“Neither of you are to blame.”
“Mason takes everything on himself. He acts like he doesn’t care—”
“But he cares too much.” The sentiment slipped out of me, knowing where she was going.
Grace peered at me, a smile ghosting her mouth, her gaze seeing more than I wanted her to.
“Ms. Campbell?” A nurse stepped out. I rose, feeling a sick sense of déjà vu. I barely recalled giving my name at the counter.
“Is Mason okay?” I continued to hold Grace’s hand, Addy taking her other.
“He’s fine.” The nurse nodded. “Looks as though lack of sleep, stress, low blood pressure, and skipping his meds today caused his heart to beat irregularly, leading to him not receiving enough blood and air to his brain, which is why he passed out.”
“But he’s okay?” I heard the hitch in my voice, wanting to crumble to the ground in relieved sobs.
“He’s resting, but you can come back and see him. We’re finishing up his tests, but he’ll probably be clear to go soon after.”
“Thank you,” Grace replied when my voice couldn’t, trying so hard to fight back the emotion swallowing me up.
Helping Grace up, we slowly followed the nurse, but Addison hadn’t moved.
“Aren’t you coming?” I asked.
Her mouth pinched, her head shaking. “No. I’m gonna go home.”
“Okay.” Concerned, I watched her grab for her purse, shocked she wasn’t the first to be checking on Mason. “Call me if you need anything, okay?”
Her head bobbed again, and she took off, almost running out.
Trepidation strummed at my nerves as if someone were playing them like a guitar, but the moment we stepped into his room, everything else vanished.
“Mason.” Grace went straight to him, kissing his cheek. “You scared us so much.”
“Sorry.” His voice was rough and raw, his eyes going over her to me. They captured mine like I was prey. The impulse to consecutively run to him and run away yanked at my body. Because I understood—I was completely his.
And he could ruin me.
“Emery…” He said my name with so much depth that he didn’t need to add anything. His hand laid on top of the covers, his palm inviting me to him.
I didn’t resist. My fingers slid in with his, not worried about what Grace would think.
“Guess I owe you.”
“You owe me pancakes.” My smile fell flat quickly, emotion blinking my eyes. “Don’t scare me that way again.”
A pained expression flicked over his brow, his thumb rubbing the top of my hand, but his gaze not meeting mine. Something in the pit of my stomach twisted at his response.
“Well, Mason, it seems you had a lively morning.” A tall man in a white coat walked in, holding a clipboard. “Maybe next time, try not doing that.”
“Sure,” Mason scoffed.
“Your tests look good. Your blood sugar was far too low when you came in, but we are getting you back up to normal levels.”
“Everything is fine?” Grace asked, worry still on her face.
“Yes, though I think you should take it easy for the next couple of days.” He spoke to Mason. “Nothing stressful… and maybe keep intense physical activity to a minimum.” The doctor looked between Mason and me with a knowing look, seeing clearly the bruising bite mark I gave him on his neck. My face flushed red, only deepening when I heard Mason scoff.
“We’ll try.”
“Just until we make sure it was a one-time irregularity and nothing to do with the actual heart. You just got it. Let’s try not to break it already.”
“What?” My hand slid from Mason’s, intuition squeezing me, my head snapping to him.
He wouldn’t look at me, his jaw ticking. “Anything else?” Mason spoke directly to the doctor.
“Nope. You’ll be free to go in an hour. Please do not forget to eat and take your medication. I don’t want to see you here again anytime soon.”
“I won’t.”
“All right. Take it easy and call if experience anymore dizziness or shortness of breath.” The doctor nodded at both Grace and me and headed out.
“I’m going to call your grandfather and tell him you are okay.” Grace struggled to get up, shuffling slowly out of the room, leaving us purposefully.
“I didn’t want you to find out this way,” he muttered.
I couldn’t move, already sensing what was coming but needing him to say it. The scar I traced so many times but never wanted to think about because, perhaps deep down, I already knew.
He swallowed, lifting his chin to me. “I was born with a bad heart. Blame it on my mother continuing to do drugs while pregnant with me, who knows, but we really didn’t notice it until later, when I was a teen. I wanted to play football so badly, even had scouts looking at me. I ignored all the signs, kept it hidden as much as I could. The plan worked, until the day it didn’t. I spent the next year and a half in and out of the hospital waiting for a heart. And knowing even if they found one, I still couldn’t play ever again. My grandparents never left my side. They put all their savings into treatments and medication. And when I was sick of being looked at as the kid with the broken heart at my last school, they picked up their entire life and moved here for me. Everything they’ve done has been for me.”
A tear slid down my cheek, understanding so much more of his relationship with Grace and Neal and why he felt he owed them so much. I was heartbroken for the child who had to go through all of that.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Like I said. You already were looking for any reason to keep me at arm’s length. This would have shut the door forever. Not only too young, but damaged as well. Though, I should have let you. You deserve far more than this.”
“What are you talking about?” I stepped closer to him. “You’re not broken, Mason.”
“You don’t get it,” he bit out, his lids blinking, emotion bobbing in his throat. “You know how I never answer any questions about my future?”
I frowned in confusion.
“It’s because I don’t have one.”
“That’s not true,” I sputtered.
“Do you know how long someone lives after a heart transplant?” Anger flashed in his eyes, but it wasn’t at me. “No? The max, not the standard, is thirty years. Most are far less. I’ll be lucky to get twenty-five more years.”
That would put him in his forties.
Acid rolled in my stomach, terror bleeding into my veins. “Wh-what about another heart transplant?”
“Yeah.” He laughed mockingly. “Those are even rarer. Hearts aren’t offered like going through a fucking drive-thru.”
“I know.” I trembled, still not accepting the reality of this new revelation. “But you can’t give up.”
He looked away from me, his shoulders lowering. “And take someone else’s chance at a full life?”
“Yes!” I shouted, tears spilling over. “For you… yes! If I have to give you my own, I fucking will.”
His head snapped back to me, his eyes full of emotion. “Come here.” Reaching for me, he pulled me into him, his hands cupping my face, wiping away my heartbreak. “I won’t make you go through it. You deserve better than this. It was supposed to be just sex, remember? A fling. You weren’t supposed to get this deep.” His forehead pressed into mine. “I was being selfish. I couldn’t seem to stay away from you. But you have lost way too much. I will not put you through this again.”