Big Fat Liar 3 (Big Fat Liar #3) (3 page)

Chris laughed and Callie smiled. "What's so funny?"

"Well," he shot her a grin, "guess the chances of my parents getting a grandchild soon is all but ruined."

Oh Chris
. Her eyes began to tear. He was just so perfect.
I have to tell him, even if it means...losing him. Maybe he'll forgive me if he loves me enough but either way, he has to know the truth. My lie has gone far enough.

"C-Chris," Callie said hoarsely, "Chris, there's something I have to tell you."

"What?" Chris faced her and frowned when he saw the pained expression on her face under the glow of the moon. "Cal? What is it?"

"First," she grabbed his hand, "will you tell me something?"

"What?"

"Do you...do you love me?"

Chris stared down at her and brushed her hair back. "I...hell, Cal, I don't know. Maybe. There's something definitely there. I'm definitely falling for you."

Callie smiled. He was falling for her....it wasn't a direct "I love you" but to her heart, it was enough. Before he hates her, at least she knew that he had loved her...or started to. It's really more than she deserved.

"Will you kiss me again?" She found herself asking almost desperately.

Chuckling, Chris leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead, on her left and right cheek, then her nose and finally her lips. It was a tender kiss of awakening first love. "I love you, Chris," she told him after he drew back, "very, very much."

"Cal," Chris laughed lightly, "what is this all about?"

Callie stepped away from him and prepared herself. "Chris, I'm...I'm actually a gir-"

"Hold up." Chris held up a hand and took out his cell phone from his blazer pocket. "Abel is calling me again."

"Again?"

"I ignored his calls earlier," he explained, "when we got to the restaurant. He left some messages but I haven't checked them yet. Hold on, just let me see what he wants." Chris answered the call. "Hello?"

Callie watched his expression change. "What?" He barked. "What do you mean she's at the hospital? For what?" Chris paused. "She fainted? When? How? Is she okay? Let me talk to her. Damn, okay, which hospital? Alright," he shot Callie a look, "We'll be right there."

"What's going on?" She asked anxiously. "Who's at the hospital?"

Chris's jaw tightened. "My mother."

"Mrs. Walker!?" Callie covered her mouth. "No! What happened."

"We'll find out." Chris grabbed her hand. "Let's go."

Chapter Sixteen

They rushed inside the hospital, Callie walking hurriedly behind Chris. There had been no time to talk about where exactly their relationship was headed on the mad drive to the hospital. All Callie could do was assure Chris that everything would be okay, saying words that she didn't even know were true or not. She thought that if she repeated them enough, her assurance would be a fact.

"Which floor was my mother taken?" Chris barked as soon as they reached the front desk where a petite black woman in blue scrubs stood behind.

"Eliza Walker," Callie said to the confused woman, "her name is Eliza Walker."

"Chris!" Chris and Callie turned around in unison to see Abel rushing towards them. This Abel wasn't one Callie was familiar with. This Abel looked worried, pale blonde brows furrowed and eyes red like he had just been crying. Wearing a sleek white suit that was more suited to cater a ball rather than a hospital, Abel looked elegant as always but his beautiful features were marred with heavy sadness.

"Abel!" Chris grabbed his brother's shoulder. "Talk to me! How is Mom?"

"She's fine," Abel said hoarsely, like his voice had been over used. "For now."

"What the hell does that mean!?"

"Chris," Callie murmured, soothingly rubbing his arm to calm him down. People were already looking at them with deep frowns. It wasn't polite to cause a ruckus in a hospital.

Chris took a deep breath. "Abel, what happened?"

"Follow me." Abel turned and started walking, his classy white shoes clicking against the white marble floor.

"Well?" Chris pressed impatiently when they reached the elevators.

"Mom was rushed here an hour after you left the salon," Abel told him, "Dad contacted me and I tried to get a hold of you but you weren't answering your phone and I didn't know where you and Callie went on your date."

Chris swore under his breath as they stepped inside the elevator. "I put my phone on vibrate and ignored your calls. I thought you were just going to be nosy. If I had known-"

"It wouldn't have changed anything," Callie told him, "this isn't your fault, Chris." She looked at Abel. "Why was she rushed to the hospital?"

Abel pressed a button and leaned against the cool elevator walls. "Mom fainted at the deli and started convulsing. Dad immediately rushed her to the hospital." He closed his eyes and took a steady deep breath. "Apparently our dear folks has been hiding Moms condition from us for a while."

"What condition?" Chris demanded.

