A shy high school senior jock and a closed-off girl battling an immune disorder fake a relationship to win a social media contest.
Being shy isn't easy, especially when you're the new kid at school. Scotts Valley's football program is subpar compare...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
My world was spinning, and I couldn't imagine how Paige felt. Her words 'hospital' and 'heart attack' hit me like a one-two punch in my gut.
I shut her door and drove as fast as possible, following my phone's directions to the hospital and forcing my attention on the road. Scotts Valley didn't have a hospital, but Dominican in Santa Cruz was only fifteen minutes away. Poor Paige trembled and sobbed, her hand squeezing my fingers numb, and I flattened my truck's accelerator. We parked at the hospital, hurrying under a giant L-shaped awning and to the entrance.
"We're here." Since Paige was crying, I called her mom and followed her directions to an interior lobby area. Her mom and sister were sitting in chairs, clutching each other's hands and crying. They stood up, and Paige flung herself into her mom's arms.
"Where's Dad?" she cried.
"Surgery," her mom answered. "They're...removing a blockage."
"I'm sorry," I mumbled and stuffed my hands in my pockets. While this was a family-only situation, I didn't want to leave Paige here.
Over the next two hours, we paced the lobby. We prayed. We cried together and separately in silence. None of them wanted to leave in case an update arrived, so I went to the cafeteria, texted Mom and our friends where we were, and Mom suggested I go to Paige's house to get them an overnight bag. That seemed invasive, so I bought water bottles and carried them back with shaky hands.
Hospitals made me super uncomfortable. They were cold and unforgiving. People died here, and the sense of worry and uncertainty grew more uncomfortable each hour we waited. I wasn't leaving Paige here, slipping my arm across the back of her chair and offering water.
"Thanks." She accepted it with trembling fingers and cried until she exhausted herself, falling asleep on my shoulder.
Feeling someone watching, I lifted my gaze to Paige's mom staring. Her eyes were all blue like Paige's sister, but identically bright red. Her nose was pink and swollen, and her lips chapped white. She wasn't smiling, more looking at us like she couldn't believe what she saw. I shifted where I sat. If she thought I was leaving, she—
"She's touching you," she whispered, her eyes focused where Paige slept on my shoulder.
Her arm flung across my waist. I'd left my belt in my truck, and her index finger hooked in the belt loop on my hip. My hand wrapped around her cupped around her elbow, where I rubbed the back of her arm. My other hand was holding Paige's, rubbing my thumb over the back of it.
"You're the first one she trusts, Brody."
"Me too." My voice was raspy and cracked with dryness, but I wasn't going anywhere. Paige and I's trust went beyond touching each other. She was the first person I could be myself around, without worrying what she thought or how she'd judge me. She was kind and caring. Her smile was infectious, and her laugh was my favorite sound. I couldn't yet mention the upcoming change in my future, but I could do something short-term.
