A Matter of Convenience

Twenty-One

~Ericson~

I watch a myriad of emotions cross my mom’s face and feel a pang in my chest. I hate that I’m ambushing her with his. My mom and I are extremely close, and I never want to hurt her. That said, I can’t afford to have her know the truth. As close as we are, my dad is still her mate, and she won’t keep things from him. “What did you just say?”

I step closer to Isis and place my arm around her shoulders. “Isis is my chosen mate. We’ve gotten together.” Mom takes a step back, placing a hand on her chest.

“I… I had no idea you two were even that close. I want to hear everything! Let’s go sit and talk.” I feel Isis stiffen under my touch. I hate that we can’t mind link each other right now so I can know what’s going on in her mind.

“Uh, maybe we can meet with you in a bit. I need to talk to Isis for a minute.” Mom nods, and I turn Isis around and walk her toward the stairs. I lead her to the Alpha floor and down the hall to my room. I stand to the side and let her walk in, closing the door behind us.

I lean against the door and watch Isis pace back and forth. I don’t know what this is about, but it doesn’t look good. “Everything okay?” Isis stops moving and puts her eyes on me.

“This is more than I bargained for, and you didn’t even give me a heads-up.” I shrug and sit on the edge of my bed.

“Sh.it happens sometimes.”

“That’s all you have to say to me?” I sigh and lean back, resting on my hands.

“What would you have me say to you?” Isis places her hands on her hips, and a scowl graces her face. “We decided to do this, which means dealing with the other’s families. My dad is an asshole, which I’m sure you already know. I don’t see what the issue is. Whether it was today or a week from now, you would have had to deal with him.” Isis drops her hands from her hips and steps toward me.

“Does the same go for that bi.tch who got in my face?” I slowly sit up, racking my brain to try to figure out what she’s talking about. “Seems like you didn’t learn anything since high school. You still treat women like sh.it.” Okay, now wait a minute.

I’m on my feet in a second, ready to confront Isis. I have no idea what the hell she’s talking about, but she seems sure about her accusation. I may not be a prince toward women, but I’ve never been accused of treating them poorly.

Before I can open my mouth, Isis’s phone rings. She digs in her pocket and pulls the phone out. I watch as she answers the call, noticing how her color pales bit by bit. Her face morphs into a look of despair and fear. Isis disconnects the call and steps back. “I have to go.”

~Isis~

The moment I get out of the packhouse, I shift into Rona and take off. I’m not far from the hospital, but the sooner I can get there, the better. The call was from my Uncle Lionel. Dad has taken a turn for the worse, and I’m not surprised if I’m being honest.

Though I’m not far from the clinic, I can’t stand to waste another minute. I shift when I get to the clinic entrance and grab a long T-shirt from a nearby box. I throw it over my head and rush through the building to my dad’s room.

There’s a soft beeping echoing throughout the room. A nurse is pulling a syringe out of his arm. Dad is lying in the bed, and he looks really bad. If I didn’t know about his illness, I would have a hard time believing that this is the same man I was just sitting with the other day. “Uncle Lionel, how bad is it?” I feel his presence behind me as the nurse walks past us to leave the room.

“He’s been hanging on for a while, you know. It looks like that time is coming to an end. The doctor can’t give an exact end date, but that time is coming rapidly.” My chest is getting tighter, and I feel the tears start to build in my eyes. I don’t want this; I don’t want to deal with any of this. When my father passes, I will be all alone, an orphan. That thought alone causes the dam to break and tears to flow down my face.

My body turns, and Uncle Lionel wraps his arms around me. I bury my head further into his chest and let my emotions free. I sob for the situation we are facing and for the future. If I have kids, they will miss out on Dad as a grandfather. They are going to miss so many insightful thoughts and so much love.

I wrap my arms around Uncle Lionel and squeeze tighter. He rubs my back and kisses me gently on the top of my head. I’m not sure how long we stand that way, but all too soon, Uncle Lionel steps back from me. “Take this time and spend it with your dad. You two need each other right now.” I nod and turn, wiping my eyes. I notice that Dad is in a bigger bed. I wonder if they did that for me.

I walk over to the left side of the bed, where there are no machines or tubes. I pull the covers back and settle in next to my dad. My body shivers at the coldness coming from his body. I don’t think I’ve ever felt him this cold before. One thing I always loved about my dad’s hugs was how warm they were.

I lay my head on his chest and search for the sound to let me know that he’s still here. I find his heartbeat, but it’s not as strong as it was growing up. His breathing is a bit shallow. I place my left arm over his body and try to get comfortable. “Mmmm.” I look up and see that my dad’s eyes are slightly open. “Hey, Issy.” My heart breaks listening to him. His voice is so soft and low. I wonder how much energy he’s expelling to talk to me.

“Don’t, Dad. Just rest. We don’t need to talk.” He exhales and shifts his body to his side. He throws an arm over me and pulls me close. I let my head bury into his chest so I could soak up every second of our time together.