Abel rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Mom is sick, Chris, she has been for a while now and we didn't even have a clue...not a clue. She always said she was a good actress. Well, for the past months she's been giving us her grande performance. Brava, mother, brava."

"What are you talking about, Abel?" Callie asked, "how sick is she?"

"Dad told me that Mom has a tumor in her brain."

She gasped. "No! A tumor? But how?" Mrs. Walker had always seemed fine and healthy whenever Callie dropped by every now and then since they've met. Eliza, so radiant and cheerful. A woman who loved life and her family.

"From what Dad tells me," Abel said, stepping out as the elevator doors slid open, "she's been sick for months. At first she just brushed it off as a harmless flu and refused to go to the hospital when Dad insisted. Then she started getting worse. Dizziness, vomiting, fainting."

They followed Abel down the long hall, ignoring the others passing by. "Dad said he thought that she may be pregnant again but sadly that wasn't the case. He finally made her go to the hospital and that's when they found out that she has a tumor. The CT scans showed it."

"Are they sure it's a tumor?" Chris shook his head, "it may be something else or-"

"Chris," Abel looked at his brother sadly, "they tested her many times."

"But why now!" Chris snapped. In truth he wanted to scream
Why our mother?
. "Why does she suddenly have a tumor!?"

"The doctor explained that it can show up anytime, at any age. They've been giving her treatments but that's not enough anymore. It's still growing, Chris. Mom needs surgery."

"Why didn't she just get surgery in the first place!?" Chris roared. "They could have taken that thing out of her!"

"You know how afraid Mom is of hospitals. When her doctor suggested surgery she asked if there were alternatives and he offered her treatments...but its not helping anymore." Abel stopped in front of a closed door and turned to his brother. "There are serious risks if she undergoes surgery...but if she doesn't..."

"She'll die anyway," Chris whispered and bowed his head. "What the hell is going on?"

Abel stared at his distraught brother. "Guess now we know why she wanted grandbabies so badly."

Callie squeezed her eyes shut and felt tears streaming down her cheeks. When she opened them, she wished with all her might that everything was better. That they weren't in the hospital, that Mrs. Walker was safe and secure at the deli...but it wasn't so. When she opened her eyes, they were still standing in front of a white door and behind it was...

"Chris?" At the sound of the voice, the trio looked up and found Brenda walking towards them, a hesitant smile on her face. Callie watched, dumbfounded, as the woman in a grey business suit sauntered over to Chris to and gave him a hug. Even in a classy business suit, a white shirt beneath a jacket and short skirt, Brenda managed to look enchanting with her long black hair flowing around her.

"How are you holding up?" Brenda asked Chris, worry on her features.

Chris stared at her. "What are you doing here, Brenda?"

"She was at the deli talking to mother when it happened," Abel answered grimly, "and she followed us here."

"At the deli?" Chris looked confused. "But how-"

"Since you never bothered to introduced me to your parents," Brenda said, "I did it myself. I'm just sorry I had come at a bad time."

Callie's hands tightened into fists. The tramp! She had actually forced her way into Chris's private life. Talked to his parents without his permission like some sneaky, conniving-

"If there's anything at all that you need," Brenda murmured, caressing Chris's cheeks, "just know that I'm here for you during this difficult time."

Push her away, Chris,
Callie begged,
push her away and tell her about us. Do it!

But he didn't. Instead Chris stared at Brenda a few seconds longer before giving the woman a stiff nod. He had more things to worry about right now than Brenda's intrusion. "Excuse me," Chris brushed past Brenda and opened the door.

The sight of his father on his knees beside the small bed that contained his mother made him pause. His father held his mother's pale hand, head bowed as if he was praying...and maybe he was.

"Chris," his mother's sweet voice made him look up. She smiled at him. "Come in."

Chris stared at his mother, suddenly frozen in place at the sight of her. She looked like his mother...but laying there in a blue hospital gown, the matching blue covers over her...she didn't look like herself. Her usual flushed face was now pale, lips colorless. Her bright eyes were still bright, but it also looked like it was dimming, as if she was forcing herself to keep the brightness there.

Eliza Walker looked weak and fragile. This wasn't the same healthy mother who had kissed all his booboos away as a child. Not the same healthy mother who had cheered for him the loudest when he had scored the winning touchdown during a high school football game. Not the same healthy mother who had cradled his head against her as he cried for his fallen friends in the war. Not the same mother he had seen last week. The drastic change in her cut his heart to pieces.

"Chris?" Eliza's smile dimmed. "Won't you come in, sweetie?"

"Chris?" He heard Cal's voice whisper behind him. Chris looked back and met Cal's sad, worried eyes. Hesitating slightly, Cal placed a comforting hand on his. "Go in, Chris. Hold your mother."

