“Okay, so we’re going to start with a series of tests,” Dr. Steele explains. I wait as Logan is put through a battery of pulmonary function tests and some X-rays. He’s a champ through it all. One of the tests is called the methacholine challenge where he is required to breathe in methacholine, which causes him to break into a fit of coughing. Dr. Steele places a chamber over his mouth to administer the Ventolin.
After she finishes with the testing, she walks Logan and me toward an office that has a large desk and two chairs in front of it. She sits behind the desk and motions for us to take a seat in the two chairs. She is a really nice person.
“The good news is there’s no damage to your lung tissue, but you do need to stay on a steady course of inhalers. I recommend a steroid inhaler to be used daily and in the spring we should consider giving you an oral antihistamine since it appears you also have seasonal allergies that can worsen the asthma. These are meds that need to be taken consistently every day or they will lose effectiveness. I’m going to be sending you home with a six-month supply today, but I need you to come back in the spring for another round of tests to make sure you are stable. I’m also going to give you a prescription for an oral steroid, which is only to be taken if you feel your asthma getting out of hand, but in case of emergency you should always go to the hospital and not think twice,” she says, leaning back in her chair. “Do you have any questions?” She looks between me and Logan.
I watch Logan waiting for a response. “No, Doctor. I understand and I’m very thankful for you taking the time to see me today and getting me the meds,” he says. That’s my little brother, sweet to his bones. Everyone likes Logan.
“It’s my pleasure,” Dr. Steele says. “Hope you make it onto the Dragons. You have your brother as an alum.”
“That’s the dream,” Logan says and I blink. I thought Logan just wanted to make it out of Detroit. I didn’t think he was gunning for the Dragons.
“Thank you very much for taking your time,” I say.
The doctor rises and she shakes both our hands.
“You make it onto the Dragons. I want a free front-row seat to your first game.”
I watch my brother get choked up. “Absolutely, ma’am. I mean, Doctor.”
Dr. Steele laughs. “You can call me Veronica.”
Veronica offers us some samples she has from the pharmaceutical companies and says she will get the rest to us by tomorrow, which I appreciate because Logan is heading back to Detroit with Mom tomorrow so he can make the weekend games.
We head out to the waiting rooms but before we reach Mom and Holland, Logan spins around and wraps his arms around my shoulders. He buries his nose in my neck and whispers, “Thanks for always having my back.”
I wrap my arms around him too and tears prick my eyes. I always feel this guilt I can’t explain, like I should’ve been able to do more for him. This help wasn’t even me. It was Poppy. Thanks to her my brother will have a chance to go pro one day, I hope. I’m getting a head of myself.
“I love you, bro.” I clap him on the back. “You got this.” Then I pull my head back. “I didn’t realize you were gunning for Westfall. I thought you may want U of Mass.”
“I want the Dragons,” he says. “But I’m going to go it on my own, just like you.”
We break apart and some sort of feeling washes over me. I can’t identify it at first, but it makes my chest puff out and I realize it’s pride. I’m not such a screwup because Logan looks up to me. He’s trying to walk on my path and I can only hope I make it through to the top because things have been so rocky lately.
We head toward Mom and Holland. Logan hugs Holland and thanks her for setting this up and I offer her a lifetime of babysitting whenever she needs it. As long as I don’t have a game.
She laughs.
We head back out to the SUV and Mom asks, “You going to take us to your place to show us where you live?”
I’m pretty sure I get a deer in the headlights look on my face and Holland catches on.
“My place?” I ask with my voice high-pitched. “It’s an awful mess. You would hate to be there.”
Logan watches me too and reads my distress. His brows dip together and I eyeball him. Get me out of this mess. If my mom walks into the hockey house, she will want to hit on all my friends and she looks good enough that I’ve had friends hit on her in the past too. It’s cringy and makes me want to crawl out of my skin. I just need to keep her away.
“You should come over to mine,” Holland says. “I need to get home to my baby girl, and Declan used to live in that very house for two years with my boyfriend and his best friend. The hockey house is a bloody mess. Those guys never clean, it’s nasty.”
She isn’t wrong.
Mom doesn’t seem too pleased but she accepts Holland’s offer. Knowing my mom she’d prefer to flirt it up at the hockey house, but that isn’t happening with Ryse there. Mom is liable to slip up and mention something about Poppy.
We don’t stay at Holland’s very long though because Mom complains about needing to smoke and Holland doesn’t want cigarettes anywhere near CC, and I don’t blame her.
Evening rolls around and I take Mom and Logan back to the motel. I hate leaving him with her but he’s such a good sport and so easygoing. Just knowing he’s like that makes me feel bad. They say they’ll order in Chinese food but there isn’t really an option for that around here. There’s a good Thai place but it’s very expensive, so I drive us back to the diner and eat dinner there. It’s cheap and they give generous portions.
“Do you want me to pick you up early tomorrow and show you around campus?” I ask my brother.
“Don’t wake me up if you’re going early,” Mom says.
I knew she’d say that and that’s why I offered the early tour. No way I want Mom coming around campus.
“Can’t you wait until later in the day? Maybe I can find myself a nice professor.” She grins mischievously and vomit rises in the back of my throat.
“You’re with Coach,” Logan says, squinting his eyes at her.
“I know, darling. I was just kidding,” she replies.
Sure she was.
I say goodnight to Mom and Logan, and I head back to Westfall to take Holland back the SUV. As I’m walking back to the hockey house, I text Poppy and ask her if she’s free tomorrow night.
She says yes and I tell her to not make any plans. This girl is so amazing. I need to show her or maybe tell her exactly how I feel.
TWENTY-SIX
Poppy
I walk along the path to my dorm at the end of the day. Declan was very mysterious when he told me he’d be picking me up after classes, saying we’re “getting out of here for some alone time.” We definitely need alone time. Having to sneak around has been nearly impossible between me not being able to go to the hockey house because, A. my brother is there and B. because his friends are hounding him about revealing his mystery girl. And on my end there is Bonnie, who I can’t really stand these days. She barely says hi to me anymore and the environment in our dorm room is just toxic.
“Holland?” She brushes by me in a whir not noticing she’s even walked by me. She’s holding a pile of books to her chest and she’s wearing a cropped black puffer jacket with a large hood on her head since the temperature has really dropped.