Then he winks at me and continues to grin, impishly. Every time he says something like this, it makes my body ache, and I’m not sure if it’s from being uncomfortable in a good way or a bad way. I still don’t know why I feel this way around him. He is not even remotely close to being my type. The weird part is, he talks to me as if I am his type, which I can’t seem to figure out either. I take the chair across from him and fold my legs one over the other, cupping my hands over my knees. While I try to avoid the thoughts running through my head, Jags is making it real hard to do as he’s looking at me with just a hint of a grin, like he’s waiting for me to break or something.
I look at up him and realize I shouldn’t have, but thankfully, Cali breaks through the awkward moment when she starts shouting at someone at the front desk. I hadn’t even realized she moved from her pacing circle to across the room.
“I need an update on my husband,” she says sternly. “How would y’all like it if your husband was in an operating room and no one would give you an update? I’m guessing you’d probably get pretty pissed off, am I right?” Cali’s face is beet red, and she’s clenching her fists so tightly, her fingernails must be breaking through the skin of her palms.
I slowly stand from my chair and move up behind her, placing my hands on her shoulders. As I do so, I expect her to respond in wrath and whip out of my grip. My ice-cube friend doesn’t like to be coddled. This isn’t something new, but no matter what, I will always make sure she knows I’m here in case she does need a shoulder to cry on.
To my surprise, she doesn’t pull away this time. She leans back into me a bit instead. “Why won’t they tell me what’s going on?” she asks.
“Cali-girl, what are you so scared about?” I ask. “You know people have surgery every day, and Jags already told you it’s just his leg and ribs. Those are easy things to fix for the most part, right?”
“That’s not what I’m worried about, Sasha,” she says, turning around and wrapping her arms around my neck—a sentiment Cali has not shown me in a very long time. I take the opportunity to squeeze her back and her body trembles within my grip. Cali, who doesn’t ever cry—is crying. This makes me want to cry, but all I can see out of the corner of my eye is Jags. His face has been wiped clean of all emotion, like he doesn’t know what’s going on. And that’s the way we all feel, I think.
“What are you worried about, then?” I ask softly.
“They’re going to be doing blood work and…”
“And what, Cali?” I don’t know where she’s going with this. Blood work is a completely normal part of most procedures.
“He’s been coughing a lot lately, and he hasn’t been feeling like himself, you know?” she says, her words garbled and choked.
“I don’t understand. Maybe he has a cold?”
“No,” she breathes. “I’m afraid the cancer came back. I’ve been begging him to get blood work done or to just see his doctor, but he’s refused.” Her sobs grow heavier, and her grip tightens.
“Do you think that had anything to do with today?”
“I don’t know. He used to get these weak spells back before the cancer was gone. Jags said he fell out of the second floor, and I can’t help but think…you know?”
My heart hurts for her, just hearing how much she truly loves him. How could she not? I know what they’ve been through, each one separately. They need each other more than I’ve ever seen another couple need each other. Then there’s Tyler, who is so innocent and has been thrown into this messy life of theirs, yet she wouldn’t know because of how much they protect her.
Jags is giving me a questioning look, and I shrug my shoulders to tell him everything I know, which is still nothing but speculation at this point. “I don’t think you should worry about the worst case scenario right now. Tango could have had a cold or allergies. It is allergy season; you know?”
“It’s been months,” she tells me.
“Mrs. Wright,” a doctor appears from behind us. “May I have a word with you, please?”