Page 46 of Gravity

“I think you’d make a good nurse,” I say quietly so no one can hear. “You can bathe me down and rub my back anytime you like.”

“Goodbye, Grayson,” she says a little breathless causing me to chuckle. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

Hanging up the phone, I turn back to the guys. “Food will be here soon.”

“She’s a great girl. You created a good one there, Pete,” Mark says.

“I. Know.”

“Why does my sister always ring you and never me?” Asher asks, still in the kitchen.

“Dude, how many more times? No one likes you.”

Mark bursts out laughing. “Ah, Asher, you’re really taking the punches tonight aren’t you.”

“And I can throw them back twice as hard.”

“You punch like a girl,” Mark quips.

“But I can shoot like a fucking warrior.”

“Is that with or without your pink tutu?” I question.

“With of course. I’ve even got one with glitter on it.” He laughs, heading out of the kitchen toward the bathroom.

“You off to cry into your pillow?” Mark asks, just as his phone begins to ring.

“Naturally.”

As Mark excuses himself, I sit back with a grin on my face, realizing I haven’t had this sort of presence in my life for a long time, and even though it’s playful and brings a smile to Pete’s face, to me it’s more than what anyone could ever imagine. When Mom got sick, I’d been suddenly swallowed up in a world of solitude and confusion, regardless of how many people were around me. Living with someone who is an alcoholic and who constantly pressurizes you to feed their deathly habit, the world can get pretty fucking dark. And it’s times like these that I realize I should have held on instead of pushing them and everyone else aside like they meant nothing.

“Nora was right,” I say, looking up at Pete. “Old times really are the best ones.” A twist of guilt suddenly hits my stomach as I look at the man in front of me and see how much he has deteriorated over time.

Sitting forward, I place my hand over his and squeeze it gently, holding his stare with conviction. “Pete, I’m so sorry I haven’t been around. I didn’t know what to do with myself, so I hid away. I failed you by doing that because I wasn’t here.”

“No.” There’s a look in his eyes that I can’t work out, but I can tell by his body language that he wants to talk yet his limited speech is preventing him from doing so. All I can do is listen and piece together the gaps. “Not. Fail. Y-you. Hur…ting.”

I nod, knowing he is referring to my mother. “I was. But that doesn’t excuse my behavior toward you and Fiona. Or Nora. I pushed her away, Pete.”

“I. Know.” He pauses and his chest rises and falls as if he needs to fill up his lungs to be able to push his words out. “P-promise. M-me…”

“Anything.”

“Look. After. H-her.”

I frown. “Nora? Of course, I will.”

“P-promise. Me. Sh-she...” He closes his eyes and groans in frustration because he can’t get out his words, but when he opens them again, the look he had that I couldn’t read has been replaced with one that fills my stomach with dread, sending my mind in a spin.

“She. Will. N-need… Y-you.”

Just as I’m about to ask him what he means, Asher returns with Nora, who is carrying three pizza boxes. Her eyes find mine before a smile breaks across her face, and I’m thankful for her arrival because she’s now broken the unease that has just filled my body from her father’s words.

“Hey, Pop,” she says, coming over to her dad and studying him for a moment. “You look tired. Do you feel okay?”

“Good.”

She holds his gaze a little longer, and I can see from her eyes she’s not convinced but goes with it anyway, kissing him on the head and stepping away. “Okay.”