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“I know how badly you want this.”
“So bad. And I know how long and hard the journey can be if our attempts don’t work.”
She throws her hands around me and I cling to her.
“That's a big load to carry by yourself. Have you shared it with Cedrick?”
I shake my head.
“No wonder you look this way. A problem shared is a problem solved. Always remember that.”
I nod. But there's no way I could share my insecurities with him. There’s a part of me that fears that a problem shared is in fact a problem doubled.
It's hard to concentrate on the rest of Liza's words, but I try.
“Hard as it might be to hear right now, there's a time for everything.”
“Maybe my time is slipping away.” I choke on the last word.
“Don't say that.”
The pity on Liza's face consumes me. Am I that pathetic of a sight? I feel a tremble through my chest.
“Thank you for your concern, Liza. Really. I appreciate the talk.”
“Any time. I'll take you home in a few minutes. You look like you could rest.”
“You might be right.” I hold the edge of the bench and pull myself up way too fast. The wall spins, and my head turns woozy.
That can't be a good sign.
My feet stumble sideways.
“Ellie? You okay?” Her voice sounds like a far-off echo.
My vision blurs. My head sways like a pendulum, faster and faster.
Then everything fades to black.
21
CEDRICK
My fingers turn into a metal claw around my phone. There's no mistaking the message from Liza.
Ellie fainted at the fundraiser. She was rushed to Queen Amaranta Hospital. She wasn't looking too good the whole time.
All my senses kick into action like a cloud of exhaust. I storm out of work without an explanation or second thought. The whole drive to the hospital one hand stays firmly on the steering wheel, while the other hand alternates between hanging out the window and running through my hair.
Panic and worry take turns taunting me.
“Please let her be okay.”
I wonder if this could be something serious. I know the expression that when a doctor hears hooves, he should assume it’s horses, not zebras. But still. I’ve been in medicine long enough to know that it’s not always nothing.
I try to call her, but, unsurprisingly, no one picks up.
“Ellie Lawson,” I state at the front desk.
