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Chapter Thirty-five
Abel
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Iwake with a start, the sound of Finley whimpering next to me pulling me from sleep. I shoot upright and turn my gaze on her, watching her curl into herself.
“Fin?” I question, resting my hand on her hip. “You okay?”
“My head,” she cries, palms pressed to her forehead.
I lean forward and click on the interior lights in the van, a soft glow filtering into the back moments later.
“Finley.” I try to roll her toward me but she resists. “Hey, talk to me. What’s going on?”
“My head,” she repeats and only then do I realize she’s crying.
“What can I do? Do you want some ibuprofen?” I ask, not sure what she needs.
“I’ve already taken some. It’s just getting worse.” She groans.
“Do you want me to take you to the hospital?” I ask, panic stirring in my chest.
“Yes.” Her sobs break through the quiet and I realize this is serious.
Finley is the strongest person I’ve ever known and even though I can tell she’s been struggling with headaches recently, she’s never once complained. She’s also not one to go to the hospital voluntarily, either.
“Okay, baby. Just hang in there. I’m going to get you to the hospital.” I lay a kiss to her shoulder before climbing into the front seat of the van.
Even though I’d feel better with her in the passenger seat with a seatbelt on, I also know she’s in too much pain for me to move her.
Pulling up the GPS on my phone, I search the nearest hospital. The closest is right under thirty minutes away.
I fire the engine to life, pulling through the bumpy campground roads as gently as possible, trying not to shake her.
“Abel,” she groans seconds before I hear the unmistakable sound of vomit.
I look back to see her head draped into a plastic bag with some drinks from the gas station still in it.
“Hang in there, baby. I’m going as fast as I can.” Pressing my foot down harder on the accelerator.
“It hurts so bad.” She sobs behind me, the sound damn near splitting me in two.
I’ve never felt so fucking helpless in my entire life. I wish there was something I could do. Someway I could take her pain onto myself, but I can’t. So I do the only thing that’s in my control at all. I drive faster.
——
We arrived at the emergencyroom a little over an hour ago. As soon as we pulled in, some of the ER staff came out and transferred Finley onto a gurney before rushing her inside.
I did my best to fill the doctor in on everything I knew, including giving him the name of her oncologist in Chicago. And even though the last thing I wanted to do was leave her side, they insisted I stay in the waiting room while they assess her condition. And that’s where I still am, staring at the same fucking drab four walls for the last several minutes trying like hell not to imagine the worse.
I called Claire shortly after we arrived. I tried to reassure her that everything was fine but it was hard to sound convincing when I wasn’t sure myself. I promised to update her as soon as I know anything.
“Mr. Collins?” I look up to see an older nurse standing in the doorway.
“That’s me.” I quickly stand and cross the space toward her.
“I can take you to see your wife now,” she provides and I swear for the first time in nearly sixty minutes I pull in a real breath.
