The Wrong Quarterback: Chapter 23

The phone vibrated in my pocket, its sharp buzz breaking through the quiet peace I was sharing with Casey as we lay in bed. I sat up so abruptly that Casey startled.

My phone buzzed again, and my heart rate spiked.

When I put my phone on Do Not Disturb, there were only three people that could get through, and they all knew not to try unless it was important.

I pulled out my phone, seeing Martha’s name flash across the screen. My stomach dropped. Martha only texted when something was wrong, and she didn’t call unless something was really wrong.

Fuck.

I shot Casey an apologetic look for scaring her and answered. “Hey, Martha, what’s going on?”

“Your mother passed out again,” Martha’s voice was tight, strained. “She still hasn’t been eating. I went to give her an IV, and she just passed out before I even got the tube in. I called an ambulance, and she’s on her way to Farragut Memorial.” She paused, and I heard her take a deep shuddering breath. “I’m sorry, Parker,” she finally said, her voice filled with emotion. “I did everything I could.”

I closed my eyes, trying to push down the surge of emotions flooding my insides. The sinking dread, the frustration, the helplessness. This wasn’t the first time my mom had landed in the hospital because she refused to eat. But every time it happened, it felt like we were one step closer. Like a countdown to an ending I couldn’t stop.

“I know you did,” I finally said, keeping my voice steady, even though it felt like the ground was shifting under me. “I’m on my way.”

Martha sighed, and I could hear the exhaustion in her voice, the same weariness I carried. “Parker…I don’t know how much longer she can keep doing this.”

I swallowed hard. “Yeah. I know.”

When I hung up, I felt Casey’s hand on my arm, her fingers soft but firm. “Parker? What happened?”

I buried my face in her hair, my whole body trembling as I soaked in her scent, using it to ground me so I could get through the night ahead.

“My mom passed out, and she’s on the way to the hospital,” I murmured into her skin, trying to convince myself to let her go.

Casey stiffened, a little gasp caressing the back of my neck. I forced myself to pull away, not sure how to explain the mess of emotions twisting inside me.

For a second I got caught in a memory of Walker and Cole being gone somewhere and me as a little kid trying to get my mom to make me lunch. She’d sat in her chair by the window as if she couldn’t hear me, staring out…I shook my head, trying to clear my head of the past.

Casey’s eyes were filling up with tears, and I immediately pulled her into my arms. “I’m so sorry, Parker,” she whispered, pressing a shaky kiss to my cheek. What a fucking sweetheart. “Do you want me to come with you?”

I looked at her, shocked by the offer…although, I didn’t really know why that was. I guess it was because I hadn’t even thought about asking, because I’d been dealing with this by myself for so long. I hadn’t even asked Jace and Matty to help me.

But suddenly the idea of facing this alone felt unfucking-bearable. “Yeah, baby. I’d…I’d really like that.”

She nodded, squeezing my arm. “Then let’s go.”

We walked to the truck in silence. But the drive wasn’t as terrible as it normally was. Casey’s presence was an anchor, keeping me from spiraling into the dark thoughts that would normally be consuming me.

As we got closer to the hospital, though, the reality of what would be waiting for me in that hospital room started to hit me hard.

“I should explain,” I said after a few minutes, my voice tight. “About my mom.”

Casey turned to me, her eyes soft with understanding. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“No, I do,” I said, gripping the steering wheel harder. “You should know what’s been going on. Even if I fucking hate talking about it.”

I took a deep breath, trying to figure out where to start. “After my dad died…everything changed. My mom just…it’s like she lost the will to live. She barely eats, barely talks. She’s been like a ghost of herself for years now.”

Casey listened quietly, her eyes soft and understanding.

“That’s why I came to the University of Tennessee,” I continued, my voice rougher than I intended. “I couldn’t leave her. My brothers didn’t have control of where they needed to be, and it’s also harder for them—they’ve got too many memories of her from before. But I…I thought maybe I could help. She’s been fading ever since, though. It’s like she’s just waiting for the right time to give up completely.”

I paused, letting out a shaky breath. “And now…now I don’t know if it’s even better for her to keep living like this. I mean, if she doesn’t want to be here anymore…should I even try to stop her?”

The silence stretched between us, heavy with the weight of what I’d said. It wasn’t something I’d admitted to anyone before.

But it felt freeing to tell her.

I was already gripping Casey’s hand when she lifted our intertwined fingers, softly brushing her lips across my knuckles. She didn’t say anything right away; she simply held onto me, her thumb gently soothing my skin. And somehow, that was enough. I didn’t need her to give me an answer or tell me everything would be okay. I just needed her.

By the time we pulled up to the hospital, my chest felt tight, every breath suddenly strained. Casey stayed close, her hand still in mine as we walked through the automatic doors and into the sterile, cold environment of the hospital. The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, and the smell of antiseptic hit me like a slap to the face.

I’d been here too many times before.

We checked in at the front desk, and the nurse gave us an update of how my mom was before directing us down the hall to her room. My steps slowed as we got closer, because I didn’t want to see her like this. I didn’t want Casey to meet her like this.

I prided myself on being in control of almost everything in my life.

But I’d never been able to have control over my mom’s unwillingness…to live.

When we reached her room, I hesitated for a moment before pushing open the door. The sight of her lying in that hospital bed, pale and fragile, made my chest tighten. She looked so small, so…breakable. Like one wrong move would shatter her completely.

