Chapter 17
CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN
KOA
“So this might sound silly…” Koa said as he pulled onto their street.
“I love silly,” Mia replied in a voice that sounded just like Anna from Frozen.
Koa laughed.
“But I thought I’d drop you off? I know we live in the same house and that will make it super easy for future dates, but I think this first one should be a little more special. I’m thinking I’ll drop you off, drive around the block, and then come home.”
Mia sent Koa a smile that hit him right in his core. “I love that. Thank you.”
Koa nodded as he pulled into their driveway and hopped out of the car to open Mia’s door. He held her hand in his and his heart fluttered the same way it had every time he’d taken her hand that evening.
The day literally could not have gone better.
“Koa?” Mia’s voice was timid.
“Yeah?” he said as he tightened his grip on her hand.
Mia gave a little tug on Koa’s arm, caused him to stop and turn to her. “I had a really good time. And not because of the helicopter or the pizza, I mean good choices and all, but I had a good time because I got to spend the day with you.”
“I had a really good time with you too. What are your thoughts on a second date sometime in the very near future?” Koa asked.
There was that smile once more. The one that knocked him right off his game.
“Sounds good to me,” Mia said, and everything in Koa screamed at him to pull her close and kiss her senseless. He was craving her in a way that was almost impossible to withstand. His entire body swayed with the need to be closer.
He let go of her hand and took a step back.
“I’m going to be really honest here, and I hope it doesn’t scare you.”
Mia cocked her head in question.
“I want to kiss you. Like crazy.”
That was the understatement of the year.
“But one, I’m pretty sure Tutu is watching from one of those windows right now, and she’d smack me if she knew I kissed you on the first date.”
Mia’s genuine smile about made him lose his very slippery resolve.
“And two, I really like you, but I’ve decided I only want to kiss you when it means something. Not because it feels like it should happen because we came to the end of a date….”
Or because her lips were calling to him like a siren’s song.
That part stayed in his head. As well as the unspoken words, he only wanted to kiss her when he knew they were both all in.
Their first date had been better than any other he’d been on, but he still had a few skeletons in his closet to clean out before he was ready to give all of himself to Mia and ask her to do the same for him.
Mia nodded. “I really want to kiss you too.”
Man. She was going to be the death of him. Right here. Mia and Tutu could watch him keel over on the spot.
“But you’re right about Tutu, and I want our first kiss to really mean something too.”
And now he wanted to kiss her even more.
Koa dropped her hand and took three small steps backward toward his truck.
“But Koa?”
Her words caused Koa to pause.
“I’d love for us to get to the part where it would mean something really, really soon,” Mia’s eyes were full of flirtation, and it took every tiny drop of Koa’s willpower to keep walking backwards.
“Me too,” Koa said, all the air leaving his lungs.
He fumbled with the handle of his truck before getting in the cab and locking the doors. He watched longingly as she pulled open the front door.
Koa started his truck and took a huge deep breath, closing his eyes but trying not to envision Mia and her all-too-kissable lips. His resolve only went so far.
He needed to find a broom or better yet a power blower for that figurative closet. Those skeletons had better be counting their days, because Koa was about to get rid of them for good.
He opened his eyes and began backing out of the driveway when a scream from the house shattered the night.
Mia.
Koa jammed his truck into park and ran out of the cab, not even taking the time to close the door after him.
“Mia!” he yelled as he pounded his way toward the front door of his home. He flung it open, unsure of what awaited him on the other side.
Mia knelt on the floor of the living room, Tutu’s head in her lap. She struggled with her phone, not even looking up as Koa entered.
“Tutu!” Koa slid to his knees, coming to a stop beside Tutu.
Her eyes were closed, her face too pale.
“I need an ambulance,” Mia said into her phone.
Koa realized she’d called 911. He knew he’d be thankful for that later but at that moment all he could do was gently touch Tutu’s neck, desperately scanning for a pulse.
There it was.
Koa let out a sigh of relief but the relief didn’t last long. He watched as Tutu’s chest rose and fell, but other than that she was completely still. Even in her sleep, Tutu wasn’t typically this still.
“They’ll be here soon,” Mia assured Koa.
His thoughts felt foggy. Fear permeated his every breath. What would he do without Tutu?
“Hey,” Mia said taking his hand once again.
Koa’s eyes met hers.
“She’ll be okay.”
Koa nodded, but he couldn’t truly comprehend her words. Everything was too much.
Sirens sounded in the distance.
How long had Tutu been like this? Koa should have been here.
Paramedics rushed into the home. Koa knew them both but couldn’t recall their names. They were saying words Koa didn’t want to hear before lifting Tutu onto a stretcher.
They asked Koa questions that Mia answered for him. They’d wondered how she’d fallen, how long she’d been this way. What had happened. Mia told them they’d just come home.
Why had he left Tutu all alone?
The paramedics rushed out of the house, and Koa followed after them. All he knew was that he wasn’t about to let Tutu out of his sight.
“I’ll bring down your truck,” he heard Mia call after him.
