Scars of the Future by Kay Gordon Read Free Book Online Page A

trying to fix it.
    If anything, the news made Sydney worse. I watched helplessly as my best friend tried to keep it to together, and Maddie and I took turns comforting her. It was almost two in the morning, and Maddie and I were leaning against each other for support, when the doctor came out. I watched as he went right for Sarah and Sydney and I breathed a sigh of relief when he spoke the words “His heart is beating on its own.”
    Maddie squeezed my hand as tight as she could and we exchanged relieved looks as we stood to hug Sydney.
    “Do you want us to stay?” Maddie asked as she released our friend. “We don’t mind.”
    I nodded in agreement. “We definitely can.”
    Sydney shook her head as she wiped her eyes. “Go home and rest. Thank you both so much for sitting here with me.”
    “Of course,” I said as I hugged her to me firmly. “Call us and we’ll be here, Syd.”
    Maddie and I trudged back to the elevator and rode it down in silence. I glanced over at her and yawned.
    “Is Josh at his house or the apartment?” Josh had left us around eleven after Maddie had forced him out. He had work in the morning and Maddie wanted him to make sure he got some sleep.
    “I don’t even know,” Maddie said with a little laugh. “Let’s just go to the apartment. We’re both too tired for you to drive me to Folsom.”
    I thanked her silently because I definitely did not want to make that drive in that moment. I took the two of us back to the apartment in my little Toyota with the windows down to keep us awake.  Josh’s truck wasn’t in the parking lot so I knew it’d be just us for the night. I changed into my pajamas and poked my head into Maddie’s room to say goodnight. She was just getting in bed herself and she gestured to the spot next to her.
    I laid down where she pointed without having to be asked again and cuddled into her pillow. I grabbed her hand and the two of us immediately fell asleep.
    ---
    “The food here is delicious,” I said as I stuffed another bite of baked chicken in my mouth. “I want to live here for the food.”
    My mom laughed from her chair and her eyes shined bright as she watched me.
    “It’s good to see your appetite so hardy, Panda. You’re losing weight and you shouldn’t be.”
    I took a sip of my water and sighed. “Everything makes me sick, Mama. This is great, but I doubt it will stay down.”
    “Try some ginger ale. That always helped me when I was pregnant with you.” Mom took a bite of her own food and I nodded at her suggestion.
    It had been a week since she had moved in and almost a week since that night in the hospital. Mom loved the home. Hell, I loved the home. The caretakers were amazingly nice and involved. The other residents all seemed happy and friendly. The events and activities they had were all fun and varied and I knew she’d never get bored. Plus, the food was really damn good.
    With Sydney spending every night in the hospital, I had been sleeping at Mom’s house and slowly finishing my cleaning and de-cluttering. I had presented all of my ideas to my mom, and she had agreed with every one of them. She then told me that she would be more than happy to listen to my ideas as long as I wasn’t seeking her approval- it was now my house and I was to do with it whatever I wanted.
    It had all been made official when the lawyer had stopped by the home the afternoon before. The three of us had sat around the table and refreshed the legal documents to ensure that I was Mom’s legal Power of Attorney, and to transfer the majority of her assets into my name completely. Anything left over was put in both of our names as I was named Mom’s official caregiver. It’d been a crap day, but Mom was trying to ensure that everything was settled and streamlined just in case. I definitely did not want to think about the ‘just in case’ scenarios.
    Mom and I sat at our own table in their dining room, only it was arranged more like a restaurant instead of the