Suspicious Ways by Lexxie Couper

mouthpiece grasped in his trembling hand.
    Ali skidded to a halt, biting back a curse. Damn it, why had she cancelled her cell phone? Because you couldn’t afford it anymore.
    That was true, but how the hell was she to call Jack now? She needed to talk to him. To explain where she was.
    She needed him here with her.
    A thick thump beat at Ali’s temple and abruptly her knees deserted her. She staggered backward, dropping hard into the nearest chair.
    Needed him.
    Fixing her stare on the linoleum floor, Ali considered the notion. She needed him. Here with her now. It didn’t matter how much she tried to fight it, to pretend otherwise, she needed him with her. To hold her and tell her everything was going to be okay. He was the only one who could make her feel safe. It had always been him. Even the final day of her senior school exams, when she’d been panicking so badly about her biology exam she’d feared she would pass out, the sight of Jack when he’d turned up at the Graham house to wish her luck had calmed her. In almost every moment of anxiety in her life, Jack had been there to take the pain away. Exactly where she wanted him to be.
    Ali dragged her fingers through her hair, a long sigh slipping past her lips. The last time she’d needed Jack so desperately was the day of her father’s funeral. It seemed she’d come full circle. In her darkest hour, Jack was her light once again. And this time she wouldn’t let that light go. Whatever news the doctors gave her about her mother, she wanted Jack to be with her. And never leave.
    She shot the old man at the public phone another harried look. Please hang up.
    A hand touched her shoulder and Ali started.
    “Ms. Graham?” A young nurse stood beside her, pretty face serious. Sorrowful.
    Ali’s chest clamped tight. “Yes?”
    “Can you come with me, please?”
    The nurse turned away and Ali saw a doctor waiting by the ER doors, face worried and tired. A chill raced through her veins. Why was everyone looking so serious?
    “Ms. Graham?” The nurse had turned back, a frown knotting her eyebrows.
    “Is my mom okay?” Ali felt numb. She didn’t want to follow the nurse. If she didn’t follow the nurse, she wouldn’t have to see the doctor and he couldn’t tell her the news. And it was bad news. She could tell. Because everyone was looking so goddamn serious. “Please tell me my mom is okay.”
    The nurse smiled gently. “The doctor will explain everything.”
    Doctor Welch’s hand was warm as it enveloped Ali’s, contrasting sharply with the numb cold eating into her bones. “Ms. Graham,” he said with a smile bordering on exhaustion. “The good news is your mother is conscious and waiting to see you.” For a moment Ali felt giddy with relief and she couldn’t stop the smile spreading her lips. Until Dr Welch said, “But unfortunately her MS has moved into its advance stages.” His eyebrows dipped into a slight frown and he gave her hands a small squeeze. “I’m afraid as of this moment she will require permanent medical hospitalization.”
     
    It was dark outside, the car park crowded with cars. Ferraris, BMWs and Audis sat side-by-side as their owners socialized in the yacht club or enjoyed the balmy summer night on the harbor.
    Ali sat in her beat-up old Mini, gripping the steering wheel and staring blankly out the window.
    Her mom had smiled weakly from the steel-framed hospital bed when Ali had entered the small emergency-ward room. She looked incredibly frail, voice a mere husky whisper, breath shallow and hitching, but she’d hugged Ali with surprisingly strong arms, wetting her shoulder with hot tears. “I’m sorry, sweetie,” she’d whispered over and over. “I’m so sorry.”
    Ali had left an hour later, telling her not to worry, everything would be fine.
    She hadn’t told her mom there was no money to pay for permanent hospital care. Nor that she had little hope of finding any. What purpose would the news serve?
    Ali checked