"Appointment canceled by parent."
My phone buzzed again. This time, I answered.
"Why did you leave the hospital?" he asked.
"I needed to get some things, Brendon. And I needed to shower."
"You're not in his room, are you, Liv?" he asked.
"Why would that matter?"
There was a long silence.
"But I did find Andrew's appointment card. Brendon, why did you cancel it?" I asked.
My phone buzzed again.
"I didn't think he needed it. He was fine. You always overreact. My insurance doesn't cover it anymore. I would have had to pay cash."
I gripped the phone tighter. "He trusted you, Brendon, and you canceled the appointment! I would have paid for it in a heartbeat if you told me."
"You always make everything into a crisis," he said, defensive.
"Maybe that's what kept him alive all this time," I shot back. "You should have spoken to me about it."
He hung up. My anger simmered, but I kept looking.
"You always overreact."
I couldn't find anything else. With nothing left, I finally reached for my phone, thinking maybe I'd missed a message from the hospital.
That's when I saw the notification I'd never opened in all the chaos.
1 new video message: Andrew.
The timestamp was fifteen minutes before Brendon called from the ER. Andrew must have recorded it on the walk, maybe while his dad stopped for water or was looking the other way.
Andrew's face filled the screen.
"Hey, Mom. I don't feel good. My chest hurts, and I feel dizzy. Dad says it's nothing, and if he finds out I told you, he'll get mad. But I'm scared. You said to always let you know if something was wrong, so... I'm letting you know."
I finally reached for my phone.
From the background, Brendon's voice broke through.
"Put that away, Andrew! You're fine! Stop making a scene. Don't worry your mom. Just sit down for a bit."
Andrew's lips pressed together, his eyes searching the lens. The video cut off.
I sat there frozen, replaying his words. Guilt washed over me. How many times had I missed a message in the rush of single parenting and work?
My boy had reached out to me, scared, and I hadn't been there in time.
My hands shook as I dialed the hospital. It wasn't just an emergency. It was Brendon's lack of urgency.
Guilt washed over me.
