Neighbor Dearest

“I’d gone to the apartment to apologize for being so harsh, and because I missed you and the dogs.”

“They miss you, too.”

“They said so?” I smiled.

“Not in so many words.” He smiled. “But they stop at your door all the time.”

“I miss the Double Ds. Actually, I miss…the Triple Ds.” I cracked myself up. “I can’t believe I’ve never thought of that before.”

“That only just now dawned on you? I was waiting for you to figure it out.”

“Thank God I went to the building when I did. If I’d waited until tomorrow, I would have never known about this. You would’ve never told me anything. I just know it.”

“You’re right. I wouldn’t have. But like I said, your knowing doesn’t change anything. I’m not good for you.”

“Don’t tell me what’s good for me,” I barked.

I stood up and walked toward the door, peeking outside to see if the doctor was coming.

Returning to Damien, I began to massage my fingers slowly through his hair and watched his resolve weaken with each second. He closed his eyes before clutching the material of my shirt and pulling me closer to him.

He leaned his head into my chest. “You’re not allowed to come around anymore.” Breathing into me, he said, “You make me forget all the shit I’m supposed to be doing right. I can’t think straight.” He then looked up at me. “You have no idea how much I wanted to kill that guy for touching your ass that night. I realized then more than ever what a lost cause I am when it comes to you. It pissed me the hell off.”

“I love your jealousy. And you were totally right about him.”

“I’m always right. Haven’t you figured that out?”

The door opened, and Tyler walked in, holding a coffee. “Hey. I just talked to your doctor. They said you’re free to go.”

I turned to Ty. “Are you taking him back to the apartment?”

Knowing I didn’t have a car, Damien asked, “How did you get here?”

“I pretty much stole Murray’s car.”

“That piece of shit? You were probably in more danger than I was.”

“Do you want me to come take care of you?”

“Trust me, he wants you to take care of him very much,” Ty cracked.

Damien shot daggers at him. “Shut the hell up.”***I ended up letting Damien rest that night, opting to head back to my apartment while Tyler took him home.

The first thing I did was open up my laptop to search the Internet for information on Damien’s condition. Some of the stories about hypertrophic cardiomyopathy were terrifying. There were countless reports of young people who’d dropped dead without warning, some of them on athletic fields. Their families had only discovered the condition after the fact. One of the articles indicated that conditions like Damien’s were responsible for at least forty percent of all sudden deaths in young athletes.

I also looked up the types of surgeries and the risks associated with them. It was all starting to hit me. It was easy to see how Damien let fear rule his world, especially when his fears weren’t totally unfounded. An unbearable heaviness weighed on my chest. While it was all too easy to let my mind wander to that horrible place of “what ifs,” I wasn’t going to let fear rule my world.

I shot Damien out a text.I was going to stop by tomorrow after work. Will you be home?Damien: Actually, I’m leaving in the morning. Going away to San Jose for a few days. I need some time away from here to think.What did that mean? Not knowing how to respond, I texted back the first thing that came to mind.Chelsea: Do you know the way to San Jose?Damien: I do. And that’s a song.Chelsea: Very good! My grandmother used to sing it to me. I used to always want to go to San Jose as a kid, thinking it was some far off place. Little did I know you were there.Damien: I would have tugged on your ponytail and thrown sand at you back then. I was a dick.Chelsea: So, not much has changed?Still making girls cry.Damien: We’ll catch up when I get back.Chelsea: Actually, when you get back, I’ll be gone. I’m leaving for NY to visit my sister. I’ll be staying with her for a week.Damien: Wow. I’m glad you’re finally doing that.He knew that was a big step for me, that I’d always avoided New York because Elec lived there. A few days before Damien’s fainting episode, I’d finally bitten the bullet and purchased tickets to see Jade.Chelsea: I guess I’ll see you when I get back.Damien: Ok. Be careful in the big city.CHAPTER SEVENTEENHIT THE FLOORIt had truly been a dream come true to see Jade perform. She had a lead role in a new off-Broadway musical called The Siren and The Suit. The banter between her character, Eloise, and the main male character, Tom, was hysterical. Tom was played by a handsome actor named Jeremy Bright. I later learned Jeremy was very married in real life. Up until that point, I thought maybe something was brewing between Jade and him, but I guess they’re just really convincing actors with great chemistry.