Loving Summer (Loving Summer Series) (16 page)

            Astor shakes his head. “I have a break today and tomorrow. I thought about all the places I could spend that break, and frankly, the only one I cared about was here, in your arms. I’m crazy about you, you know.”

            I laugh at that, because it just doesn’t sound like the kind of thing normal guys say. “That’s good. I was starting to get worried that you might have fallen in love with Lindsay.”

            Astor pulls back. “You’ve really been worried about that? Had I’ve known, I would have introduced you to Lindsay’s boyfriend the last time you were on set.”

            “Her boyfriend?”

            Astor nods. “Leo. He’s from Dallas, and from what I hear, they’re pretty serious. It’s one reason Lindsay was as worried about the kissing scenes as I was.”

            “Oh.” It’s all I can think of to say.

            Astor takes my hand. “Summer, you had me going nuts for days. You haven’t been returning my emails or calls. Was that what it was about?”

            I hadn’t even realized that I’d missed any from him. Have I been that distracted by Aunt Sookie and the classes I’m running for her at the school? Have I been that distracted by Drew? “I guess I haven’t checked my messages that often. I’m sorry.”

            Astor puts an arm around me, leading me out of the beach house. His car is there, and he opens the passenger side. “I have something for you.”

            There’s another ribbon-wrapped Tiffany’s box on the seat. Astor lets go of me long enough to reach in and pick it up, pressing it into my hands. I shake my head even before I touch it.

            “It’s too much,” I say.

            “You don’t even know what it is yet,” Astor points out. “I think we’ve had this discussion before, too. I want to do this, Summer. Now, are you going to open that box, or should I do it?”

            In the end, he does it, showing what sits within. It’s a silver bracelet with a silver heart on it, and I can see the inscription there. It reads
I love you
,
A.
It’s beautiful.

            “Do you like it?” Astor asks.

            “It’s lovely,” I say, kissing him.

            “I’m glad you like it.” There’s just a hint of disappointment in his voice. “What about the message?”

            I reach up to touch his face. “You make me happy, Astor. Happier than anyone else could.”

            That seems to please Astor. “Good. I was thinking of you all the time we were filming, you know. That’s how I was able to make the role seem real when it came to anything romantic. I thought about you, and how much I cared about you. I thought about what it would be like if you were there. I love you, Summer.”

            This kiss is his most passionate yet, and it leaves me breathless. When Astor finally pulls back, he stares at me with intense eyes. He isn’t the only one. Drew is standing at the door to the beach house, looking out at us. He looks jealous, but I know it’s more than that, because he looks almost… frightened, too.

            “Drew? What is it?”

            “It’s Sookie,” he says. “She passed out. I’ve called 911, but I’m not sure what else to do. I think she needs to go to the emergency room.”

Chapter
19

W
e travel with Aunt Sookie to the hospital, following behind the ambulance. By the time we get there, the doctors are already working on her. One, a woman who looks almost too young to be a doctor, comes over to talk to us.

            “Hi, I’m Doctor Hungerford. You’re Ms. Jones’ family?”

            “I’m her niece,” I say. “Other than me, I guess her closest family is my mom, her sister.”

            Doctor Hungerford nods, looking serious. “Right now, your aunt is in a diabetic coma, specifically what we call a nonketotic hyperosmolar coma. It’s brought about through a combination of dehydration and insulin imbalance, and I have to warn you that it can be quite dangerous if not dealt with quickly.”

            “But you
are
dealing with it?” Astor asks, moving to stand beside me.

            “We’re working to bring Ms. Jones out of the coma, yes,” Doctor Hungerford says.

            “There’s something else, isn’t there?” Drew says. “What is it?”

            The doctor looks to each of them, then to me. “I’m not really comfortable…”

            “Please just tell me,” I say.

            She nods. “Your aunt’s condition is serious. Normally, we would expect to see this type of coma only in more advanced diabetes patients, and reading her notes, it suggests that the operation she had has failed. That means that she could be open to all the kinds of complications that come with the disease. At the moment, we’re particularly worried about the pressure this state puts on her heart, and the possibility of vascular compromise.”

