Page 146 of Now Their Starlet

“I can’t believe this is happening,” I sniffle, the tears I’ve been trying to keep at bay, threatening to fall again. “He was—he was alright this morning. He was smiling and walking and talking and⁠—”

I burst into sobs.

No amount of the tools Nancy and I have worked on in therapy would have prepared me for this moment.

Because we’d been spending the majority of our time working through my anxiety. Quieting that voice at the back of my head that would insist that everything good in my life would fall apart.

I don’t have the tools to figure out what the hell to do when my life is actually falling apart.

No amount of deep breathing will make sure my dad is able to continue breathing.

CHAPTER 29

Everett

All six of us have been in the hospital overnight. We took turns sleeping on the couches and extra recliners the nurses brought in for us.

“Hello everyone,” an older male alpha in a white coat says, knocking on the open door. “My name is Dr. Abel. Are you guys the family of Edison Wade?”

“Yes,” Andi says, sandwiched between Cameron and Leo. “I’m his daughter. This is my pack.”

“Your father is stable for now,” Dr. Abel says, taking a seat across from us. “But, unfortunately, because he was unresponsive for an indeterminate amount of time, we want to keep him in a medically induced coma while he recovers.”

“Why—why did he collapse?” Andi asks, her voice surprisingly steady.

“He had a heart attack caused by an extreme, hormone-imbalance-induced version of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, colloquially known as broken-heart syndrome. We noticed he has rather extreme-looking severed bondmarks, and we believe that to be the cause.”

Andi makes a noise at the back of her throat that I can only compare to that of a kicked wolf-pup. A mix of devastation, hurt and feral fury.

Her perfume mirrors the intensity of that sound, carrying the bitter notes of her despair… But underneath, is the sour bite of simmering rage.

I understand why.

Not only has Gina stolen parts of Andi’s life she’ll never get back, but she’s stealing Andi’s father away from her too.

“Do you know what his chances are for a full recovery?” I ask, my voice tight. I’m not sure whether I should be asking this question in front of Andi, while she’s in this fragile emotional state, but the last thing we should do is infantilize her and take away her autonomy, even if it’s with the intention of protecting her. We should all know and understand the prognosis.

“It is... unclear. The risk of loss of brain function is always a possibility when the brain lacks oxygen for that long,” Dr. Abel says.

More broken sobs from Andi.

“How long will he be kept in the coma for?”

“It depends on the markers of recovery we’re able to see. For now, he will be receiving IV treatment for the hormone imbalances. The last thing we’d want is to wake him up prematurely, only for him to experience yet another episode.”

Well... fuck.

That revelation leaves me reeling.

If he’s going to be kept in a medically induced coma, it’s only a matter of time before Gina files another emergency petition claiming that he’s no longer fit to be Andi’s conservator.

And she’d win.

Because she’d be right. There’s no way he can be Andi’s conservator while in a coma.

“I will... leave you all to process. His room is right down the hall. We have arranged for a private room that will be covered by his insurance.. I will warn you, he is on a ventilator with a lot of equipment hooked up to him right now and the sight can be... distressing.” His gaze flicks towards Andi. “You are free to stay in that room or this one, or move between them as you’d like.”

“Thank you,” I say, my voice betraying my exhaustion.