Finding His Mrs. Right (Mending Hearts Series) (18 page)

“Soon buddy, I know I’ve been busy.” I frowned.

All of my relationships had been neglected as of late. My life had consisted of my job, and my mother. Now, I was trying to fit Tessa into that, and I needed her to stay here if this was going to work. The thought scared me because I wasn’t so sure that she’d want that.

“It’s ok. Daddy’s been showing me a few things.” He smiled.

“Oh, really?” I said glaring over at Tyler.

“Oh yeah, don’t think football is all I know.” He smiled.

My phone buzzed, and I groaned. I could never have a moment’s peace. Pulling my phone out, I saw it was home. I knew I needed to get going because I was supposed to take my mom to lunch, not to mention, I had Tessa waiting.

“I got to get going.” I said regretfully and Danny frowned.

“My birthday’s next week. Are you coming?” he asked.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” I smiled brightly.

“I’ll see you guys later.” I said, hugging Amanda, then Tyler.

“Don’t let the past eat at you. Just worry about your future with, Tessa.” Tyler replied and I nodded. He had a point. What was done was done, but
a part of me wanted to know why Jocelyn did what she did.

When I got home, Tessa was gone. Riley told me that she had headed back to the hotel and would be back later. After Riley left, I headed upstairs to see my mother in her room
, she was fixing her makeup. I was glad to see that she was getting ready. I knocked lightly and she looked over at me as I leaned up against the door frame.

“I thought I told you never to come back here.” She snapped as her smile turned to an angry frown.
I wasn’t ready to deal with this today. Running a hand through my hair, I took in a breath.

“Mom, it’s me.
Your son, Landon.” I said.

“Liar!” she shouted.

I stayed put to avoid any angry outbursts. I didn’t want to upset her.

“Mom…”

“Get out!!” she shouted shooting to her feet.

“Please, calm down.” I replied.

“It’s your fault Landon is afraid to trust or love anyone. He’s screwed up in the head and won’t let anyone in. No matter what I’ve done, I failed him because of you, Harrison!” she shouted and I frowned, hurt by her words.

“I hate you!” she shouted, before gasping in pain.

“Mom?” I asked concerned as I rushed over to her.

“Let me go!” she shouted
before groaning in pain again. Grabbing her head, she collapsed in my arms as my heart sank.

“Mom!!”
I screamed, feeling helpless. I didn’t know what to do.

Nineteen

I rushed dow
n
the hospital’s corridor, as I searched for Landon. He had called me hysterical, saying he needed me down at the hospital. I had of course dragged Gwen with me because I didn’t know what was going on. When we arrived, there were tons of reporters snapping my pictures, and I hated it.

I saw Landon sitting
in the waiting area with his face in his hands. I rushed over to him as quickly as I could.

“Landon,” I called and he looked up to me. His face was riddled with tears and my heart broke for him. “What happened?”

“My mother had an aneurysm.” He sniffled as he pulled me into his arms. “It’s my fault.”

“
Landon, it’s not your fault.” I insisted.

“It is!” he shouted letting me go. “She was yelling at me when she had it—I should
’ve taken better care of her.”

“Landon, you have to stop blaming yourself for everything. You did everything you could for your mother. You even dropped everything to care for her.” I pointed out, but he shook his head.

“It obviously wasn’t enough. She’s not going to wake up—they want me to—they told me to make plans for her just in case…How am I supposed to—” his breath got caught in his throat as more tears fell from his eyes.

I pulled him back into my arms and held him tight as
he sobbed. My heart hammered against my ribcage as the thoughts of death seeped into me. The pain of losing Dean festered up and I nearly broke into tears. This wasn’t the time for that. I was here for Landon, and I intended to be.

“I need to go to the bathroom.” He sighed, trying to dry his tears.

“Ok, I’ll be here waiting.” I replied, and he nodded before walking off.

I splashed wate
r
on my face before staring at myself in the mirror. My mother’s words resonated in my head and I nearly began crying again. I
was
screwed up in the head, as much as I hated to believe it. I seemed like a well put together guy on the outside, but on the inside, I was all kinds of messed up. I was scared to get close to anyone—and obviously my mother knew it. Hell, she was the only reason I started to look for a real girlfriend. I wouldn’t have met Tessa if it weren’t for my mom, but now that she was—God, I couldn’t even think about saying it.

What was I even with Tessa for now?! My mother wasn’t going to be here to see us together…sighing, I tried my best to stay positive, but
it was hard. I wanted to be with Tessa because I’d fallen in love with her. I needed her now, more than ever, so pushing her away would be stupid on my part. I just needed to know she felt the same way. It was going to be now or never.

Opening the bathroom door, I saw Tyler standing near the elevator, on the phone. I was glad to have him here for support. He couldn’t see me from where I was standing, so I waited until he was done with his call. I hated being rude when someone was on the phone.

“Don’t come down here. I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t want to see you.” Tyler barked. I frowned, puzzled at who he was talking to. If it was Zach, I damn sure didn’t want to see him. But why in the hell would he be talking to Zach?

“Look, Landon hates you for what you did. He knows you lied to him, so you need to stay away. Now is not the time to try and ease back into his life.” Tyler barked and my eyes widened angrily.

