The Ex's Daddy

Episode13

Harper

And I meant it. I did like his hands on me at his house. as his large, calloused hands touched me. But now my mind is on my momma. She’s so poorly and it looks as if she might have OD’d. I mean, s**t. This isn’t what my sister and I are supposed to be going through, we know that.

More to the point, my m0mma shouldn’t be going through this either. Nothing was the same when my daddy took off and left us. He’s a good man, but he just couldn’t take it no more and my mother was always a drinker until daddy left.

Then it got a whole lot worse, and she hit the bottle even more, and started using soft drugs then harder stuff. It scares me to see her looking so pale and so frail as they put her on a stretcher thing and load her into the back of the ambulance. Meanwhile, Levy stays by my side. Damn I want him to put his arm around my shoulders, but he doesn’t. I guess he thinks it’d be weird.

Fuck’s sake, I am a woman not a kid. I’m twenty, almost twenty-one. Beside me my kid sister is holding my hand and crying, actually sobbing type of crying. It pulls at my heart. She’s not known anything but my momma being in this kind of state. Although I have to admit this is real bad even for my momma. I wonder what brought it on this time.

It could be anything, maybe her last boyfriend, Jared left her or something. Who knows. All I care about is that we get her the help she needs. “Listen girls, I’ll get my truck out of the garage and follow you guys to the hospital. You both will be able to sit in the back with your mamma.”

“Only one can ride back, Sir,” the paramedic says. She’s a tall woman, well built, I reckon she hits the gym a lot. Her blonde hair is pulled back into a tight bun at the back of her head. Those hazel eyes of hers are warm though, breaking down the severe look she has going on.

“Sure, of course. Say, Taylor you want to ride with me, and your big sis can be with your mommy?” Damn, Levy is so sweet to my sister. She sniffles and wipes her nose with the back of one hand, then nods.

“Okay, but I really want to stay with mommy.”

“I know you do, kiddo but only one can be with her right now. Harper is the eldest she can ride in the back. You come with me; we’ll go get the truck.”

From nowhere I hear Dylan’s voice and feel Lacey’s arms around me. “Hell happened here?” Concern comes from him; his eyes are alarmed and his brows are knitted together.

“You okay, honey?” Lacey asks pulling me in closer. I’ve gone so cold, it must be the shock.

“Mom, we think she od’d.”

“f**k, that’s bad,” Dylan says. “Anything we can do right now?”

“No, it’s all good. Your daddy is going to take Taylor in his truck to the hospital. I’m going in the back with momma.”

“Dylan, you can drive us to the hospital. I’ll call my folks and let them know what’s going on. Harper and Taylor need us right now,” Lacey gives me a smile trying to encourage me that everything will be okay. Only, I don’t think it will be.

What if they try to take Taylor away from me? Can they do that, she’s only fifteen? I’m so scared. Scared my momma won’t make it, scared that Taylor and I could end up being split up. f**k this is such a mess.

As if he can read my mind, Levy steps forward, his hands are in his pockets and even though I am going through all of this hurt, stress and anxiety I want nothing more than to lay my head on his broad, muscular chest. His definition stands out in his tight T-shirt.

“It will be okay, Harper. Your mother will get the proper medical treatment she needs right now. I’ll go ahead and book her into a rehab centre in Spring Vales, it’s private and they’ll take good care of her and help her. I promise.” His dark eyes look sincere, but I’ve been here so many times before with my mother that God forgive me, I just don’t believe his words. Not anymore. I wish I could have faith; I really do. Yet, I just can’t.

Taylor has stopped crying. “I’ll see you at the hospital, Sis.” I give her a hug and watch her go follow Levy as they make their way back across the street to his large single storey house, for his truck.

“We need to go,” the medic tells me. I don’t hesitate. I give Dylan and Lacey a quick hug and tell them, I’ll see them at the hospital.

The medic closes the door as she steps in the back with me and takes a seat, she tells the driver we are ready to go. The sirens are loud, louder than I expected sitting in the back. I hold my mother’s hand, she feels cold - it f*****g scares the s**t out of me.

How did we go from a simple time at the lake after school, having big fun, mucking around like young adults to a nice pizza dinner with Levy, Dylan and Lacey to this? It makes me shudder; my stomach feels as if it wants to be sick and swirls round and round.

The medic does something with a line, I guess it is to hydrate my mother or something. Who knows, I’m not trained in all of this stuff, but I do know that at the hospital they will flush out her system. Anxiously I hold my mother’s hand so tight willing blood to rush into her and bring color to her face. Her beautiful face, even though she is ravaged right now, drawn with hollow eyes, you can still see the beautiful woman that she truly is.

Every kid wants their mommy to be perfect, happy, full of life. That has never been the story for Taylor and I. Maybe, Levy is right. Perhaps momma getting the proper help and a better rehab clinic might be the key. I silently pray not that I am usually the praying kind of person but today I need everything I can.

I beg mercy for my mother and beg that she makes it through the night. Life without my mother would be unbearable, not to see her face, hear her voice. Damn I would miss everything about her. The good and the bad.

We arrive at the hospital, and I get out before they start to pull my mother’s stretcher out, pop the wheels down and roll her in through the emergency doors. “Coming through,” the medic calls out as people are making their way in or out, no doubt with emergencies and traumas of their own or their family or loved ones. God, I f*****g hate hospitals they always have a certain smell about them. It makes me shudder.

Levy and Taylor are right behind me, I am thankful to have them close by. He places a hand at the base of my back, his warmth creeps through my body. “We’re here for you. Not leaving until we know your mother will be okay. Then I’ll take you two back home to get some rest. You can skip classes tomorrow.” His voice is low, husky, it makes me want to pool at his feet. It’s like velvet being draped over your shoulders. I want to hang onto his words, the way he speaks and never step away from him.

“What about, Taylor? I’ll have to call the school for her first thing.”

“I’ll handle it, Harper. Don’t worry about a thing. I’ve got this for you. I’ve got you both.”

It makes me feel better that he will be here for us, God knows how I would cope with everything on my own. I would though, I always have done in the past. But to know that Levy is now onboard to help me, well that makes everything a whole lot different.

My momma is taken away and we’re asked to wait in the waiting area. The blue armchair type seats at least look comfortable, there’s a flat screen on the wall playing some medical cheesy drama. Levy sits down after Taylor, and I have and leans forward resting his elbows on his knees.

The ropey veins pop on his forearms, my fingers itch to touch them, to see what they feel like. Warmth fills my lower abdomen. He turns and catches me staring at him. It’s pretty hard not to with his perfect profile. His chiselled jaw with stubble looks hotter than hot, his nose is straight, his dark, long eyelashes. The man is a GOD.

Levy takes an arm and goes to extend it to me. Is he going to pull me in and hold me? Butterflies release in the pit of my stomach.

“We made it, anyone want coffee?” Dylan breaks the moment; Levy snatches his arm back as if he has just been burnt. Dylan furrows his brow and looks from his father to me and back. Lacey grabs his hand.

“C’mon, we need to get everyone coffee. Let’s go.” She practically pushes him in the direction of the corridor where there is a sign that says twenty-four-hour cafeteria on it. Thank goodness for Lacey. She just saved us.

“Sorry,” Levy mouths.

“You ain’t got nothing to be sorry for. I appreciate you being here, Levy. It means a lot to Taylor and I.”

“Yeah, thanks so much, Levy,” my kid sister tells him.

“For you, I’d do anything.” Only when he says it, he isn’t looking at both of us, his eyes are hooked right on mine. My heart literally melts.