SWNOVELS My Ex-Boyfriend’s Brothers: Chapter 53
“Maggie? You okay in there, honey?” Mom’s worried voice was drowned out by the sound of the toilet flushing. “Sarah brought you some crackers and ginger ale.”
I pulled myself up and stood in front of the mirror, frowning at my reflection. I’d been fine all morning but my stomach had suddenly soured and I’d been in Mom’s bathroom for long enough to worry her and her nurse, Sarah. “I’m okay, Mom.”
I could hear the two of them whispering and barely suppressed a groan. Mom had brought Sarah over to her side and they’d both been hovering over me since I got back from the wedding that wasn’t. Sarah had become a second mother hen, poking and prodding me with questions just as much as Mom did. I dreaded opening the bathroom door and facing their concern.
“Let me take your temperature.” Sarah was on me as soon as the door opened. She tugged me into the chair next to Mom’s bed and pushed me into it. “Sit.”
I groaned over their fussing. “I’m fine. Really. I think I just ate something weird.”
“You’ve barely eaten anything at all.” Mom scowled at my waist. “You’re losing weight.”
“Since when has that ever been a bad thing?”
“Maggie Lately. You’re never too old for me to spank or wash your mouth out with soap. I don’t want to hear a single bad thing about your body. You’re beautiful.”
I was saved from answering by Sarah shoving a thermometer in my mouth. When she pulled it out and saw that it was normal, she just grunted.
“I know you’re in your heartbreak era, babydoll, but you have to take better care of yourself. Your mom’s right. You’re barely eating and you’re losing weight. You look like a strong wind could knock you right over.” Sarah knelt in front of me, her knees creaking as she did. “Your momma and I are just worried about you.”
“I’m fine.” Seeing their scoffs, I sighed. “Okay, I’m not fine. I’m sad. Everything tastes terrible so I don’t feel like eating. I’m exhausted but I can’t sleep. Yesterday, a car commercial made me cry. I’m doing about as good as a woman can be expected to do after getting a triple heartbreak in one go. Other than all of that, though? I’m fine.”
“I still think you should call them.” Sarah was older than my mom by five years, putting her over the age of retirement and in a generation that should’ve been scandalized by my relationship with three men at the same time. Yet, she hadn’t batted an eye. “I looked them up, you know? Talk about sexy.”
I closed my eyes and breathed through another bout of nausea. “Not helping.”
“Oh, honey.” Mom gripped the edge of her bed and slowly worked herself into a sitting position. That sight alone made me want to cry. She’d already gotten so much of her mobility back. “I know shitty men. Trust me. I’ve seen them in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Tall men, short men, chunky men, skinny men. Men with small wieners and men with giant ones. I’ve seen-”
“Mom. I think you got sidetracked.”
She laughed. “Oops. I did. I went down memory lane there and revisited all of my past conquests… What was I saying?”
“You were saying that you don’t think these men are shitty.” Sarah grunted and wagged her finger at Mom. “We might have to slow down your rehab or you’ll be shagging your way up and down these halls before we know it.”
“I am not shopping for my next boy toy here. I want someone younger, someone with stamina.”
I stood up and held up my hands. “On that note… I need to call Christina. She’s supposed to be back from her honeymoon today.”
“Did you ever find out if she went alone?” Sarah, just as involved in Christina’s business as she was mine already, put her hands on her hips. “A woman shouldn’t have to go on her honeymoon alone. I hope she took that other fella you were telling us about. He sounded like a smokeshow.”
“I’ll be back with the latest news. Try not to get in trouble while I’m gone.” I stopped at the foot of the bed as another wave of nausea hit me. Taking a deep breath and blowing it out slowly, I forced a smile. “I’m just preparing myself to not sound disappointed if she didn’t take Mac.”
I left before either of them could argue with me. The hallways were alive with doctors and nurses going in and out of patient rooms and they all had a kind smile for me when we passed each other. It was the result of a full funded, fully staffed care home and I still felt like crying when I thought of Mom anywhere else. I wouldn’t have to worry about that, though. Christina’s gift has guaranteed Mom a spot for as long as she needed it and it didn’t seem like she’d need it for as long as we’d previously feared.
I waved to the receptionist in the front lobby as I walked outside and found a place to sit in the sun. It was chillier out but in the sun it was warm enough to enjoy. Ignoring my empty notification bar, I dialed Christina and hoped I’d catch her at a good time.
“Maggie!” She answered with more joy than I’d ever heard from her. “I was just about to call you!”
I couldn’t help grinning back at her happiness. “Tell me everything.”
“Well, I can’t go into all the details right now…” I heard a deep voice in the background say something and she giggled. “Um, so you know how you met Mac at the wedding?”
I quietly screamed into the phone as my suspicions, and hopes, were proven true. “Thank god! You took him with you, didn’t you? I knew it. I knew it and I’m so happy for you!”
She groaned. “Stop! Stop it.”
“Never.” I forged ahead of the darkness chasing me down. I refused to let my sadness taint her happiness. “Tell me what you can. Can he hear me? Hello, Mac, if you can.”
“Hello, Maggie.”
“Hi, Maggie.” A second male voice shocked me.
I gasped and Christina rushed to fill me in. “Mac is here. And his best friend, Conner. We should talk more when we can.”
“You are killing me, Christina. Mom is going to flip her shit. Her and Sarah are going to need to be sedated after they hear about this.” Of course, she knew all about my mom and Sarah’s interest in her from the short messages we’d exchanged. Messages in which she’d never informed me that she was on her trip with not one, but two, men!
“You know this means their attention is going to be solely on you now.” She cleared her throat and I heard movement like she was climbing off of two men. The grunts told me it wasn’t exactly a smooth transaction. “Sorry. I left them to their own devices for a minute. Talk to me, Maggie. How are you?”
I tried to infuse all the happiness I felt for her into my voice. “I’m fine. I’m just really happy for you.”
“You still haven’t talked to them?”
I didn’t know what to say for a minute as I thought about what all I felt. Anger. At them, at her, at the world. Jealousy. So much pain I wasn’t sure I’d be able to get out of bed some mornings. None of it was productive, though, so I finally forced out a fake cough and cleared my throat. “Nope.”
“What a bunch of idiots.” She sighed and I felt her mood crashing to meet mine. “Ryan messaged me.”
“Oh, shoot. I have to go. Mom’s doctor just got here. I wanted to ask him about something.” I crossed my fingers and felt bad for lying to her but I couldn’t take bringing her down or hearing about Ryan. “Call me later with all the details, okay? I’m so happy for you, Christina. You deserve the world.”
I hung up on her and then folded over so I was hugging my thighs. Pressing my forehead to my knee, I tried to block out her words. So what if Ryan messaged her. He hadn’t messaged me.
I sat there feeling sorry for myself for a while before finally making myself go back inside. The sun had moved behind a cloud and the temperature was dropping by the minute. Once I was standing inside the warm lobby, though, I couldn’t make myself go back to Mom’s room right away.
She wanted me to be happy and okay so desperately that it choked me. I was letting her down. She needed to be in a good mindset for the therapy to work as well as it was and if she suffered a setback because of my dark mood, I’d never forgive myself.
I did what I often found myself doing those days. I sat in one of the lobby chairs and spent time watching the world move around me. It was easier than going home to my lonely apartment. It was easier than facing my sadness and letting it eat me whole. I knew eventually I’d have to get back to the land of the living. I already had several consultations from friends of Christina. I just wasn’t ready. Not yet.