            “You mean that Aunt Sookie could have a heart attack?” I ask.

            The doctor looks at me for a second or two, then nods. “We’re going to do everything we can to help her, though.”

            A lot happens quickly after that, but I don’t get to see most of it. The doctors keep working on my aunt, trying to bring her around. Meanwhile, Drew calls Nat and Rachel, telling them what has happened.

            “They’re flying back right now,” Drew says. “Your mom’s coming too. Maybe you should head back to the beach house until we know more.”

            “I’m staying here,” I insist.

            And I do. I stay there while the doctors try to help Aunt Sookie, and I’m there when they take her onto the ward. She’s awake right then, but obviously very weak, and I’m under strict instructions from a very stern looking nurse not to tire her out. We stay with her for maybe twenty minutes before she falls asleep right in front of us.

            “After something like this, she’s going to be very tired,” the nurse says. “You should let her rest now. Come back later.”

            This time, I give in to it, heading back to the beach house. It feels almost like a strange place then, without Aunt Sookie there. Astor and Drew are there with me, but they’re almost as worried as I am. They don’t even spend their time arguing, the way I might have thought they would. They’re both too busy making sure I’m okay. Astor leaves after a while to head back to his canyon house. I think he’s realized there’s nothing he can do here.

            When Rachel, Nat and my mother arrive, I rush to hug each of them. How long has it been since I saw my mother? She looks a lot like Aunt Sookie, only a few years older, and with my coloring rather than hers. She’s a little shorter than I am, and when she looks up at me as I hug her, I can see the worry there.

            “How is she?” she asks.

            I shake my head. “They think it’s serious. They were talking about complications, and possible heart attacks, and…”

            “Shh, it’s going to be fine.”

            Rachel obviously doesn’t believe that, because there are tears in her eyes as she stands next to Ryan. Nat doesn’t look like he believes it either. There’s so much to do in that next little while, working out who gets to go to the hospital, and trying to deal with things around the house.

            In the end, Mom, Rachel, Nat, Drew and I all go to see Aunt Sookie together. She’s sitting up in bed, but she doesn’t look even close to being well. She talks to Mom for a while first, while the rest of us wait outside. Then, eventually, Mom tells us that we can go in. Aunt Sookie looks so pale that she’s almost grey, and the monitors hooked up to her are a constant reminder of just how sick she is.

            Even so, she manages to smile when we crowd around her bed, and hugs us one by one.

            “Look at you. All of you. You’ve grown into such fine young people. I never had children. I guess I’ve never felt the need to have any, because the four of you have always felt like you’re mine anyway. I’m so proud of all of you.”

            I can see tears starting to fall from her eyes, but Aunt Sookie wipes them away with the back of her hand. It seems so wrong that someone so young and full of life should suddenly be so sick.

            She smiles then. “You know, without the four of you, I wouldn’t have my acting academy. It was only when I was playing games with you as kids that I realized how much I enjoyed getting other people to do that kind of thing. You’ve given me some of the most special times.”

            She looks over at Nat. “Nat, you’ve always had the most responsibility, but you’re turning into a good man, and I know that you’ll be able to handle it. Just don’t let handling life be the only thing. You’re meant to enjoy it as well.”

            “Rachel.” Aunt Sookie smiles over at her. “I’m glad you’ve found the courage to express yourself the way you want to, and I’m glad you’ve found someone who makes you happy. Just remember not to lose that sense of yourself in it all. Be yourself, and do what you think is right, or all the rest of it doesn’t mean much.”

            She looks over to Drew next. “Now, Drew, you’ve changed so much from when you were a little boy. You’ve grown, and you obviously have different dreams. Just remember that boy, though, because sometimes, I think you’ll find it helps to think of whether he’d be proud of what you’re doing. And instead of worrying what others think of you, concentrate on what you care about instead.”

            “And Summer.” Aunt Sookie’s eyes meet mine. “My own flesh and blood, but it’s always been about so much more than that. You remind me of your mother, you remind me of myself. But the truth is that you aren’t either of us. You’re you. Uniquely, wonderfully you, and I couldn’t be a prouder aunt than I am right now.”

