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I set her back on her feet and not a moment later, she clutches her chest, bending over.
“Ella!” I scoop her up faster than she can blink. “What is it?”
A sudden heaviness settles over me. “What is it, El?” I repeat.
“I don’t know, Ade. My chest suddenly hurts. And my heart did this thing again, where it seems to skip a few beats.”
“What do you mean ‘again’? How often does that happen?” Ella averts her eyes. Shit, what isn’t she telling me?
“Ella?” I prompt again, sitting down on the couch with her on my lap. I take her face in my hand and study her. Her pulse is a little fast, and her skin is clammy cold.
“Umm. It has happened a few times, but there’s always a logical explanation.”
“You mean stress?” I ask and she nods. “Stress can cause all sorts of symptoms, but I think that doctor of De Marco’s is right. You need to have more tests to make sure you’re really okay.”
“I’m fine, Ade. Honestly, it’s just the stress of everything that’s happened over the last few months. Now that Tiero isn’t a threat anymore, I’ll be able to relax.”
“No, Sunshine. I want you checked out. Please do it for me, okay? So I don’t worry.”
I know she’ll agree if this isn’t about her. She’s always focused on her loved ones being happy. And I’m right, because not a heartbeat later, she cups my face and kisses me tenderly in agreement.
“Fine. But only because it will make you feel better. Truly, it’s nothing.”
Let’s hope she’s right. I deposit her on the couch and go to the kitchen to make us a licorice tea. I’ve come to appreciate the taste too.
The heavy uneasiness persists, even though everything with Ella seems normal again by the time I return with our steaming cups of tea.
She looks tired. So after she’s finished with her drink, I pick her up and carry her to our bedroom, tucking her in. She doesn’t protest, which is just another indicator of her exhaustion.
I can’t help the worry that has taken root in my mind.
Now that I have her forever, I can’t let anything happen to her. I set the alarm on my phone to remind me to ring the doctor’s office in the morning. Not that I’d forget.
Chapter Forty-Four
Ella
It’searlyMondayafternoon.I’m sitting in Doctor Miller’s waiting room at the hospital. He’s the cardiologist I was referred to when Aiden rang the doctor’s office this morning.
I’m not sure how he managed to get me an appointment with the specialist right away. That never happens, but Aiden can be very persuasive. He was extra determined when he learned that the doctor’s office had been ringing me, leaving messages to schedule an appointment after I postponed my follow-up appointment after the last lot of tests.
It was the first time I’ve seen Aiden unhappy with me, and I didn’t like it, nor the lecture that followed about looking after myself. I felt like a kid being scolded or a soldier being reprimanded by an army sergeant, but I stayed calm, realizing Aiden was just worried about me.
Yes, maybe I shouldn’t have waited to reschedule, but I simply forgot in all the excitement of the last few weeks. Plus, I had just started a new job and didn’t want to take time off. I know Gary wouldn’t have minded, but still… I didn’t believe there was something wrong with me.
The inconclusive blood test and ECG results were due to of my elevated stress levels. My body has never reacted well to stress, and it’s been simmering beneath the surface with the threat of being discovered by Tiero, never letting me fully relax.
That threat is gone now, so things should settle down, right?
I am nervous, though. I didn’t expect to be referred to a heart specialist. But as Aiden said, the doctor is likely just explaining the test results and probably sending me to have some more done.
A nurse enters the room, smiling kindly at me. “I’m sorry Miss James. Doctor Miller is delayed. He was called to the ER but will be with you as soon as he’s finished there.”
Great.God knows how long that will take.
Aiden might make this appointment, after all. He wanted to be here with me but had a client meeting he couldn’t reschedule.
I text Ade to let him know about the delay and then scroll aimlessly through my contacts.
