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Chapter 42
Charlotte
A few hours earlier
Stonehaven is on lockdown after our gross economics teacher is caught at some sex club in Weymouth. What a gross town with gross people living in it. Not my life. I decide not to bother with sneaking out as I curl up in my comfy bed. I quit sneaking out to bars while I was dating Terri. He refused to break curfew and didn’t want to do anything except play his video games. I have a real life. I don’t need to play a pretend one on a monitor.
I must have drifted off because when I wake up, my phone is lighting up my room with that annoying ringtone. I only picked it so I could find my phone when I lose it. I’m half asleep when I receive a call from Dr. Rawlins’s personal assistant. She has to repeat herself three times before I understand that my father is in the hospital.
I can’t leave Stonehaven because of the curfew. I can’t see my father because of Getz. The PA explains that Rawlins is on her way to pick me up so I can go to the hospital. Good. I’ll see my father, but I cringe. I like Dr. Rawlins, but she’s not a person you want around when you need comfort and sympathy.
I hurry to get dressed and text Astrid. No reply. I text her again. And again. I debate knocking on her door, but I don’t want to see her roommate. I’m tired of that girl’s snarky looks, and now she gloats when we pass each other in the hall. Let her have him. He was only good for sex and money. I sigh. That’s quite a lot.
“Where is your sister?” Rawlins asks. I can’t find Astrid, so I meet Rawlins at the front door of the dorm.
“She’s a heavy sleeper.” I try to lie. “You won’t wake her up. Besides, she and Dad are always fighting. It might upset him.”
Rawlins nods and agrees with my logic. We get into her Mercedes with a driver, leaving Astrid behind, no doubt in someone else’s bed.
“Do you know the details?” I ask as we drive through the empty streets
“He collapsed at work,” she replies evenly, “Don’t worry, Charlotte. I’ll stay with you.”
I’m sorry that I thought Rawlins would be a pain. She takes care of everything once we’re there. She bosses people around until she makes it clear that I’m Elliot Howland’s daughter and deserve special treatment. The head nurse takes me straight to my father in the ER, and I gasp when I see all the beeping machines hooked into him.
“His face is so pale,” I whisper as Rawlins places her hand on my shoulder.
“This is your father’s hospital, Charlotte,” she says, “He’ll get the best care here.”
I press a kiss on his forehead, and his cold skin feels wrong. It feels as thin as paper and barely conceals the blue veins underneath. “Do they know what’s wrong?”
“They’re running tests.” Her brow creases with concern. “Your sister should really be here. Not only for your father but also for you.”
I sigh. “I’ll call her again.”
