Stuck Between A Rock And A Hard Place

Chapter 12

Nancy's POV

I walked into the house and my aunt shut the door behind me. Jack immediately ran up to me and started licking my hand.
"Hey Jack," I said as I began to pet his head. I looked up and noticed my mom leaning against the counter. She looked upset. She was leaning against the counter as if she needed it for stability. My aunt was doing the same thing. It felt like she was mirroring my mom.
"Is something wrong?" I asked. My mom and aunt glanced at each other. After a few moments of silence, my mom let out a sigh. "Your uncle, June's dad, had a heart attack."
I was on the verge of audibly gasping. "What? When?"
"About two hours ago," my aunt said.
I was still appalled and extremely shocked. "What are we going to do?"
"We don't know. Your aunt wants all of us to go see him in the hospital, but I don't think June should have to go unless she wants to," my mom explained.
"He's still her father! She should go see him!" My aunt raised her voice. I had clearly walked into a very heated discussion.
"That would be traumatizing for her!" My mom argued.
"I'm going to talk to June," I mumbled. Neither my mom nor aunt heard me. I don't think they would have if I yelled. They were way too focused on their current confrontation.

I quietly opened the door to June and I's bedroom. She was laying on her bed and throwing a baseball in the air, just like she was when I left. There was a very subtle difference this time. I could tell she was upset. Her lips formed a straight line, nearly making a frown. Her ears were a bright red, which meant she was close to crying. Her hands were shaking slightly and she could barely throw the ball in the air. See, June was great at hiding emotions, but her body wasn't. She physically showed her emotions. Sure, you still had to know her really well to catch those physical displays of emotion, but they were still there.

June's face lit up when she saw me. "Hey Nance, how was your night?"
I smiled. "It was good, but we shouldn't talk about that now. We need to talk about something that is far more important."
She brought her gaze to the floor and sighed. "Let me guess, they told you."
"Yeah, they did," I said.
"Before you ask, I have no idea what I'm going to do," she replied.
I sat down next to her on the bed. "No idea?"
She shook her head. "No. Part of me feels like I should go because he is my dad. However, he is the same person who put me in the hospital last summer. The other part of me never wants to see him again."
"If you decided to go, when would you go?" I asked.
"Mom said we would go see him on Sunday. Today is Friday, so that doesn't give me much time to make a decision," she answered. I totally forgot today was Friday. I guess I got too wrapped up in my roller skating adventures.
"That's barely any time," I said. "So, are you going to tell Benny about this?"
She smiled slightly. "Of course, I'll call him tomorrow." Jack suddenly sprinted into the room and jumped onto June's bed. He cuddled up next to her and rested his head on her lap. I've heard that dogs, and other animals, can sense human emotion. They know when a human is happy or sad. I didn't believe that at first, but now I couldn't deny it.

After our devastating conversation, June begged me to tell her about my night. I told her everything in depth and in detail. June teased me every two seconds, but she loved everything I told her. Even though June was focused on me and my life, I was still worried about her. I was very worried about her.

Author's Note: Chapter 12!! I'm so sorry! I know this chapter is very sad, but it's only going to get worse. I'm sorry again lol 😂
I hope you enjoyed this chapter!! 😊❤️
As always, I proofread but if you discover any typos please let me know! 👍