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“This doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Nothing is changing in your life.”
“But this all has to do with my family.” I gulp back tears. “My family is my foundation. My rock. How can you say that nothing is changing?”
“I can say it because you, Ava Steel, are who you are.” He firmly places his hands on my shoulders. “That will never change. And we don’t even know what these documents mean.”
My heart is racing, and my breath, I…
“Brendan, I…”
He releases my shoulders, sits next to me, takes me in his arms. “Relax, baby. It’s just panic. Just like what happened to your father.”
He’s right. I’m twenty-four years old and in excellent health. I’m way too young to be having a heart attack. Still, the squeezing in my chest, the shortness of breath…
I try.
I try to hold on.
I try…
But…darkness falls before my eyes.
Chapter Fourteen
Brendan
“Ava?” I kiss the top of her head.
She doesn’t respond.
“Ava? Ava, are you all right?”
Her eyes open. “Brendan… Please…”
“Baby, tell me what it is. What do you need? What can I do for you?”
“Don’t… Feel… Good…”
I don’t think. I only react. I scoop her into my arms, head down the back way, managing to dodge the bar patrons, and put her into my car.
Then I race back to the hospital.
As I drive through the night roads, I keep one eye on Ava. Her eyes open and close, but she does not react.
When we come screaming into the emergency room parking lot, I take her hand, but when she doesn’t move, I scoop her into my arms again and carry her in.
“Sir?” the receptionist says. “Weren’t you just here? Is she all right?”
“I don’t know. She seems to be responsive. Sometimes.”
“All right. Let’s get her back.”
A nurse comes out with a wheelchair.
I place Ava in the chair. “You okay, baby?”
Her eyes are glassy, and she doesn’t reply.
“Fix this,” I say to the nurse. “You’ve got to fix this.”
“Are you her husband?”
I shake my head.
“Then we’ll need to call her next of kin.”
“Her next of kin is… He’s already here. Ryan Steel.”
“This is Ryan Steel’s daughter?”
“Yes. Ava Steel.”
Things go better after that. She’s whisked back to the ER, and I follow her.
No one says a word to me. Just as well, as I’m liable to pummel anyone who tries to keep me from Ava.
Several orderlies help get her onto an exam table, and then she turns her head and looks at me.
Thank God.
“Brendan?” she ekes out.
“Everything’s okay, baby. You’re at the hospital. We’re going to take care of you.”
“I’m all right.”
“Ava, you’re not all right. You weren’t responsive for over half an hour.”
“I just didn’t know how to respond, Brendan. I was afraid. My heart was beating so fast. For a moment, I couldn’t get my breath, so the only thing I was able to do was turn my mind off.”
I kiss her forehead. “Whatever you had to do doesn’t matter. We’re at the hospital now, and we’re going to figure out what’s going on.”
She closes her eyes. “I think I just…panicked.”
“Like your father did?”
“Yes. My chest hurt so bad, my breath got shallow. And I was so scared, so I closed my eyes… I just wanted to escape into oblivion. For a moment, I think I did.”
“Did you lose consciousness?”
“I don’t know.” She closes her eyes for a few seconds and then reopens them. “I don’t know, Brendan. Just…stay with me. Okay?”
“I will never leave your side.”
A technician comes in with a machine. “I’m going to do an EKG,” he says. “You need to remove your shirt.” Then he glances at me.
“I’ve seen it before,” I say dryly.
I help Ava get out of her shirt, and the technician puts the magnetic pads on her chest and stomach. Then the EKG starts.
“How does it look?” I ask him.
“The doctor will discuss the results with you.” He prints out a portion of Ava’s EKG, and then he unhooks her.
“That’s it?” I say.
“Yeah. Getting prepped for an EKG takes longer than the test itself.”
I have no idea what the lines on the EKG mean, but the technician didn’t look alarmed. Of course they’re probably trained not to look alarmed.
Next, another tech comes in. “I’m going to draw some blood, Ms. Steel.”
Ava simply nods, and the tech wraps the rubber band around her upper arm and pats the veins in the crease of her elbow.
“You have good veins,” she says.
“Thanks…I guess…” Ava murmurs.
“Why are you drawing blood?” I say.
“Just some routine lab tests ordered by the ER doc.”
“We haven’t even seen the ER doc.”
“You haven’t?” The tech scans the clipboard. “Well, he’s seen the chart, and he ordered these lab tests. I’m sure he’ll be in soon.”
I sit on the ER bed, holding Ava’s hand. Moments tick by, until—
Someone opens the curtain harshly. A young man in green scrubs enters. “Ms. Steel? I’m Dr. Tonaki. Your EKG looks great. Now we just have to wait and see if your blood tests indicate any reason for your symptoms.”