He might have nodded, but he couldn’t have been sure. He entered the all-too-bright ambulance and held Tutu’s hand as the paramedics did their job.
Koa knew he’d be grateful for them someday as well, but right now, all he was focused on was hearing that Tutu would be okay.
Koa blinked away tears that came out of nowhere. He’d never loved anyone the way he’d loved Tutu. She’d sacrificed so much for him. Had he ever told her thank you? Had he ever told her how much she meant to him?
He was a terrible grandson.
The ambulance slammed to a stop, and the paramedics moved around him, others coming out to help wheel Tutu into the emergency room.
Koa followed into the hospital, his eyes only on Tutu. Had her eyelids moved at all? Please be okay, he silently begged his grandmother.
“Koa.” Hands held both his biceps, pulling him back as he tried to go through a set of swinging doors.
He looked and saw Channy, one of his high school classmates, holding him. He saw her scrubs and nametag and understood she worked there but why wasn’t she letting him go?
“Tutu needs doctors and medical attention. You can’t go back there. But I promise as soon as we know anything, you’ll know,” Channy said as she directed him to the seating area behind him.
The dreaded hospital waiting room.
“Channy…” Koa’s voice broke.
“I know. She’s got the best of the best, Koa. We’ll do everything we can. I’ve got to get back there now,” Channy said gently, helping Koa get seated before she jogged through those swinging doors.
Koa’s voice itched with the need to call for his Tutu. And his ears burned to hear her answering reply.
How had he taken such a beautiful blessing for granted. Had he ever appreciated the sound of her voice? The fact that she’d always been there for him. He’d never needed her and had her not appear. Not until that very moment.
He felt arms around him once more, this time their presence gentle.
Mia.
But he couldn’t bring himself to say a word. He knew if he opened his mouth the only thing to come out would be Tutu.
“Thanks for the call,” Koa heard somewhere through his fogginess.
His brother.
“Is Tutu going to be okay?”
K.J.
Koa wanted to be there for them. They’d all be hurting. But his eyes wouldn’t move from those swinging doors. His mouth wouldn’t cooperate.
“The doctors will take care of her,” came Lana’s stoic reply.
Koa’s eyes burned, and he blinked them once.
“I’ll see if someone has any more information.”
When had Preston gotten there?
Coughs and cries sounded all around them. The lucky ones waiting their turn to be seen. Only those in the most dire of situations bypassed the line.
Koa was all too familiar with tragedy. His job brought him face to face with it all too often.
But this was different. This was Tutu.
Slowly the fog began to lift. Koa knew Tutu would be annoyed with his reaction. She would have been the first to smack him. She would have told him not to be so invested in his own grief that he couldn’t check on those he loved around him. He needed to be strong for Tutu.
He blinked away more tears that had formed, his eyes first searching for Grace.
Nestled in her mom’s arms, Koa wondered when she’d fallen asleep.
Then he looked for K.J.
The little boy sat curled in a chair next to his dad, Kahiau’s head was in his hands as his big brother struggled with his own despair.
“Hey, Kage,” Koa said, trying to infuse some brightness into his tone but falling flat.
K.J. lifted his head as did his father.
“Wanna come play a game on my phone?” Koa offered as he patted the open seat next to him.
K.J. jumped up, glancing at his father for permission.
Kahiau nodded to his son before sending the ever-so-slightest smile to his brother.
Koa handed his nephew his phone before turning to Mia. Mia who’d stayed by his side the entire time.
“Thank you,” he said to her.
She nodded, wiping her own tears away.
This time it was his arms that went around her as he pulled her into his side. She went limp at his touch, as if it had been taking everything in her to stay upright, but now that she’d been given the chance to rest, she fell.
“How are you holding up?” he asked.
She shook her head. “That’s what I should be asking you.”
“I don’t really have an answer, so maybe you can answer first, and I’ll see if I’m feeling anything close to what you say.”
Mia let out a small huff of amusement. “I’m okay. I’m really worried about Tutu. And can’t say that hospitals are my favorite place.”
Koa held her tighter. He thought about her recent past, losing both of her parents. Had she waited in a room like this before getting the life-crushing news?
It didn’t feel like the time or place to ask, but Koa was grateful that Tutu’s strength had helped him to see beyond himself. His nephew needed him. His brother needed him. Mia needed him. And he needed all of them.
“Your answer pretty much sums up my answer. Except I’m not sure about the okay part. I’m feeling decidedly not okay right now.”
Mia nodded as she took his free hand and held it between both of hers in his lap.
His heart hummed with a portion of peace he would have thought impossible even five minutes before.
“I won!” K.J. cheered about his game.
Koa wanted to smile. Typically he would have smiled. But it was too much to ask of his mind, body, and soul.
His gaze met his brother’s. The two shared a string of grief. No one else could ever truly understand what Tutu meant to Koa besides his brothers.
Kahiau gave Koa the slightest of nods which Koa returned, a shared acknowledgment that come what may, they’d bear it together.