Love Always, Kate by D.nichole King Read Free Book Online

also can’t stay away from him. Maybe if I wasn’t sick, then…
    On the flip side, he’s giving me another reason to fight this as hard as I can. Is that what I want, though? Someone else to disappoint?
    My parents are counting on me, too. I don’t want to let them down.
     
    ~* ~
     
    This time I really did forget my gloves at the hospital. Technically, I had another pair that I could wear, but retrieving my favorite ones gave me a great excuse to see Damian again. I didn’t think I could wait until Monday, anyway. His face filled my dreams, and I woke up once in the middle of the night kissing my pillow…okay, twice…
    I half-ran inside and took the elevator to the third floor, a giant smile plastered across my face. Would he be happy to see me? Would he kiss me again? Probably not in front of everyone. Maybe he’d walk me back to my car and kiss me there? It didn’t matter; I just wanted to see him again. I hoped he wouldn’t be too weirded out, it not being a treatment day and all.
    The elevator ride to the third floor took forever. When the metal doors finally opened, I got out and walked to the nurses’ station.
    No one was there. I checked the chemo room, hoping to find Leslie. It was empty, too. I walked the length of the hall and found no one. All of the doors to the rooms were closed; they were usually open with the sounds of televisions and family members wafting into the hallway.
    I opened the door to the Commons. Two young boys were playing Mario Kart on the Wii, and a little girl, receiving her chemo treatment, was sitting on the sofa reading a book. She wore a pink infant headband on her bald head.
    She looked up. “Hi.”
    “Where is everyone?” I asked.
    She shrugged. “Leslie just told me to stay in here. She said she’d be back in a little while.”
    “Oh. When was that?”
    “I don’t know, ten minutes ago? Dr. Lowell is in his office yelling at his son, though, so all the nurses are probably listening in. You know how they are.”
    My heart sank. “Thanks,” I murmured.
    I twirled around and rushed down the corridor to Dr. Lowell’s office. As I rounded the corner, I saw Leslie, Tammy, and two other nurses attempting to look busy in the same spot. Leslie noticed me first and shook her head. I glanced away and stared at the cracked-open office door.
    “What the hell do you care? You’re never around , anyway.” Damian’s voice boomed down the hall.
    “I’m doing the best I can. You’re not making this any easier. At least I’m trying,” Dr. Lowell yelled back, though not as loudly.
    “You call working sixteen hours a day trying ? Bullshit, Dad.”
    “I asked you to be here with me.”
    “No. You want me here to fucking baby-sit me.”
    “What else am I supposed to do, Damian? You got yourself kicked out school, I’ve bailed you out of jail twice, you show up here drunk, and now you’re skipping your therapy sessions. I can’t trust you.”
    “I’m such a goddamn disappointment to you, aren’t I? If only Liam were here instead.”
    Thick silence filtered down the corridor.
    “I didn’t say that.” Dr. Lowell’s voice was quiet.
    Damian jerked the door open. All of the nurses twirled their heads in different directions. My eyes stayed transfixed on Damian.
    “No, Dad, you don’t have to say it. You make it perfectly clear.”
    Damian spun on his heel and slammed the office door closed. He started walking down the hall—no way he wouldn’t see me. He paused slightly, his eyes set on mine. His expression was hard and unreadable.
    I opened my mouth to speak, but he pushed forward, swept past me, and swore under his breath. Leslie came up behind me as I watched him disappear down the hall.
    “What happened?” I asked , still staring at Damian’s wake.
    Leslie shook her head. “It’s not the first time. Before you, Damian showed up drunk every other day or so.”
    “That’s what this was about?” I faced her.
    She sighed. “It was about a lot of