Page 169 of Always Love You More

She motions to herself as if it’s obvious. “Ugly. Old.”

“You’re thirty-six, Ma,” Jameson answers. “And you’re not—”

“Please,” she says quietly. “I need this to feel …” She lets out a breath. “I just need this.”

He watches her silently.

“And I’ve been doing good, right?” she presses. “A lot better.”

He nods.

“Maybe I can even get a job. Help out, you know? I heard what you said about this all being on you—”

A phone ringing cuts her off, all of us looking around until we realize it’s mine.

It’s rare that anyone other than Jameson calls me, so when I pick up, my answer is nervous. “Hello?”

“Where are you?” my sister asks, her tone frantic. I can hear Jace crying in the background.

“Jameson’s. Why?”

“Carson went down during the game.”

“Went down?”

“They rushed him to the hospital. I don’t have all the details, but it’s …” She trails off. “I’m heading there now.”

“Fuck,” I breathe, meeting Jameson’s eyes. “Is he gonna be okay?”

“I don’t know,” she responds. “Can you get here? I might need help with Jace. I don’t know how Dad’s gonna be.”

“Yeah,” I tell her. “Yeah, I’ll leave now.”

Jace’s cries turn to high-pitched screams as she says, “I gotta go.”

The second I hang up, Jameson asks, “What happened?”

“I need you to drive me to the hospital.” I push back my chair. “Carson went down during the game tonight. That’s all I know … but Cathleen sounded …”

In an instant, he’s standing. “I’ll grab my keys.”

He’s back a minute later, and his face pinches when he sees me standing in the same place he left me.

“Hey,” he says softly. “I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

As guilty as it makes me feel, I shake my head. “That’s not what I’m …”

He steps closer to me.

“My dad’s gonna lose it. You don’t understand. If he can’t play …”

He takes my hand. “I’ll stay with you, okay?”

I nod.

He turns to his mother. “You good here?”

She waves him off. “Go, I’m fine.”