Playing the Playboys

Chapter 27: The Ceiling

Hold
Hold on, hold on to me
'Cause I'm a little unsteady
A little unsteady

I didn't know what to do.

"Sweetheart?" Ryder called out to me, but his voice sounded distant. "Kath?"

Grams. My grandma was dying.

Why was she dying?

"Kath!" Ryder yelled, bringing me back to reality.

I shook myself out of my daze, realizing that Ryder had two of his hands on my shoulder. He was shaking me out of my mini panic attack.

"My Grams," I voiced out shakily, looking at everything but him in panic. "She's... I need to go to the hospital."

My mother didn't even tell me anything but my grandma was dying and that she was in the hospital. She could barely get a word out after that, engulfed by her sobs.

"I'll bring you there," Ryder offered immediately. "Just stay here. Will you be okay?"

I nodded wordlessly, staring into space.

He gazed at me for a second before dashing off to get his car from his house.

Not a moment later, a gray Porsche stopped right in front of me. I didn't even have to check who was driving and went in the car, knowing it was Ryder's.

I bit my nails nervously. What if my grandma did die? What the hell would I do?

Ryder pulled me away from my insanity by gently grabbing my hand and giving it a tight squeeze. I breathed out and squeezed it right back, feeling its comforting warmth and the smoothness of his hand.

Thankfully, he didn't say anything the whole ride to the hospital.

I instantly went out just as his car stopped, rushing inside. It didn't take long for me to find my parents and Karl hauled up nearby the emergency room.

"Katherine," Mom said breathlessly, opening her arms wide. I frowned at how sad and tired she looked, her brown hair tied back into the messiest bun ever and her make up smudged. "Oh, thank goodness you're here."

I inhaled her scent as I hugged her, trying to give her all of my love and comfort. "Of course I'm here."

She let go of me and gave me a tired smile. Despite her attempt to show me she was okay, I could tell it was taking everything for her not to collapse on the floor and sob. She already lost her father early, she couldn't bear to lose her mom too.

Even though she and her siblings had a rough patch with their mother before, Grams managed to redeem herself. She became the most understanding and loving mother to them and the best grandma ever to us, her grandchildren.

I couldn't bear to lose her too.

She went back to Dad's arms and leaned on his shoulder while he shot me comforting smile. I noticed that he was stressed as well too. His blonde hair looked like it had been ran over multiple times and his clothes were dreadfully crinkled.

I walked over to my little brother, who was staring at the ground, sitting right beside him.

"What happened?" I asked quietly, not wanting Mom to explain the situation for me.

Karl didn't even glance up at me. "Apparently, she had been diagnosed with liver cancer since last year and didn't bother telling us. The only reason why we found out because she could barely stand at home a while ago, saying that everything hurt. We brought her here only to realizing she had been coming here from time to time secretly, checking herself up as she counted down her days alive."