Uncharted (Unexpected Book 3) (15 page)

“How’s my boy?” I ask Norah, hopeful to hear his little voice over the phone. Being on another continent sucks. The time differences are killing me. I’ve been out on the road for three months. Between Skype and my eight quick visits to Seattle, it’s been impossible to connect with Hunter. “Can I talk to him?”

“He’s with Tyler.” I growl at the mention of her ex. “I lost custody of him. It’s a long story. I have visitations every other Saturday.”

“What? You’re fucking kidding me!”

The sobbing sound on the other line heats my blood. I simmer down my temper before I continue. “You never told me you were fighting for custody.” Since I met her, the only thing I’ve learned about her divorce is that her husband paid child support. This is the first time I learned that Tyler was fighting her for custody. “I can’t head home until next week, but we can hire a lawyer. The best family lawyer.”

“You’d do that for me?”

“Anything. For the two of you, I’d do anything.”

“You’d be a great father for Hunter. He could have everything he needs. Wait a little longer and then we can do it.” She yawns on the other line and I want to shake some reason into her. Why would she want to wait? Hunter is her world. How can she simply want to wait until I’m home to get him back? “Can we talk tomorrow? I’m tired.”

“Go rest, babe. I love you.” The line goes dead and my entire body trembles with worry. That fucker isn’t going to keep our boy.

“Papi, can I head back to Seattle?” I walk from one side to the other and Matthew lies on top of the bed, watching me, fuming because I want to cancel a few dates of our big tour. “Norah…she’s sick.”

“Jacob Christian, you can’t cancel because some girl is sick.”

My throat closes up, my stomach hardens. No one can understand how important Norah has become to me.

“Not once in my life have I canceled a date. And I’ve played since I was seventeen.”

“Well, your career has always been more important than your family. I’m not you,” I snap because neither one of my fathers gave a shit if we were sick. They had work and would be doing their shit. “My soon-to-be fiancée is sick. For the past two weeks she’s been throwing up, tired… I don’t have to give you an explanation. We’re leaving for the States.”

“Fiancée? We haven’t even met the woman.” My father never yells, but lately I’ve been triggering the asshole within him, and today is no exception. “Land those feet on the ground and stop behaving like a diva. This tour is costing you more than what you’ll earn. And for your information, Gabe and I always worked our schedules so one of us would be with you. If you don’t finish your dates, I won’t sign another album deal with you.”

He hangs up, leaving me with a sour taste and the last word stuck on the back of my throat. I make another call.

“Prince Charming, to what do I owe your call?” AJ’s sardonic voice isn’t much different than Chris’s. “It’s been ages.”

“Talk to Chris. I have to head back to Seattle. Norah is sick.”

“Oh no, I’m not getting in the middle of this shit. What happened to being neutral?”

“Do you want me to tell our parents that you’re dating Porter?” Her typical angry gasp is my answer. “I thought so. Tonight we’re booking our tickets. Have him move the dates. This should be ironed out by tomorrow.”

“You’re a jerk!”

“You’re a bitch, and I don’t complain.”

“That was uncalled for.” Matthew stands up and pushes me against the wall. “We never call her that when we’re upset. I hope you know what you’re doing because I surely have no clue. The only thing I’m certain of is that I don’t like you one bit, asshole. If you ever talk to our sister that way again, I’m going to deck you.”

AJ came through for me. I doubt she’s going to speak to me anytime for the foreseeable future, but I don’t give a shit. Being home with Norah is what matters. I arrived earlier today. Her fever isn’t yielding, but I hope that by tomorrow everything will be better. The circles under her eyes have become two deep, black holes, and her rosy cheeks have disappeared.

She had been throwing up for the past week. And since we hadn’t had sex, and I can’t get her pregnant, there wasn’t the option of that being the issue. I offered to take her to the hospital and pay for any expenses, but she declined. For now, I have made her agree to come over with me. Matthew didn’t like the idea of having her in the apartment, but there’s not much he can do.

I told him to go to his new home—the penthouse he bought a couple of weeks ago with our money. Originally we had planned on sharing it, but now, with Norah and Hunter, I am thinking about buying a house. A nice place where our boy can grow up—happy. No more leather couches, video games, and hockey tables occupying the dining room. My next move will be to a tiny, white picket fence house, like the one Norah dreams about.

