The Rules of Dating My Best Friend's Sister(83)

“Alright. But tell me how your mom is doing first.”

“They were able to clear the blockage, and she tolerated the surgery well. But it’s open heart, so they had to cut through her breastbone to get in. She’s in a lot of pain and groggy still. But her doctors think she’ll make a full recovery.”

“Oh, thank God.”

“Yeah.”

“I hate to let you go, but I know you need to get back in there. Are we good? I swear nothing happened, Lala. I would never do that to you.”

“Yeah, we’re good.” She didn’t sound too convincing.

“Will you call me later?” I asked.

“I will.”

“Alright. Bye, sweetheart.”

***

“Hey. Sorry to bother you all so early.”

Two days later, I’d texted the guys in the band at nine o’clock in the morning, asking if everyone could meet me in the lobby. We weren’t supposed to get on the road to San Francisco until checkout time, which was eleven. Today would be a lot of driving, and tomorrow night was the gig the record producer was scheduled to come to. I rubbed the back of my neck as I spoke to the group. “I need to leave for the day today. But I’d like you to all be okay with it.”

Everyone started to freak out.

“What do you mean leave?” Kevin said. “We have the producer coming tomorrow night. We can’t play without a drummer.”

“I know. And I promise I’ll be back in time. I booked a noon flight out today, and tomorrow I’ll be on a noon flight from the east coast, which gets in at three because of the time change. We don’t go on until ten, so I have a good cushion.”

“What if they cancel your flight back?”

“I’ll get on another one. I’ll take three planes if I have to. Or if there’s high winds or some reason why I can’t fly into San Francisco to meet you, I’ll fly as close as I can get and drive the rest. I won’t let you guys down.”

Dylan shook his head. “Don’t fuck us over, dude.”

“I won’t.”

“You’ve never once flaked on us, so if you say you’ll be there.” Monroe shook his head. “You’ll be there.”

I nodded and looked to Dylan. He looked less confident, but nodded.

Kevin frowned. “Can you at least tell us what’s so important?”

“Lala’s mom is sick.” I paused and was going to leave it at that, but then decided better of it. “And Daisy answered my phone when she called the other morning. I wasn’t even with her. We’d inadvertently switched phones the night before. But it didn’t look good, especially with my history and all. We’ve been talking, but things are off, and I don’t want to leave it any longer. I need to see her in person.”

Dylan nodded. “You want a ride to the airport?”

“Yeah, if you don’t mind. That would be great.”

Nine hours later, I pulled up at Jefferson Hospital. I went to the waiting room closest to the ICU and texted Lala. She had no idea I was coming, and I had no idea if she was even here…or if Warren was still hanging around.

Holden: Are you still at the hospital?

She texted back a few minutes later.

Lala: Yes. I’ll probably leave in an hour or two. Dad’s going to stay overnight tonight.

Holden: Can you go to the waiting room for a minute? I have a surprise there for you.

Lala: A surprise in the waiting room? Which one? And how?

Holden: The one closest to the ICU entrance.

Lala: Okay.

I leaned against the doorway. It was directly at the end of the hallway that led to the ICU ward, so I figured I’d see her when the double doors opened. Thirty seconds later, they did, and Lala’s eyes went wide.

“Oh my God.” She ran to me.

I engulfed her in a bear hug, lifting her off her feet.

“What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“But you have your big show tomorrow night. The one with the record producer.”

I nodded. “I know. I’ll be back in time. I’m on the noon flight out tomorrow.”

She looked into my eyes. “I can’t believe you’re here.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t come sooner.” I pulled her against me and took her mouth in a kiss. “I’m sorry for upsetting you, Lala.”

She softened. “Thank you for coming. It means a lot.”

The double doors leading to the ICU opened again. Lala’s back was facing them, but I saw the man coming out before he saw me…before he saw us.

“Your father…” I whispered.

Lala stepped back and smoothed her top. Mr. Ellison noticed his daughter at the end of the hall and smiled. Then his eyes lifted to my face and his smile wilted.

Bill is definitely not giving me his cell phone number anytime soon. “Hey, Mr. Ellison.”

“Holden. What are you doing here?”

I looked at Lala, and she gave me a face that confirmed what I’d suspected—her parents had no idea about us. Extending my hand, I smiled as best I could. “I’m in town for a gig, and I heard about Mrs. E. I figured I’d come see how she was and check on Lala.”

He smiled. “That was very nice of you. Jean is doing much better. Thank you.”