What The Heart Craves (Complete)

Chapter 13 - Part 1

Lacey

I felt exhausted, but held onto how much I had gained. Adonis revealing how he felt about me had been unexpected, but it made me so happy. But seeing the specialist had taken away any of the hope that my condition wouldn't be that serious.

Adonis held me while I cried. He patiently rubbed my back while I wept against his chest. After a few minutes, my tears eased, and I pulled away to brush the moisture from my face.

"You feeling better?" he murmured, his eyes soft and caring. I nodded.

The tears didn't alter the verdict, but crying had eased some of my bottled up emotions.

My attention moved to the house.

"I don't want to go in there," I admitted softly. I could just imagine how my dad was taking it, and I did not know how Alex would handle it.

"It won't be that bad," he said, trying to ease my reluctance to face the rest of my family.

He gave me an encouraging smile. I let out a sigh. It had been such a long day already, and I felt tired, but there was no hiding now.

I opened the car door and got out. Adonis joined me by the front door. He didn't touch me, but I felt his presence right beside me every step of the way. He opened the door for me and I stepped inside. There was a soft murmur of conversation coming from the kitchen, and I hesitated for a moment. Adonis stopped beside me, allowing me to catch my breath. I took a deep inhale, trying to muster to face my family. When I entered, the conversation hushed.

My family turned to me. My mother had been crying. Her eyes were red and puffy. I breathed in, trying to unclog the emotion in my throat. My father walked to me and embraced me.

"Don't worry. You'll be fine," he assured me, and I nodded my head. I didn't want to cry again and if I attempted to talk, I would bawl my eyes out again. "We are all here for you, and we'll help you through this."

Tears stung but refused to cry again; I swallowed the lump in my throat. "I love you," I murmured hoarsely to my dad.

He hugged me tighter. "I love you too, Lacey."

It had gone better than I'd expected. My brother had an unreadable expression on his face. When my father released me, Alex pulled me into a hug and held me so tight it took me by surprise. He didn't say a word, but I felt his desperation as he held me. It scared him. I swallowed hard to keep myself from crying. I'd taken as much as I could and needed to escape. He released me.

"I'm a little tired," I said. It wasn't a lie, but what I needed more was time to let the news sink in.

"Sure baby," my mom said, giving me the understanding that I needed space.

Adonis walked out of the kitchen with me.

"You okay?" he asked as he stood in front of me at the bottom of the stairs. His eyes searched mine. I stood on one step higher so our eyes were level.

"I just need time to process everything," I said. I needed time to think about all my options and what the outcome for each one would be. Facing my fears of what could happen was important for me to take the next step. Time was running out, and I had to make my decision.

"You need company?" he asked, reluctant to let me go.

I nodded. I needed space from my family, but having him around made me feel more peaceful. Thinking that I wanted all the time I could have with him and I didn't want to waste one second we could have together.

I led the way up to my room, and he followed a step behind. I didn't know if my parent's would have a problem with the two of us alone in my room, but at that moment I didn't care.