Impossibly Love (13 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Moya

     
When Vanessa and I got to St.
Joseph’s Medical Center,
I hurried over to the nurse at the reception area and asked for
Branden’s room. She politely said since I wasn’t family, she couldn’t explain
what was going on.  

     I took my
cell phone out and dialed Branden’s number. His mother answered and said she’d
meet me in the lobby.

     “Take it
easy, girl. Let’s relax before you have a heart attack, okay.” Vanessa rubbed
my hands and tried to calm me down. My nerves couldn’t settle.

     I nearly
flew out of my skin as Mrs. McCarthy rushed down the hallway. “Come with me.”
She took my hand and led me back the way she came. Vanessa stayed behind.

     I followed
Mrs. McCarthy without asking questions, assuming I’d get answers when I see
Branden.

     Finally, we
got to a room with the sign ‘OR’ above the doors. A huge knot formed in my
throat as Mrs. McCarthy pushed the door open and ushered me inside.

     There, in
the middle of the pale green room, was Branden. I slapped my hands over my
mouth to hide my gasp at the sight of him. He looked so vulnerable, so fragile,
as he lay unconscious in the bed—an IV attached to his hand and a heart
monitor, beeping in its high-pitched, ominous way, over his bed.

     “What’s
going on?” I muffled, turning back to Mrs. McCarthy at the door.

     She tilted her
head, choking back tears as she said, “I wish he’d told you sooner, dear. I
hope you understand he had his reasons.”

     Mrs.
McCarthy walked over to Branden and rested her hand on top of his head,
fighting hard to appear strong for him. His eyes flickered as he came to. Then
she murmured, “Moya’s here,” glancing my way.

     Elated,
Branden eased up faintly and smiled at me. I slowly walked over to his side.
“Are you okay?”

     He raised
his hand and wiped my wet cheek.

     “I’ll leave
you two alone,” Mrs. McCarthy said, as she walked out of the room. Her body was
visibly drenched in pain. Was it that bad?

     Branden
pointed me toward a chair and I brought it close to the bed and sat down. “Tell
me what’s going on, Branden? How come you’re in the hospital?” I sobbed.

     He exhaled,
“Moya, I lied.”

     I shook my
head. “Lied about what?”

     Branden
turned on his side and took my hand into his. “I love you. I love you so much,
Moya.”

     His confession
didn’t surprise me. I already knew. I was only disappointed he’d pretended not
to love me when he clearly did. I had to know why. “Tell me why you lied and
hurt me like that then?”

     He closed
his eyes and took a long breath before continuing, “I have Aortic Dissection.
It’s actually my second time around, and I have to do surgery tonight for a
chance to put an end to the condition. I thought, me being so sick, I would be
a burden to you. I thought you deserved better.”

     Shaking my
head, I refuted, “You could never be a burden to me just because you’re sick.”
But I didn’t understand his condition. “Aortic Dis…”

     He broke it
down, “It means there’s a tearing of the inner layer of the aorta wall, and
blood is starting to leak into the wall, causing a separation of the inner and
outer layers. That’s why I get all these aches in my chest. The first time it
happened, was back in my senior year of high school. That’s why I had to stop
playing hockey. I did surgery a year ago to fix it but it won’t go away.”

     The whole
thing was new to my ears. It sounded really serious, though, especially since
he had to do surgery. Right then I wasn’t mad at Branden anymore. I wanted him
to be okay. “So, this second surgery, it’ll make it all better, right?”

     Branden
turned his head away from my eyes. “They said there’s a chance it might not.”

     A sudden
pain twisted my heart. I began to whimper. “What does that mean?”

     He shook his
head and stroked my cheek. “Don’t think about that. Just believe I’ll be okay.”

     I nodded and
lowered my face on the bed, trying to hide my tears. Branden combed his fingers
through my curls and consoled me. “You know, I was thinking I’d really like to
meet your momma some time. To meet the woman who raised such a wonderful girl.”

     My head shot
up when I heard him mention Momma, and I cried even more. I couldn’t tell him
how mad I was at her then, that she wasn’t who I thought she was. Instead, I
stayed by Branden’s side until Mrs. McCarthy entered the room again, a white
haired doctor behind her.

     She walked
over to us and touched me on my back. “It’s time.”

     I began to
heave, glancing back at Branden and securely gripping his hand. “No, wait. I
have to stay with him,” I cried.

     Out of
nowhere, strong hands clutched my arms, carrying me out of the room and away
from Branden. I looked behind once more to stare into his eyes for what could
be the last time. He gazed back at me with those adorable blues that captured
my soul, mouthing, “I love you.”

