Tennessee Tipsy - Morgan Wallen

Thirteen

Haley rushes to the big white farmhouse. "Momma!?" She shouts.

"Haley." Sam sighs, his strong arms wrapping around his little sister.

"How's daddy doin'?"

"He collapsed out in the field- laid out there for about an hour before we got to him." He tells her, sitting her at the table next to him. "He had a couple heart attacks along with heat exhaustion."

"Oh my god." Haley rolls her lips in her mouth. "Is he okay?"

"Momma's at the hospital with him. They're only lettin' her visit for now."

Haley shakes her head. "What do we do 'til then?"

"I don't know."

Those three words make Haley's heart sink. In all the years that she's known her oldest brother, he's always known what to do; how to fix the problem. But now, there's nothing they can do for this and it kills them both.

***

Sam, Wes and Haley make their way to Moore County Hospital, the trio silent as they approach the front desk.

"Clayton Mack; we're his kids." Sam says, resting his hands on the desk. "What room is he in?"

"He's in room 134." The nurse says.

"Thank you, ma'am." Sam puts his hand on his sister's shoulder as the siblings head to their father's room. "Okay." He takes a deep breath then opens the door. "Holy shit."

"Sam." Louisa May scolds weakly, her cheeks have tear stains running down her flushed skin.

"How's he doin', momma?" Wes asks softly, standing behind her with his calloused hands on her shoulders, squeezing comfortingly.

"Not too good." She whispers back, wiping her eyes. "There's a lot of stress on his heart."

Sam puts his arm around Haley's shoulders. "What're they sayin' 'bout 'em?" He asks.
He's answered by her tearful eyes causing his own to jerk in his throat. "How long?"

Haley zones out, looking at her pale father laying in the hospital bed with wires coming out of his chest and arms. She lets silent tears slip down her freckles face, her heart shattering when it finally hits her; they can't help him.

Her father is going to die.

Hayley's head snaps up when she hears the heart machine start to beep like crazy, Sam running out to the hallway, yelling for a nurse but he gets there too late.

The pandemonium is silenced by a continuous tone that drones throughout the room.

Clayton Samuel Mack, III has died.

"Oh my god." Louisa May sobs into her hands, Wes wraps his arms around her, rubbing her back as she cries against his strong shoulder.

"Haley-" Sam starts, reaching out for her hand but she pushes it away, heading out to the parking lot. She finds Sam's truck and starts it up, driving with no idea where to go.

***

Haley pounds her fists against Preston's door, tears streaming down her face.

He stumbles to his front door, his curly brown hair in a mess as he rubs his eyes, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers. "I'm comin'." He grumbles, swinging the door open. He jumps when he feels arms tight around his middle and a damp cheek against his bare chest. "Haley- what- what's wrong?" He asks, immediately hugging her back.

"Daddy- he d-died." She sobs, her body trembling.

"What?" Preston rubs her back.

"My dad died." She spits, her voice wobbly. "Like twenty minutes ago."