucky, maybe we’ll get some more.” He fixed his gaze on my mate’s belly.
“Dad, really? Giving hints about grandkids… now?”
His father smirked. “Gotta keep you on your toes.”
The elevator doors opened, and they pushed him inside. This was as far as we could go. Now came the hardest part—waiting.