Foul Ball

Just like I promised Jayce, I stopped in the ER the next morning to get blood tests done before my first class of the day. The waiting room was bustling with people, so I took a seat in one of the chairs and picked up a magazine, hoping this wouldn't take too long.

"Hey, Macey," a voice said behind me, and I turned to see Rowan Bates, ER nurse, come through the front doors for her shift.

"Hey, Rowan."

"Can I ask what you're doing sitting out here in triage?" Rowan asked, running a hand through her frizzy red hair.

"I need to get some blood work done, but the lab seems super busy. I think I'll just come back."

"Don't be silly." Rowan took the magazine from me and tossed it back onto the coffee table, then offered her hand to me to help me to my feet. "You're family here. Come with me and I'll see if I can find someone to do a quick draw, yeah?" "Thanks, Row."

Following my friend through the ER doors and into the back, she escorted me to the nursing station, holding my arm with her hand like one might hold an unruly child.

"Do we have a nurse here who can do some blood draws right now? I was due for rounds three minutes ago."

"I can do it," a nice middle-aged nurse piped up, glancing up at us from the chart she was reading. "I'm supposed to be on the fourth floor, but I can do that before I head back up."

"Thanks, Melissa," Rowan said, squeezing my arm. "Macey is one of ours." Rowan dropped my arm and hugged me, then hurried away, yelling back over her shoulder, "Keep me updated, Mace!" I turned back to the nurse who approached me with a smile.

"Ready?" she asked, and I nodded as she began to walk across the ER floor towards an empty room already stocked with needles and tubes. She shut the door behind us and motioned for me to sit down in the chair and put my arm out. "Hello, Macey," she said, pulling up a chair to sit next to me. "As you heard Rowan say, my name is Melissa, and I'll be your NP."

"You're a nurse practitioner?" I asked, and she nodded. "I don't think I've seen you around here before." I tried to smile for her, but I felt weak. Sick. Exhausted. I felt like if I focused too hard on something, I might just vomit all over the crisp white bed they'd stuck me on.

"I don't work in the ER," said Melissa. "I was just down here for a consult with the surgeon. I work on Oncology."

"Cancer?"

"Yes." She smiled when my eyes went wide with a small chuckle. "Don't worry, they didn't call me down here specifically for you. I was just here and wanted to lend a hand. I owe Rowan a lot." "She's good people."

"So tell me how you've been feeling, Macey," Melissa said, keeping that kind smile glued to her face. "What brings you in today?"

With trembling fingers, I rolled up the sleeve on my left arm and laid it out as Melissa prepped the test tubes and needles. I closed my eyes, mostly because it made me feel dizzy to keep them open, and took a small breath. "Mostly it's just fatigue," I told Melissa as she worked. "And some nausea."

"How bad is the fatigue?" she asked, poking the needle into the vein under my skin.

"It's, um...pretty bad," I said hesitantly. "I know it seems silly to complain of fatigue as a college student, but I've never actually felt this bad before."

"Okay,” Melissa said, capping the tube of blood. "How long have you been feeling this way, Macey?"

"A few months, probably. It seems to get worse as time passes. I imagine it's just an iron deficiency or something. I struggled with anemia when I was younger."

"Okay." Melissa smiled again. I really enjoyed her smile. She seemed to be one of those people who just kind of lit up a room everywhere they went. "We'll send these to the lab as soon as we can for testing, but the lab has been backed up on orders. We might not have the results until mid-next week."

"That's okay. I'm flying out of town this weekend. Is traveling okay?"

"You should be good to go. Just call the office if you experience any more unusual symptoms, okay? I'd recommend iron pills from the store until the results are back, just to see in advance if that helps." "Thank you," I said, shaking Melissa's hand. "It was lovely to meet you."

Feeling better about finally getting that over with, I headed to campus for my first class of the day, typing up a quick text to Jayce to let him know that I'd gone in. A few minutes later, as I settled into the seat for my class, he texted back. Good. Meet @ the quad for lunch after class?