     I whispered
back, “I love you.” Then I was left outside with Mrs. McCarthy as the nurse
went into the room, closing the door behind her.

     Afterwards,
I walked back to Vanessa in the waiting room. She threw her arms around me as I
sat down and cried.

     Moments
later, Mrs. McCarthy joined us. Her husband and Ashton also entered the room,
sitting down across from Vanessa and
I
.

     “The whole
time he was sick,” I mumbled to myself. “From the very moment we met. I wish we
had more time, done more things together. It feels like we’d only just begun.”

     Vanessa
rubbed my back. “That nurse in the lobby finally told me what was going on.
After the surgery I’m sure
it’s
gonna be alright,
Moya.”

     I rested my
head on her shoulder and thought back to the first time I saw Branden in
Business Law, how he’d stared at me, and how persistent he was, trying to win
me over. Gosh, I’d been so headstrong, even when I saw how different he was.
That he genuinely cared about me.

     “Moya,” The
baritone voice pulled me from my thoughts.

     Glancing up,
I saw my father and Momma. I looked over at Vanessa, confused. She had a guilty
expression on her face.

     Holding her
hand up in the air, she admitted, “I called them. Please don’t be mad but you
could use their support right now.”

     As angry as
I was at them both, I didn’t have the energy to argue. I stayed silent as my
parents sat down next to me. Honestly, I wanted to rush into my momma’s arms
the moment I saw her face. But what she’d done was still fresh on my mind
amidst my worrying about Branden.

     “I’m so
sorry, baby.” Momma gently reached for my hands. “No matter how angry you are
with your father,” she paused, her eyes watering as guilt quivered at the
corners of her mouth. “No matter how angry you are with me, please let us stay
with you through this.”

     I hesitantly
allowed Momma to clasp my hands into hers, not having any vitality to chase her
away. My father gave me a heartening smile when I looked over at him briefly.
Good thing he kept his distance because I wasn’t sure how I’d react if he’d
tried to console me as well.

     The waiting
was driving me insane. I peered up at the clock at every passing minute—its
loud ticking filled the quiet room. I heard everything from Mr. McCarthy’s
worried sighs, Mrs. McCarthy’s lowly whimpers, to the sound of Vanessa’s long
fingernails as she scratched them nervously on her jeans.

     When two
hours passed and still no word of how Branden was doing, I wanted to scream.
But gazing over at Mrs. McCarthy, I felt like it wasn’t my place to complain.
Neither she nor Mr. McCarthy could stay seated. He paced the area, fists
clenched, and a painful expression on his face. Ashton, though, was nowhere in
sight. He had left to get something for his mother to drink more than ten
minutes ago and he still hadn’t returned.

     I got up
from the seat. Vanessa touched my elbow. “What’s wrong, Moya? You need
something?”

     I bobbed my
head. “I’m okay, going to get some air.”

     I walked
down the passage towards the exit. As suspected, Ashton was outside the
hospital, sitting sluggishly on one of the benches.

     He looked
over when he heard footsteps.
“Moya?”

     I sat down
next to him, dully. “You should be inside, with your family.”

     Ashton shook
his head. “I can’t. I don’t like the look on their faces.” He sank back on the
bench, struggling to hold back tears.

     “It’s okay.
Truth is
,
I was looking for a reason to come out here,
too. I don’t know if I can stay in that room. Everybody looks so down, like
they don’t think he’s going to make it. He will…” I shivered.

     Looking
Ashton in the eye, I pleaded, “Please tell me Branden is going to be alright.
Please?”

     Ashton
squeezed my hands. “He’ll be alright. My brother is a fighter, and I can tell he
really cares about you.” He feigned a smile. “I’m glad you made him want to
hang on. I don’t think he would have taken the risk if it weren’t for you,
Moya.”

     A panic
filled voiced bellowed my name, “Moya!
Hurry!”
Vanessa
shouted.

     Ashton and I
rushed back inside behind her, where Doctor Henderson was talking to Mr. and
Mrs. McCarthy. They seemed overjoyed.

     “What
happened? Did the surgery go well?” Ashton asked as we drew closer.

     I clasped my
hands together prayerfully and brought them to my mouth, hoping it was really
good news.

     Mrs.
McCarthy spun and threw her arms around him. “Oh, Ash, the surgery went well.
He’s going to be alright. Branden’s going to be alright.”

     Vanessa turned
me to face her and she hugged me cheerfully. “Girl, you hear? He’s gonna be
alright.”

     I cried in
her arms, ecstatic.

     Momma walked
over and rested a hand on my shoulder. I pulled away from Vanessa and stared at
her and my father.

     “I’m happy
your friend’s gonna be alright, baby girl,” he said, tapping my elbow with
caution.

