Page 78 of Love Out Loud

Chapter 27

Lark

The call comes sometime between two and three in the morning. Parenting a teenager has meant that I always leave my phone on, even though the ringer is turned down. Doesn’t matter; I’m a light sleeper. I answer it quickly, without bothering to look at who is calling. Lennon doesn’t even stir as I whisper “Hello?” and swing my legs out of the bed. I step into the hallway and shut the door quietly behind me.

“Lark? Sorry to wake you,” a woman’s voice comes across the line.

I try to blink myself awake as I pull the phone away from my ear to look at the name. “Rachel?” I ask, panic starting to rise in my chest.

“Hi. Richard told me not to call. He said everything is fine, but I’m a mom, too, you know?” She sounds panicky, which definitely is not helping me calm down.

A few quick steps bring me to my bedroom, where I sit on the edge of the bed and take a deep breath. “What’s going on?”

“Well, Devin’s stomach started hurting this afternoon. We thought it was gas,” she starts.

“She texted me about it,” I say.

“Right. Well, it got worse. She started vomiting and spiked a fever. Richard just left with her to go to the hospital.”

I pull my suitcase out from the closet and toss it onto the bed with one hand. The other is holding the phone so tightly, I’m starting to lose feeling in my fingertips. “What do you think it is?”

“I don’t know. Probably nothing serious? But we thought it was best to take her to the ER, and I figured you’d want to know.”

“What hospital?” I start opening drawers and throwing clothes into my suitcase as quickly as I can.

“I don’t know. They left really fast. Richard said he’d text me with information once they got there.”

“Okay.” I try to stay as calm and collected as possible. Panic won’t help me get my stuff packed and get to the airport. “I’ll get on a flight out as quickly as I can. Will you text me updates?”

“Yes.” She sounds relieved, like she wants me to come. Like she thinks I should be there. That doesn’t feel like a great sign. “Fly safe. See you soon.”

As soon as we hang up, I check for flights. The soonest departure is at five-thirty, which gives me about two hours to get to the airport if I’m going to have enough time to make it through security. I book the flight, then glance in the direction of Lennon’s room. This is going to kill him. I already know it. But I have to be with Devin if she’s as sick as Rachel’s shaky voice suggested. In a last-minute decision, I also book a ride to the airport.

That done, I start frantically packing everything of mine I can see. I hadn’t moved anything into Lennon’s room, so all of my clothes are here somewhere. When that’s done, I move to the bathroom, shoving bottles and creams and makeup into my toiletry bag. I’m zipping up my bag when the door to Lennon’s room bangs open and his heavy footsteps sound in the hallway.

His big frame fills the doorway where he freezes, staring bleary-eyed down at me next to my suitcase. “What are you doing?” He rubs his eye with a fist and yawns.

“Devin is sick.” I almost trip as I hurriedly pull on a pair of leggings.

Lennon blinks as if his brain hasn’t quite caught up to what he’s seeing. “What?”

I tug half of my short hair into a ponytail, then put on my bra and a T-shirt. “She’s sick. Richard took her to the hospital. Rachel called to tell me.”

“In New York?”

“Yes.” I take one last look around the room. Funny how it felt like I had found a home here, yet I was able to pack up all my belongings in a matter of minutes.

“Wait, you’re leaving?”

My hands land on my hips, and I start shaking from adrenaline. I press my lips together and breathe through my nose. Now is not the time. I can’t freak out yet.

“I have to.” I spell it out calmly. “My daughter is in the hospital.”

“What are you going to do? Take the first flight out?” he asks incredulously.

“Yes.”

He shakes his head. “By the time you get there, she’ll be discharged.”