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“Things have been a little… insane, if you haven’t noticed, Princess.”
She flips him off.
“We’re going. Or if you don’t wanna go, I’ll take the girls.”
Galen scoffs a laugh at his daughter.
“You’d love it. It’s in the middle of nowhere. Hot tub, open fire.” Her eyes widen further with my description. “We’ll go. All of us when shit has settled down,” I offer, hoping that Evan won’t mind. “It’s been a while since we all headed up there.”
“I’ve seen photos, it’s pretty impressive,” Galen adds.
Silence falls among us. Even finding more about my weekend with Jodie is no longer enough of a distraction for Stella.
The seconds tick by, each one feeling longer than the last as I stare at the doors, my heart jumping into my throat every time someone pushes through them.
Stella’s hand remains tightly locked in mine, and thankfully, I’m able to get a little bit of strength from that.
I pray that each time a doctor or nurse appears they’re going to be looking for us, going to give us some news.
Disappointment and anguish flood me when they inevitably turn to someone else, but the second Mum’s name rolls from the lips of a doctor, nothing but blinding fear takes hold of me.
My head spins. Blood races past my ears at such a volume I barely hear a word that falls from the doctor’s lips as he explains Mum’s conditions.
I pick out a few words, but not enough to fully comprehend what’s really going on.
“Exhausted… stress… dehydrated… take it slow…”
I glance up at Galen and Stella as they nod, relief working its way through their expressions.
“W-wait,” I say, holding my hand up. “She’s okay?”
The doctor stares at me, probably wondering why he bothered explaining everything he just did for me not to listen, but fuck it. He’s not the one who’s been through everything I have.
“I can’t say that one-hundred percent. We are waiting for her to have another scan, but from all our tests, that seems to be the case. Your mum had major surgery followed by some pretty intense treatment. Her body is still recovering. Her prognosis might be looking positive, but she is still going to need to adjust to the side effects and exhaustion.”
“Holy shit,” I sigh, stumbling back against the wall, my heart slamming against my chest.
Stella is there instantly, her soft, comforting touch landing on my upper arm.
“It’s okay. She’s okay.”
“Can I see her?” I ask, looking straight past Stella and at the doctor.
“Yes, but only one of you. We’re going to get her moved to a ward shortly and then she can have more visitors.”
“A ward? But you just said she’s okay.”
“We need to be sure. Your mum has been through a lot, so the rest will be good for her. Follow me, I’ll take you to her.”
I quickly move forward to do as he says, but my eyes land on Galen and reality slams down on me as I see the concern on his face.
“Shit. Maybe you should—”
“No,” he assures me, his voice firm and unyielding. “You need to go. Just tell her we’re here and that we love her.”
I nod, unable to talk through the lump in my throat as I turn back toward the doctor.
“Toby,” Mum breathes the second the doctor throws the curtain back and I find her lying there, looking weak and vulnerable.
