Miles Away | Nick Mara

Thirty Four

The next morning, I woke up to a million texts and missed calls on my phone. I groaned, rubbing my eyes as I scrolled through the first couple of messages, sitting up. Nick turned over on the bed, his arms resting on my thigh.

"You okay?" He asked, his voice croaky.

"Uh, hold on." I said. "Something happened to my mom."

He sat up, looking over my shoulder as I scrolled through the texts that my dad had sent on our family group chat. My grandma had freaked out, my cousins sent heart emojis, but I couldn't figure out what was going on.

"Is she okay?" Nick asked, resting his head on my shoulder as he read what I was reading.

I kept scrolling, looking for a big paragraph explaining what was going on.

"Wait stop." Nick murmured, using his own fingers to scroll back down.

Anna's sick. Something to do with her immune system. At the doctor's. Please pray for us.

My heart stopped. Nick whispered an 'oh my god'. I could feel the tears stuck in my throat and the back of my eyes, fighting their way out. I got up, pulling on a hoodie and going downstairs. Nick followed behind me. I stepped outside, dialing my dad's number.

"You should go back inside." I said, turning to Nick, who had followed me outside.

"Oh yeah," he said slowly. "Okay."

I'd pushed him away, but I couldn't help it. It was about my mom, and no matter how much I loved him, this was about my family. As soon as the door closed, my dad picked up the phone.

"Is she okay?" I asked, my heart beating out of my chest.

"I don't know, Aubri." His voice was shaking. "She just dropped onto the floor. She passed out, or something, I don't know what happened. Some doctors are doing tests and stuff, but their faces don't look good."

"I'm coming home." I said, fighting back tears.

"No." He said firmly. "You don't need to. If it gets serious, I'll call you. But you're having fun there. It's probably nothing. Doctors are always serious and frowning. It's okay, babe. You don't have to come."

"Dad, no. I'm coming."

He sighed. "Fine. But you're probably going to end up going back there in a few hours because it's probably nothing."

"I don't care. I'm coming."

We hung up. I walked back into the house. Nick was sitting on the sofa and watched as I walked straight up the stairs. He hesitated, but followed me back upstairs. I grabbed my bag, my jacket and my shoes and walked back down. He followed.

"Is she okay?" He asked.

"I don't know."

He paused. "Is there anything I can do?"

I whipped around. "Just." I paused with a sigh. "No, there's nothing."

He looked at the ground. Edwin walked down the stairs, asking what's wrong.

"Can you drive me home?" I asked him.

"Uh yeah, I guess so." He shrugged, walking past Nick towards the door, grabbing the car keys. "But why?"

"I just gotta get home."

"Home?" Nick looked up. "You mean Jersey?"

I nodded.

"You're flying there today?" Edwin said, his eyes wide.

"Yeah."

He opened the door and walked out towards the car. I stopped, just as my foot stepped out the door. Turning back, I kissed Nick on the cheek before leaving. He stood in the doorway as I got in the car, helpless.

"Are you and Nick okay?" Edwin asked cautiously.

"Yeah." I said. "We're fine."

He paused. "He just wants to help."

"Yeah well," I sighed, my heart still pounding in fear. "He can't do anything to help. I just gotta get home."

"Okay."