     Putting the
anger aside, only for this moment, I dove into his parted arms. He wrapped them
around me tightly as I whispered over and over, “Daddy, it’s going to be
alright.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Branden

    
I had no
idea how long I’d been in the hospital
following the surgery. One thing I
did know was that Moya was there every day, with me. The whole time I slept I heard
her voice, comforting me, beseeching me to open my eyes and look at her.

     Moya’s voice
was like honey, sweetening the air. On every visit she would plant tender
kisses on my lips that made me eager to wake up and pull her in for more.

     And now,
there I was, waking up. The blinding rays from the sun made me squint as I
opened my eyes and surveyed the room. I breathed steadily and felt around at
the tip of my fingers for a button to call the nurse. She rushed in
immediately, all smiles as she walked over to the bed.

     “Mr.
McCarthy, you’re awake. How do you feel?” she asked, giving me a glance over.

     “I’m
alright,” I said.

     She tapped
my hand and said softly, “I’ll notify Doctor Henderson and your family,”
leaving right after making sure I was in good condition.

     Already, my
body felt relieved—like the surgery got rid of the sickness for good. Still, I
was a little weakened by the procedure, so it would probably take me longer to
heal this time than it did last.

     The nurse had
apparently done as she’d said, because shortly after Doctor Henderson checked
in on me, my family arrived. One by one, they each popped in the room.

      “Oh,
Branden, I’m so glad you’re finally awake, honey,” Mom gushed as she hurried
over to the bed.

     I squeezed
her hand gently as I said, “I’m glad, too. I can’t wait to be all better so I
can get out of here.” And continue where I left off with Moya. I was all
jitters. Now that news was out that I was awake, I knew it would only be
moments until I got to see her beautiful face again. And I couldn’t wait.

     Dad kept a
stern expression and stuck his hands in his pockets after reaching my side,
trying not to break down again. He nodded at me, “Can’t wait till this is all
behind us, son.”

     Of course,
Ashton charged over, jerking me with care. “Bran, you little prick. You scared
the crap out of us.”

     Mom cleared
her throat and sighed for him to settle down. Ashton regarded her face and
teased, “Don’t worry. I won’t hurt your baby.” They seem to be making an
effort, because the look in her eyes appeared softer now when she stared at
him. My condition probably impacted them a lot.

     Looking back
at me, Ashton said more seriously, “I’m really glad you’re alright, little
brother.”

     I eased up
and took a long breath, “Yeah, me too. Glad to be alive.”

     Everyone
laughed, grateful. I looked around the room at their pleasant faces and felt
more appreciative than ever for my family. Then the door opened halfway and we
all stopped suddenly to see who it was. An alluring creature poked her head in.

     Moya stood
in the doorway, shyly. “Hey,” she said.

     “Hello,
dear,” Mom said in a warm, welcoming voice.

     Ashton broke
through the stillness and ordered, “Alright, everybody out.” He walked to the
other side of the bed and tugged on Mom’s elbow, leading her to the door. “Give
them a moment.”

     “Alright, I
get it,” Mom chuckled, touching Moya lightly on the arm as she exited the room
with Ashton. Dad followed behind them, pausing at the door to offer Moya a
quick nod before leaving the room as well.

     Afterwards,
Moya walked over slowly to the edge of the bed, observing me with care. Dressed
simply in a long sweater and jeans, the sight of her was still breathtaking. She
gave me ultimate joy, like I was in utopia.

     “You scared
me there,” she said, touching my big toe lightly.

     I exhaled,
“I know, that was mean. But I’m going to spend the rest of my life making it up
to you.”

     Moya
sauntered around to the side of the bed and sat down, mindful of putting any
weight on my body. “You promise?” She tilted her head to the side and peered
down at me with that fiery gaze I adored.

     I snaked my
hand around her lower back, pulling her closer. “I promise.”

     Seeming
satisfied and relieved, Moya brushed away the loose curls from her face as she
moved closer to my lips. Her voice softened to a whisper, “I love you, Branden
McCarthy.”

     I shifted a
bit on the bed and made myself more comfortable, clutching her with both hands
to draw Moya further into my chest, gently. “I love you too, Moya Douglas
McCarthy.”

     Her brows
shot up. My assertion amazed her.

     I didn’t
allow it to sink in as I voraciously kissed her lips, making up for all the time
I’d spent unconscious.

     It was going
to be a very long kiss. Soon after, I’d share with her my plans for us. Because
I was certain more than ever, Moya was the girl of my dreams. The girl I’d
decided I was going to spend the rest of my life with. In the end, she made it
all seem not so impossible at all.