“Why? Because you and your father have spent so many years believing the tale you’ve told you can’t see it any other way? You can’t admit that maybe you were wrong? Too proud to apologize super-boy?” She stood, annoyed she had thought he was a sweet person. He played the part to use her to get Alex here.
“Shut the fuck up!” He seized her arm and clasped it painfully.
Suddenly, Alex appeared out of nowhere. He grabbed Mark by the collar, his eyes blazing as he threw him against the wall. He was in Mark’s face instantly. “Don’t ever touch her again,” he hissed, his voice deadly quiet. “Or I’ll kill you, I fuckin’ swear it.”
Jamie glanced up to see the nurses at the nurse’s station stand up. One lifted a phone, probably to call security. “Alex, Mark, both of you, calm down.” She reached for their arms and tried to pull them apart. Mark shook her off with a snarl, which angered Alex even more.
“Alex? Mark?”
“What?” both men shouted at an older, pale-faced nurse.
“Your father doesn’t have much time,” she said quietly. “He asked to see both of you.” She looked at them st
ernly. “I suggest you behave yourselves for a few minutes.”
Mark took a deep breath and stepped away from his brother to follow the nurse.
Alex grabbed Jamie’s hand and pulled her with him. Jamie let out a shaky breath. Tempers were running high and this didn’t look like it was going to be the happy family reunion she had hoped for.
Alex’s father looked incredibly frail, but his eyes, the same bright blue as Alex and Mark’s, were still alert, just like his sons’. He stared tiredly at both of his sons and then slowly wandered over to Jamie. He managed a smile, but even that simple move seemed to exhaust him. “You must be Jamie,” he wheezed. “I’ve heard so much about you from… both of them.”
“Dad, rest,” Mark said. “Don’t strain yourself.” He moved forward and reached for his father’s hand.
“It’s too late for that, son.” He waved his hand away. “I don’t have much time now. But I needed both of you here.” He breathed shallowly as he gathered his strength. “I made my peace with Alex. But I need both of you to promise me now that any issues with me won’t stop the two of you from having a relationship in the future.”
The brothers glared at each other and for a second Jamie was sure they were going to start arguing.
“Promise.” Their father’s voice was so faint that it was barely audible. “Please.”
“Fine,” Alex said. At the same time Mark said, “I’ll try.”
“Good.” The man closed his eyes, his breathing erratic. “I’m tired now.”
“Dad…” Mark whispered. “Wait.”
The nurse stepped forward. “How about we let your dad rest now?”
Mark nodded and headed out of the room with the nurse.
“Dad?” Alex leaned close to his dad’s ear. “I—I’m sorry. For everything.”
His dad smiled weakly, the effects of the drugs and cancer taking its toll. “You’ve nothing to apologize for. You turned out better than I ever could have imagined.”
Alex sharply sucked in his breath and a tear ran down his face. Jamie touched his arm and he pulled her close to him, his shoulders shaking.
They sat at the hospital in the room with his father, not talking, but holding hands and watching the monitor and his father’s shallow breathing. The doctor had explained that his father would slip into a coma now and probably not wake again. Alex nodded and asked a few questions. He had gone to the nurse’s station to make sure the medical bills and everything were covered as well. Mark came in sporadically and returned later in the evening with his wife. They made brief introductions and sat silently.
Alex pulled Jamie out into the hall to go for a walk while Mark and his wife stayed with his father. “My father gave me a letter,” he said as they walked down the stairs to the main floor to grab a coffee. He stopped on the second to last step. They were alone in the stairwell. “My mother passed away a little over ten years ago,” his voice cracked as he spoke. “That’s the last time I saw them. I swore I’d never come back.” He covered his face with his hands. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”
She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and held him as he cried. She let her own tears fall silently down her own face. She wished she could take his pain.
Finally, Alex inhaled a long breath and stepped back. He wiped his face and smiled sadly at her. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” She used the back of her hand to erase her own tears. “It sucks. I get it.”
“Yeah. It sucks.” He frowned and reached for his phone in his pocket. He checked the messages. “It’s over.” He turned and headed back up the stairs to his father’s room.
“Are you sure you want to stay here tonight?” Jamie asked. They were back at the hotel suite despite Mark’s half-effort invitation to join him at their childhood home.