11: Oslo

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SOOKIE

I was in Oslo.

It was almost three in the morning and my phone was ringing.

"What do you want, Jase?" If he was drunk I was going to kill him. Eric and I had endured a crazy long train ride with a stinky Turkish guy yelling into his phone behind us ninety percent of the way.

"You need to come home, Sook," he replied in a somber tone.

"Three more weeks," I mumbled. I still had Copenhagen, Paris and Barcelona to see.

"Gran had a heart attack. You need to come home."

I sat up in bed.

"Is she okay?" I couldn't lose Gran. Someday, yeah, it was inevitable. I wasn't ready for that day yet. I probably never would be but it was too soon.

"She's still breathin'," he answered, "But I know she'll want to see you when she comes to. They don't know when that might be."

I looked over at Eric, who was asleep next to me. In my gut I knew Gran wouldn't want me to give up the rest of my trip for her, but I also knew that if she was recovering from a heart attack, she wouldn't be able to handle Jason for long. He wasn't reliable and there would be doctor's appointments and maybe meetings with specialists.

"What happened? How did she get to the hospital?" I asked.

"She wasn't feelin' too good and called me to take her to the hospital. She had the heart attack in the car. She's been in for about an hour."

Goddamnit.

At least Jason took her to the doctor.

"It had to be bad if she asked to go to a doctor." Gran hated to be a burden.

"She was feelin' short of breath," he told me.

"Well that isn't unusual." The stuffy, humid air had her winded a lot of the time.

"I guess it was really bad. I don't know. She just called and asked if I could take her."

I sighed heavily.

"Is she with Dr. Garza?" I asked.

"Yeah, they called Dr. Garza in. I called the hospital as soon as she started to... you know," Jason finished quietly. "It terrified me, Sook."

"I can imagine." I didn't want to leave but I didn't know if I could stay. Unlike my brother, I couldn't just put myself first, even if Gran might get mad at me for coming home early to take care of her. I could always come back to Europe, but Eric...

"I'm sorry to call you. I know it's the probably the middle of the night, but I... if she goes I don't think I can handle it without you."

"No, it's okay. I'm glad you called," I told him. "I'll look at the flights home and let you know what I book."

"Thanks, Sook. I love you."

"I love you too. Kiss Gran for me," I said.

"I will." With that Jason hung up.

I sighed again and set my phone on the nightstand.

I didn't want to go home yet. Of course I was worried about Gran and I would be for the rest of the trip if I stayed.

"Is everything alright?" Eric mumbled.

"I have to go home," I replied honestly.

His eyes popped open. "Why?"

"Gran had a heart attack." My eyes welled up. I wasn't sure if I was crying over Gran or having to leave.

Eric sat up quickly and pulled me into his arms.

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