            I don’t like this. It feels too much like my aunt is saying goodbye to us. “Aunt Sookie, why tell us all this? Pretty soon, you’re going to be home, and none of this will matter.”

            Aunt Sookie shakes her head. “Listen to me, all of you. The doctors have told me how sick I am. I might be okay, that’s true, but things… well, we have no way of knowing how things will work out. If something happens to me…”

            “Nothing is going to happen to you,” Nat insists.

            Aunt Sookie takes his hand. “I hope not, but it might. And if something happens to me, then I want you all to be happy. I couldn’t imagine anyone loving my home or my school the way the four of you do, which is why, if anything goes wrong, I’m giving the four of you the school. I think you could continue the summer program without me.”

            She looks at me again, smiling once more. “You’d get the beach house, Summer. I know it’s a place you’ve always loved, and… well, it would be nice to know that you had a place of your own all paid for. I know it gave me a lot of freedom after the divorce.”

            We step out of the room to let Mom back in, and I see that Astor is there. He moves to hold me, and I let him, even though I can see Nat’s eyes on me as he does it. Nat looks hurt, so hurt that I want to rush to him and hold him the way Astor’s holding me. I can’t though. Not now.

            “How did it go?” Astor asks me.

            I shake my head. “Aunt Sookie… she’s talking like she’s dying.”

            He holds me tighter then, and I can see that Drew has his arm around Rachel. They look more like twins than ever then, because their expressions of worried grief are almost identical. I know that things still aren’t right between them. I know Rachel probably still thinks Drew is playing around with too many girls, and that Drew still doesn’t quite trust Ryan. Even so, it’s obvious in that moment just how much the two of them love one another. I get the feeling that, whatever’s between them right then, the twins will work it out. I’m not so sure about Nat, though.

            An alarm sounds from inside Aunt Sookie’s room. Mom comes rushing out of the room, and doctors start rushing in.

            “What’s happening?” I ask.

Nat rushes forward to grab the arm of a doctor. “What’s going on?”

“Ms. Jones has had a reaction to her medication. We have to deal with it now.”

He brushes Nat off and heads into the room. In the chaos, Nat’s arm touches mine, just briefly. It feels like electricity jumps between us. I know he feels it too, because I look up and our eyes meet. He reaches out for me, but Astor’s arm is still around me, and Astor takes a step back, moving me away from Nat.

Nat looks at him and he’s just so
angry.
He looks furious that Astor might dare to move me away from him. Or maybe he’s just angry at this whole situation, and Astor is just a convenient target for it. The trouble is, when I look at Astor’s expression, he looks just the same. He looks like he would happily fight Nat there and then if it weren’t for the fact that they’re both outside Aunt Sookie’s hospital room.

“Don’t,” I say. “Just don’t, both of you.”

Nat nods, and then looks at me. “I can’t stay here like this,” he says. “Summer, if you need anything, you know you only have to ask.”

He leaves then, and I can see Rachel’s eyes following him accusingly. She obviously can’t understand him walking out like that when Aunt Sookie is in so much danger. I think I can understand it, but my eyes follow him anyway. I watch him all the way down the hall. All the way to the exit.

Then he’s gone, and we’re left standing in a hallway, waiting for the doctors to come out. One of them finally does, and he looks grave as he explains to us that Aunt Sookie had a serious reaction to her medication, and that she’s now in a lot of danger. Mom asks if we can go back in, and the doctor tells us that Aunt Sookie isn’t awake just yet. Even when she is, it can’t be any more than one of us.

So eventually, Mom goes in, while we’re left outside, waiting to see what will happen next, and hoping that somehow, it won’t be as bad as the doctors keep telling us. Eventually we all go back to the beach house.

Epilogue

A
unt Sookie dies in the night. Afterwards, the doctors explain that she suffered a massive heart attack as a result of complications from her diabetes, coupled with her adverse reaction to the medicine. The words go into me and then out again, barely registering.