Don't Hate the Player...Hate the Game(12)

At two, I heard Mom’s footsteps out in the hallway. After tip-toeing out of bed, I cracked open the door. “What’s going on?”

Outfitted in her scrubs, she was pulling her hair into a ponytail. “Oh sweetie, I’m sorry to have woken you. Most of all, I’m even sorrier that I have to leave you, but Dr. Cooper’s had an emergency, so I’ve been called in to cover for her.”

“Don’t worry. You didn’t wake me.”

Mom stopped rushing around and looked at me. Her face then filled with worry. She came over to me and put her arms around me. “I’m sorry to have to leave you tonight, Noah. I can only imagine how you must be feeling about Jake’s…” She nibbled her lip. “Maybe I could get one of the other partners to cover for me.”

I snorted. “Mom, I’m not going to slit my wrists tonight, okay?” When her face crumpled a little at my harsh tone, I sighed. “I’m sorry that I sounded like an ass**le. But I’m seventeen years old, not a baby.”

Giving me a hesitant smile, she cupped my chin in her fingers, “You’ll always be my baby, remember?”

“Yeah, yeah,” I mumbled. Even though I fought it, I really did enjoy it when she wrapped her arms around me and squeezed me tight. Nothing felt as good as my mom’s hugs—the smell of the light vanilla lotion she wore and the strawberry shampoo.

As she pulled away, she ruffled my hair. “If I didn’t wake you, why are you up?”

I shrugged. “I just couldn’t sleep.”

“Want me to get you something from my goody-bag?”

I laughed. “Yeah, you got something to knock me out?”

She nodded. “But just this once.” I followed her downstairs to the kitchen. In the bottom rack of the pantry, there was a bag of full of medical supplies—you know, the really good stuff that only doctors had access too. She dug around in the bag for a few minutes before snatching out a bottle. “Here you go.”

I took the blue pill from her hand.

“Sweetie, why don’t you stay home from school tomorrow? You know, take it easy before the wake and all.”

I almost choked as the pill slid down my throat. Since Mom never advocated for me skipping school, I thought it was best I took her up on the offer. “Um, yeah, sure. Why not.”

“Good. Sleep in and get your rest.”

When I leaned over to give her a quick peck on the cheek, she threw her arms around me, hugging me tight. “Jeez, Mom, you been taking the roids lately?” I joked, trying to lighten the somber mood enveloping us. Tears sparkled in her eyes when I pulled away. Oh shit. “Mom,” I warned.

She shook her head as her hands came to cup my cheeks. “I need to say this, sweetheart.” She drew in a shaky breath, and I could tell she was fighting hard not to lose it. “I just keep thinking over and over again in my mind how I couldn’t bear if something happened to you like it did with Jake. After seeing Evelyn tonight and the pain she was experiencing…” Mom closed her eyes as a shudder rippled through her body. “My heart just shatters,” she whispered.

Our roles shifted, and I took on the comforter by pulling Mom into a big bear hug. “Stop thinking those things. I’m right here, and I’m okay. Nothing is going to happen to me.”

I let Mom weep for a few minutes before I pulled away. “Come on now, you need to be strong for patients. Somebody is counting on you to get their baby into the world tonight.”

Mom bobbed her head as she wiped her eyes. Her hand then brushed against her abdomen for a second. At my confused expression, she jerked away from me. “Okay then. I guess, I’ll see you tonight then.”

“Okay.”

“Get some rest, sweetie,” Mom urged while kissing my cheek one last time.

“I’ll try,” I replied.” As Mom started out the garage door, I headed back upstairs. I started to feel the effects of the magic blue pill almost the second my head hit the pillow. Thoughts whirled through my mind like debris in a storm and spat out bits and pieces of random conversations. Suddenly, I remembered the ring and song lyrics. I could almost feel the weight of the box in my hand. Even in my woozy state, I tried hard processing the fact that Jake had bought a ring for a girl. Jake, the ultimate manwhore and player, had been serious enough about commitment to buy a ring. Jesus.

Then in the deep recesses of my mind, I had a brilliantly vivid flashback. It was of the last time Jake stayed over. My drug induced state only enhanced the affect, and the scene played out in my mind like a movie.

It was a week until Spring Break, and with all the craziness going on his life and mine, he hadn’t stayed over in a while. It was almost noon when we dragged our disheveled asses downstairs. We’d been up most of the night playing games on the Wii, instant messaging chicks, and inevitably watching titty flicks on HBO. Hey, don’t judge. We were just two unattached, horny dudes.

Mom, outfitted in her pink tennis skirt and white shirt, was at the stove taking up blueberry pancakes. I gotta hand it to her, the one meal she didn’t ever screw up was breakfast. As we collapsed at the table, she came over to us. “Hi guys! Did you sleep well?” She reached over to ruffle my hair, but I ducked away.

Jake perked up the moment he saw Mom. He flashed his megawatt smile at her. “Good morning, Maggie.” Sniffing the air appreciatively, he then said, “Wow, something sure smells good! Did you cook for us?”