“Jocelyn, stop it ok? He’s my best friend and I don’t know what you’re trying to pull.” He stopped and listened to whatever the she-devil had to say.

“If he finds out that it was
me
who was with you that night, he’ll never forgive me.” Tyler replied, and I felt like I got shot in the chest. I slipped back down the hallway without him seeing me.

I needed to get out of there before I had a meltdown, and not a girly meltdown. I meant as in the, kick my best friend’s ass
, in front of the entire hospital staff, and go to jail, kind of meltdown. My mind was racing as I saw Tessa talking to Gwen.

“Tess, can you come see my mother with me?” I begged hurriedly.

“Are you sure you want me to be in there with you?” She asked, as I grabbed her hand and pulled her down the hall.

“Landon!” I heard Tyler’s voice call, and I stopped in my tracks.

So much for that idea; I looked over at Tessa, and she saw the look in my eyes. I’m sure she knew something was about to happen because of the look she gave me. She squeezed my hand, and I sucked in a breath.

“Landon, I’m here. I heard what happened. Are you ok?” Tyler asked.

Turning around, I threw a punch with all my strength. I mean I used everything I had in me as my fist planted into Tyler’s jaw. He fell to the hard hospital floor as Tessa and Gwen gasped in shock.

“I am now.” I huffed as I towered over my now ex best friend.

“What the hell?!” he shouted cradling his split lip, and bruised jaw.

“
You screwed me over when you fucked Jocelyn.” I snapped and Tyler’s eyes went wide.

“
Landon…”

“Save it. You let me believe it was Zachary fucking Ryan all these years.
I have nothing else to say to you.” I barked before grabbing Tessa’s hand, and pulling her down the hall.

Hours slipped past as I sat by my mother’s side.
I prayed and prayed for her to wake up, but nothing changed. I hated not being able to do anything. I had the best specialists flying down to look her over, but right now, there was nothing I could do.  It was just a waiting game and I knew that every second that ticked by could’ve been her last. While sitting there, worrying, I knew I was in total shock. I felt like I was in a terrible nightmare and I just couldn’t wake up.

“
Landon?” I heard Tessa’s voice call through my haze.

“Hmm?”
Was all I could muster.

“The other doctors are here.” She said, and I looked back to see a few of them at the door. Damn, I must’ve really been out of it because I didn’t hear anything.
The head doctor had salt and pepper hair, and was medium build. It was apparent that he’d been doing this for a while.

“Hello, Mr. Brooks. My name is Dr. Shepard, and I’ve looked over your mother’s charts.” He replied as I stood and shook his hand.

“What do you think?” I asked desperate.

“I would like to examine her myself if you don’t mind. And if she’s viable, I’d like to go in immediately and
stop the bleeding.

“Surgery?
They said they couldn’t operate, and even if you could—my mom’s against it. She was clear that if anything happened to her—”

“Mr. Brooks, I can see that you’re stressed. In this situation, it’s understandable. You called me down here for my expertise, and I’m here to deliver.” Dr. Shepard informed.

I nodded as Tessa slipped her hand in mines. It was nice to have her here for support because I was alone. Tyler damn sure was out of my circle, even the mere thought of him made my blood boil. My sister was out of town, and I hadn’t called her because I didn’t want to stress her out or worry her. She had enough to deal with right now, and school was her top priority. I was the one to deal with anything else.

“So, let me examine her and we’ll go from there
, after you go and get some rest.” Dr. Shepard insisted.

I got his hint, but I didn’t want to leave my mother. Tessa, on the other hand, tugged me out of the room.
I went reluctantly, and the doctors closed the door once we were in the hall.

“After you talk with the doctor, I think we should go home.” Tessa insisted and I shook my head.

“I’m not leaving my mother here, alone.” I replied.

“Landon, you’re no good to her like this. You haven’t eaten and it’s after midnight. You need to rest. You can’t help her if you’re in a hospital bed, too.” She pointed out.

“I’ll go home if you stay with me.” I muttered.

“Of course I’m going to stay with you.” She insisted, but I don’t think she understood what I really meant.

“I mean stay with me, stay with me. I need you with me, Tessa.”

“Landon, I don’t think we should be having this conversation right now.” Tessa responded.

“I think we should. I need you—I’m asking you to be with me. Don’t leave and run off to LA for some money. Stay with me.” I practically begged.

“Landon—I can’t…”

“Then go. Get out of here!” I shouted cutting her off.

I should’ve seen this a mile away. Tessa didn’t like me, she liked my money. A better offer came her way and I knew she was going to take it. I didn’t want to feel that way, but here she was turning me down. I just felt so stupid for opening myself up to her. I couldn’t take this type of rejection at the moment, and dragging it out would’ve only made it worse.

“Landon—”

“No, just go.
” I barked angrily.

“You’re not thinking straight. You’re just angry about everything. Don’t do this right now.” Tessa begged.

“Tell me you love me.” I demanded. “Tell me you want to be with me.”

Tessa stood there, staring at me, and my already damaged heart broke into a million
more pieces.

“We can talk about this later.” She opted, but I shook my head.

“No, we can’t. Leave me alone, and don’t
ever
come back.” I said sternly and she frowned.

“I’m sorry.” She said sucking in a breath to stop from crying I supposed, but whatever.