Fighting To Stay by P. J. Belden Read Free Book Online Page A

much for a little while. Why don’t I give you my cell phone number and you can call or text me any time. I promise you, I’ll keep you in the loop on what’s going on with him.”
    There is a sigh of relief. “Thank you so much Donna. I would really appreciate that. You know, all I keep thinking is I never got to tell him how I feel. Maybe you should never take things for granted like that. Time stands still for no one. We should seize every moment we have with the ones we love. Thank you for not completely writing me off, I may not have actually met your brother in person, but I do love him all the same.”
    “I know, Pollyanna. I’ll keep you informed.”
    “Thank you,” she says quietly before hanging up.
    Holding the phone tightly in my hand, I stare at my brother lying in that bed. My heart is racing and anger floods me. Garrett places his hand on my shoulder, drawing my attention away from my fragile looking brother.
    “Hey, I’m going to go get you something to eat since you didn’t have time to eat earlier. I’ll be back in a few minutes, okay?”
    Nodding my head, he leans down and kisses me lightly on the cheek before asking my sister if she wanted anything and leaving.
    Placing his phone on the stand next to his bed, I walk back over to the chair next to my sister. My mind wanders again to her ending statement. Life stands still for no one… She’s right it doesn’t. Every day we wake up is never a guarantee.
    That’s what Gare has been saying to me all along. That he has wasted enough time trying to wait for me to see what he couldn’t say and he couldn’t waste anymore. He’s seizing every moment he can with me. Yet, for me, I’m letting them all pass me by.
    What if when we leave here tonight, he goes home, and I never see him again? He’ll never know what he means to me. I’d be in the same boat as Pollyanna, having heard how much Garrett loves me, but being too chicken to tell him the truth.
    The door opens then and in walks the doctor. All thoughts flee my head and I focus on my brother.
    “Good evening Ladies. I assume you’re all related?”
    “Yes, we’re his sisters,” I say nervously. “Do… Do you have an update?”
    “I do. The rescan has been examined and the results are back. The swelling on his brain has decreased to a safer level so we will be waking him. Please understand that he may not remember what’s gone on and can cause them to become irritable. Don’t take it personally. No one likes to realize that they can’t remember sections of their lives. However, there is no internal bleeding. He’ll be pretty sore and need help moving around for a while, but he should recover nicely.”
    “It went down that fast?” I ask, completely astonished.
    “Ma’am, it’s been about twenty-eight hours,” he replies filled with concern.
    “Twenty-eight hours,” I mumble.
    The doctor turns his attention to Josh’s chart as my mind conjured up the period in which this must have happened. Setting the chart back in the slot, he looks at us questioningly.
    “Do you have any other questions for me?”
    I shake my head and slowly turn my head to my sister who has sank in her chair considerably. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the doctor leave.
    “This happened shortly after he left from the hospital, didn’t it?”
    When my sister is nervous about something, her leg always shakes. It is bouncing rapidly. This is a trait that her and Josh share. Anger, betrayal, disappointment fill me as I stand up and scream at her in anger.
    “How could you do that?”
    “You… You didn’t need to worry about this. You’ve got plenty on your plate,” she stutters her reply.
    “This is my fucking brother too,” I yell. “I deserve to know when something happens to either of you. You promised. You promised you wouldn’t coddle me and the first bad thing to happen and you coddle. I would have never done anything like this to you. Ever!”
    Hailey starts crying again. “I’m