F*ck Fate! (Book 3)

Chapter Thirty-Seven: A Not-Quite Happy Birthday

Shawn

To my surprise, I woke up to the smell of pancakes. I smiled against my pillow, knowing that Dad was cooking. Ivy was already at school, so there wasn't anyone else beside him to cook. I don't know the last time he's made pancakes.

I was immediately out of bed and pulling on an old t-shirt and Andy's sweatpants that I took from his place last night. They were so comfy, probably because they were a size bigger than I normally wore, but I didn't care. I was just happy that he let me keep them.

Heading out to the kitchen, I found Dad at the stove, cooking up some pancakes. "Morning," I said.

He turned around, smiling. "Happy birthday, Shawn. You still like blueberry, right?"

I moaned. "My favorite."

He nodded his head before placing three big pancakes on a plate and handing it to me. "Enjoy."

I definitely did. I don't remember the last time I had pancakes. It's been even longer since I've had Dad's blueberry ones. Best birthday gift ever, by far.

While we ate breakfast, Dad told me about an interview he had this afternoon. It was an office job at some company and it wouldn't pay as much as his old job, but it would be something, at least. I really hope he'd get the job offer.

After we finished eating, I realized I had very little time to get ready to go before I had to head to Andy's. He told me to get to his place by eleven thirty, but I had wanted to show up a bit early, maybe help him cook, if he wanted help. I didn't mind helping. Besides, I was really curious to see what he was making for me.

After telling my dad that I would be home for dinner tonight, I left. It was a decently long walk to Andy's so I walked a little faster than normal. Was it bad that I was excited to see him again, even though I saw him yesterday?

When I got to his apartment, I knocked on the door. I listened to hear him telling me to come in, or him actually coming over to open the door himself. But nothing came. I knocked again.

"Oh my God, Shawn, get out of the way!"

I spun around to see Kat running up to me. She physically pushed me off to the side before bending over to grab a hidden key that seemed to have been taped under the mailbox. She then unlocked the door and ran inside.

I hurried after her. "Kat, what the hell?" I asked. "What's going on?"

She ignored me. "Andy?" she called out instead, heading right back to his bedroom.

Obviously something was wrong. I just didn't know what. So I followed, becoming increasingly worried the longer Kat went unanswered.

We found Andy in his bed. He did not look good at all. He was laying down, his eyes shut tight. His breathing was hard and labored.

"Andy?" Kat asked, sitting down next to him. "Hey, I'm here. An ambulance is on its way and I've called your mom. You're going to be okay, Andy."

I was still awkwardly standing in the doorway. "Uh, Kat? Can you please let me in on the loop here? What happened to him? Why does he need an ambulance?"

She looked over at me, like she had forgotten I was even here. "Just shut up and wait for the EMTs to get here to let them in. They'll be here any second."

Before I could object and demand that she give me an answer, I heard sirens approach. I hurried to the door just in time for three EMTs to run up.

"He's in the bedroom," I told them. "Right down the hall."

The two men carrying a stretcher hurried to where I pointed and the woman stopped me. "Can you tell me what happened?"

I shook my head. "I just got here and I haven't been given any answers. I just want to know if my boyfriend's gonna be okay." Saying that out loud, with that thought that he might not be okay, got me choked up a bit.

She gave me a small smile. "What's your name, hun?"

"Shawn."

"Well, Shawn, we're going to do everything we can for your boyfriend, okay? What's his name?"

"Andy."

She nodded. "Okay. Well, Shawn, let's go check on Andy, shall we?"

Turns out, we didn't have to go very far to check on him. The two other EMTs were carrying Andy on the stretcher, Kat right behind them. As they - and the woman - brought Andy outside, I stopped Kat.

"You need to tell me what happened. I don't care if you don't like me or whatever it is you have against me, but he's my boyfriend. I need to know."

She sighed. "He had a really bad headache this morning, didn't even stay in class. I called him after class to check up on him. He answered, but his speech was slurred. I think he had another mini stroke."

I felt like my heart stopped. "Holy shit," I breathed. I then watched as they loaded him into the back of the ambulance. I was not letting them leave without me.

"I'm going with him," I said out loud, not exactly to Kat, but I knew she heard anyway.

I think she followed me, probably planning on going too. I don't see why she'd stay behind, but I didn't exactly want her around. We've met a few times over the last couple weeks, and every time we've been in the same room together, I've felt like she really hates me. I don't know what I ever did to her. Frankly, I couldn't care less if we were friends or not.

I climbed into the back of the ambulance and sat on the little bench. Immediately, I grabbed hold of Andy's hand as I leaned on the gurney. What a great way to spend my birthday, right?

Andy opened his eyes. "Shawn?" he asked, sounding a bit out of it. "What are you doing here?"

I pressed my lips against the back of his hand for a second before answering. "Someone promised me lunch."

Andy closed his eyes again. "You deserve a better birthday than this," he whispered. "I'll make it up to you."

"You just have to get better, okay?"