See you then, xo.

Feeling better than I had felt in a few days, I focused on the lecture, taking notes, knowing that I had to keep my focus on passing these classes. Not even Jayce was an acceptable distraction. I had to learn to juggle both.

Around eleven, once class ended, I made my way to the quad to wait for Jayce. It was nice today, around seventy degrees, and the spring air refreshed and invigorated me. As I sat down on one of the empty benches to wait for Jayce, my phone rang. It was my mother.

"Hey, Mom," I said into the phone, refusing to let anything, even this, ruin my day.

"Hi, Macey," Mom said. "Do you intend to come to the wedding?"

No How are you? or I miss you, or What have you been up to? Not this time, not any time, really.

"I still have a few days to decide," I said, and on the other end of the phone my mom made a huffing sound, like a dragon ready to burst into flames.

"We expect to see you here, Macey."

I fell silent, remembering the plane tickets Jayce had surprised me with. Not only had he offered to go with me, but he'd encouraged me to take anyone else, as well. But I didn't want to take anyone else. If I was going to do this, I wanted to take him.

"A friend of mine offered to go, too," I said into the phone.

"What friend?"

"His name is Jayce."

"Jayce," my mom repeated. "A boy?"

"Yes, Mom, a boy."

"Is he a boyfriend, Macey?"

"We just stared dating, Mom," even as the words dribbled from my mouth, I felt guilty suddenly, like I had waited too long to tell her about him even though I had chosen to take it slow.

"I'm glad to know that you're not comfortable sharing the important details of your life with your parents," Mom said haughtily. I shook my head and closed my eyes, wishing that I hadn't answered the phone to her after all.

"Our relationship is brand new, Mom, I'm sorry for not telling you sooner. But that's beside the point. Jayce offered to go with me, and I think I'm going to take him up on that. If Jayce goes, then I'll go, okay?"

"Sure. God forbid you have to actually see your family alone," Mom said, and I knew that if I didn't steer this conversation in a different direction, it might end in a blowout.

"I have to go, Mom, but let me talk to Jayce and see if he's still willing. If he is, we'll make a plan for the weekend, okay? He says he really wants to meet you."

God knows why.

"Fine," she said. "If you need to drag your boyfriend down here for your cousin's wedding, don't let me stop you."

"I love you."

"Talk soon, Macey."

The line went dead, and I dropped my phone onto the table top, resting my head in my hands, rubbing my temples, trying to will the oncoming migraine to ease up before it got too bad.

"Hi, beautiful," Jayce said, plopping down on the bench seat across from me. He was on high alert suddenly, noticing the way I kneaded the pain from my head. "What's going on, Mace? You okay?"

"I'm good," I said with a quick nod, slipping my phone back into my pocket. I looked at Jayce, who smiled fondly, reaching across the table to take my hands in his.

"Thank you for going in this morning," he said gently. "When will you have your results?"

"The nurse said the lab is backed up, so probably not until next week."

Jayce's expression darkened at this, but he nodded still. "Have you thought anymore about the wedding this weekend?" he asked, and I knew now was as good of a time as any to bring it up again.

"I was just talking to my mom," I told him. "She's expecting me this weekend, but I told her that I was only interested in going if you still wanted to go."

Jayce smiled at this, flattered, and my bad mood slowly started to seep away. "Of course I'd like to go," he said. "Those tickets leave Friday night and get to Michigan late, but we would be there in time for the wedding on Saturday. Will we stay with your parents?"

"No," I said quickly, and with more force than necessary. "If I was going alone I would, but I don't think I want to subject you to my parents for any longer than necessary. I'll find us a hotel or an Air BNB."

"Whatever makes you happy and the most comfortable is what we'll do," Jayce said, getting to his feet to come around the table to sit next to me, curling his arm around my hip to draw me into him. "Thank you for bringing me along. I hope I didn't pressure you into anything you didn't want to do."

