Blind Kiss(42)

“He seems nice, and he’s cute.” That made Lance smile.

“I can’t be here when you get out of surgery but your family will be. I’m pretty sure I’m the only person who still has a final left.”

I shook my head. “Don’t worry about it. You’ve done enough.”

He looked at me tentatively. “I know there’s nothing between us, Penny, but I’d like there to be.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.”

He stood and came toward me. Taking my hand in his, he said, “I know this isn’t the first thing on your mind, but I want to see you through this thing. I’ll be here for you, and then you can decide if you want there to be something more between us, too.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

Moments later, my family was back and the nurses were prepping me for surgery. My dad held my hand as they wheeled my bed down the hallway.

“Everything’s gonna be okay. I love you.”

My mom mouthed the words, I love you, too.

“Count backwards from twenty, Penny,” someone said.

“Twenty, nineteen, eighteen —”


“PENNY.” A SHORT brown-haired nurse I had never seen before was hovering over me. “You’ve just had surgery and you’re in recovery. You’re coming out of the anesthesia. How are you feeling?”

“Gonna throw up.” They sat me up and gave me a little tub to throw up into.

My parents came in and stood on either side of my bed. “The doctor said the surgery went well,” my father said. “You have a long road ahead of you, but this was the first step and it was a success.”

I don’t think I even cared at that point, I was so exhausted and depressed. “Oh. Good. Where’s Keeks?”

“She’s at a friend’s,” my mother said.

They wheeled me back to my regular hospital room and tried to get me to eat some broth, which I threw up immediately afterward.

At around six p.m., my mother was getting ready to leave.

“You should go too, Dad. You need a shower. Your pits are stinking up this entire hospital floor.”

“Our funny little Sweet Pea is back,” my dad said.

“Just go, I’ll be fine. I’m gonna take a nap.”

“Come on, Liam,” my mom said. They held hands and started to leave the room together. Were things getting better between them? Had my injury brought them closer? Hopefully something good comes out of this.

My dad stopped in the doorway and turned around. “Please try to eat something, Penny.”

“I will, Dad. Don’t worry.”

Doug came to see me shortly after my parents left. He told me the dean at CSU had questioned Joey about the accident, and that the dance department was withholding his degree. He told me my life wasn’t over, that I’d get better, that I’d find satisfaction as a teacher. None of this brought me any relief.

He hugged me and told me to hang in there, then he left. Once he was gone, I flipped on the TV and dozed off to the opening jingle of The Golden Girls.


WHEN I WOKE up, the room was dark and the TV was off. My knee was aching so intensely I thought I was going to die. I went to press the button on the remote to call the nurse but was startled by a figure in the corner, leaning up against the wall. He stepped into the light.

“Gavin?”

His expression was one of deep sorrow. There were tears in his eyes.

“I’m so sorry, P,” he choked out.

“I need morphine,” I said.

He went to the door and peeked into the hallway. “She’s in a lot of pain,” he told someone before coming to my bedside. He collapsed onto my chest, tucking his head under my chin. I felt his body shaking. He was really crying.

“I’m sorry,” he said again. I didn’t hold him. I couldn’t bring myself to show him any affection. My arms stayed at their sides.

“Where have you been?”

He stood and wiped tears from his face. “Lottie threw my phone into a lake. I called your parents’ house the day after your performance but no one answered. I thought everything went well. You had that routine down. When I called your cell, it went straight to voicemail.”

“You got into a fight with Lottie and left the auditorium. I saw you.”

“I’m sorry, Penny. I fucked up.” The nurse came in and pushed morphine into my IV. “I finally got ahold of your mom this morning and she told me what happened,” Gavin said. “I went looking for Joey. I was gonna break his legs.”

“Please don’t do that. He’s going to be punished. Believe me.”

“How do you feel?” He was searching my eyes.

“Fucking fantastic. Did you and Lottie break up?”

He studied me closely. “No, we just had a fight.”

“You missed my performance because you got into a fight with your girlfriend. You weren’t there for me like you said you would be. You should leave. I don’t know why you’re here.”

“I’m trying to be here for you now. I told you I’m sorry. It was a miscommunication, Penny. A badly timed fight. That’s all.”

I started feeling groggy from the meds. “You said you wouldn’t miss it for the world,” I slurred. “What a lie.”