He doesn’t argue, just gives me a tight nod and disappears through the front doors.
My chest aches watching him go.
By the time I pull into a parking spot, my phone is already in my hand.
I’m scheduled to work tonight.
After staying last night, I’d planned to catch a few hours of sleep when we got back before heading in for my shift.
But Emmett needs to be here right now. And I need to be here for him.
I stare at the schedule for a moment before opening the group text.
Me:Any chance someone wants to pick up tonight? Family situation.
My thumb hovers over the send button for half a second before I tap it.
The message disappears into the void.
Hopefully someone bites.
I tuck my phone into my back pocket and head inside.
Connie is waiting for me in the lobby.
“How’s Monica?”
Connie rubs her forehead. “Yesterday, I’d have said good.”
My stomach tightens. That’s not what I wanted to hear. There’s too much uncertainty in Connie’s voice.
“And today?”
Her lips pull into a frown as she leads me through the secured doors.
“Today, I’m not sure.”
“And Emmett?”
Before Connie can answer, commotion erupts at the far end of the hall.
The sharp and frightened cry is a knife to my heart.
I reach the doorway just in time to see Monica pressed against the far wall, clutching the blanket around her shoulders.
An aide stands a few feet away with her hands raised in a calming gesture.
Emmett is frozen in the middle of the room.
Completely still with the most devastated look I’ve ever seen on his face. He drags a shaking hand down his face.
“Monica,” Connie says gently as she moves around me.
Monica’s gaze darts between the three of us. Her blue eyes are wild with confusion, and without a hint of recognition for Emmett or I.
“Where is Rory? I want my daughter.”
My stomach drops. The woman who teased her grandson with me yesterday is nowhere to be found.
