on a summer night

 "Holy crap!" Link didn't mean to be so alarmed as he looked at the message on his phone. "Merce is in the hospital."

Finally, to be with the grownups and out with Izzy at Brandon's dinner party, it brought him back down to earth when he got the message from Cade. He gritted a wince. "Oh, it's..it's just a friend from school." He thought of texting Cade back, but didn't as he sat next to Izzy as if it were her call to make. "He..um, something happened to him at work."

"Where does he work?" Brandon's boyfriend asked out concern as if maybe his friend lost an arm or a leg at a sawmill.

"The library," Link nodded as he looked around at everyone at the dinner table of fajitas and all the fixings with homemade flour tortillas and refried beans and rice.

"You mean, Mercer?" Now Vanna wanted to know what was going on as she bit into a carrot.

"He probably needs rest," Izzy was even lipped as if she wouldn't jump to go to the hospital. Although, Link felt they should. He guessed she was right. He went back to eating as if it that was the right thing to do. 

"That sounds so..." Vanna shook her head, no as if she could see the whole seizure happening in her head. Honestly, Link didn't want to lose his appetite. After all, when he and Izzy did go out she would hardly eat, while usually, he finished off whatever she ordered. He wasn't one to let food go to waste.

She was surprisingly quiet. He had no idea what was really on her mind, but if he asked her to a Tuesday night student movie for two bucks she always said, "Sure."

He did all the driving too. Although, he felt rather clumsy in this role. After all, most of his life had been in foster homes. He guessed most teachers wrote him off as damaged, but somehow he always managed to be OK. Maybe it was being a soccer goalie that helped. That was how he'd won a scholarship at the University. And after all this time, he was finally adopted.

Yes, summer was looking perfect in Link's eyes. And it was OK if Izzy was somewhat cold. There was so much to be thankful for, but he felt a little sad about Mercer. Maybe he would be OK if he got the right medications, but Link remembered a girl he used to know back at his old school. She'd gone from medications to brain surgery to now having a therapy dog with her. She used to drive, but she didn't anymore.

"I hear being on the KETO diet helps," Brandon mentioned about epilepsy. Naturally, Izzy lost her appetite completely. 

Link sighed. He knew she was upset.