“I…I need to check my phone.” There’s only one reason I can think of that would cause somebody to call repeatedly. Something’s happening with my dad.
I stumble towards the elevator, only focused on getting to my phone and hoping that I’m wrong.
A hand on my arm pulls me from the developing tunnel vision. I glance over to see Axel standing there, a concerned expression on his face.
“You okay?”
“I’ll be fine,” I lie.
“Bullshit,” Axel counters. “What’s wrong?”
I shake my head. “Hopefully, nothing.”
He follows me into the elevator, and I can hear my phone ringing as soon as we step off on the third floor.
A few angry glares follow us as I make my way to my desk, where I yank open the drawer and grab my phone just before it goes to voicemail, but the brief glance at the caller ID is enough to confirm my fears.
“Lauren?” I answer.
“Oh, thank goodness,” she nearly sobs. “You finally answered.”
“What happened?” I ask, legs shaking. “Dad’s okay, right?”
“You need to come to the hospital,” she cries. “He had a bad reaction to one of the drugs they started him on, and he might not make it.”
My phone slips from my grasp, landing on the edge of the desk with a thud.
“Harper?” Lauren’s tinny voice from the speaker. “Are you there?”
My hands are shaking too much to pick up my phone, and I drop it several more times before Axel picks it up.
“This is Harper’s boss, Axel. What can I do?”
My hands continue to shake as I look up at him, concern etching into his features.
“Midtown Hospital,” he says. “Got it. I’ll get her there myself.”
He hangs up and places my phone on the desk. “Get your things. I’ll drive.”
“I…” I try. “I can…”
He scowls. “Like hell am I letting you drive like this. Get your purse while I tell Declan where you’re going.”
I nod, grateful that he’s taking command. I pull my purse from the desk, while the people who had been glaring about the interruption are now staring with concern.
“Okay, people,” Axel declares, walking back from Declan’s office. “Show’s over.”
Several people turn sheepishly back to their work as Axel takes my elbow and leads me back to the elevator. The air is cool as we step outside, with it still being early enough in the morning for the temperature to not have risen much. Axel’s hand drops to the small of my back as he guides me towards a very expensive-looking sports car.
The touch is comforting, grounding, and I’m again grateful for him taking control. I don’t have to think. I only need to follow his lead and trust that he’ll get me where I need to go.
Axel’s hand is on my knee as he drives, thumb brushing back and forth. The touch keeps me from getting lost in my own thoughts and panicking.
“Your mother said that your father is in the ICU.”
“Stepmother,” I reply absentmindedly.
“Okay.” There is something to Axel’s tone, a stiffness to it, but I’m in no way capable of trying to figure out why. “She couldn’t recall the room number, but said it’s near the nurses’ station.”
“Thank you.”
He gives my knee a squeeze. “He’ll be okay. You have to believe that.”
I nod, forcing myself to take several deep breaths. As I do, I start to really feel the heat of his hand, and the way it’s radiating through me.
A few minutes later, Axel stops at the entrance to the hospital.
I blurt out something that I hope sounds like a thank you, then bolt from the car.
“David Sullivan?” I ask the nurse at the ICU station.
She points at a door just across from where I’m standing.
“Thank you,” I manage as I race into the room.
Lauren is sitting on the chair, tear-streaked makeup running down her face, holding one of my dad’s hands. I look at my dad and almost can’t breathe. He’s limp on the bed, a blue tube running into his mouth, his skin a grayish hue.
The shaking comes back as Lauren finally looks up at me.
“Harper.”
“What happened?” I whisper.
“They were doing something to prepare him for surgery, so they could install a port for the chemo. But he had an allergic reaction to something, and before we knew it, his throat was closing up, and he couldn’t breathe. They worked as fast as they could to get him on a ventilator and to inject something to stop the reaction. But there was already a lot in his system, and we nearly lost him.” She paused, more tears streaking down her cheeks. “We still might.”
“Dad.” I walk over and collapse onto the other chair. I take my dad’s other hand and wrap it in my own, resting my forehead on top. “Fight it, Dad. Please…fight.”
I refused to leave my dad’s side all day until he finally regained consciousness seven hours after I’d arrived. Even then I only left long enough to go to the restroom and buy something for Lauren and me to eat, since neither of us dared to go even as far as the cafeteria for lunch.
It’s funny how exhausting worry can be. All I did was sit beside the bed, terrified that each of my dad’s breaths would be his last. But now I can barely keep my eyes open, the adrenaline of fear worn off. I can barely lift my feet to walk as I trudge from the hospital.
Even still, the only reason I’m leaving at all is that my stepsister, Katherine, arrived to see my dad, and only two people at a time were allowed to visit in the ICU.
He’s her dad now, too.
Katherine will at least be able to drive Lauren home once visiting hours are over. Unlike me, since my car is still in the lot at work.
“I’m too tired,” I mutter. “Tomorrow’s Saturday. I’ll get Lee to drive me.”
Now, I need to figure out how to get home. I pull my phone from my purse, ready to request a ride when I see a familiar figure slumped on a bench about halfway between the entrance and the parking lot.
I rub my eyes, not entirely sure that I’m not seeing things. But as I approach, any doubt is dispelled.
It’s Axel, suit rumpled and disheveled, but he’s there.
“Axel?”
He turns, exhaustion and concern filling his eyes. “Harper.”
“What are you doing here?”
He stands, walks over, and rests his hands on my upper arms. “I tried waiting for you upstairs in the ICU waiting room, but the nurses kept thinking I was waiting for my turn to see somebody. I didn’t want them to bother you, so I came out here.”
Tears spring to my eyes. “But, why?”
He shakes his head. “I was worried about you and about your dad. I thought about going back to the office, but I couldn’t.”
“Really?”
He nods. “Is…is he?”
I collapse against his chest with a cry of relief. “He pulled through.” My entire body shakes with the force of my sobs. “He’ll be okay for now.”
Axel’s arms tighten around me. “For now?”
I nod, noticing how his cologne still lingers, a pleasant scent even after he’d sat outside in the heat for close to eight hours. “He has cancer. We found out a couple weeks ago.”