I let go of Casey’s hand and walked over to the side of the bed. My mom was sleeping, her breathing shallow, her skin almost translucent in the harsh hospital light. It was hard to reconcile this woman in front of me with the mom I remembered from before—before everything fell apart.

I stood there for a moment, just looking at her.

“Hey, Mom,” I said softly, though I knew she wouldn’t respond. “It’s me. Parker.”

She didn’t stir, didn’t move. Her chest rose and fell with each slow breath, but it felt like she was already gone, like she’d checked out long before she ever landed in this hospital bed.

I swallowed hard, the lump in my throat making it difficult to speak.

The words that I knew I should say felt like knives in my chest, each one cutting deeper than the last. I needed to say them. I needed to let my mom go, but I didn’t know how.

Casey came up next to me and leaned her head against my arm.

“I don’t want her to suffer anymore,” I whispered, my voice barely audible now. “But I keep thinking that one of these days she’ll decide to fight. Hope is a fucking dangerous thing, though.”

The silence in the room was deafening, and I could feel the tears burning in my eyes. I hadn’t cried in years—hadn’t let myself—but now, standing here, I was close.

My phone buzzed, and I pulled it out of my pocket, grateful for something else to do but stare at my mom and will her to wake up.

“Hey,” I said to Walker, putting it on speaker phone in the hopes that Mom would hear his voice and come to.

“Sorry, Parker. We had a game tonight. I just saw your text.”

I could hear people talking in the background. He must have still been in the locker room.

“Yeah, I figured you would see it when you were finished. Did you win?” I asked. Usually I’d be watching the game or at least tracking the score closely, but obviously I hadn’t had a chance tonight.

“Yes, thank fuck. We were down by one, and Linc tied it in the last minute. Then Rookie ended up scoring in the first thirty seconds of overtime. It was a fucking game.”

There was a pause.

“How is she?”

I knew my brothers felt guilty that I carried the majority of the load of caring for Mom, but it was more of an unspoken thing between us.

“She hasn’t woken up. They’ve got an IV going. They’re going to do a feeding tube if she won’t eat on her own. But…she’s at least stable.”

I turned back to my mom, hoping—praying—that maybe she had opened her eyes.

But, of course, she hadn’t.

“Casey’s here with me, though,” I said, glancing at Casey who was listening quietly at my side.

“Meeting the parents. It’s getting serious,” he said, a hint of laughter in his voice. He didn’t realize he was on speakerphone, obviously. Casey was suddenly trying to pretend she couldn’t hear anything.

“Very,” I told him, watching as she started blushing furiously.

There was a surprised pause.

“Well, then, I can’t wait to meet her,” he said quietly. “Let’s make that soon.”

I said goodbye to him and promised to update him about Mom.

And then we were back to sitting in silence.

We stayed there for hours, the room quiet except for the sound of her breathing and the faint beeping of the machines that monitored her vitals.

“Tell me something about Ben,” I murmured, my eyes locked on my mom’s face.

Her hand squeezed mine for a second. “He considered himself my protector. Every morning, before Daddy would go to work, he’d kneel down and look Ben right in the eye. ‘Now you’re the man of the house while I’m gone, Ben. You need to take care of our ladies,’ he’d say. Ben would puff himself up and nod, and for the rest of the day, until Daddy got back, he’d try to take care of us.” Her hand trembled in mine, and I rubbed her knuckles with my thumb. “One day, Daddy didn’t come back, he got crushed on a construction site. But Ben never forgot what he’d told him. He was always our protector.”

“I love you, Casey,” I murmured, not expecting anything back.

But to my surprise, she took a deep breath and said, “I love you, too.”

My breath hitched, and my chest got tight, like maybe I was having some kind of heart attack brought on by getting something I’d been wanting more than anything else. When I looked at her, her face was tense…scared, like she couldn’t believe she’d said the words either.

I’d have to make sure I never gave her a reason to regret that.

“Thank you,” I answered, feeling like I’d been given a gift. I pulled her into my lap. My emotions were raw, exposed in a way I hadn’t let them be in a long time. But I felt lighter, like maybe, just maybe, I could carry this sorrow a little longer. Because I wasn’t alone anymore.

A soft knock broke through my thoughts, and when I looked over Casey’s shoulder, Martha stood in the doorway, her frame backlit by the morning light spilling into the hall. She held a steaming cup of coffee in her hand, her expression calm but warm. Martha was in her fifties, with silver strands woven through her dark hair, which she always wore in a neat braid down her back. Her face was lined and kind, her gentle eyes seemed to see everything without judgment.

She walked over, taking a sip of the coffee. “You should get back to school, Parker,” she said gently, a reassuring smile on her lips. “I’ve got this. She’s in good hands.”

I nodded, feeling relieved that she was here. There was no way I could miss another practice today. “Thank you, Martha,” I said, the words thick with gratitude. She patted my shoulder softly.

I leaned over and gave my mom’s cheek a kiss. “Bye, Mom,” I whispered, and then I led Casey out of the room, not sure what kind of goodbye I’d just said to her.

“Thank you for coming with me,” I said quietly, turning to Casey.

She gave me a small smile, her eyes soft. “Always,” she answered, repeating my words back to me.