Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 118459 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 592(@200wpm)___ 474(@250wpm)___ 395(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118459 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 592(@200wpm)___ 474(@250wpm)___ 395(@300wpm)
The moon shines through the blinds, casting shadows through the room. Ever’s dream catcher is hanging on the window, right where she and Crew put it the night we got here.
I watch the shadows dance on the walls and feel a sense of peace start to wash over me. It’s soothing and I feel settled in a way I haven’t in a very long time. The quietness of the room, so unlike our apartment, is a simple pleasure I didn’t even realize how much I’d missed.
I force my eyes shut, but Gage’s eyes don’t come for me like they usually do. Instead, I see Crew’s face from moments before.
Did I misjudge him this entire time?
No. I know I haven’t. He’s irresponsible. He’s a hedonist.
The dream catcher twists as the vent beneath it turns on. I watch it spin. Crew and Ever placed it carefully so it would pull the most light from the streetlamp outside. He’s so careful with her, so tender. He’s sacrificed so much of his life to help her.
To help me.
I hear Ever moan. Her hand shifts under the blankets and holds her stomach. She moans again and the sound shakes me to the core.
I make sure she’s settled and then feel my worries take over.
“Mrs. Gentry, I’m sorry,” Dr. Perkins says, his voice controlled. “The insurance has denied Everleigh’s admission into the therapy program. We’ve filed an appeal on her behalf, but we haven’t heard back yet.”
“What does this mean?”
A million thoughts fly through my head, making me dizzy. This can’t be happening.
I toggle the phone in my hand. I shouldn’t have answered it in the parking lot of the grocery store. I knew better. I should’ve let it go to voicemail and called him back.
I turn to smile at Ever in the back seat, safely buckled into her seatbelt in the parking lot of the grocery store. I whisper to stay put and then exit the car, leaning against the hood. “What do you mean she’s been denied?”
“Unfortunately, this treatment isn’t a standard procedure. Insurance companies are more hesitant to approve these things because they’re very costly and unproven in the long run.”
I can’t breathe. I feel like my chest filled with cement. Things start spinning around me and I squeeze my temples with my free hand, trying to stay clearer minded than when I got the original diagnosis.
“So what does this mean?” I ask. “What do we do now?”
“We wait and see what they say. We’ll talk about it more on Monday. I know this is not the news you wanted to hear. It’s not the news I wanted to hear either and, honestly, not the news I expected to hear. Regardless, we will keep pushing on our end.”
“What if she doesn’t get in?”
“If she doesn’t get in, we’ll modify our game plan and go with Plan B. I don’t want you to panic over this. I just want you to know where we stand so if you do have resources to fall back on, now would be the time.”
I snort. Who has an extra $50,000 to “fall back on”?
What if we can’t get her into the therapy? What can I possibly do to get that much money?
I know there’s nothing I can do. I don’t have those types of resources. I can’t even dream up a scheme, short of robbing a bank, to get half of that amount.
Crew walks down the hallway outside the door. I hear the floors squeak as he enters the bathroom. I listen to him run water and then the light switch flips off. The floors bend again with his weight and his bedroom door shuts softly down the hallway.
Just knowing he’s close makes me feel marginally better. I know it makes Ever feel better. She’s mentioned a few times that she likes not hearing the neighbors fighting and her little face lights up so brightly when Crew walks in. Aside from making us feel a little safer, I pray that he can finally follow through on a promise and help me figure this out.
“He’ll be there for you … he’ll do what needs to be done. There’s no one in this world who I trust more than Crew to take care of you. He’s my brother. He’s your family.”
TWENTY-THREE
CREW
“Gentry!”
I toss the bag on the dock and turn around. My boss gestures to me and yells, “Take your break.”
I walk across the shipyard. The weather is calm and warm, the last cold front ushered in warmer weather. It’s a near-perfect day and I wish I could appreciate it. But I’m too torn up about Everleigh to enjoy anything. I slept like shit the night before. Too many damn things on my mind.
One thing bled into another and I watched the time switch on my clock. I turned off the alarm before it had a chance to ring.