Page 228 of Fighting Chance

Page List

Volume: Rate: Pitch:

Font:

Font Size:

Emmy dips her head slowly.

Blowing out a breath, I decide to go with the truth. That seems to be my parenting go-to—if all else fails, tell the truth. Maybe that can be our thing. As she gets older and no doubt into mischief, our one rule is that we tell the truth, no matter how much it might make me freak out.

“Layla isn’t feeling well right now, so I’m going to take her to the doctor.”

“Is she going to be okay?” Emmy asks as she sits up, Bambi protesting and trying to keep Emmy’s hand where it’s petting her. She does so, but her entire focus is on me.

Yonaguni Monument: Natural Formation or Sunken City Beneath Japan?

Doggerland: The Drowned World Beneath the North Sea

The Channel Tunnel: How Engineers Joined Britain and France Under the Sea

Øresund Bridge–Tunnel: How the Engineering Marvel Between Denmark and Sweden Dives Beneath the Sea

“I hope so, munchkin. I’ll do everything I can to help her get better.”

“What’s wrong with her?”

Chewing on my lip, I try to think of the best way to explain this. “Layla has an immune system that’s mean to her.”

Emmy scrunches up her little nose. “What’s amune tem?”

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Emmy’s butchering of the word makes a small chuckle escape me. “Immune systems are what the body uses to protect us from diseases, like colds or a runny nose. But Layla’s is mean to her and doesn’t work properly.”

Emmy clutches her chest. “Does mymune temwork?”

“Yes, sweetheart, yours works and so does Daddy’s.”

A little frown overtakes her features. “But Lil is nice. Why is hers mean?”

Tucking her hair behind her ear, I say truthfully, “I wish I knew, munchkin, but I’ll take her to the doctor and try and help her, okay?”

“Okay, Daddy, you’ll fix it. You make everything good.”

Jesus fucking Christ.

Am I going to cry again?

Coughing to clear the emotion, I choke out a meek, “Thank you, sweetheart. Give me a hug before I go.”

As I wrap my arms around my daughter, I understand why Layla’s parents put themselves in debt and were planning to take out a second mortgage on their home. Because if Emmy were sick, I’d do anything to help her. I’d rip out my own heart and give it to her if I could.

I’d do anything for my girls.

“I love you, munchkin.”