"You didn't," I assured him. "That was my mother's prerogative." I smiled to show him I was teasing, but I wasn't exactly lying, either. Had Jayce not bought us tickets or offered to go, I probably would have bailed on Bitchy Bernice and my mother in a heartbeat.

"Are you hungry?" Jayce asked, kissing my lips, then my neck. "I can order us some salads from the café."

"That sounds great." I closed my eyes and kissed him again, letting my lips linger on his, wishing I didn't ever have to do anything or go anywhere ever again. I could sit right here with Jayce for the rest of my life and be perfectly content and happy.

Jayce took my hand and we went inside the Rendezvous building to order salads and drinks, then we made our way up the stairs to Jayce's apartment to eat, settling down together on the couch in his living-room.

"Can we just stay here for the rest of the day?" I asked, curling my body into his as Jayce popped the top on my soda and handed it to me. "After I stopped by the hospital this morning I started feeling better, but it's back." "Tired?" Jayce asked, and I nodded.

If you're loving the book, nel5s.com is where the adventure continues. Join us for the complete experience all for free. The next chapter is eagerly waiting for you! "Exhausted."

"Maybe you should take the rest of the day off," he said, standing up to grab the throw blanket from the back of the couch. He draped it over me and then sat down again. "You can stay here any time you want, you know," he continued. "You don't have to go home to rest. Even if I'm not here, please come in. Sleep. Rest. Hangout."

"Wow, I feel pretty special," I teased. "Do you offer that to all your girls?"

"I wouldn't know," he said with a shrug. "I have only you."

I did take Jayce's advice and ended up staying tucked inside his little apartment for the rest of the day and into the evening, making sure to log on to his laptop to find any assignments that I'd missed for the day. Jayce wanted to stay back with me, but I insisted he go, knowing that it wouldn't be good if both of us were behind when we didn't need to be.

I ended up falling asleep around five, and Jayce got back to his apartment a little after six. I woke with a start when he opened the front door, groggy and somewhat confused.

"Hi, baby," Jayce said softly. "I'm sorry I woke you."

"It's okay. I should have gone to your bed, but the couch called to me. How were your classes?"

"Dull," Jayce said, dropping his bag next to his feet as he sat down next to me on the couch again. "Mundane. Boring."

"But you worked hard anyway, right?" I teased, and Jayce leaned over to kiss me, his fingers trailing down my bare arms. "Hard enough," he said. "But I'm glad to be back with you."

"I feel like an old married couple," I told him. "Hiding away in the house together, only leaving when absolutely necessary." "Sounds perfect," he said. "You certainly won't hear me complaining about it. Are you hungry?"

"Hardly."

"Really?" Concern crossed Jayce's features again as his thumb gently caressed my cheek. "You barely touched your salad today, Macey. Have you had anything else?"

"No." Raising my hand to touch Jayce's cheek, I rested my fingers there for a moment, holding him. "Don't look so worried. Believe me, I've got plenty of spare fat for my body to feed off of before it starves to death."

"Macey," Jayce said, and the concern in his voice was evident. "Should I be worried?"

"There's nothing to worry about yet," I told him. "At least, there's nothing we can do until the results are back on the blood work. Everything from here until then is nothing more than an assumption."

"I hope they get this figured out," he said with a shake of his head. "Because something is going on, Mace, and I'm worried about it."

"Don't think about it," I insisted, pulling his face to mine so I could kiss him. "Focus on the fact that in just a few days we'll be flying to Michigan to deal with the one woman who can barely tolerate looking at me." I laughed bitterly, looking away from Jayce as tears pooled in my eyes. Christ, I hated crying so much, especially in front of him.

"I'll be with you every step of the way," he said softly. I closed my eyes and rested my head against his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart against my cheek. I felt like it didn't matter what I would face, now or in the future, as long as Jayce was there with me.

As long as he was by my side, the world still turned.