Shaking, Chris walked into the room and went straight to his mother, taking his place across from his father. "Mama," he whispered, lifting her hand as if it was made of glass. He fell to his knees. "Mother."

Eliza smiled. "Hello, baby."

He laid his head on her lap and squeezed his eyes shut. "There, there," he heard his mother murmur, "it's alright. I'm alright."

"Why?" He said, "why did you keep this from us?"

"I didn't want to worry you two."

"Still...you should have told us. You and Dad wouldn't have been all alone through this, Mom."

"Chris, what's done is done."

Mother make it better
, he wanted to beg, but it was all out of her hands. It was up to the doctors to save her life now.

"Cal," Eliza beamed, "I see you hovering by the door, dear. Come in, come in!"

"Mrs. Walker." Callie greeted the older woman with a smile as she walked into the private room. "Hello."

"Why, Cal!" Eliza chuckled, "you look wonderful."

"T-thank you."

"Mrs. Walker," Brenda walked around Callie. "How are you feeling?"

"Better thank you," Eliza smiled. "Nothing to worry about." Sighing tiredly, she nestled her head against the pillow. "Now that my boys are here, I'm feeling a lot better."

"You should get some sleep, my love," Mr. Walker said, brushing his hand against his wife's forehead. "The doctor said you should get as much rest as possible."

"Oh do stop worrying so much," Eliza patted her husband's hand. "I'm perfectly fine." But to the others she didn't look fine. She looked colorless and sick.

"Oh if only I had some cute grandchildren to cuddle," Eliza said mischievously, "I'm sure I'd miraculously heal."

"Mother." Abel rolled his eyes. "Is that all you think about?"

"Actually, Mrs. Walker," Brenda cut in, taking her place beside Chris. "Chris and I have been talking about children and getting married for a while now."

Everyone in the room looked at her with surprise, including Chris. "Brenda," he said warningly.

Brenda laughed and patted his shoulder. "Look, Chris, your mother's color is already coming back! You'd like that wouldn't you, Mrs. Walker? Some grandbabies plus Chris finally settling down?"

"Why...yes," Eliza said hesitantly. "Of course."

"Well don't you worry about your youngest son." Brenda beamed down at her. "We're practically already engaged! Now we just have to set the wedding date and soon you'll have all the grandbabies you can handle."

Why you manipulative bitch,
Callie thought darkly.

"So you should focus on getting better after the surgery," Brenda continued. "So you'll be healthy enough to attend our wedding."

"Grandbabies," Mrs. Walker murmured wistfully, eyes fluttering shut. "Wouldn't that be something?" The room descended into silence as she fell asleep.

Chris rested his mother's fragile hand on the bed before standing. Furious, he grabbed Brenda's arm and jerked her towards the door. Abel and Callie followed behind them, making sure to close the door.

"What the hell were you doing back there?" Chris hissed at Brenda. "You lied to my mother!"

Brenda lifted her chin up. "Chris, I did it to make her feel better. Did you see her? She looks so much happier now with the thought of grandbabies and marriage for you. I just gave her something to fight for."

"You had no right to-"

"I'm your girlfriend," Brenda snapped, jerking her arm back from Chris's hold. "And you need to settle down Chris and make your mother happy. She wants grandchildren? Well I'm the best candidate to marry you and give her those grandchildren. I don't see why you're so upset, you know I'm right. How can you be mad at me when I just made her dream come true?"

"I want to punch her," Callie said to Abel darkly. "Oh god, I want to do it so badly."

"I need fresh air," Chris muttered, walking around Brenda. "Nobody follow me."

Abel studied Brenda, one brow raised. "My, you're a very bold woman and I must say that you're also one manipulative bitch."

Brenda met Abel's eyes. "I've done nothing wrong. I just secured Chris's future and made your mother a happy woman."

"Chris won't marry you," Callie said, "not someone like you who is willing to use a poor sick woman to trap him into marriage."

Brenda looked at her. "What Chris and I do is none of your business. Or what?" Brenda laughed, "did you think that you had a chance with him? Honey, he's not interested in men and even if he was I highly doubt that he'd pick someone like you."

Abel stepped back from the women and leaned his back against the wall, crossing his arms as he watched them with interest.

"You don't deserve him," Callie snapped, clenching her hands into fists. "He deserves better than you."

"And what?" Brenda crossed her arms. "You think
you
deserve him? Well someone's a little dreamer. You can't give him what I can. You're nothing but his friend and once we're married I'll see to it that he never see you again."