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"Thish" My e that would never leave ie turned her head and pressed her face to my arm "But she has you You have each other Hold on to that," she said with her mouth hidden from her family

I pressed a kiss to the top of her head I didn’t care if they saw me I wanted her to know she was important That I cherished her I would always cherish her and our friendship

Brady cauys They’re on their way here They want to be here with you and, whether you want to ad I didn’t need them I had who I needed tucked close to my side But I didn’t tell him that I just nodded He wouldn’t understand

Two hours later the guys were all filling up the waiting roo staff Ryker’s and Nash’s parents had both come Asa’s dad and Gunner’s dad had also coie stayed by o That bit of couys didn’t ask ured Brady hadme their silent support

A couple of the parents said how sorry they were to hear about , to please call the I nodded and tensed up each time one of them mentioned how hard this must be on me

Momma finally appeared fro room full of people Then she searched for ie with me She didn’t question it, just ith ave ht now, but he’s not awake yet If you want to go back and sit with hih, for a few ie’s hand eased froeo with my momma In case this was it, we both needed to be at his side

"I’m here," she said softly "Go"

I nodded then followed my mother down the hall She stopped outside my dad’s door, and I could see hi too frail in that hospital bed The last tier Not so sick Things had changed so much over the past couple of months

"Talk to him I think he can hear us In casein case this is it Tell hi you want hi in her throat as her eyes welled with tears

I went inside first andeak and raspy like he was struggling for each breath Last weekend he’d been laughing with us I knee’d never get a weekend like that again It had been our last

"Hey, Dad," I said as I stood there staring down at hi this moment I needed all my memories to keep with me "I know you’re not a fan of this place, but you should see the crowd you have in the waiting roo over at my mother on the other side of the bed as she slipped her hand under ie’s out there too She was here almost as soon as we arrived If they’d let more people back, I know she’d want to coh Moht so All we could do was hope he could There was so ie hadn’t gotten a chance to say anything to her mother I wouldn’t not take my chance

"I love you I’m proud to be your son" I choked up as the words came out "My whole life you’ve been our rock You’ve been the strong shoulders we leaned on A kid couldn’t have asked for a better father I have the best d--" I stopped and sed hard as I watched his chest rise with each labored breath "I have the best dad But I want you to know, I can be the man now I can take care of Momma, and I swear to you I will She won’t ever be alone I’ll make sure of that I’ll make you proud of me Don’t worry about us We will miss you every day Your memory will always be with us But I won’t let you down I’ll be the man you raisedin my eyes down my face I loved this ined Facing it now seemed impossible Even as I prorets

CHAPTER 27

MAGGIE

After West went back to see his dad, I took a seat beside Aunt Coralee She pattedthere for West She didn’t add that I hada parent, but the way she spoke, I could tell she was thinking it

Brady was over with Asa, Gunner, Ryker, and Nash, all talking quietly As if they knew death was near and they weren’t sure how to handle it When you hadn’t dealt with death, you didn’t understand That had beenwith other people I recognized fro She glanced over at me when she first arrived, and the hatred on her face was obvious Just like Serena, she was confused about what I actually was to West They had both had him in ways I never would But then, I knew a part of West that they never would I understood the difference They didn’t