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“She died when I was five.”
He straightened up, a sad look on his face. “Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t think…”
“It’s okay. It was a long time ago.” Maggie patted his forearm. “Dad stepped in, did all the things Mom would’ve done. He even bought me makeup. I went to the concert as Boy George!”
“Really? You had the braids and everything?”
Maggie nodded. “Red eyeshadow, crimped hair, neon clothing…”
Ben chuckled. “Mum dressed up in pirate gear with a white stripe across her nose.”
“Like Adam Ant!”
“Yeah, when she wasn’t being Bananarama, wearing crop tops and rags in her hair.”
“I bet she looked amazing!” Maggie bobbed her head to the music. “We had fun! Dad even bought me a fedora so I could copy Duran Duran.”
“It’s kinda like cosplay today, innit? But instead of dressing up for comic cons, you lot did it for gigs.” Ben aimed the piping bag at the cake again. “Were your brothers and sisters into it, too?”
“I’m an only child. My dad died before Riley was born, so it’s just us.”
“No wonder you’re so close.” Ben grinned, but Maggie’s words twisted his stomach. ‘It’s just us.’
It’s true, then. There wasn’t anyone else—Riley really was Maggie’s last hope. Ben swallowed heavily and returned to decorating the cake.
Fifty
The crook of Riley’s elbow pinched each time she straightened her arm. Waiting outside Hunter’s apartment, she picked at the small cotton ball, as fluffy and white as the clouds floating free in the blue sky. But this little cloud wasn’t free; it was trapped, pressed into her skin underneath a cheap plastic bandage.
“Tear it off quickly, you’ll barely feel a thing,” the nurse had said after taking a sample of Riley’s blood less than an hour earlier.
Her fingernail couldn’t leave it alone, pushing under the sticky plastic to torment the cotton, pulling wisps from the ball as hot tears streamed down her flushed cheeks. Some slipped under her chin, others fell, soaking the scoop neck of her yellow tank top. How? HOW?!
Cheery music blaring from an ice cream truck parked a few doors down on Canal Street did nothing to soothe her anguish or blot out the joy-filled giggles of several little girls, nose deep in soft serve cones. Their mothers stood watch—chatting, happily sipping their to-go iced coffees. Moms and daughters… Envy left an uncomfortable lump in Riley’s throat as sobs broke through her lips. Why me? Why us? What did we do to deserve this? She wiped her snotty nose on her forearm, her shoulders slumping toward her denim skirt.
“Riles!” Ben’s brakes squealed as his bike shuddered to a stop. “Oh, love, I got here as soon as I could.”
Everything was blurry. Riley wasn’t sure how Ben got off his bike, where he locked it, or how he helped her upstairs to Hunter’s apartment. She wasn’t sure of anything except that Ben was by her side, hugging her, rubbing her back, kissing her hair, which was damp with tears. “It’s okay, it’s okay,” fell from his lips repeatedly.
“I can’t…I…” Tissue pressed to her nose, Riley sat down on the sofa and began to slowly rock back and forth.
Worry creased Ben’s forehead as he dug a hand through the front of his hair, a chaos of tangles left behind by his bike helmet. “I’ll get you some water, okay? Just…I’ll be a sec.”
He crossed the room and filled a glass, watching Riley over his shoulder the entire time.
“I’m sorry…I didn’t mean for you to ditch work.”
“Don’t worry about that.” Ben set the water down on the table and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Your text…I panicked. Thank God I was only a few blocks away.” His attention darted from her bloodshot eyes to the bandage, one end lifting from her skin. “I’m so sorry, love. I should’ve been there to hold your hand. Tell me what happened.”
She shook between sobs, gulping for breaths. “They pricked my finger to figure out my blood type. The nurse said results would take two minutes, and she began to take blood from my arm while we waited. It stung when the needle went in, but I was fine after that.”
His fingers traced circles on her bare shoulder as he listened.
“While the blood filled the vial, the nurse looked at the finger test and said I was type A positive. I was like, Okay…and? It didn’t mean anything to me. She looked in my file and…” Anger sizzled in Riley’s belly as her face grew red and sobs broke through her lips. “She…”
“It’s okay, Riles. Take your time.”
She gasped. “She said my blood type isn’t compatible.”
