Read Online 16 Things I Thought Were True by Janet Gurtler - Free Book Online

mom down the hallway. There’s so much in my head, and I can’t process any of it right now.
    â€œTake care of my mom,” I whisper. I’m not sure who I’m talking to, but I think it might be God again. I hope He still listens, even if we haven’t talked this much in forever.
    The old man sighs in his sleep and then farts loudly again. I roll my eyes at him and leave the room. Josh is still standing in the hallway, staring off where Mom disappeared to. He calls my name, but I ignore him and keep going. I walk until I’m outside and then march straight to a cab waiting by the hospital exit. I give him our home address and then lean back against the seat.
    Is this what I want? To find the guy who walked away from me? Do I want to rip off the scabs to those wounds? I feel fear throb inside me. What if I am left all alone? What if I need him? Will he even be willing to see me? Can I handle it if he won’t?
    Suddenly, I’m not sure I’m ready to find out who he is after all.

chapter six
    Josh is leaning against the wall of the hospital room. He looks as if he’s been punched in the stomach. Jake is sitting, but his eyes are closed. I’m standing beside my mom and staring down at her, memories swirling around my brain—times I was in bed sick, when she’d bring me soup and ginger ale.
    The doctor spoke to us while Mom was in recovery, assuring us she’d be out of the hospital shortly, within a day or two, and back to her regular routine in a week or so. “She has to make some changes, but she should be fine,” she says. They found an artery with 90 percent blockage and put a stent in.
    The nurses brought her back to the room after they monitored her heart and blood pressure in the recovery room and removed her catheter tube. They told us her puncture site has been dressed and the bleeding stopped. My stomach rolled, but I thought of Adam and how he’d explain it in a way I would understand.
    Her eyes flutter and then open and focus in on me first.
    â€œHey. What do you know, you’re alive,” I say softly and then smile.
    Jake jumps to his feet and whacks me on the back of the head. Luckily he whacks me lightly.
    â€œFunny, Morgan,” she croaks. “Always funny.” Her voice is raspy and low. She’d make a good late night DJ on one of those call-in shows for lonely people, the way she sounds.
    â€œHow do you feel, Mom?” Jake asks, putting a hand on her forehead as if she’s a child with a fever.
    â€œGood. I mean…okay.” She peers over at Josh. He straightens up, and his lips turn up in a shaky smile. “Hey, Mom,” he says.
    She squints, peering deeply at him. “I have a stent in my heart,” she tells him. He pushes himself off the wall and moves closer.
    She gazes at each of us and then down at her chest. “I had to stay awake. I guess I fell asleep after. I don’t remember.”
    Jake takes his hand away from her forehead. “We know, Mom. It’s all good. That stent will keep you going for a long time, like the Energizer Bunny.”
    â€œYou okay, Josh?” she asks.
    He nods but looks far from okay. He pulls on a corner of his mustache. Everything is droopy and lacks his usual swagger.
    â€œI’m fine, Mom. This is about you.”
    â€œYou should sit,” I tell him and point at the chair.
    Without argument, he pulls it up to the side of the bed and sits.
    â€œThe good news is I’m going to make it.” Mom glances at me. “At least I hope it’s good news.” Her thoughts are almost visible as they bounce around her head. I hear her regret.
    â€œYou boys would have a hard time without me.” She nods at me. “You too, Morgan?”
    â€œOf course.”
    Jake frowns at me as if I’ve done something wrong.
    She turns to Josh. “Would you mind going to see if I can get some ice to chew on?”
    He nods and stands.