“Write me a song, JC Decker.” Her request creates a black hole in my head. It’s not the first time she’s asked for it. I can’t. Nothing comes out. I love her, but my soul can’t connect with my heart when it comes to her. MJ jokes that Pria had taken my soul with her. It hadn’t been Pria, but what happened after Pria, that had killed some part of me. The moment Norah asked me not to ever think of Pria, or to write something for her, the music disappeared. I can follow what my siblings write, but I’m unable to create anything. “You wrote so many for her. Why not one for me? Immortalize me like you’ve done to that girl.”

AJ and MJ have no trouble composing shit out of the blue without having to have a muse—the way I used to, pre-Pria. I need to make this happen.

“You speak like you’re going to die.” I press her closer to my body. We agreed that if none of what the doctor prescribed for her helps, she’s going to the hospital next week. “You’ll be immortal in my heart.”

“Will I?”

“Yes, there’s no one else but you.”

“You’ll never talk or think about her again?” She touches my leather cuff, the one that hides my “soulless” tattoo.

“About who? There’s no other girl in my life but you.”

“Promise, JC.”

“I swear. No one will ever take your place.” I kiss her lips softly as I enjoy the warmth they produce against mine. “Want to head to bed, babe?”

When she stands up, her blouse elevates somewhat, and a reddish spot on her waist catches my attention. I pull her blouse a little but she snatches the fabric from my fingers and fixes it. “Don’t get frisky, we’re not having sex. For God’s sake, you can’t even write me a song. That’s not love.”

“I’ll have it soon. I love you, babe.” I follow behind her. I don’t understand her anger. We have time. I will write her a song. Why does she keep denying my love for her? It just doesn’t make sense.

“What kind of song are we talking about?” AJ asks on the other line. “Just so I can work a little on it while I’m on the plane.”

“Sweet, but not smothering,” I respond. “I want it to be timeless. A song that in fifty years will still be played on the radio. Think The Beatles, Queen—”

“Classic, I get it.” AJ speaks over the sound of closing drawers and ruffling plastic bags. “I booked my flight. The plane leaves in a couple of hours. See you then.”

I have no idea what to do in the meantime. Norah sleeps in the guest room. The fever has decreased, but it hasn’t disappeared completely. She promised me that after we finish her song, if her symptoms were still present, she’d head to the doctor.

The cagy sensation in my chest has a permanent residence. Nothing like the crippling fear I carry. What if Norah has some freaky illness? Cancer, a bizarre unknown infection… The memory of Maeve, Pria’s sister, comes to me, but I can’t be certain of anything because I’m not a doctor, and she won’t tell me anything.

Tired, feverish, not hungry, throwing up, coughing… The web has so many answers to those symptoms that I couldn’t come up with anything concrete.

Why did I promise her not to drag her to the hospital until I finished her song?

Simple. I love her. If there is one thing I learned in the accident, it’s that you can’t believe you will always have all the time in the world to love someone. The widow never thought she would lose her husband or her son, so that is why I have grabbed hold of this relationship with both arms. She is good for me. We are a good, strong unit together, and I am thankful.

“Dude?” Matthew comes out of his room with a somber face. “Is AJ coming over?”

I nod.

“Norah should be in the hospital.” He goes to the refrigerator. “Not here. I’ll stay with you, but honestly I wanted to go to my place. I haven’t slept there since I bought it.”

“When we finish the song.” The three of us would finish the song within a day or two, from beginning to end, including recording it. The trick would be to convince my father to release it soon.

“Then we could start without AJ,” MJ proposes.

“No.” I shake my head. “I want her to outline the lyrics. You and I can add to what she writes.”

“You can’t write the lyrics?” I don’t respond to his stupid question. He hands me a bottle of water and drinks some juice out of the carton. “AJ will have whatever you ordered by the time she arrives.”

I hope so, because the time to face reality and head to the nearest hospital is closing in. I wonder what I’ll do when Norah calls her family. We’ve been together almost six months and I haven’t met anyone—only Hunter.

Would they really take her away like she said?

Norah calls them overbearing. I understand part of it. If my sister were sick like her, my parents would take her back home and place her inside a bubble until she healed.

“Dude, Norah will be fine.” Matthew pats me on the back. “Stop worrying so much. I’m going to take a nap, or I won’t last until AJ is here.”